Kathryn Calder @ Media Club -- 04/18/15



About eight or nine years ago, I went to go see The New Pornographers play a show here in Vancouver, and discovered Immaculate Machine opening for them. They quickly become a favourite, and that was due in part to co-lead singer and keyboardist Kathryn Calder (who, later in that show, joined The New Pornos on stage to fill in for the absent Neko Case). Since then, Immaculate Machine broke up, Calder officially joined of The New Pornos, and as of earlier in the week, she has three solo albums to her name.
So just days after the release her latest, self-titled album, Kathryn Calder returned to Vancouver to celebrate with a show at the Media Club.


I missed the first opener, Ford Pier, getting to the Media Club just as he was wrapping up. But I certainly didn't want to miss Louise Burns and Her Victims, as she called her backing band. The dimly lit stage was fitting with her darker, noir-pop sound, with songs off her two albums so far, Mellow Drama and The Midnight Mass, as well as teasing her upcoming with a couple new songs -- including one that I didn't catch the name of but had almost a moody-Fleetwood Mac feel to it.
Louise joked about her stage banter (or lack thereof), rather letting the music and her captivating stage presence speak for her.
My two favourites of the set came at the end, and were on pretty opposite ends of the spectrum; first the most rocking song of the set, "Emeralds Shatter", followed by the gorgeously haunting "Heaven", Louise's powerful voice filling the room.


Thanks to the 10:30 curfew, it wasn't long before Kathryn Calder was out, kicking off with the absolutely beautiful "Slip Away" off her first album Are You My Mother?, starting soft and building to a big, indie-pop ending. She went chronological from there with "Turn A Light On" from Bright & Vivid, before the first single from the new one, an incredibly bubbly and catchy anthem "Take A Little Time".
Switching between keyboard and guitar throughout the set, Calder was visibly (and vocally) happy that the latest album was finally released, and that energy definitely came through on the songs, from the upbeat and jaunty "If You Only Knew" to the more down tempo and somewhat bittersweet "Song in Cm", featuring special guest Sam Davidson on the clarinet (who you may know from Brasstronaut).
Kathryn played right up until curfew -- not even bothering with the silly encore tradition -- finishing off the night first with perhaps my favourite off the new album, "When You See My Blood", another song that starts off slow and erupts into a chaotic ending, and the ending the night off on the heartbreaking "So Easily".


Be it with a band or performing solo, I've seen Kathryn multiple times at various points, and it is always enjoyable seeing her perform live. And I am really enjoying the new album, as well. Add Louise Burns to the mix, and it was a great night of tunes.


setlist
Slip Away; Turn A Light On; Take A Little Time; Blue Skies; New Frame of Mind; Beach; My Armour; One, Two, Three; Song In Cm; City of Sounds; If You Only Knew; Arm in Arm; When You See My Blood; So Easily.

The New Pornographers @ Commodore -- 10/04/14

Fresh off the release of their sixth album Brill Bruisers, The New Pornographers kicked off their tour with a pair of hometown shows at the Commodore Ballroom.
I caught the second of the two, but for some reason, I was not as excited as I should have been. Maybe it was the recent news that Kurt Dahle (one of my favourite drummers) had left the band. Or maybe it was the lack of the promised Neko Case who, due to issues at the border, was not able to get into the country.
But I was intrigued by the announcement that Amber Webber, of Black Mountain and Lightning Dust, would be filling in, and excluding free outdoor shows, it was the first time seeing the band in a proper venue in over four years.

Unfortunately I missed the first two bands, Cool TV and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, getting to the venue just as The New Pornographers hit the stage with the first song, and title track, "Brill Bruisers" and as soon as Dan Bejar joined them for one of my favourites, "Myriad Harbour", a lot of my misgivings had faded. The set dug heavily into their back catalogue, with lots of deep cuts throughout the night, showing off the bands 14 years of crafting some of the best power pop songs out there, from "Champions of Red Wine" all the way back to "Execution Day" off their debut album.

Frontman Carl Newman occasionally chatted with the crowd a few times, joking that in revisiting some of the older songs he found some were "pretty good" -- specifically "The New Face of Zero and One" -- and looked happy to be home, asking if anyone else went to school in White Rock. Bejar was on and off stage, joining only when he was needed, as he usually does, and while the absence of Neko Case was felt, Kathryn Calder unsurprisingly stepped in with her own fantastic voice. Guest Amber Webber was mostly on backup and harmonies, and there were only a couple times that her voice really soaring above the rest, the best example being "Born With a Sound", which featured her on the album. I actually ended up wishing they utilized her more; I would have loved to see how her haunting voice fit with songs like "Challengers" or even "Letter From An Occupant", neither of which ended up in the set.

After over an hour, they ended the main set with my two favourites from the new album, Dan Bejar's frantic "War on the East Coast", and the impressive vocals of Calder shining on "Dancehall Domine" before thy were back out for a few more. Bejar returned one last time for "Spyder", before they went all the way back and wrapped up with the with the first song, and title track to their debut, "Mass Romantic", a nearly perfect song, with Calder once again filling the room with her powerful pipes.

In the end, it was definitely a good show. There was too much raw talent on stage for it not to be, but something about it just felt... off. I have seen the band perform without Case a few times, and I think it all came down to the new drummer. He was a fine drummer, don't get me wrong, but the absence of Kurt Dahle left some pretty big kickdrums to fill.

 setlist
Brill Bruisers; Myriad Harbour; Sing Me Spanish Techno; Born With a Sound; The End of Medicine; Twin Cinema; Execution Day; All The Old Showstoppers; The Moves; Silver Jenny Dollar; You Tell Me Where; The Spirit of Giving; The New Face of Zero and One; Champions Of Red Wine; Ballad of a Comeback Kid; Backstairs; Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk; War on the East Coast; Dancehall Domine.
(encore) Spyder; The Laws Have Changed; Mass Romantic.

Kathryn Calder @ Biltmore -- 10/27/11

It's been a long week of shows, and what better way to cap it off than Kathryn Calder. The current New Pornographer and former Immaculate Machine just released her second solo album, Bright & Vivid and this show was the de facto CD release, as well as the kick off to her North American tour.

I got there a bit late, catching the tail end of the first band, My Friend Wallis. The couple songs I saw were okay, but there was an incessant buzzing, and the vocals were a bit mumbly. It was pretty normal dream-pop-ish sound, and was a perfectly fine opening band, from what I saw.

Second up was, Anomie Belle from Seattle. Throughout the set she went between looping violin, guitar and keys with sparse backing band and a laptop with pre-recorded stuff -- sometimes beats, sometimes ambient noises. The music was dark and very moody, with a voice that fir the music perfectly. She was very talented, and did a great job of drawing you in, though personally I could have done without the backing laptop. But other than that -- and a few lulls between songs, mostly to get the laptop going proper -- it was a really good set, and I wouldn't mind checking her out again.


And finally up was Kathryn Calder joined by Marek Tyler, a monster on drums, as usual, and Ted Gowans (best known from Tegan & Sara) on guitar. Starting off with the raucous "Castor & Pollux" and the beautiful "All It Is" from her first album, Are You My Mother? she then launched into mostly new songs, which sounded great.
Calder jumped between keys and guitar throughout the night, and her charmingly nervous banter filed the gaps between the songs, but while playing she exuded confidence. Songs like "Who You Are?" and "New Frame of Mind" were a bit edgier and darker (in both mood and sound), but were not too drastic a departure from her sound to be jarring. The set came to a close with one of my favourites of hers, "A Day Long Past Its Prime", without bothering with the whole fake encore thing.
I've seen Kathryn  multiple times at various points, will all her bands, and it is always enjoyable seeing her perform live. Hopefully she'll be back soon enough.

setlist
Castor & Pollux, All It Is, New Frame of Mind, Turn a Light On, Walking In My Sleep, Who Are You?, Slip Away, Arrow, City of Sounds, Younger Than We've Ever Been, One two three, A Day Long Past Its Prime.