Skye Wallace @ Green Auto -- June 12, 2024

Last night, Toronto’s Skye Wallace returned to her one-time home, kicking off a quick jaunt of shows through the west coast, starting at Green Auto here in Vancouver.
And, just as a side note: I’ve only been to Green Auto a couple times now, but the sound there is great — a lot better than you would expect from looking at it — and they consistently put on shows with fun (and inclusive) lineups. It’s a really cool space, and Vancouver definitely needs more venues like it.

I got to the venue a little late, missing opener Leo D.E Johnson and catching the last few songs of CJ Wiley. They had a fun, breezy rockin’ sound, and was joined by Skye Wallace for a couple songs, their latest single “Cheap Therapy” and the 90s-alt-rock vibe of “No One Like U”. They finished with a haunting song I didn’t catch the name of, but I made a note that I’ll have to check them out again when I can.

After a quick turnaround, Skye Wallace hit the stage backed by usual bassist J Strautman, as well as some familiar Vancouver faces, Jasper Sloan Yip on guitar and Dicky Neptune on drums.

Skye kicked off with the raucous “There Is A Wall” and the dark & moody “Truth Be Told”, before shifting into some new songs. The recently released “Momentum”, my favourite of the new batch of songs, worked on with the legendary Hawksley Workman; “Tough Kid” was dedicated to a friend in the audience; and they even teased a few unreleased songs, possibly releasing later this year.
Between songs, Skye chatted and joked with the crowd, and other highlights included the raw “Tear A Piece (Bite Me)” and the frenetic banger “Coal in Your Window”.

Wallace wrapped up the set with a cover of the Against Me! song “I Was a Teenage Anarchist” — after gushing about recently opening for Laura Jane Grace(!)
And the band was barely offstage before the crowd chanted for more, which possibly elicited the rare legit encore, with a quip that they hadn't planned on anything, before finishing with the existential questions of “The Doubt” and Skye’s incredible voice filling the room once more.

I feel like every time I see Skye Wallace play, I like them more & more, and this night was no exception. Especially having a killer backing band behind them, as well as a really cool venue.

setlist
There Is A Wall
Truth Be Told
Momentum
Tough Kid
[new song]
Mean Song 2
Tear A Piece (Bite Me)
[new song]
Coal In Your Window
I Was a Teenage Anarchist [Against Me! cover]
(encore)
The Doubt

Matt Mays w/ Skye Wallace @ Vogue Theatre -- 10/23/19

Continuing the 2019 trend of ‘put some rad bands together on the same bill’, last night was the Vancouver stop on Matt Mays current Howl At The Night tour, with Skye Wallace as support. The cross-Canada tour kicked off a few days earlier on the island, so they were still on the first leg of it as they hit the Vogue Theatre.

To start off the night, Skye Wallace came out swinging with the soaring "Always Sleep With A Knife" from her latest, self-titled album, her powerful voiced filled the theatre.

Her all-too-short set ranged from the gritty and raucous "Coal In Your Window"; to "Iced In", which saw Skye enlisting in the help of the audience to clap while she sang unaccompanied; to the darker and more personal "Midnight", introduced by mentioning a charity she was working with, CAMH, or The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Throughout the set, Skye was visibly thrilled to not only be back in Vancouver, but gracing the stage of the Vogue, reminiscing about some of the shows she had seen there. And judging by the reaction of the crowd, she not only (deservedly) made at least a few new fans, but I bet there was at least one person in the audience who saw Skye and inherited her hope of one day being in her place.

Not long after, Matt Mays came out alone at first, sitting behind the "space keyboard" (as he put it) for the titular tour song "Howl At The Night". From there, he was joined one by one by members of the band, literally a new person joining each song until the full 8-piece band was onstage.

The set started with some slower or more acoustic songs, ranging from "Downtown" off his first ever release, to "The Past" from the faux soundtrack to the never-made movie …When The Angels Make Contact, and the more recent "Ola Volo", about the local Vancouver artist whose work Mays say and he immediately had to write a song about her -- "Not in a weird way", Mays joked when recounting the story about meeting the artist for the first time, after writing the song.

At about the half-way mark of the set, once everyone was onstage, they launched into "Travellin'", starting off mellow but halfway through the song, shooting out of their chairs & kicking them back, exploding into the full-on rock and roll finish to both the song, and rest of the set.

From there they cranked out bangers like "Building a Boat" and the brand new, bouncy "Let There Be Love". There was a huge sing-along for the nostalgic "City of Lakes", and the set came to a finish with one of my all-time favourite songs, an absolute emotional rollercoaster, "Terminal Romance". Mays stalked the stage, going right up to the edge (literally and figuratively), pouring everything into the heart wrenching song, and even picking up one of the spotlights at the foot of the stage, shining it into the crowd and on himself.

If they had not come back, I would have been more than satisfied with the show ending there. But of course, the encore was yet to come. When the band returned, they first wen into a fun, bluegrass version of "Tall Trees" that Mays said they started playing as a joke before it worked its way into the actual show. And then, capping off the night, Mays invited Skye Wallace and her band back out for a big group jam of "On The Hood", that included almost the entire theatre singing along as well.

I’ve always thought encores should NOT just be 'and now here’s our hit' but rather bands having fun, playing around with their songs, doing covers, jamming with the openers, that kinda thing. And this was a perfect example. In fact, my favourite live sets are always ones that build, seem to have a progression to them rather than just 'a bunch of songs', so combined with the encore, this was quite possibly the most perfectly structured set I could imagine. Starting soft and slower and acoustic, building to the big rock-shift, and finally the explosive emotional climax. That, along with Skye’s killer opening set, means this show is already taking its place among my favourites of the year.

Skye Wallace setlist
Always Sleep With A Knife
Stronghold
Mean Song 2
Scarlet Fever
Iced In
Coal in your Window
Midnight
Death of Me
There Is A Wall

Matt Mays setlist
Howl At The Night
Drive On
Dark Promises
Downtown
Ola Volo
Ain't That The Truth
The Past
Spoonful of Sugar
Travellin'
Building A Boat
Indio
Station Out of Range
City of Lakes
Take It On Faith
Let There Be Love
Terminal Romance
(encore)
Tall Trees
On The Hood

PHOTOS: Elliott Brood @ Commodore - September 28, 2017

Elliott Brood @ The Commodore Ballroom
September 28, 2017
Photos by Christine McAvoy
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Read Kirk's review HERE

Miss Quincy & The Showdown with Cobra Romone and Savvie @ The Cobalt -- 01/07/16

I couldn't think of a better way to start of 2016, concert-wise, than an "East Van badass babe revue". Miss Quincy returned to Vancouver for the first of The Cobalt's Thursday night "Fuck Fridays" in the new year, and bought along some pretty killer rock 'n' roll. 

First up was a bit of self-described "sex rock" from Savvie. Savannah Wellman was joined by a talented bunch of locals as her backing band -- though noted it was the first time that particular combination played together -- to highlight songs from last year's Night Eyes album.
Starting off with "It's Okay", songs ranging from the coy lyrics "Break You In", the grittier "Gravity", and "The Tower" about looking forward, not back. My favourite of the set, "Dreams of Surrender", was an intense heartbreaker with Savannah's voice soaring over the chorus and a wicked guitar solo from Connor John Tkach.
And though the sound seemed a little bit off for the set, it was still enjoyable and a great prelude for what was to come. 

Next up was the bluesy rockin' Cobra Ramone, consisting of Cobra on guitar & vocals, Trevor Snakedust on organs & guitar, and one of my favourite drummers, Pat Steward (who I think needs a serpentine pseudonym when drumming with the band; Python Steward, or something). 
At any rate, they kicked off with some high energy rock and barely slowed down until the end.  A song Cobra introduced as "about breakup sex", the ferocious "Bang Bang" and the slow-burning "I'm A Mess" stood out to me, as the set built towards a frenzied ending. I had only seen Cobra Ramone once before, a couple years ago, but really dug the set and I am looking forward to hearing more in the future. 

And finally, as the lead singer urged everyone to cozy up to someone because it was "just dark enough, and just late enough..." Miss Quincy & The Showdown hit the stage with the appropriately seductive bass groove of "Making Money" to start off the set, which included a bit of the blues standard "Good Morning, School Girl". 
Highlights of the set included the dark and moody "Damn You" which just launched a new video, Miss Quincy telling the "Fuck Friday" crowd to repent in advance with the hymnal "Take It To The Well", and aside from songs from their most recent album Roadside Recovery, the trio slipped in some new ones, including a sexy slow jam which I think was called "You Remind Me Of Myself". 
Near the end of the set they brought a guest on stage, Shawn "The Harpoonist" Hall, to play a little harmonica on the raucous "Wild Fucking West" before the set concluded with a pair of explosive songs. I think they may have blown out a speaker during the badass and sultry "Bad Love", which would have been a great ending, but they somehow managed to top the energy for an all-out rocking cover of "Boys Wanna Be Her" by Peaches.

Peak Performance Project Year Seven Finale @ Commodore -- 11/19/15

It's over.

Thursday night marked the end of a seven year journey that put millions of dollars into supporting locals bands and talent. I am talking, of course, about The Peak Performance Project. As usual, everything wrapped up with this year's top three playing the grand finale at the Commodore, and the reveal of the winner. First place would take home $102,700, $75,000 went to second place, and $50,000 for third. The winner had been long decided, known only to a select few, and the night was just a celebration for the top three, to play at the legendary Commodore Ballroom. 

Starting off the night was Kamloops' Van Damsel who were, from the beginning, my prediction to take it (though I'm more often than not wrong when it comes to predictions). I have seen them a few times recently, and I think they were on top of their game Thursday night. The band was obviously happy to be playing the Commodore, in front of friends and family that had flown in just for the show. And that joy bled through into their bouncy and upbeat upbeat indie-pop. Especially lead singer Sebastien Ste Marie who hardly stood still, getting everyone to clap along several times, and even leaning into the crowd, arm outstretched, with the apropos lyrics "I just wanna reach you" during "Sophia". 
Other highlights included the swirling intro to "Something Gold", and their big single "Best of Everything", which saw them invite out Conan Karpinski  from follow Top 12 band Little India, and had the dancefloor singing along. 
I thought that would have been the perfect ending, but they had one last song, an instrumental intro spotlighting bass player Matt “Renny” Rennehan building to a bit more of a mellow song. 

Second up on the night was Bed of Stars, Evan Konrad and his band taking the stage to moody lighting and smoke, starting with the soaring single "Nothing Left to Lose". From there, they filled the room with alt-pop songs that matched the mood of the lightshow. 
I had missed their showcase set and it was hyped to me as one of the best, which may be part of the reason I was surprised that the set this night seemed flat. Which isn't to say it was bad; from a technical standpoint it was a good, Evan and his band were on point, and his vocals strong. But there was just something about it felt like it just didn't connect.
There were a couple songs I really liked, though, one that came midway through that I didn't catch the name of, but was a lot heavier and more rocking than the rest of the set, and near the end when he brought some of Smash Boom Pow on stage to help with a very unexpected cover, "Larger Than Life" by Backstreet Boys. It seemed like at that point in the set just getting into it, but it came just a bit too late, as there were only two songs left, ending with a with some bone-rattling bass. 

And finally, I couldn't think of anyone better to end off the night than the man that feels like the unofficial poster boy of the Peak Performance Project, JP Maurice. It was his third time through the program (not counting the couple times he was a hired gun for other bands) but clearly his most successful. 
With a band comprised of some familiar faces (members of Fields of Green, Willhorse, and Bend Sinister) he started with a bit of a slow and moody overture of "The Other One" before ramping up the energy. The set was full of JP's emotion-filled, heart-on-his-sleeve songs like "Get Some" and the unabashed "The Other One". One of my favourites, "Mistake" even saw large balloons bounce around the crowd until they popped, showering everyone below with confetti. 
Midway through his set he started an almost nonstop parade of special guests, first packing the stage with even more members of Willhorse and Bend Sinister, as well as some of The Boom Booms, Benjamin James Caldwell, and Savvie, for a song about touring the vast country of Canada. Some of which stayed onstage for the rest of the night, as he then brought out a horn section for a straight up throwback pop song, Evan Konrad for his bootcamp collaboration, and Roderick Campbell of Mindil Beach for the huge finale to the set, "Big Change" ... at a certain point it was almost easier to list who wasn't on stage. 

And then, of course, came the big announcement. Third place going to Van Damsel, and second to JP Maurice, which meant Bed of Stars took the grand prize of $102,700 in money for artist development. 

And of course, none of this would not have happened without all the hard working people at The Peak and MusicBC. They did an amazing job in their seven year run, and while -- if I'm being honest -- I disagreed with the some of their choices more often than not (for bands in the Top 20/12/3), I can't deny that the last seven late summer/early autumns have been a great time. A great time for musicians. A great time for music fans. A great time for the local music scene in general. I have discovered so many amazing bands and musicians through the project, even made some friends along the way, and I will be more than a little sad when this time next year rolls around, and it feels a little empty.