Plants & Animals and The Deep Dark Woods @ Commodore -- 11/01/12

There have been some solid all-around-shows this year, but this one might take the cake. Not only was the co-headlining bill of Plants & Animals and The Deep Dark Woods enticing enough, but adding Rah Rah as the opener was just perfection.

The last time I saw Rah Rah, their seven members were cramped on stage, so they had a bit more room at the Commodore, even if they only utilized half of the stage. They opened with "Art & A Wife", the first single and opening track from their latest album The Poet's Dead, and the older "Tentacles"; the undeniable catchyness and and near-perfect boy/girl vocals of both songs set the stage for their too-short-set. "Prairie Girl" saw Erin Passmore come out from behind the drums taking over on keys, and showing off her incredibly strong vocals and "Beaches" featured a bit of a percussion breakdown, with half the band grabbed drumsticks to knock on random objects, then gather 'round the drum kit for the explosive ending. After about half an hour, they tossed their set decorations -- their inflatable R, A and H -- into the crowd to pass around as they ended with my favourite song of theirs, "Duet for Emmylou and the Grievous Angel", a gorgeous song full of raw emotion and heartache. 
They put on an incredibly fun set, and even though it's the third time I've seen them since the spring, each time has felt too short and has left me wanting more.

Next up was co-headliner, The Deep Dark Woods. I had heard a lot of good things about the band, but I had just never got a chance to get into them, so I was very interested to see them live. And they definitely lived up to the hype. With some excellent, moody back-lighting the folky, rootsy four piece -- with an almost country twang -- was driven by some amazing guitar work from Burke Barlow and the low and rich vocals of Ryan Boldt.
Part way through the set, Kendel Carson come out to accompany them on violin for a few songs, adding a nice layer to the already deep and lush songs, and they sprinkled the set with the occasional guitar solo, or extended jamming; at times it felt like they were just completely improvising -- likely the case when they had a technical malfunction with the keys and the rest of the band covered and kept going. But it never crossed the line into boring or self-indulgent, the skilled musicians always keeping the interest of the crowd.
The set lasted for a little over an hour, and the Saskatoon band definitely gained a fan in me that night, and no doubt more than a few others in the crowd as well.

And rounding out the night was Montreal's Plants & Animals. The last time I saw them, earlier this year, it was in a venue that I am... not very fond of... so I was especially excited to see them at the Commodore once more. Kicking off the set with one of the few songs to rock with an autoharp, "Bye Bye Bye", the trio -- who are joined by a bass player while on tour -- brought an incredible energy right out of the gate, and had people singing along to the chorus.
The band creates a sound so rich that you would swear there's twice as many of them on stage, and the tunes manage to stride that line between complex and catchy, usually managing to be both. One of the highlights was one such example, the quirky "Crisis", one of my favourites off their new album The End Of That. They also took a page out of Van Morrison's songbook and covered "Into The Mystic", during which one concert-goer decided it would be the perfect time to pop the question, proposing to his girlfriend in the front row. She said yes, and they caught the attention of the band, who cheered them on.
After the high speed "The Mama Papa", they ended it off with "Lightshow", only to come back for a couple more; one of my favourite songs, "Mercy" which starts out energetic enough then explodes into a frenzy of guitars, a chanted chorus, and general revelry. That would have been a perfect ending, but they had one more for the crowd, another cover, "Foggy Notion" from The Velvet Underground.

Any of these three bands I would be more than willing to see on their own, and even though their styles differ, and it seems like it might have been an odd fit on paper, they ended up coming together quite well, making it one of the best "all around" shows I've seen this year.

setlist
Bye Bye Bye, Song for Love, Kon Tiki, 2010, Good Friend, Crisis, Into the Mystic [Van Morrison cover], Lola Who?, The Mama Papa, Lightshow.
(encore) Mercy, Foggy Nation [Velver Underground cover]

North by North East: Friday

North by North East continues in Toronto, and the plan for Friday night was to head to Yonge & Dundas Square, the crux of NXNE, for some free outdoor shows.

First up was Eight and a Half; two parts The Stills, one part Broken Social Scene, with Dave Hamlin, Liam O'Niel and Justin Peroff. I missed the first part of the set, but still managed to catch the last few songs. The trio had a good dynamic on stage, and you could definitely tell they were all completely at home playing live. I wasn't sure how their moody, electronic synth driven pop sound would translate live, but they did an excellent job with songs like "Go Ego" and "Scissors", making it seem like there were much more than just the three of them on stage, and they finished the set with "Oh, My Head", starting soft and build in intensity. What I caught was good, but since I missed some of it, it ended up being just a tease. I hope they're able to make it to Vancouver sometime soon so I can see them again. 

Next up was Montreal's Plants and Animals. Their dense and layered rock always seems like it should come from twice as many members as are on stage, but the four of them built hug sonic soundscapes from the free outdoor stage. Starting off with "Undone Melody", they played a set that seemed too short, with songs off all three of their albums. The erratic "Crisis!", one of my favourites from the new album, was great live, and they broke out the autoharp for the rousing "Bye Bye Bye". They capped it off with "Faerie Dance" that started calm and mellow and then exploded into a swirling mass of guitars, and the band going right up to the barrier with microphones for the crowd to join in on the chorus. The set was maybe a little too "bass-y", with both the bass guitar and drum drowning other things out at times, but not enough to spoil an otherwise great set. 

Going in to NXNE I had a self-imposed rule not to see any Vancouver bands -- especially if they conflicted with something -- since it would be more likely to see them at home. The obvious exception to that rule was Matthew Good. Taking the stage with the familiar chanting of  "K-I-C-K-A-S-S, that's the way we spell success" Good and his backing band launched into "Giant" and played a nearly hour and a half set that hit a lot of the major songs and singles from his career.
There's always a strange dichotomy to Matthew Good shows, since his songs can be so serious and full of raw emotion -- when he spits out lines like "it feels like time to fuck or leave" through grit teeth in "Last Parade" -- but then he's always so jovial between songs, joking about things like the giant billboards across the square from the stage; one with a swimsuit ad that came up every two minutes.
Other highlights from the set included "Shallow's Low", the boisterous "Zero Orchestra", and a string from Beautiful Midnight with nearly the entire square singing along to "Hello Time Bomb" and "Load Me Up".
The eight minute roller coaster "Non Populus" weaved expertly from soft and beautiful to chaotic and cacophonous and he ended with another pair of huge sing alongs with "Apparitions" and, for the encore, "Everything is Automatic".
I have seen Matthew Good many times now, in many different settings, and while this show was a bit more focused on the hits, to cater to the "free, outdoor" aspect the show, that didn't compromise the quality; it was still an amazing set.

That was all for the free shows at Yonge & Dundas Square, but the night was not over. There was one more stop to go: Rah Rah at the Dakota Tavern. I had never seen Rah Rah before, so I was very excited to finally see them, and they did not disappoint. They packed the small stage, and even had their cat mascot with them, for a set bubbling over with a great energy and ridiculous amounts of fun.
"Tentacles" had any people singing along, and they played a good number of new songs, from their new 7", and there was even some personnel changed on the fly, as drummer Erin Passmore swapped out to come to the front to sing and play guitar and keys.
My only complaint that the set seemed far too short. They ended almost abruptly with the lead singer procaiming "This is the part of the set where I put away my guitar" and that was it. Luckily, I found out via a tweet after the show they'll be in Vancouver soon (with Imaginary Cities, no less!) so I won't have to wait long to see them again.

Saturday will be another jam packed day for NXNE, with a CBC Radio 3 listener picnic, and then three of the acts I am most excited to see in the evening, of Montreal, The Flaming Lips and Matt Mays.

Plants & Animals @ Rickshaw -- 03/21/12

Don't ever let it be said that I don't give second chances. A couple years ago, I went to one of the first shows at the then-new Rickshaw Theatre, and came away utterly disappointed. The reason was because of the terrible sound -- the venue is more or less a giant cement box -- and I have all but avoided it since, even passing on some good bands there. But when Montreal's Plants & Animals announced that would be their Vancouver date, I had to put aside my trepidations, because there was no way I was missing them.

The opening band was another from Montreal, Little Scream, which is not the name of the band, but the stage name for Laurel Sprengelmeyer. She was, however, joined by a band (which including one member on bass flute) for some dark and moody music, occasionally a little haunting and ethereal. My favourite song of their set was "Cannons", as well as some great covering for a broken string; while her guitarist went off stage to restring it, she showed off her powerful voice with an a capella song.
I quite enjoyed the set, and I look forward to hearing more from her in the future.

Not too long after, the Plants & Animals kicked off their set, the trio of Warren Spicer, Matthew Woodley, and Nicolas Basque were joined by a fourth member on bass, starting a bit soft with "Song for Love", but immediately exploded into "Feedback in the Field". The sound for the set was... okay. Not as bad as I had feared, and certainly not so bad as to ruin the show, but the reverberations of the sound off the concrete walls was still very much noticeable. Despite this, the band put on a fantastic set; they had a good rapport with the crowd, bantering between songs, and each member had a great energy. And most importantly, they are all fantastic musicians, making everything they did on stage seem utterly effortless.
Highlights of the set included the bluesy swagger of "Crisis", one of my favourites off the new album, and "Undone Melody", a show burner that build to a huge ending. After about an hour, they "ended" with a bit of a sing along to "Bye Bye Bye", before coming back out to a chanting crowd for a couple more; the raucous "Why & Why" and what they more or less admitted was their own favourite song to play, "Faerie Dance", starting off slow and light and then exploding into a phenomenal climax with the band just jamming.

In the end, I was a little disappointed they didn't play the title track from the new album, The End of That, which has quickly become one of my favourite of theirs, and especially disappointed that they didn't play "Mercy", one of my favourite songs period, but despite that -- and despite the sound -- it was still a great set, and I am definitely glad I gave the venue another shot, because I would not liked to have missed this show.

setlist
Song For Love, Feedback in the Field, Crisis, Before,  Runaways, Lola Who?, The Mama Papa, Control Me, Game Shows, No Ideas, Undone Melody, Light Show, Bye Bye Bye.
(encore) Why & Why, Faerie Dance.