Darcys @ Fortune -- 06/09/17

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It's been a few months since the release of Centerfold, the latest album from Toronto's Darcys, and while the duo has been to Vancouver since, it was always opening for someone else. Now they're back for their first headlining show since the new album, and the changes in both their band (dropping down to just two members, Jason Couse & Wes Marskell) and sound. 

Opening the show was Vancouver's Sex With Strangers, their indie-dance-rock a nice compliment to Darcys. As usual, singer Hatch Benedict was bursting with energy and he barely stood still for a second, his raw vocals contrasting with those of Shevaughn Ruley. Near the end of the set, as they went into "Gift of Fear", Hatch jumped off the stage and onto the dance floor to, well, dance. He went around the growing crowd, singing to/at people, urging them closer, and encouraging them to move, while ending off the set with a cover of "Don't Change" by INXS. 

As it was a curfewed show, it was a fairly quick turnaround for Darcys, as the duo took to a somewhat tropical looking stage; plants lining the sides, a light up palm tree, a projection screen behind them showing a tree-lined road, and a large neon sign with their name emblazoned. 
They mostly played off the new album Centerfold, with songs like the catchy "Arizona Highway", "Miracle", which got everyone moving, and one of my favourites, the frantic "Coming Up For Air". But they also threw back to a couple older ones, both "The River" and "Shaking Down the Old Bones" bringing the old songs into their "new" sound nicely. 
During the set, Jason and Wes joked a lot, both with the crowd and with each other, clearly having fun. They shared stories from the road, bantered about early shows (it was almost definitely still light outside when they started their set), and seemed like they were trying to entertain each other as much as the crowd. 
As the curfew drew closer, they wrapping the set up with the simmering slow burn of "Lip Service", erupting into an intense ending before thanking everyone and taking off. But they made the crowd work for the encore -- blaming it on the distance from the stage to the bathrooms -- before coming back to play a couple more.
I've said before, I'm not really a fan of the whole encore process, unless the band uses it to have some fun, not just play more of their songs -- or worse yet, their big hit. And that's exactly what Wes & Jason did. After joking with the audience about not knowing anymore songs (and barely knowing the ones they were about to play) they launched into a pair of amazing covers. First was their recent release, a version of "Kiss" by Prince, followed by Foreigner's "I Want To Know What Love Is". Both were super fun and had the crowd singing along, and a perfect way to end off the show. 

It can be hard when a band you really like goes through changes. As much as I love the dark art-rock sounds of their previous album Warring, the new album is ridiculously fun and catchy, and even with a bit more of an 80s pop sheen to it, the new songs still sounded like The Darcys, still have that slightly dark edge creeping in underneath the shine. And even with all that aside, they're still a great live band. 

setlist
Studio City
I Want It All
Alibi
Arizona Highway
The River
Shaking Down the Old Bones
Coming Up For Air
Full Throttle
Black Diamonds
San Diego, 1988
Miracle
Lip Service
(encore)
Kiss [Prince cover]
I Want to Know What Love Is [Foreigner cover]

Little Red @ Media Club -- 11/02/11

photographs courtesy of the awesome Leigh Eldridge.
As far as I know, this was the first visit to here for Australia's Little Red, and while I may not have been a huge fan before the show, I had heard enough of them that I was intrigued to catch their show. And when I found out Sex With Strangers, whose Peak Performance Project showcase I had missed, would be opening, I was doubly intrigued.
I wasn't the only one, either, as the Media Club was packed -- unusual for a Wednesday night -- with what seemed to be a lot of Aussies in the crowd.

Vancouver's Sex With Strangers was up first and what struck me immediately was the immense charisma of frontman Hatch Benedict. He had an incredible energy, all over the place -- even off the stage a few times, where he sang in that awkward pocket between the front of the stage and the audience, going up to people, singing to them and imploring them to dance (with varying degrees of success). Musically, they sounded like synth-robots producing dancey rock songs; which seems apt, as a running theme of the set was the introduction of each song to be about robots. And while they certainly put on a fun set, I found them to be a bit... unfocused; a few songs seemed to lack direction at times. But it was enjoyable, regardless, that ended with what is hands down their best song, "New City Anthem". If all their songs were as good as that one, they would definitely be on to something.

Soon after, the five members of Little Red took the stage, mentioning they drove straight from Chicago to Vancouver, and were glad to be on stage playing music for us after 37 hours in a van. They kicked off with "Get A Life" and "Slow Motion" from their new album, Midnight Remember, focusing mostly on that. Their incredibly infectious pop rock got everyone into it and dancing, and the band was amazingly tight and with great chemistry. The harmonies were pitch perfect, and a few times they lead vocals switched from Dominic Byrne to other membesr; one of my favourites of the set, "Place Called Love", saw keyboardist Tom Hartney taking over vox and the song swelled to a raucous ending.
The whole set built with energy til the end, capping off the main set with a great new song and the energetic "Rock It". They were back for the usual encore, a bit of a slower song, before being coaxed back for a second encore, including insanely catchy and dance-able "Coca Cola".
It was a really good set, that definitely blew away my expectations. I know the commute from Melbourne to Vancouver might be a bit tricky, but hopefully they're back soon enough.

Woodhands @ Biltmore -- 08/06/10

While I wouldn't say I wasn't a fan of Woodhands, they were just one of those bands I enjoyed when I heard come on the radio but never really seemed to explore more. When I first heard about their show at the Biltmore last night, I was undecided if I wanted to go. However, after multiple people told me just how fanastimazing they are live, and urged me to go to the show, I figured I had to give it a shot.

Vancouver five-piece Sex With Strangers was the first band up, and they had a really good energy to them. A moody synth pop sound dominated their robot-obsessed set, though a few of the songs seemed a bit similar-ish. The lead singer had an odd charisma to him, in that some of his banter would have seemed stupid coming from anyone else, but he managed to make it entertaining. He is definitely a good front man for the band. They were a Perfectly Acceptable Opener, especially for Woodhands. Nothing spectacular, that made me want to run over and buy their stuff, but certainly nothing offensive to the ears, either.

But speaking of offensive to the ears, after a lengthy delay between sets, Hot Tub came out. They hit the stage with the three female singers standing atop boxes at the front of stage, towering over the crowd with war paint and crazy costumes & hats. They spent the first few minutes attempting to pump up the crowd -- and trying to get stuff thrown at them -- to mild success, before going into the music. Their website lists them as "punk/crunk/funk", and I guess that is as good a description as any of the sounds that they were making on stage. It was definitely an... interesting set, and one member kept on flashing the crowd, by way of her boob "accidentally" popping out of her leotard after dancing too erratically. But -- much like their whole set -- it just seemed weird and like they were trying too hard.

Finally it was time for Dan & Paul of Woodhands to take the stage, and they started with a crazy intensity right off the bat that never faltered. I was amazed that only two members can create such a rich sound, but Dan did have a full compliment of keyboards, mixers and other trickery to help him out. Including the always awesome keytar. The rest of the night was just a crazy dance party, which even included people getting on stage and dancing behind the duo at a couple of points. Most, if not all of their songs got extended versions (Dan called them remixes, Paul called them "playing our songs different"), with them jamming out to each one. They somehow managed to keep up the incredible energy throughout the set, with Dan even jumping into the crowd to surf for a bit (while singing a few verses of Biz Markie's "Just A Friend", no less). After "closing" with "Dancer", which had the entire crowd singing/yelling along, they came back out for a two song encore, just to make sure that every last person in the crowd was spent.

I would have to say, everyone who was singing their praises was more than right, and they definitely won me over with the show. Next time they are in town, I would absolutely not hesitate to see them again.