Sidney York @ Biltmore -- 01/07/14

I would be very surprised if 2014 does not end up being a big year for Calgary's Sidney York. The duo is on the verge of releasing their new album, <3s (or Hearts) and kicked off their tour in their second home, Vancouver, at the Biltmore Cabaret.
But their new album is coming out in a unique way; instead of a traditional release, they are rolling out the album in five volumes, two songs each, released over ten months. "Subscribers" will get the album delivered to their door (and/or digitally) as well as other goodies, like prints depending on their subscription level. You can check all of that out right here.
Opening the night was Seattle's Lemolo, with a very mellow, melodic sound. It was just a duo on stage, a drummer with lead singer Meagan Grandall on keyboard & guitar.
I only caught the last couple songs and the dreamy pop seemed really interesting, but also a little complex; something that you would need to really dig into. There were also a couple of awkward silences between songs, but I would definitely be interested in catching them again next time they're through town.


Taking the stage next was The Gay Nineties. The Vancouver four-piece exploded out of the gates with their infectious sound, blending hints of 60s psych-rock, 90s grunge, and 00s dance-rock. It's a sound that has the potential to come across as tired and old, but there is so much raw talent in the band that they give it a fresh spin.
While they didn't say too much between songs, they had a great energy and stage presence while playing. Malcolm Holt is a great drummer, and fun to watch play live, and frontman Parker Bossley has an effortless charisma.
Almost all of the songs played throughout the set were newer than their Coming Together EP released a couple years ago, and I didn't catch the name of any of the songs, but there were more than a couple that got me excited to see what they've got coming up.


And finally, the band of the hour, celebrating the release of their new album, Sidney York was up to close out the night. The duo of Brandi Sidoryk and Krista Wodelet were backed by some of Vancouver's finest; Niko Friesen on drums, Shaun Huberts on bass, and Noah Walker on guitar. It was the first show of the tour, and the first time this configuration has played together live, so it took a couple of songs for them to get into the groove, to mesh, but once they did they gelled fantastically.

The two girls jumped between instruments throughout the night, keys and synth and guitar and french horn and bassoon and ukulele were all utilised, with the two of then swapping effortlessly. At one point, they even shared the same keyboard for the dark and sexy "Electrolove". Both also had incredible energy -- Brandi could hardly be contained -- which was especially impressive considering about an hour before going on stage, their tour van was towed from the venue.

The set focused mostly on the new album, <3s, with songs ranging from the incredibly explosive and raw "The Lion. The Tiger. The Bear." to the fun and flirty "Weird For You", and the soft and beautiful "Let The Sparks Fly" which saw Krista taking over lead vocals for an absolutely heartbreaking ballad.
The set ended with my favourite off the new album, "Weapons-Grade Love (Watch Your Back)", which erupted into a chaotic cacophony, a perfect ending for the set. It's a great song that exemplifies Sidney York's ability to blend ridiculously catchy pop with sexy lyrics and dark undertones.

Regular readers (all 21 of you) may remember that their previous album, Apocalyptic Radio Cynic, was one of my favourites of 2011, and if <3s doesn't end up making Sidney York into one of the breakthrough bands of 2014, I will eat my virtual hat.

setlist
Mile High Love, Hearts, I Wait, Dick & Jane, Math & Fractions, The Lion The Tiger The Bear, Lily's Kitchen, Weird For You, Electrolove, Let The Sparks Fly, Weapons-Grade Love (Watch Your Back).

Sidney York @ Media Club -- 04/12/13

Hot off the heels of showcases at both SXSW and CMW, and wrapping up work on a new album, Sidney York stopped by the Media Club for a preview of their new material. The album isn't due out until the summer, but they teased us with almost the entire new album.

Starting off the night was Jamison Troy, the Vancouver singer songwriter taking the stage armed with an acoustic guitar in hand, and joined by Nick Russell on electric guitar. His songs were all very earnest, his smooth voice conveying personal songs, full of emotion. But there also wasn't much variation from one song to the next.
It was a solid set, and I would see him again -- especially as he continues to grow as an artist -- but wouldn't necessarily seek out more.

Next up was Seattle pop-rock band, New Heights. They had a soaring sound, with a decent voice from lead singer Travis Graham, but they didn't have much stage presence, even when they tried to awkwardly joke with an increasingly disinterested crowd. They weren't really all that bad -- aside from flubbing the opening of a song and starting over -- but overall, the set was pretty inoffensive and forgettable.

It wasn't long after that Sidney York took the stage. Brandi Sidoryk & Krista Wodelet -- a pair of classically trained musicians who make the core of the alt-pop band --  were backed by Neil Dorin on bass, Devon Lougheed on guitar, and Luke Cyca on drums. Both multi-instrumentalists, Brandi on vocals and keys also pulled out a guitar, ukulele, and french horn for different songs, and bassoonist Krista helped out with vocals and dabbled on keys, synth and ukulele. And they were both bounding with energy; Krista bubbled over with enthusiasm, and the only times Brandi stood still was when she was behind the keyboard, and sometimes not even then.

They kicking off the set with the title track, "Hearts", and after a few favourites, like the infinitely catchy "Dick & Jane" getting everyone clapping and along, they went into the bulk of the new album. Ranging from the soft and lovely "Let The Sparks Fly" to the frantic, almost punk-tinged "The Lion. The Tiger. The Bear.", the new songs had an undeniable edge and depth to them.

A song about our love affair with technology, "Electrolove", was the catchiest of the set and bound to be a hit single, and they ended with two songs that turned out to be my favourites of the set; first a swirling and chaotic song called "I Could Swim", with some fantastic drumming from Luke, and one that I hope is called "Weapons Grade Love" called "Watch Your Back", with great overlapping vocals from Brandi & Krista.

Regular readers (all 17 of you) will know that I've always liked the band, but this was the best I've seen them live; maybe they were invigorated from wrapping up a short tour, or maybe they were excited for playing the new material, but everything was so tight and energetic. If the album is even half as good as the live interpretations, it's definitely going to be an album to look out for.

setlist
Hearts, Mile High Love, Dick & Jane, Math & Fractions, Let The Sparks Fly, The Lion. The Tiger. The Bear., Electrolove, I Could Swim, Weapon's Grade Love Watch Your Back.

Toque Sessions: beekeeper hearts Sidney York @ CBC Vancouver -- 02/28/13

Now in their fourth year, the CBC Toque Sessions is a series of free shows at the CBC Vancouver building, featuring some great local talent, and recorded for later broadcast on CBC Radio and CBC Music.

Hosted by CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence, this was a unique session, titled "beekeeper hearts Sidney York", with the "sibling bands" sharing the bill. Aside from being often tour-mates, the two bands also share members; Brandi Sidoryk is the voice of Sidney York and the bass of beekeeper; Luke Cyca keeps the rhythm on drums for both bands; and beekeepers's Devon Lougheed not only plays guitar with Sid occasionally, but also produced their upcoming album. 

Sidney York started the night with their unique indie-pop, with three classically trained musicians and including an oboe & bassoon, two instruments you rarely see outside an orchestra. They kicked off with the upbeat and poppy "Mile High Love" and got the crowd clapping along to the infinitely catchy "Dick & Jane".
As always, so much energy from the three ladies -- Brandi Sidoryk, Sheryl Reinhardt, and Krista Wodelet -- especially Brandi who, when not behind the keyboard, bounces around the stage.
The set also included a few new songs off their upcoming album, Hearts, which saw Devon out to join them on guitar.
Since they joined Brandi to make the group a trio, Krista and Sheryl have gotten much more comfortable on stage, and are fully integrated into the new songs, as opposed to just playing on the songs Brandi had written for the last album. A love song to technology -- as it was introduced -- "Electrolove" saw all three of them played the same keyboard, and Krista had more prominent vocals on the newer songs. After the synthy title track "Hearts", they wrapped up their half of the show with another new one, "Want You Back", a rich and lush song that had me hooked, and definitely looking forward to the new album.

 setlist
Mile High Love; Dick & Jane; Doctor Doctor; Math and Fractions; Electrolove; Hearts; Want You Back.

After a brief break, the pre-recorded "Bad Advice Hotline" sounded through the studio (giving apt advice like "if you get confused, just nod") and beekeeper took the stage, launching into "Table & Bed". Their frantic, poppy math-rock can be hard to pin down, with songs routinely changing tempo, key or even time signature, but they're also ridiculously fun and unique. The songs have boundless energy, which comes from all three members, especially from Devon, who hardly stood still all night; even performing a high flying leap off an amp during "I Don't Need Hope, I Need Whiskey" -- which he admitted proved dangerous at a recent show.
They did bring it down for one calm song in the set, the low key "Drownings" saw just Devon on guitar with Luke and Brandi coming to the front of the stage for backup vocals. But they swung the energy right back as the remaining members of Sidney York came on stage for the kazoo solo (yes, kazoo solo) in the catchy-yet-out-of-left-field country swerve that "Oh Hi!" takes, and Krista & Sheryl stayed on to add their bassoon and oboe to the next couple songs.
They wrapped up the night memorably as every members from both bands took the stage for a gorgeous cover of "Your Ex-Lover is Dead", originally by Stars.

The show was a great addition to the pretty stellar lineup of CBC Toque Sessions this season. And as they draw to a close, I am hoping that next winter will see another round of great bands as the Toque Sessions continue.

setlist
Table & Bed; Sudden Cuckoo; It's the Blood; I Don't Need Hope, I Need Whisky; Drownings; Oh Hi!; Good News; Spider Webs/Insect Eyes; Your Ex-Lover is Dead [Stars cover].

Then & Now @ Biltmore -- 08/21/12

The brainchild of Vancouver's beekeeper, Then and Now was a simple concept; take ten artists and get them to play a brand new song and an old song -- their current favourite that they're super proud of, and one of the first songs they wrote, that they may be a little embarrassed by.

The night was also a fundraiser for Megaphone, a local magazine that is sold by the homeless or low income people, who get to keep the profits of their sales.

The night started with a couple amazing songs from aboriginal blues artist Murray Porter, followed by Brandi of Sidney York, who took the concept to its extreme playing her very first song and brand newest song -- the latter being a sexy cellphone song (no, seriously).

Dominique Fricot followed, with his "then" song being a song he wrote for his high school grad. Hannah Epperson sang a short song she wrote when she was eight, to sing as a pre-dinner prayer of sorts, before amazing everyone with her incredible violin looping, and the first half of the night was wrapped with with Katie Rox , first singing a song from her old (industrial) band Jakalope before being joined by Brandi and Luke Cyca for her "now" song.

After a brief intermission Colby Sparks kicked off the second half, being a bit of an odd man out, genre-wise but certainly not talent-wise. His old song was him playing saxophone overtop of some beatboxing, while his new was a complex series of samples that had everyone's heads bobbing and shoulders shimmying in their seats. Ma Petite came up next, first rapping(!!) a silly joke rap group she had in high school, and playing one of her first songs, a sappy love song before her newest one. 
David Vertesi was up next with his new song being from his latest album, but his old song from his high school band, Touched By An Uncle, called "Sean Connery" which was a love song to the titular actor. And it was as goofy yet amazing it is sounds. Jody Glenham followed him, with her old song being "Coffee Soaked" played on guitar instead of a piano and her new song being written on a bar stool in the back of the very venue she was playing in, the Biltmore. 
Finally, wrapping up the night was beekeeper, playing a full electric set. Their "then" was not an embarassing song from Devon's past, but a song from their first album, BE KEPT, and their new one was a brand new tune called "Don't Need Hope, Need Whiskey"

It was a really fun night with a great concept, and while the show never felt like it dragged -- the hosts Devon and Lana Gay did a fantastic job during the quick turnarounds, and many of the musicians had amusing stories to go with their songs -- the show ended up running three hours, with the break. Next time they put on an event like this (and I sincerely hope there is a next time) I hope they pare down the lineup a little, but not by much

.