Then & Now @ Wise Hall -- 10/10/14

Now in its third year, Then and Now is a simple concept; take a handful of local artists, and get them to play a brand new song & an old song -- their newest, shiniest song, and one of their first songs -- and tell stories about both. Put on by Altered By Mom's Devon Lougheed, and Leigh Eldridge, the night was also a fundraiser for Megaphone Magazine, a local publication that is sold by the homeless or low income people, who get to keep the profits of their sales.

Even though Devon was absent from the event, the night was hosted by Caitlin Howden (The Sunday Service) and Stu Popp (SADCAST, Fat Kids On Basketball), who kept things rolling along and even started an impromptu auction of things they took out of the musicians pockets. Such wondrous items included a guitar pick, an unused bus pass, an american $10 bill, and a partially used Earl's gift card, all of which helped earn over $40 more for Megaphone.

Each of the eight acts was slotted two songs, so even with a little bit of setup in-between a few of them, the night never seemed to drag on.

The night started with the husband & wife duo The Wild Romantics and the first song they sang together, a cover of "Valley of Decision" by The Horse Thieves. Their 'now' was a new one called "Memphis, TN", fitting of the duo's alt-country twang, as they ended the song forehead-to-forehead, sharing the microphone, their voices blending together beautifully.

Badgerchild made some of the crowd feel old as she told the story about her then-song, the first song she put up on YouTube as a teenager, Vince Vaccaro's "Costa Rica" after being inspired to pick up the guitar after a breakup. She followed that up with breathy vocals on a new song called "Out of my Head".

Next was CityReal, supported by Tonye Aganaba on guitar, for some acoustic hip hop. He said it was the first time he had ever performed his songs acoustically, as he played on a djembe with Tonye's voice mixing quite well with his rapping.

The first half of the night wrapped up with Hot Panda. Lead singer Chris Connely came out alone on guitar, singing a cover of the first song he ever performed live, "Steak For Chicken" by The Moldy Peaches. Their 'now' turned into a hilarious performance art piece, after Chris claimed guitars were done, and technology was the future. First he pulled out his phone to get Siri to play the sick beat they made, then once that failed, he went to the tablet... which was out of power. And finally just went to the laptop for some (acceptable) backing tracks and brought out the other two band members in their DJ personas, on "synth" and "instagram video". No text description can live up to the performance, but the song itself was ridiculously catchy.

After the intermission, the second half began with CAST, a really interesting and unique performance by the jazzy drum & vocal duo, with Ben Brown on drums, who were accompanied by a tap dancer.

Tonye Aganaba returned to the stage next, taking the concept to heart with her first song being how she felt about love then -- raw and unbridled emotions -- and her now being how she more currently felt, her amazingly impressive voice silencing the hall.

Going to the very extremes of "then and now" Wide Mouth Mason singer Shaun Verreault -- like a few others during the night -- played the very first song he ever performed in front of people, Black Crowes' "She Talks to Angels" while his 'now' was the most 'now' he could have gotten, a brand new song which he had just finished writing while at the show itself, as he silenced the hall with his effortless and amazing guitar playing.

And finally, after one more short break to set up her gear, the night came to a close with Chersea. The singer/songwriter/looper went back to the very first song she wrote on a loop station, a gorgeous a capella song called "Classy" that showed off her own incredible voice, and her new was also the newest song she had in her arsenal, an upbeat and high energy dancy song.

Like the first two iterations, the night was fun and eclectic, zipping through genres with stories about why each performer chose the songs they did. It's always interesting hearing the change in artists over time, or seeing some of the influences of their work, and I hop it'll be back again for a fourth year.

WIL w/ Shaun Verreault @ Railway -- 04/06/14

Two of my favourite guitar players, especially to watch live, are William Mimnaugh and Shaun Verreault. And some of my favourite shows over the last ten years have been when those two shared the stage.
In fact, I first discovered WIL when he opened for Wide Mouth Mason at the Commodore many moons ago, and I've seen the pair do solo acoustic shows together a few times.
They wrapped up a very short, four date mini-tour at the Railway Club, where I've seen both play before, individually.

The Wide Mouth Mason frontman Shaun Verreault started the show going straight from his line check right into the set. He had a little bit of technical issues during the first song, his distortion pedal deciding it didn't feel like working ("that just goes to show, where there's a will, there's a won't") but it hardly phased him as he finished the song, even with electric guitar unamplified at one point. But it was a hurdle that was somewhat fitting with Shaun's "motto" for the brief tour, to try out the new and untested. Relying just on his electric guitar -- no acoustic -- Shaun included a brand new song he had never played before, one written for David Gogo, and he revamped a newer WMM song "The Night Fell", with some help from his looping pedal.
And of course, throughout the entire set he melted faces off with his phenomenal guitar work. Playing slide with his pinky, hands moving over the strings almost faster than you can follow, he is mesmerising to watch. One of the best showcases of his skills was "Catch My Death", a song from his Two Steel Strings solo album, recorded on a train speeding across the country. After a short while he wrapped up the set with a cover of Sam Cooke's oft-covered "Bring It On Home to Me", looking a little sad to be done such a short tour with his friend.

After a bit of a break, WIL took the stage joined only by his drummer Keith Gallant. His acoustic guitar looked like it had taken a beating for fifty years, but was likely not nearly that old, just showing the signs of WIL's intense guitar playing. But even though WIL may be known for his frantic, blurry-handed guitar playing, he's also got an amazing, soulful voice. And not only does he blend those two aspects together perfectly, sometimes it's even on the same song.
Started the set with "Long Kiss Goodnight", he played songs ranging from the brand new "El Paseo" to "Dance With The Devil" from his first album. Highlights included "Hey Now", which gradually built before exploding into chaos at the end, nearly silencing the Railway Club (no easy feat) and the first songs he ever wrote, and still a crowd favourite, "Both Hands". And after about an hour, he wrapped up with "Wedding Dress", but not before promising he would be back for more after a brief intermission, for people to grab a beer (or a cranberry juice and soda).
The second half of the set was a little shorter, taking a request for the incendiary "Honey Pie" and a couple songs he wrote for Alberta, where he grew up; "Ride" written for the Calgary Stampede, and "Roam" written for Travel Alberta.
And of course, it wouldn't be a WIL show without some broken strings. He snapped one during the final song of the set, "Tell You Twice", and after some prompting from the crowd, hopped back on stage for one last one, an incredible instrumental appropriately titled "4 String Song".

I could watch either of these gentlemen play guitar all night, so it's always great seeing the two of them together. And even though they didn't join one another, as they have in past shows, they always seem to bring out the best of each other. In fact, my only complaint of the night wasn't even anything to do with on stage, but rather the overly-excited guy in the crowd who thought he was part of WIL's band, playing the shrill-whistle and the off-beat-clap.

setlist
Long Kiss Goodnight, El Paseo, Hold Me On, Dance With The Devil, Hey Now, Oak Tree, Both Hands, Wedding Dress.
Baby Baby, Honey Pie, Ride, Roam, Tell You Twice.
(encore) 4 String Song.

String Fling w/ Four on the Floor String Quartet @ Rio Theatre -- 12/13/12


Even if you don't know them by name, there's a good chance you've seen some members of the Four on the Floor String Quartet playing live. As a group or individually, they've been a part of the Vancouver music scene for a while, playing with local artists like Adaline, The Belle Game, Kyprios, The Matinee, and many others, as well as having members of the quartet taking place in every Peak Performance Project as a part of various backing bands.
But they've decided to step into the spotlight and put on the first (of what I hope is many) String Fling, which saw members Hannah Epperson, Michelle Faehrmann, Tony Kastelic and Dougal McLean inviting some local acts to the Rio Theatre to play some of their own songs, with string accompaniment. And as someone who has always had a soft spot for strings in music, I was definitely interested to see how they came together with some of Vancouver's finest.

The show was broken into two halves, with each the performers playing a few songs and a steady flow of music with Four on the Floor performing between acts, with songs from their members or spoken word poetry over top of some strings arrangements. They opened the show with a songs before being joined by the first performer of the night, Ali Milner. With her gorgeous voice and jazzy piano, the strings blended really well with upbeat songs like the catchy "Waiting" and the dynamic "Fly".

After a spoken word interlude, they showcased a couple of their own solo projects, first Dougal Bain McLean with a could laid back, singer-songwriter-type songs, followed by the looping violin and lovely voice of Hannah Epperson, joined by Ajay Bhattacharyya on a drum machine for the aptly named "We Will Host A Party".

Ajay stayed on stage, joined by his bandmate Amy Kirkpatrick as Data Romance was up next. There was a bit of technical difficulties before they started, but Hannah covered fairly smoothly and they soon launched into their dark and moody, synth-infused electronic vibes. They played a couple new songs, teasing a new album in February, but I think they meshed with the string quartet least well -- which isn't to say it was bad in the slightest, just a clash of styles. That is, until their last song which was a bit more low key with Amy's ethereal voice soaring with the strings to close out the first half of the show.

After a short break, the second half opened with a spoken word piece from the quartet before Dominique Fricot took the stage. He is definitely no stranger to playing with Four on the Floor -- they helped him land third place in this year's Peak Performance Project -- and so he meshed the best with the quartet of all the performers. The acerbically charming Fricot talked and joked with the crowd, taking advantage of their relaxed atmosphere to play a couple slower, quieter songs from his repertoire, including the title track to his recent EP If Baby Could Walk. 

 The next interlude, featured another spoken word piece, this time it segueing into the quartet playing the epic Game of Thrones theme, which was as fantastic as it sounds.

Of all the acts of the night, I was most interested to see how Shaun Verreault's bluesy sound mixed with the strings, and he introduced his first song as one least likely to be backed by a string quartet; Wide Mouth Mason's "Love Not Loving You". Originally a raw, distorted blues-rock song, it was turned into an absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking number that ended up being my favourite of the night. His next couple songs were from his own solo albums, both a little more suited for the strings accompaniment, giving his amazing guitar playing and powerful voice an extra kick.

After one last Four on the Floor interlude, The Gay Nineties hit the stage to close out the night with their energetic and infectious rock. The first song had guest vocals from the powerful Colleen Rennison of No Sinner, and their raw energy was enough to get people up and dancing at the front of the stage. They sounded pretty much exactly like themselves, but with the addition of strings, which wasn't a bad thing at all, and they were definitely a good choice in closing out the night.

The pacing of the show was fantastic, with it never dragging on or seeming long, and for the most part everything ran like clockwork. It was a great night of music with a fantastic premise, and at the end of the show, they hinted at already planning a second one, and I already can't wait to see who Four on the Floor will be collaborating with for another.

Sit Down, Servant!! with Shaun Verreault @ Cellar -- 05/19/12


It shouldn't come as a surprise to say I am a big fan of blues- and roots-rock, and two big factors in that are Big Sugar and Wide Mouth Mason. I've been a fan of both bands since the 90s; through Big Sugar's breakup, Grady and their recent reunion and WMM's recent loss of their bass player (whom they replaced with Gordie Johnson). So when the two were brought together -- in a way -- there was no way I was going to miss it.

First up was Shaun Verreault, of Wide Mouth Mason, taking the stage alone for a solo set consisting of a few of his own songs as well as some WMM tunes, some in "different clothes" as Shaun put it, with different variations or interpretations of the songs, like giving "Why" more of a blues vibe.
Shaun showcased his amazing talent with a liberal sprinkling of solos throughout the set, but never crossing that line into guitar-wankery; the extended solo in "Catch My Death" was especially hypnotizing. It's always amazing to watch him play, as he just makes it look so easy, coaxing the music from the guitar, rather than playing it, and he's got a great stage presence. I probably could have watched him play for another hour.

Soon after Gordie Johnson and current Big Sugar drummer, Stephane Beaudin took the stage as Sit Down, Servant!!, with Johnson not only on guitar, but also playing synth pedals with his feet. They had a definite blues-rock sound, emphasis on the bluesy vibe with some soul and even a bit of gospel thrown in. As well as their own songs there were some blues and spiritual standards and a few covers, including Skip James' "Devil Got My Woman" -- which Big Sugar covered on their first album.
Throughout the hour and a half set, Gordie broke out the slide guitar for a few songs, showing off his own phenomenal guitar skills, and pulled up a some friends on stage; Shaun Verreault for a few songs to play guitar or sing, and Rich Hope up to sing on a song he co-wrote, and they both returned for the last couple songs in the encore. Other highlights included the country-twanged "Don't You Miss Me When I'm Gone", which ended off the "main" set and the upbeat "If You Think Your God is Dead".

Both Gordie and Shaun are incredible musicians, and are absolutely amazing to watch live. And since the Cellar isn't that big of a venue, it lead to a great, intimate night of music.