Steam Whistle Unsigned w/ JP Maurice, Rolla Olak, & Redbird @ Biltmore -- 04/03/14

The Steam Whistle Unsigned concert series was started by the Toronto microbrewery to promote local unsigned talent, and they have returned to Vancouver for the first show of the year. The ongoing concert series, which takes place in multiple cities across Canada, spotlights three local bands and partners with a charity that receives the proceeds of the show; this time it was Music Heals, an organization that promotes the healing power of music.

Starting off the night was a favourite around these parts, Redbird. It's been a while since any new music from the band, fronted by the lovely voiced Savannah Leigh Wellman, and recently she has been teasing a shift from her previous folksy-rock sound to what she described as "rock you can shake your hips to" -- or simply, Sex Rock. Which was a perfect description to the groovy jams of the new songs that made up the bulk of the set, like the sultry "Wandering One". Even the few old songs were bumped up a little, like "The West Wind" and the almost unrecognizable sexy bass groove given to "No Game".
My favourite of the set was the final song, which I didn't catch the name of; Savannah introduced it as a space rock song, and the slow beginning gradually swelled into a dizzying swirling of John Sponarski's amazing guitar and guest Andrew Rasmussen's keyboard for a great ending to the set. As someone that is maybe starting to think they are getting "over" the current folk movement, I really enjoyed the new sound, and I am very interested to hear the new album that Savannah teased.

Next up was Rolla Olak, who I have seen play a few times recently, ranging from solo to a full band. It's always the latter I enjoy more, and luckily that's exactly what this was, as Rolla was joined by his band (which included John Sponarski pulling double duty). His roots-y sound is a lot more upbeat and rocking with the full band, the energetic boot-stomping songs getting people moving. And while Rolla doesn't say much on stage, his passion is evident.
Part way through the set Savannah came out and helped sing on a slower jam, and as he was finishing up, Rolla got the weeknight crowd to sing along a little to a song called "It's Alright". He wrapped up with probably the best song of his set, a raging blues rocker where he was joined by Eric Larocque on harmonica.
Olak puts on a strong set, but I think is just missing that undefinable something to set him apart and above the others like him, to take him to that next level.

And finally, ending the night was JP Maurice. Joined by a stagefull of familiar faces, his nine-piece band included a host of local musicians; Stephanie Chatman on violin, Jer Breaks on guitar, Timmy "Boom Bap" Proznick on drums, Marcus Abramzik on bass, Andrew Rasmussen on keys, and a backing vocal trio of Alex Badger, Stephanie Mcmahon, and Savannah Wellman. There were a couple times when the nine-piece band felt a little too cumbersome, but the members rotated on and off stage, and for the most part they gelled well.
Starting off with a pair of songs that showcased the darker side of JP's pop-rock, "Poison Heart" and "Get Mad", the set was filled with raw emotions. Many of his songs are about love and/or loss, and the passion pours out of JP when her performs, leaving his heart on the stage every night.
Friend and collaborator David Newberry joined JP on stage for a song, "Pennies" and after the infinitely catchy "Mistake", JP and friends closed the set with the single from his most recent album The Arborist, "The Other One".
But even at a half past midnight, the remaining crowd cheered for more, and the band was back out for one final song, JP's cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams", which briefly morphed into "Teenage Dream" and back again.

Not only was this Unsigned show a great showcase for the local bands, but a great showcase of the local scene. Musicians were crossing bands the entire night, and even the crowd was filled with various members of other bands, there to watch. It's shows like this that show off the level of support that can exist in parts of the Vancouver music scene.

The Strumbellas @ Biltmore -- 11/05/13

Hot off the heels of the release of We Still Move On Dance Floors, their follow up to the Juno Nominated My Father and The Hunter, The Strumbellas hit the Biltmore Cabaret this Tuesday. The last time I saw them was at the tiny Railway Club and they nearly tore the place down, so I was excited to see them again live.
And as an added bonus, they were joined by a couple of strong local acts to round out the show.

Starting off the night was John Sponarski. One half of Portage & Main, John has recently been playing more solo shows, and he took the stage armed with little more than an acoustic guitar & a harmonica, accompanied by Savannah Leigh Wellman of Redbird to lend her voice to backup vocals.
I saw Sponarski fairly recently, opening for Elliott BROOD, and he seemed much less nervous and more comfortable this time. His solo material was a little more on the country side than Portage & Main, with songs being clearly personal. From "Corn Whiskey" -- based off the traditional "Rye Whiskey" -- written after someone questioned his alcohol intake, to one written after visiting his grandmother in a resting home, the emotion put into the songs really drove them home.
He ended with a great closer; a bit of a sing along, a rousing song both lamenting and celebrating a broken up band. I mentioned it last time, but that song was my favourite of the set, and would be killer with a full band behind it.

Next up was Rolla Olak. Keeping it stripped down, he only had John Sponarski with him on pedal steel, and also kept the same mellow, folk-country vibe throughout most of his set. He had a clear passion while playing, but was lacking a bit in stage presence. I saw him recently as a part of the Peak Performance Project and liked his full band set, but couldn't quite connect to his more acoustic set; maybe it was just a bit too laid back. Which is why my favourite was the last song of the set, as he invited The Strumbellas on stage to pick up instruments and sing along to his final song, a rousing and passionate song, "It's Alright" for a strong finish.

It wasn't long before the stage filled with The Strumbellas, in stark contrast to the previous, two-piece acts. The six piece from Lindsay, Ontario started off the set with "Home Sweet Home", wasting no time showing off their tight harmonies and raucous alt-country roots rock. The whole band was full of energy, but especially keyboardist David Ritter and frontman Simon Ward, who started the show a little shy, by his own admission, but by the end of it he had opened up & was more chatty between songs, even talking directly to crowd members yelling things at the stage.
The set focused mostly on their new album, We Still Move On Dance Floors, with highlights being
the anthemic "End of an Era" and the building intensity of "Ride On". They rounded out the set with some older ones, the explosive "Lakes", and even a great cover of Modest Mouse's "Float On", with Ward getting the crowd to sing along to the chorus, a warm up for another sing along to "The Sheriff", an incredibly catchy tune.
After "ending" the set with "Rhinestone", they didn't even do the fake-leave, rather ended the night by inviting everyone up on stage to dance along with the big closing number, "Pistol"

The Strumbellas put on an incredibly fun live show, and I would not be at all surprised to see them tearing up larger venues like the Commodore in years to come.

setlist
Home Sweet Home, Lakes, Ride On, In This Life, Run, The Fire, End of an Era, Sailor's Blues, Float On [Modest Mouse cover], The Sheriff , Sailing, [mystery song], Rhinestone, Pistol. 

Peak Performance Project Showcase #2 @ Fortune -- 09/19/13

The Peak Performance Project is a multi-year contest in which The Peak, along with Music BC, picks 20 BC musicians/bands each a year and makes them stars. Past winners are We Are The City, Kyprios, Current Swell, and Dear Rouge with a ton of great bands and artists included as well.

Part one of the project was a "rock & roll boot camp" where the musicians went on a week long retreat to get lectures and advice from industry pros, to help them refine their craft. Phase two is a series of shows at Fortune Sound Club; four artists a night for five weeks, each playing a 45 minute set. The bands are rated by a panel of judges, which will go toward their final score in the project. They've also been tasked to learn a "Classic Canadian Cover" to play during their set. I always love hearing bands play cover songs, and it's always interesting to see who each act chooses, if it's someone obvious to their style, or something way outside the box.

Starting off the night was Vancouver folky singer/songwriter Lydia Hol. Her and her backing band -- whose dress code was "meet the parents" -- included Mike Fraser on violin and Georges Couling on keys. With Hol's occasional mandolin, it gave the folk songs a rich sound.
She had a really nice voice, smooth and strong, with good songs, but nothing really stood out. It was an enjoyable set, but there wasn't anything that made me clamour for more.
Members of Head of the Herd came out to help Lydia with her Classic Canadian Cover, a pretty straightforward version of The Tragically Hip's "New Orleans Is Sinking", and she ended with a big sing along, handing out a tambourine into the crowd.

Next up was a trio of musicians who go by The Lion The Bear The Fox. All three of them had solo careers, to various degrees of success, but Christopher Arruda (the lion), Cory Woodward (the bear), and Ryan McMahon (the fox) joined together for something much more than the sum of its parts. Their set began with a funny introductory video, and began with a mighty roar as they launched into what may best be described as "stomp rock".
Though technical difficulties after the first song slowed things down, the trio vamped and covered well enough that they didn't completely lose momentum -- the charismatic Woodward talked and joked with the crowd before requesting a danceable beat from their drummer -- and before long they were back in the swing of things.
The trio had great harmonies, their voices blending together really well, and they had my favourite cover of the; they started off with Arcade Fire's "Wake Up", but swerved into "Hand In My Pocket" by Alanis Morisette. Previous years, other bands had done medleys, but this was the first time I had heard a mashup, which was a really interesting take. By the end, they had most of the crowd singing along to both songs.
After their cover they ended with a pair of hugely energetic numbers, "Freedom" and their cover of Ray LaMontagne's "Henry Nearly Killed Me"
I have to say, I have been pleasantly surprised by the trio, and I hope they do well in this year's competition.

Vancouver's Rolla Olak was up next, joined by some familiar faces; namely John Sponarski and Erik Nielson to round out his band, and Lydia Hol came out to help him on vocals for a couple of songs. He had a boot stomping, bluesy folk sound, and a clear passion, but he was lacking a bit in stage presence.
For his cover, he chose to "take back" the Brice Cockburn classic "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" from the Barenaked Ladies, for a solid cover; you could tell it was a song close to his heart.
Near the end of the set he invited all the other musicians on stage -- some from bands partaking in the project, others who just happened to be in the crowd -- for another big singalong, getting the crowd into it too. That wasn't the end, though, as he finished with one last song, a fiery blues rocker.

I fully admit, going in to this year of the Peak Performance Project I had some biases. Bands I already knew I did not care for and bands I was already a fan of, and Rykka definitely fell into the latter category. I liked her when she first went through the Project the first time, under her real name Christina Maria as a folk-pop singer/songwriter. But she has since reinvented herself with a more dark, synthy electro-rock sound, and is all the better for it.
Rykka's incredible voice drove the catchy songs like "Blackie" -- which relied on Rykka thumping her chest to get the vocal effects rather than any electronic trickery -- and "Shotgun" which she got the crowd singing along to.
Her cover was a synthed up version of The Guess Who's "American Woman"; of all the bands that night I would have expected a Guess Who cover least from Rykka, and her version perfectly straddled the line of making it her own and not straying too far from the original.
The set came to an end with the very appropriately titled "Electric", perhaps the most high energy song of the night, ending the showcase with a bang.
Rykka had a great confidence and energy on stage, putting on the best showcase I have seen so far this year; I will be very surprised and disappointed if she does not at least make the top three.

Overall, it was a strong night of showcases; it would be hard pressed for another one to be as "all around good" as this one, but they'll have to give it a shot next week with Luca Fogale, Fallbrigade, Van Damsel, and Good For Grapes.

The Sumner Brothers w/ Portage & Main @ The Cobalt -- 06/16/11

On the eve of a tour that sees them heading south to California, The Sumner Brothers gathered a few friends to kick things off at The Cobalt. Surprisingly, it was my first time at the venue (or maybe not, since they used to be known more for punk), but I quite liked it. It had... character, but also great sight lines and pretty good sound.

First up was Rolla Olak, who took the stage alone. He has a folky-blues sound, which set the tone for the night. His songs were good, and well written, but nothing that really jumped out to grab you, but still Perfectly Acceptable Music that was definitely enjoyable. 

Though while the music was good, there wasn't much in terms of stage presence. He was just up there playing, not very much crowd interaction, or banter; he didn't even say who he was at any point during the set. There was, though, an offhand mention of having a full band, and I would be interested to see that. He was okay on his own, but I can see the songs sounding a lot better with a full band to round them out.

Next up was Steve Brockley, who had more of a country edge, with a bit of a bluesgrass feel as well. Their set was mostly a slower tempo, but there were a few songs that were a bit more driven, and the band definitely sounded better when they had more energy. The highlight of the set was the closing song, which was a perfect example of that, exploding into an all out a frantic ending.

Their songs were all pretty catchy, but more than a couple of them seemed a little familiar -- not like they were ripping anyone off, but you could clearly tell a few influences. Like Olak, they were enjoyable to watch, but nothing really spectacular. 

Hitting the stage third was The Sumner Brothers. I've seen them a couple times now, and the one thing that always strikes me is their intensity. There were songs where Brian Sumner was singing through grit teeth, and the whole band just oozes energy on stage. In fact, this time they seemed to be even more energetic and intense than previously. They had a bit of what can only be described as death country (I could see them opening up for Elliott BROOD no problem), with the two brothers, Bob and Brian trading off vocals for some insanely catchy and toe-tapping songs.

As well as their own, they threw in their usual cover of Neil Young's “Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)”, and while the set almost ended on a bit of a sadder song, they spontaneously decided to add one more, their own high energy version of the traditional “Pay Me My Money Down”. Probably the best set I've seen from the band, and a great kickoff to their tour.

It was almost 1am by the time they hit the stage, but there was still a decent size crowd for Portage & Main, capping off the night. They had just returned home from a short western tour, and within the first two songs, I could tell how much they improved over that time. Tight and energetic, with more confidence than the last couple times I'd seen them live; more comfortable on stage and with each other. And with the crowd, too, as they seemed to have a bit more banter and joking around. Even when the “Curse of the Capo”, as they called it, hit during “Rocky Mountain Wanderer” -- the capo popped off John's guitar -- they didn't let it slow them down.

They hit most of the songs off their self-titled debut, from barnburners like “What Have I Done” and Tonight pt 2” to the more slower, softer “Song For My Mom”, and even a cover of Rolling Stones' “Dead Flowers”. They capped off the night with one of my favourites from the album, the building energy of “ I'd Never Climbed a Mountain” and then “Carolina”, which is destined to be a great bar room sing-a-long song.

It was a really good show, overall, with all the bands complimenting each other quite well. Especially Portage & Main and The Sumner Brothers (who I had seen play together once before).

setlist

Nothing (Take What You Need), What Have I Done, Rocky Mountain Wanderer, Song For My Mom, Dead Flowers [Rolling Stones cover], Tonight pt. 2, Follow Me My Love, I'd Never Climbed a Mountain, Carolina.

Rolla Olak w/ Steph Macpherson, Behind Sapphire & Bob Kemmis @ Waves -- 12/04/10

It seems like these acoustic shows are a weekly occurrence for Waves Coffee House on Howe St -- a couple weeks ago I saw Treelines do an acoustic set there -- and if they keep getting acts like these, I will keep going back.

I got there just after Bob Kemmis started. I had seen him a couple years back, liked him... and never really heard anything from him since. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw he was playing the night. It was only a couple songs in that I was reminded why I liked him the first time around. He's a damn good storyteller, both in song and in his joking between songs. And it helped that the songs were pretty damn catchy, too and everything he did seemed completely effortless.
Near the end of his set he broke out the looping pedal and looped both his guitar and then vocals, creating a veritable band and a great song. Hopefully it won't be another couple years til I see him again.

Next up was Behind Sapphire. I was interested to see how they would turn out acoustic, as they had a pretty big stage setup at their Peak Performace showcase, and I wasn't sure how they would translate. They seemed a bit unsure at first, mostly because they were seated & the whole atmosphere of the crowd was more relaxed, and they were used to more ruckus. But the three of them managed to translate their energetic sound down without losing any of their quirkiness or enthusiasm. Though even as they stopped being antsy -- for want of a better term -- as the set went on, that didn't stop them from wandering through the coffee house to the back of the crowd for part of a song. It's always cool to see a band with a "big" sound be able to strip it down, and Behind Sapphire managed to pull it off.

Steph Macpherson was up third, and each time I've seen her live, there have been less people on stage with her. This time she was up alone -- except for a couple of Behind Sapphire to lead the crowd in a stomp/clap for a song, and Rolla Olak helping out on guitar on the last one. Her songs translate perfectly into an intimate setting like a coffee house of quiet, attentive people, and she was as engaging as the crowd was receptive. Though now I've seen her twice in a coffee house or cafe and only once in a concert venue with a full band, so it would be nice to see that again, to compare.
There was also a bit of a surprise after she finished. She sang Happy Birthday a public domain song wishing a joyous anniversary of birth, for a lucky guy whose birthday was that day. Also, there was cake.


And lastly was Rolla Olak, who came out with none other than Colin Cowan on [stand up] bass. I wasn't too familiar with him, but as the random, possibly intoxicated man is the crowd proclaimed, that he was pretty rad. His songs were dark without being bleak, and a little but haunting; with some pretty darn good songwriting, too. I am curious to know if he normally plays with a band, or if the acoustic set is his normal one, but either way, I would be interested in catching him again.