Paper Lions @ Biltmore -- 11/26/16

With a brand new album just out, PEI's Paper Lions are crisscrossing the country to celebrate. And as they hit the opposite side of the country, they returned to Vancouver for a show at the Biltmore. 

With them was Toronto band HIGHS, taking the stage in front of a floral curtain draped across the back of the stage. The five-piece focused on their latest album, Dazzle Camouflage, playing their upbeat art-rock songs. Guitarists Doug Haynes & Joel Harrower, and keyboardist Karrie Douglas all took care of vocals, sometimes taking over lead vocals, but frequently harmonizing, their voiced swirling together nicely.
Highlights of the set included the soaring "I Do, Do You?", "Gabriel (Blind Boy)" with a darker intensity, and "Gold Teeth", which brought the set to an explosive ending.  
I've seen them a few times already this year, and they keep putting on fun and energetic sets. Not only that, but they were a great pairing to go with Paper Lions. 

And speaking of, it wasn't long after that Paper Lions showed off a few new elements to their live show, first taking the stage while the projection screen in the back played a test pattern, with their faces intermittently popping in among the colour bars. They also had a few blasts on confetti shot from the sound booth in the back throughout the set. However, thanks to the Biltmore's low ceiling, I don't think they quite had the intended effect, as half the crowd didn't seem to notice. 
But theatrics aside, the now-five-piece band is as tight as ever. Starting off with the ridiculously catchy "Don't Wanna Dance" -- which had the exact opposite effect on the crowd -- showcasing the new album Full Colour with the familiar Paper Lions Folk Pop melded with a touch of 80s influence. 
Aside from other insanely danceable tunes like "Take A Look At My Girl" or slower, more thoughtful songs like "End of July" off the new album, they also dipped back throughout their catalogue with songs like the raucous "Don't Touch That Dial" and "Sandcastles", one of my favourites off the previous album My Friends. 
Part way through the set the band went for a fully acoustic song, not only unplugging, but getting right into the middle of the crowd for "Polly Hill". I thought it would end in disaster, as the noisy crowd at first didn't seem like they were going to shut up. But by the end of the first verse it was silent (or as quiet as the Biltmore gets on a Saturday night) and at the end a good portion of the crowd was singing along for a magical moment. 
As they rocketed towards the curfew they ended off with a nice singalong to "Travelling" and the first single off the new album, "Believer", only to be back out for one more old favourite, whipping the crowd back up for "Lost The War". 

I always love watching great bands grow into the recognition they deserve, and with the memory of watching Paper Lions in a half-full Media Club, it made me very happy to see them playing to a packed Biltmore on a Saturday night. And I have no doubt that they'll be filling larger and larger venues soon enough. 

HIGHS setlist
Closetalkers
Acting Strange
So Sad, Never Mad
Gabriel (Blind Boy)
Handsome Man
Interlude
Careful
I Do, Do You?
Easy
Gold Teeth

Paper Lions setlsit
Don't Wanna Dance
Pull Me In
Honestly
Call Back
Take a Look at My Girl
Best Out Of You
Philadelphia
Don't Touch That Dial
Polly Hill
Sandcastles
My Friend
End of July
Travelling
Believer
(encore)
Lost The War

Paper Lions @ Media Club -- 11/14/14

Flashback to two years ago -- almost to the day. I was at the Media Club to see PEI's Paper Lions as they came through town, and I remember looking around at the modest crowd and being so angry. This is a band that way more people need to see live! I thought. Cut to this past weekend, as they rolled through town again, still touring strong on their 2013 album My Friends, this time to a packed and sold out club.


Opening the night was Djavin Bowen and the Uproar. Maybe. Despite the promo material saying Lonesome North, lead singer Djavin Bowen introduced themselves as such, and even hinted it was a temporary name. Whatever they are called, the seven-piece included members of Young Pacific and other local bands, and even a trumpeteer -- whose tuxedo was in contrast to the rest of the bands' t-shirts and denim -- to fill out their sound.
With a high energy, their songs were filled with an indie pop vibe, occasionally sauntered into folk territory, and had some catchy songs; a few that were definitely made to sing along to, and an ambitious cover of Arcade Fire's "Sprawl II" that broke down into some folksy harmonies at the end.
The set was a little rough, perhaps because they are a fairly new band, but is was not bad. Not great either, but someone to keep an ear out for in the future (if you can figure out what they're called).


Not long after it was time for Paper Lions, starting with lead singer John MacPhee taking the stage alone, with a drum machine pumping out the beats to "Bodies In Winter" as the rest of the band burst in mid-song. From there they hit the gas on their incredibly infectious indie rock, spanning from old favourites like "Sweat It Out", that had the crowd appropriately yelling along with the chorus, "I'll sweat it out from nine to five, to sweat it out on Friday night", to a rockin' song from their newest EP, Acquaintances, called "Do You Wanna".
Songs ranged from the softer, harmony-laden "Ghostwriters" to the all-out-rocket "Strawberry Man", which goes all the way back to their time as the Chucky Danger Band. The latter they may have even broke some strings -- or worse -- as the band had to quickly duck off stage to fix it while John told the story about the video for their next song, "Travellin'".
After one of my favourites, the ferociously catchy "Lost The War", they wrapped up the main set with "My Friend", John jumping into the crowd at the end to proclaim each person in the crowd his friend, doling out hugs and high fives while singing.
But of course, they were not quite done as the encore began with drummer David Cyrus MacDonald exploding into a drum roll that would make "Wipeout" blush, as the band joined him for the fierce "So Lonely", and wrapped up the night with one of my favourites from the new album, "Sandcastles", leaving the crowd with the sentiment "We build sandcastles, knowing that they'd wash away"

Paper Lions are such a strong live band, the four members having incredible chemistry together on stage, with near-perfect harmonies, and put on one hell of a fun show. I'm already looking forward to the next time they're through town.

setlist
Bodies In Winter, Stay Here For Awhile, Sweat It Out, Philadelphia, Don't Touch That Dial, Ghostwriters, Do You Wanna, Little Liar, Strawberry Man, Travellin', Lost the War, My Friend.
(encore) So Lonely, Sandcastles. 

Paper Lions & Jordan Klassen @ Media Club -- 11/16/13

It seemed like the universe was against Paper Lions playing Saturday night at the Media Club. Three quarters of the PEI band had to make the drive from Edmonton to Vancouver the day of the show -- lead singer John McPhee had arrived early by plane -- and while they left Alberta with plenty of time, blizzard conditions, traffic accidents, highway reroutes, and Vancouver's infamous year-round 24/7 road construction caused them more than a little grief getting to their headlining set at the sold out Media Club.

In fact, their co-headliner, Jordan Klassen almost ran into the same problems, only arriving at the venue when the opening act was supposed to go on. A quick line check delayed the show by a little while, before Emilie Mover took the stage alone for her opening set. She had kind of a jazzy vibe, and her set included a couple covers, including a Townes Van Zandt song, and one in French which was probably the best song of the set. I feel she would have been a lot better with a full band behind her, but with just her, it wasn't necessarily bad, just not very memorable.

After a little bit of stalling, and some more quick sound checking, Jordan Klassen was up next with his newly slimmed down band. Now a four piece, the band consists of old members Jocelyn Price on keys & backup vocals and Simon Bridgefoot on drums, as well as newcomer Mike Noble. They managed to capture most of the same scope of the larger band, and had just as much energy. Especially Jordan, who is always bounding around the stage while switching from guitar to banjo to ukulele.
With a set featuring songs off his recently released Repentance album, Klassen started with "Call and Answer", starting quiet and growing to a rambunctious ending. His rich folk-pop ran from the big and intense "The Scribe of Doorposts" to the much quieter  "Goodhart's Law" which almost got the Media Club silent (no easy task).
He wrapped up the set with the whistley "Go To Me", another song that builds to a big ending, and the more mellow "You Are The Branches"

setlist
Call and Answer, Anatomical Literacy, Ranchero, Balcony, Strengthen Me With Raisins, The Horses Are Stuck, The Scribe of Doorposts, Piano Brother, Goodhart's Law, Sweet Chariot, Go To Me, You Are The Branches.


At this point in the night, the remaining Paper Lions were still a little over a hundred kilometres away, but since John was there and ready to go, he took the stage for a short solo acoustic set. Explaining the situation, he started with a song about their previous tour van's unfortunate run-in with a moose, and played a really strong set. Keeping it loose, John told stories between songs, and getting everyone to sing along to his acoustic jams, including a nice cover of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill".

Had worse come to worst, that would have been a pretty good show, but not long after John finished, the rest of the band showed up from their 16 hour drive, and immediately set up & started their set -- hitting the stage at 12:30, two hours after their scheduled time.

The stunning harmonies of "Philadelphia" kicked off the set as they channelled all their pent up energy and frustration into high energy rockers like "Don't Touch That Dial" and "Sweat it Out", the chorus proclaiming "I'll sweat it out from 9 to 5, to sweat it out on Friday night". The set spanned from new and old, from the ridiculously catchy "Pull me In" off of the new album My Friends, to the explosive "Strawberry Man" that goes all the way back to when they were known as the Chucky Danger Band.
They got everyone singing once more for "Little Liar" and "Lost The War", and wrapped up the set with "My Friend", John jumping into the crowd to tell individual members of the remaining audience "I know you are my friend".
Despite that it was almost 1:30 when they wrapped up, the crowd still clamoured for more, and they obliged with one last song, "Sandcastles" for an energetic and emotional ending to a long day.

The potential for disaster was all there, and I would not have blamed the band at all if they had just decided on a shorter set. But the fact that immediately after driving for 16 hours, they put on a top notch set was incredibly impressive.

setlist
John solo: The Night That We Survived, Polly Hill, Solsbury Hill [Peter Gabriel cover], Ghostwriters, Trouble, I'm On Fire, Travelling. 

Band: Philadelphia, Don't Touch That Dial, Sweat It Out, Pull Me In, The Sheriff, Bodies in the Winter, Little Liar, Strawberry Man, Stay Here For A While, Travelling, Lost The War, My Friend.
(encore) Sandcastles. 

Paper Lions @ Media Club -- 11/15/12

You know when you see a band, and it boggles your mind why they aren't as big as they deserve to be? That was the feeling after seeing PEI's Paper Lions. They're on the tail end of a cross-Canada tour and they hit Vancouver on a Wednesday night to a modest crowd at the Media Club (they were also competing against the double bill of Elliott BROOD & Wintersleep at the Commodore).

Evidently I completely (and obliviously) missed Pigeon Park -- which was unfortunate -- and got there just before Winnipeg's Les Jupes went on. Part of the Head in the Sand label, the four-piece had a dark and moody, yet catchy, rock strengthened by the driving guitars and deep vocals of Mike Petkau, occasionally contrasting with the backup vocals of keyboardist Kelly Beaton.
They had a good stage presence, and mid-way through the set, during some technical troubles with their keyboard, Petkau covered smoothly, replacing the potential awkward silence with a couple purposefully corny jokes.
It was a solid and enjoyable set, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of them in the future.

It wasn't long before the PEI quarter Paper Lions took the stage, launching into "Don't Touch That Dial", the high-energy and fun song setting the stage for a night of incredibly infectious pop-rock with tight harmonies from the band. All four members are excellent musicians who blend together perfectly, all with a great stage presence; especially lead singer John McPhee, who was switching between guitar and keys with an effortless charm, chatting with the crowd between songs and encouraging everyone to dance along with songs like "Sweat It Out", which proclaims "I'll sweat it out from 9-5 to sweat it out on Friday night". 
Other highlights included "Ghostwriters" from their most recent release, the stripped down acoustic EP At Long Creek, "Strawberry Man" going back to their days as the Chucky Danger Band, and "Travelling", which got the crowd singing along. They also sprinkled in a few new songs from their upcoming album -- recorded here in Vancouver -- teasing a release date of early next year.
They "ended" with my favourite of theirs, the raucous "Lost the War", before coming back out for a couple more, a song written after an unfortunate meeting between their tour van and a moose, and yet another new song called "Philadelphia".

The show was just over an hour full of energetic and fun indie-pop-rock, and if it was any indication of their new album, it is going to be fantastic.

Paper Lions @ Cobalt -- 10/26/11

When you think of a rock show, oyster shucking isn't really something that comes to mind. But that didn't stop PEI's Paper Lions from embarking on the Rolling Oyster Revue, not only bringing some PEI oysters with them on the road with some at each venue, but also having smaller, pre-show shucking parties. The one here just happened to be at George Knuff from 41st & Home's abode (of all places) and I dropped in to meet the band and try some genuine PEI oysters. Which were pretty delicious.

Unfortunately, due to that, we missed most of the opening bands, only catching the last song of Good for Grapes, which seemed pretty cool -- the band included a trombone and accordion and, had a pretty fun sound.

But we did get there in time for Paper Lions, who hit the stage with a mix of old and new songs, teasing an album in the works bursting forth with their incredibly infectious pop-rock and tight harmonies; the four members had fantastic chemistry and sounded great together. A couple highlights of the set were the undeniably catchy "Lost the War" and "Travelling", which started with just lead singer John MacPhee solo with an acoustic guitar, but the built up into a massive finish with the whole band rocking out.
They ended with a newer song, "Ghost Writer" and didn't seem to have an encore planned, but the cheers drew them back and instead of taking the stage, they went up on the bar in the middle of the crowd to for a completely unamplified song, which was pretty amazing.

It wasn't just a fun set -- which had me looking forward to the next time and the new album -- but also a cool idea for a tour, and it's always neat to see bands do more than just 'go to city, play a show'. It would be interesting to see more bands do this kind of thing.