Constellation Festival: Day One -- 07/26/19

July 27, 2019 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows, Festival Recap

The first ever Constellation Festival kicked off last night, rising from the ashes of Live @ Squamish and the Squamish Valley Music Festival. The inaugural edition took place at on the same grounds, at Hendrickson Field, with a beautiful mountainous backdrop, especially over the main stage.

Christine and I arrived to scout the grounds as Sarah Macdougall sang a cover of "Ramble On" by Zeppelin, as I took in the setup; a large field with two stages at either end --- bands alternated so there was no bleed in music, and you were never too far from the next act. There was also a selection of food carts, and a nice row of local vendors in the middle of the grounds.

*The Boom Booms - Christine McAvoy Photography*

The first full act I saw was The Boom Booms (evidently the rumours of their demise were somewhat exaggerated). Their upbeat and fun soulful sound was a great way to get the day rocking as the crowd flowed through the gates.

*Parker Bossley - Christine McAvoy Photography*

Next on the side stage was Parker Bossley, former frontman for the Gay Nineties. His solo material was similar to the band, with a bit more of a pop bent, like the synth-fuelled "LIfted". Parker has always had a captivating energy on stage, and this was no different as he oozed charisma throughout the set.

Fast Romantics were next over on the main stage, starting hot with a broken string on the very first song, "Why We Fight". Six members large, they had a big, boisterous indie pop sound, blasting through songs ranging from the slower ballad "Mexico" to the blaring fun of "Julia".

*Fast Romantics - Christine McAvoy Photography*

I caught a bit of Daysormay from Vernon while getting a bite to eat, with their eclectic alternative indie sound, before Dear Rouge took to the main stage. They hit the stage mostly dressed in all black, with Danielle McTaggart also adorned in a flowing black & white robe and giant silver spaceboots. With said robe flowing in the wind, they immediately launched into "Modern Shakedown" from their most recent album Phases.
Every time I see them, I feel like they've levelled up, and this time was no different, as Danielle stalked the stage with incredible swagger, her voice ringing through the valley. And of course not forgetting Drew McTaggart ripping it up on guitar, and the rest of the band holding their own.
They went through their catalogue of hits, including "Boys and Blondes" and "Best Look Lately", as well as "Black to Gold" which had a pyrotechnic element, as Danielle brought out a purple smoke flare.
After an incredible cover of "North American Scum" by LCD Soundsystem, they transitioned into "I Heard I Had" with Danielle jumping into the crowd, literally in the faces of the people in the first few rows, before running back on stage. And somehow after that, they still had one song in them, finishing off with "Live Through The Night"

Dear Rouge - Christine McAvoy Photography

*Scenic Route To Alaska - Christine McAvoy Photography*

They put on a set that proved they shouldn't be doing anything except closing out the night on festivals like this, because when they were done, I was spent and practically ready to go. Which might be part of the reason I only caught bits and pieces of the last two acts, getting tied up in a conversation while Scenic Route to Alaska played the second stage — through a few times their catchy indie rock pulled my attention, including songs like the driving "Paris".

*Serena Ryder - Christine McAvoy Photography*

And finally, it was Serena Ryder closing out the night. She started off hot with "Stompa", her powerful voice carrying to the mountains. But thanks to a bit of rain and a lot of bugs, I decided to save my skin for the next day, and let the sounds of Serena serenade the walk back to the hotel.

Day two of the festival features Fred Penner, Foxwarren, Shad, Peach Pit, A Tribe Called Red, and loads more, and keep an eye out for Christine's daily photo recaps!

Spice Girls vs Backstreet Boys @ Biltmore -- 11/17/16

November 20, 2016 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows

It's been about a year since the last David Vertesi-helmed tribute night, but the wait was worth it. While past nights centred around one musician (Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Paul Simon) and featured a revolving door of lead singers, this one was a little... different. It still featured ten local musicians, but instead of all filling the shoes of one legendary musician, they each had their own role to play as the night pitted two 90s pop icons against each other; Spice Girls vs Backstreet Boys.

On the Boys side, they had Omar Khan as AJ, Tom Van Deursen (The Boom Booms) as Nick, JP Maurice as Brian, Benedict Marsh as Howie, and the man himself, David Vertesi (Hey Ocean) as Kevin. And for the Girls, there was Ashleigh Ball (Hey Ocean) as Baby Spice, Tonye Aganaba as Scary Spice, Kaylee Johnston as Ginger Spice, Narai Dawn (Star Captains) as Sporty Spice, and Louise Burns as Posh Spice. Each musician not only dressed the part (and put on a fake accent if necessary), but they also learned some sweet dance moves. Or, in some cases, probably still knew them all these years later. They were backed by brothers Mike and Dave Young on bass and keys, respectively, Tristan Paxton on guitar, Raphael Geronimo on percussion, and the inimitable Johnny Andrews on drums.

For more about the show, including photos from Christine, just click through!

We Are The World, We Are The Biltmore: Michael Jackson Tribute Concert @ Biltmore -- 11/25/15

November 28, 2015 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows

David Vertesi and friends are at it again. The same folks behind 'The Biltmore Phil-harmonic' and 'Biltmore Over Troubled Water' -- tribute nights to Phil Collins and Paul Simon, respectively -- are back, this time with a night honouring the King of Pop. And like the other nights, it was all benefiting Sing It Forward and the St James Music Academy, leading up to the final Sing It Forward concert, this time TWO nights at the Vogue Theatre, January 14 & 15th.
The usual "house band" of Johnny Andrews on drums, Andrew Rasmussen on keys, Mike Young on bass, and Tristan Paxto on guitar were joined by Katie Schaan on backing vocals and Raphael Geronimo on percussion, with a rotating lineup of Vancouver singers to hit the highs (or attempt to anyway, in some cases).

The night started with some children from the St James Music Academy for an instrumental "Smooth Criminal" on violin, before the band took the stage. Like the other months, I won't give a song-by-song account, just some highlights with Christine McAvoy's photos below.

I hadn't seen Katie Schaan perform live in a long time, so it was nice to see her providing backing vocals all night, as well as belt out "The Way You Make Me Feel". If you're a fan of Bend Sinister, then it shouldn't be a surprise how good Dan Moxon was for his cover of "Smooth Criminal", Parker Bossley had the moves when he did "Rock With It", and Danielle McTaggert from Dear Rouge did a really fun "Billie Jean".
Lots of the performers were in costume, and there were even props, like when Hey Ocean! performed "Will You be There" and loosed a large inflatable orca into the crowd (sadly, the Biltmore ceiling is too low to reenact the famous ending to Free Willy).
The highlight of these tribute nights always seems to be Tonye Aganaba. She was on stage a few times, playing MJ to Chin Injeti's Paul McCartney, doing a beautiful "Man in the Mirror", but my favourite came early on as she and JP Maurice did an amazing "Beat It".
My other favourite performance was one I think should have ended the night (instead of the "better-in-theory" version of "We Are The World"); the lights dimmed and Zach Gray hit the stage in ghoulish makeup for a killer rendition of "Thriller", complete with dancers coming out from the back and into the crowd for the choreographed dance number.

And as the night ended, David Vertesi teased the next tribute night, for Hall & Oates, though didn't say when, so it sounds like these nights won't be slowing down any time soon. Who do you want to hear them do for a future tribute night? Let me know in the comments.
(Me, I suggested to Vertesi, in all sincerity, that they should do a "Weird" Al Yankovic tribute night. It would be amazing.)

Click through for a gallery of Christine's photos, and the full setlist!

JP Maurice's Cover Up for the Planet @ Biltmore Cabaret -- 10/07/15

October 12, 2015 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows, Show Review

It seems like fundraising cover nights at the Biltmore are all the rage right now. After a couple of nights in the past few months organised by David Vertesi for SingItFwd, it was JP Maurice's turn, as he presented his Peak Performance Project fundraiser, Cover Up For The Planet, "a celebration of Vancouver's music for Creatively United for the Planet."

With an all star backing band consisting of JP himself as well as Conner John Tkach on guitar, Marcus Abrams on bass, Will Watson on drums, and Owen Connell on keys, they were joined by a bevy of Vancouver musicians covering... well, other Vancouver musicians. Many times, people they were sharing the stage with that very night.

Which I will say off the top, was probably my only "gripe" about the evening. At parts it seemed a little self-indulgent or self-congratulatory (for lack of better terms). It was a very enjoyable night, don't get me wrong, but aside from a few exceptions, a lot of the songs chosen were from within the same "scene". I know JP said on stage it was a celebration of the music community, but I kind of wish they had spread a little further out to the dozens of amazing Vancouver bands.

That being said, it was the first night they were doing this, and especially impressive that the backing band was coming together in a short time to learn that many songs, so I am certainly not holding it against them. That one minor annoyance didn't take away from how fun the night was, and how neat the concept can be.

Click through to see some of my personal highlights from the show, as well as pictures of the whole night from Christine McAvoy:

Sing It Forward @ Vogue -- 12/21/11

December 21, 2011 by Christine McAvoy

Name your three favourite Vancouver bands. Chances are pretty strong that at least one of them was at the Vogue last night for Sing It Forward, an evening benefiting the kids of the St James Music Academy. Organized by David Vertesi and Ambrosia Humphrey, they brought together some of Vancouver's finest for a night of music.

Leading up to the night, there was also a series of videos posted on Vancouver is Awesome of the bands joined by the kids of SJMA for a song (see them all on their Vimeo channel), and these were shows throughout the night between sets.

As there were almost a dozen acts, each had a short set of three acoustic songs, so I won't linger too long on each act.

Arriving just in time for the last song by Aaron Nazrul of The Boom Booms, he was joined by just about the whole band for a song about East Van, where they're from. It sounded pretty much what you'd expect from The Boom Booms; upbeat and energetic.

Next up was The Belle Game, starting off with "Sleep To Grow", including a fantastic ending with Andrew Lee on trumpet. Even stripped down acoustically, the band had a lush, rich sound that seemed to fit perfectly for a theatre venue like the Vogue; I would love to see them do a full set there sometime. They wrapped up their set with "Shoulders and Turns" with a good number of the other musicians coming out for percussion to end with a bang.

Rococode was next, their raucous sound translating acoustically very nicely (the use of the xylophone definitely helped out with that). The songs -- "Empire" especially -- were no less catchy, and "Dreams" possibly worked even better as an acoustic song, being much more haunting stripped down, and getting the crowd to sing along for the end of it.

Up next was the man of the night, David Vertesi himself. With just Andrew Rasmussen joining him on keys, he played some of the softer songs from his album; "All Night, All Night, All Night" and "Learn To Run", the latter building to an intensely emotional ending. He ended the set with a surprise guest, calling out Hannah Georgas to sing backups on "Mountainside", bringing up the energy a bit more to wrap up his set.

Ben, Tyler and Jacelyn of Said The Whale were up next, with Ben taking care of the vocals, since Tyler was still recovering from having his tonsils removed (seriously). Every year the band puts out a Christmas song or EP, and their set consisted solely of some of these Christmas songs, with the dreary "Puddleglum" being one of my favourites of the night. Even in a post-surgery haze, Tyler had pretty good energy, and Ben's great voice effortlessly filled the venue.

Wrapping up the first half of the night was Aidan Knight who started off with the most heartbreakingly beautiful song, "Margaret Downe", and even managed to break a string. At an acoustic show. After some of his usual hilarious banter -- a story about how his guitar got the name Burnt Reynolds -- and some deliberation, he played a brand new song and ended, of course, with "Jasper", bringing up all the kids on stage to sing with him.

At this point there was a short intermission, and then Adaline kicking off the second half. She had a bit of a auspicious start, as the keyboard she rented wasn't working, and the one they had been using all night wasn't ready. But she handled it like a champ, first encouraging the kids to continue on with music, then ready to sing a capella, with Robbie Driscoll on bass. Just as she started, though, they got the keyboard fixed and she was able to launch into her somewhat dark, sexy sound, starting with "The Noise" and then bringing out Laura Smith to help with background vocals for "Keep Me High", ending with her own Christmas song from the Light Organ compilation.

Next, Vince Vaccaro was out solo, armed with just his guitar. I've always found Vaccaro's music kind of hit or miss, personally, but I rather enjoyed his acoustic set, and I can't deny he is a pretty great performer. After his first song, he invited all the St James kids back on stage, and they helped out -- along with Ash from Hey Ocean and everyone's drummer Johnny Andrews -- for "Costa Rica" to wrap up his portion of the night.

Another surprise guest popped up between sets when Shad came out to fill the time before the next act with a couple freestyle verses, including his soliloquy from the end of "Live Forever"

Then it was the only non-Vancouver act, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald coming in from Calgary. After a new song, and teasing an upcoming album, he launched into "Movie Life", with a little but of "The Thong Song" (cleaned up a little, for the kids) slipped in at the end, and another new one with Vertesi -- and the kids back up on stage out to help out with singing. MBF is always incredibly fun to watch live, as he just exudes charisma, and you can't help but be charmed by him.

Zach Gray of The Zolas was the penultimate act, coming out with a couple new songs; "Strange Girl" and, after taking a survey of his own (which went about as conclusive as Aidan's) a brand new one called "Ancient Mars", which Zach described as a nerdy love song that he never played all the way through before. It had me at the first line, "I want to believe in time travel". He ended the set with everyone getting into "You're Too Cool", and some great singing along from the crowd.

And finally, wrapping up the night was Hey Ocean starting with a really cool version of "Big Blue Wave" -- which I may have liked even more than the full band version. They threw in their new Christmas song, which had the best intro; first Vertesi introduced in each instrument as they came in (including everyone's favourite holiday instrument: the keytar) and then brought out the awkward dancers, with the greatest dance moves of the year from Aidan Knight and Alex Andrew from the Belle Game. They wrapped it all up with the St James kids back on stage, and all other musicians as well, for a giant singalong to "Alley Ways", for a pretty great moment to end the night on.

It ended up being a four hour long night, but it hardly felt like it, as there was never a dull moment or a lull in the show. All the performers were top notch, and they kept the changeover times to a minimum, with the videos or the lovely emcees from The Peak keeping things running smoothly.

It would be cliché to call it a magical night, but there is hardly any better description, and I hope some variation of this turns into a yearly event.