One Night Stand IV @ Media Club -- 12/31/11

For the fourth year in a row (and my third in attendance), some of Vancouver's finest musicians came together to ring in the new year with nearly three hours of great covers. The night saw many familiar faces from the last couple years, as well as some new additions to the one-off band, which rotated members throughout the night, seeing people on and off stage and everyone getting at least one song of their own -- even those who are not usually front and centre.

This year, the One Night Stand band consisted of Johnny Andrews (Rococode) Andrew Braun (Rococode, Hannah Georgas) Peter Carruthers (Siskiyou) Robbie Driscoll (Hannah Georgas) Hannah Georgas herself, Brian Healy (Elias) Tariq Hussain (Brasstronaut) Ali Milner, Jasmin Parkin (Mother Mother) Laura Smith (Rococode) Rob Tornroos (Elias), "plus surprise guests"

Starting at 10, they played three sets of covers, at the top of each hour, with the obligatory midnight countdown and free champagne.



Set One
Ready To Start (Arcade Fire) - Andrew Braun
Take On Me (A Ha) - Ali Milner
Rolling in the Deep (Adele) - Laura Smith
Suffragette City (David Bowie) - Brian Healy
Dreams (Fleetwood Mac) - Ali Milner
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band) - Brasstronaut
Be My Baby (The Ronettes) - Jasmin Parkin
Born To Run (Bruce Springsteen) - Peter Carruthers
Common People (Pulp) - Tariq Hussain

They kicked off the night, appropriately enough, with Arcade Fire's "Ready To Start" and Braun on vocals (perhaps Rococode covering "Rococo" would have been too obvious) and from there Ali Milner did a great "Take On Me" and Laura Smith crushed the vocals for "Rolling in the Deep". Tariq brought out Brasstronaut band-mates Edo and Sam for a sing along toThe Band and in a rare vocal appearance, Carruthers took centre stage for "Born To Run". The first set wrapped up with a pretty cool cover of "Common People" (almost as good as Shatner's) from Tariq.

Set Two
Under Pressure (Queen) - 
You Make My Dreams (Hall & Oates) - Ali Milner
She Drives Me Crazy (Fine Young Cannibals) - Hannah Georgas
Gold Guns Girls (Metric) - Jasmin Parkin
I Might Be Wrong (Radiohead) - Laura Smith
Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel) - Brian Healy
Single Ladies (Beyoncé) - Smith/Milner/Parkin/Georgas

The second set [apparently] started with "Under Pressure", which I was a little crushed to learn I had missed, due to the photobooth being in the back room this year as opposed to next to the stage. The rest of the set was focused on the lovely ladies of One Night Stand, which was by no means a bad thing. Hannah took over for a great cover of one of my favourite songs from when I was a youngin', Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy" and Jasmin Parkin's "Gold Guns Girls" was one of the more interesting covers to hear, by virtue of the fact that Mother Mother and Metric are fairly similar bands.
They capped off the set -- and the year -- with all four ladies; Smith, Milner, Parkin and Georgas, informing everyone that if you liked it, you should have put a ring on it.

Set Three
With Or Without You (U2) - Rob Tornroos
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) - Andrew Braun
Lust For Life (Iggy Pop) - Brian Healy
Dancing On My Own (Robyn) - Smith/Georgas
Use Me (Bill Withers) - Tariq Hussain
Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads) - Robbie Driscoll
In My Place (Coldplay) - Rob Tornroos
Gz and Hustlas (Snoop Dogg) - Hannah Georgas
Say It Ain't So (Weezer) - Andrew Braun
Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan) - Everyone

The first song of the year, the traditional slow dance song, saw Elias' Robbie T belting out "With or Without You", before a great sing along to "Live and Let Die" lead by Braun. Two big highlight of the night came close together, the first being Robbie Dee -- normally in the background of various bands -- channelling Taking Heads and proving he is a pretty damn energetic frontman in his own right, and the second was Gorgeous Gangsta' Hannah Georgas throwning down some Snoop Dog, which had to be seen to be believed.
And as with previous years, they ended the night with everyone coming back on stage for a giant sing along, with most of the room joining in for "Like a Rolling Stone".

I think one of the best things about this event is always how much fun is had in the room. Starting on stage, it's blatantly obvious how much the people love doing this; love playing some of their favourite songs with some of their favourite people, and that enthusiasm definitely bleeds into the crowd. Hopefully they'll keep it going for years to come -- and seeing as they always sell out well in advance, hopefully next year they can get an even bigger venue!

One Night Stand III @ Media Club -- 12/31/10

Last year, I said: "the best way to describe what happened last night would be that it was like watching a huge group party of Rock Band. Except instead of your tone deaf, rhythm-less friends, it was actual, talented musicians. And instead of plastic instruments, it was the real thing". And while it's pretty lazy to just copy and paste that, I can't think of a better description of One Night Stand III. All year I've been talking about the magic of Vancouver's local scene, and the third instalment of this New Years Eve party was the culmination of that, with a dozen musicians from various bands coming together for a night of cover songs. 
The band consisted of Adaline, Andrew Braun, Johnny Andrews & Laura Smith (Rococode), Brian Healy & Rob Tornroos (Elias), Dominique Fricot, Hannah Georgas, Jasmin Parkin (Mother Mother), Josh McNorton, Peter Carrutthers (Said The Whale), Robbie Driscoll (Hannah Georgas) as well as a surprise guest for a couple songs. They rotated on and off stage all night, except for Johnny Andrews, who was on the drums for every single song (but one), and played nearly three hours of music, across three sets.

The first started at 10 and consisted of:
Call Me (Blondie)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Stevie Wonder)
Just Like Heaven (The Cure)
Someday (The Strokes)
My Moon My Man (Feist)
Love Fool (The Cardigans)
Where The Streets Have No Name (U2)
Glory Days (Bruce Springsteen)
All These Things That I've Done (The Killers)

One of my favourite covers of the night came early with "Just Like Heaven", a song I adore. At first I though Hannah was an odd choice to take vocals, but as soon as she opened her mouth, I was proven wrong (really, I should have known better). The set saw Hannah, Smith and Adaline taking a lot of the vocals, with both "My Moon, My Man" (Smith) and "Love Fool" (Adaline) also being great covers. After that Dominique Fricot -- who was actually too tall for the decorations -- came out for a pretty spot on Bono, and the set ended with the crowd chanting along to the chorus of "All These Things That I've Done". Though I have to admit, I was a little sad that The Killers got a much bigger reaction than The Cure.

Second Set:
Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel)
Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode)
Pump It Up (Elvis Costello)
Breakdown (Tom Petty)
This Charming Man (The Smiths)
Rehab (Amy Winehouse)
Creep (Radiohead)
Where Is My Mind (The Pixies)

This set was a little slower in tone, but "Sledgehammer" was another great cover, and Robbie Driscoll stepped out from behind the bass to channel some Costello for his only song on vocals.
The set ended with a bit of Mother Mother, as not only Jasmine came out to sing, but there was a surprise appearance by Ryan Guldemond joining the group on stage. He brought the final set of 2010 to a close with one of his favourite songs, "Where Is My Mind". It was definitely another highlight of the night, and judging by the amount of singing (and ooo-ooooh-ing) along, I wasn't the only one of that opinion.

Third Set:
Never Tear Us Apart (INXS)
(I've Had) The Time of My Life (Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes)
If It Makes You Happy (Sheryl Crow)
1901 (Phoenix)
Dog Days are Over (Florence & The Machine)
The Good Life (Weezer)
Bullet Proof (La Roux)
Loser (Beck)
Instant Karma (John Lennon)

And the first set of 2011 started with the customary slow dance, before continuing the dancing theme with a duet from Fricot and Adaline. Who, as far as I'm concerned, both stole the show throughout the night; especially after Adaline crushed "Dog Days Are Over" in another of the best renditions of the night.
Finally, after Hannah nailed "Loser", with the crowd joining in on the chorus, all the performers came back out on stage to cap off the night with "Instant Karma" -- I was expecting a Beatles song, I was close -- for another sing-a-long, and a fantastic way to both end the night and start the new year.

In all, it was an amazing night. While I think I liked last years setlists a bit better overall, the experience of the night, the friends and the atmosphere and everything, far outmatched it.
And since I started by shameless copy & pasting, I may as well paraphrase the end of last years post, too: "There is a saying or superstition, I guess, that says that whatever you're doing at midnight is what you'll be doing for the rest of the year. If that's the case, I can't wait for whatever this next year has in store."

One Night Stand II @ The Media Club -- 12/31/09


I think the best way to describe what happened last night would be that it was like watching a huge group party of Rock Band. Except instead of your tone deaf, rhythm-less friends, it was actual, talented musicians. And instead of plastic instruments, it was the real thing. One Night Stand saw members of a whole bunch of local bands join forces and celebrate the new year by collaborating for nearly three hours of cover songs. Bands represented included: Bend Sinister, Said The Whale, The Painted Birds, Elias, Poor Places and The Gentle Infidels with Laura Smith and Hannah Georgas. Numbering around a dozen members in total, there was a lot of rotating on and off stage for any given song.


They hit the stage at ten to play the first of three sets, which consisted of:
Gimme Some Lovin' (The Spencer Davis Group)
Want You To Want Me (Cheap Trick)
Bohemian Like You (Dandy Warhols)
I Melt With You (Modern English)
Last Night (The Strokes)
Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
Lola (The Kinks)
Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springstein)

Gimme Some Lovin' (perhaps best known form The Blues Brothers) had all of them on stage to kick things off, starting things off with a great energy. Maybe it was just cos it was the first set, but they still seemed to be getting into the swing of things, not to say anything was bad, but as the night went on they got looser and more comfortable (and possibly more drunk!) on stage, with the sets getting progressively more energetic. And interestingly enough, this was the second time I'd heard a cover of Dancing in the Dark this year!

They took a short break and were back at Eleven for some more fun:
Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith)
Whip It (Devo)
Crazy (Gnarls Barkley)
Don't You (Forget About Me) (Simple Minds)
Heroes (David Bowie)
Paper Planes (MIA)
El Scorcho (Weezer)
Beat It (Michael Jackson)

Sweet Emotion included not one, but TWO cowbells (one of which was played with such intensity that she broke the drum stick) and Whip It included the Devo hat, which stuck around the rest of the night.
I like that they went into more ambitious covers, with both Crazy and Paper Planes working great. The latter surprisingly awesome and hilarious, with everyone on stage channelling their inner gangsta'. I'm also curious to know how many people in there heard Heroes and thought it was a Wallflowers cover...

Another break just before midnight, for the countdown and celebrations before they were back to the music.
Against All Odds (Phil Collins)
Rebellion (Lies) (Arcade Fire)
The Weight (The Band)
Just What I Needed (The Cars)
Drinking in LA (Bran Van 3000)
Hey Jude (Beatles)

Against All Odds was the first song played after midnight, for people to slow dance... or sway by themselves...
Rebellion was a pretty damn good cover that tore things up, with the whole crowd screaming along to the LIIIEEES LIIIEEESS parts and from then on it was crazy energy til the end. The rest of the songs had most everyone singing along as well, even to Drinkin' In LA -- which was complete with Henry from Bend Sinister "storming" off stage due to his hatred of the song.
The night ended with Hey Jude, which again saw everyone on stage... all the band members AND random people who felt they were entitled to jump on stage too. There was kind of a funny/awkward moment where some drunk girl kept trying to wrestle the mic away from Hannah Georgas. But ultimately, everyone, both on stage and off, was singing/yelling along, especially at the end of the song. It was a pretty damn good way to end the night and welcome the new year.

There is a saying or superstition, I guess, that says that whatever you're doing at midnight is what you'll be doing for the rest of the year. If that's the case, I can't wait for whatever shows & music this next year has in store.