It's been over a decade since the last Limblifter album, I/O, and while the band has never officially called it quits -- they even did a few "comeback" shows a few years ago -- it seemed like a new record was elusive. Especially after Ryan Dahle formed Mounties with Hawksley Workman and Steve Bays and the success they have had.
But good things come to those who wait, as their fourth album, Pacific Milk, finally comes out in a couple weeks, and Limblifter hit the Biltmore to tease the album.

First up was Invisible Ray, a garage-y rawk duo from Vancouver. Fast and loud and sloppy with long hair swirling and growly vocals, there was nothing in the set that was all that bad, but nothing that particularly stood out, either. Well, except one song whose chorus was, I am pretty sure, "Destroy destruction".
I'm not always a fan of the type of hard rock they had going, that would have been right at home in the Fox Seeds competition, but as an opener, they were fine.

The second opener was Jesse Creed aka The Passenger, and was about as far on the other end of the spectrum as you could get. He took stage without a word and started putting together a set of ambient synthy tones that ebbed and flowed as one long, instrumental piece, as if in movements. The music was haunting at times, often dreamy, and could have easily been the score to a Wes Anderson movie.
Musically, I really liked it, but it was not that dynamic of a live show. Jesse was hard at work on his table of instruments, but didn't say a single word on stage, just got up, played, and left.

Not long after that, Limblifter hit the stage. Frontman Ryan Dahle joined by Megan Bradfield on bass, Gregory Macdonald on guitar & keys, and newcomer Eric Breitenbach on drums, and they started off with some new songs from Pacific Milk. And the new songs sounded pretty great; lead single "Dopamine" had the same Limblifter feel of catchy hooks and sharp lyrics, without sounding too dated. A few of the other new albums that caught my ear were "Key of Karavana" and "Moods of Mechanics".
Of course they hit the old material as well, as they went all the way back to '96, to their debut self-titled with the turmoil in "Tinfoil", and hit about every album since -- even Dahle's solo album, Irrational Anthems with the erratic "Chop Chop".
After they brought the main set to an end with the perfect song for frustration, "Screwed It Up", they came back for the obligatory encore and a few more old favourites. "Ariel vs Lotus" got the biggest reaction of the night and "Perfect Day to Disappear" seemed an excellent choice to wrap things up, as the band started to leave the stage. But Dahle asked with a smirk if we wanted to see the band scramble as he gave the crowd one more, launching into "I Wonder If...", and the rest of the band indeed scrambled back to their instruments to finish the show off.

There was one down side, unfortunately, but it had nothing to do with the band. There was That One Guy front and centre the whole time, way too drunk, thinking it was his own private show, as he tried to converse with the band between every song by yelling at the top of his lungs, and filming the whole thing (including his yelling) with his cell phone.
But aside from That One Guy, it was a strong show from one of my favourite bands from the 90s, and I can't wait to hear what the new album has to offer.

setlsit
Hotel Knife, Chop Chop, Under the Riot, Palomino, Vicious, Cordova, Tinfoil, Dopamine, Cast a Net, Key of Karavana, Wake Up To The Sun, In/Out, Juliet Club, Moods of Mechanics, Position Open, Cellophane, Screwed It Up.
(encore) Count to 9, Ariel vs Lotus, Perfect Day to Disappear, I Wonder If...

Despite being a fan of the bands since the late 90s, I never got a chance to see Limblifter live before they disbanded, and for various reasons I always managed to miss Ryan Dahle's solo shows. Even when they announced their reunion and a show at NXNE, the weekend was just too hectic to see them. I thought maybe I was fated to never see the band live, but my luck turned around with the announcement of a Vancouver show. And it's not just a series of reunion dates; Dahle recently hinted that the band might just be releasing some new material.

It was also an added bonus to see Acres of Lions open up the show. The Victoria band isn't breaking down any barriers with their pop-rock sound, but they are ridiculously fun to watch live. The whole band is highly energetic, especially frontman Jeff Kalesnikoff, who got the growing crowd singing and clapping along throughout the set. Starting off with "Set Me On Fire" and "Kids" from their latest album, Collections, the band drawing the slowly-growing crowd towards the stage. They threw in a new song -- which I didn't catch the name of-- and wrapped up with the infinitely catchy "Reaction" and the much softer "Collections", both of which once again got the crowd involved.

Not too long, Limblifter hit the stage, with Ryan Dahle joined by Megan Bradfield and Brent Follett -- both of which were in the last incarnation of Limblifter -- and Sloan's Greg MacDonald. They started off with a bang, opening the show with "Vicious" and going on to play about an hour of material spanning the entire Limblifter catalogue.
While I can't compare them to their first incarnation, they sounded great; the four of them meshed well together and the songs were familiar, but didn't feel dated. Like they never missed a step.
There was lots of songs got 'recognition applause' -- a big bout of cheering one or two notes in -- throughout the night, like the soaring "Wake Up To The Sun" and staccato "Screwed It Up". Other highlights included "Fiercely Co-Dependant" from the last Limblifter album, I/O, and the earworm inducing "Chop Chop" from Dahle's solo Irrational Anthems.
They wrapped up the set with their biggest hit, "Ariel vs Lotus" and after being met with chants of "ten more songs", were back for the obvious encore. Starting with the soft and beautiful "Alarm Bells", they exploded into "Dominant Monkey" and "Tinfoil" to end off the night.

It was great to finally see them, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what comes out of the reunion.

setlist
Vicious, Cordova, Cellophane, Count To 9, Jumbo Jet Headache, Chop Chop, Wake Up To The Sun, Fiercely Co-Dependant, In/Out, Hotel Knife, Screwed It Up, I Wonder If, On The Moon, Perfect Day To Disappear, Ariel v Lotus.
[encore] Alarm Bells, Dominant Monkey, Tinfoil.

Limblifter @ Biltmore Cabaret

Limblifter @ Venue -- 09/27/12