Steam Whistle Unsigned w/ Treelines, The Ruffled Feathers & Sidney York @ Biltmore -- 01/26/12

For a while now, the Toronto microbrewery Steam Whistle has been hosting its Unsigned events in various Canadian cities, and now it's finally come to Vancouver. Each concert in the series features three Canadian artists with all of the ticket sales going back to the arts community; in this case to Music BC. And the three acts chosen to launch the series in Vancouver? Well, three favourites around these parts.

First up was Sidney York, who I've seen a few times in the last little while and each time the whole band, but especially "Sidney York" herself Brandi Sidoryk, seems to have more and more pure energy, to match their insanely catchy indie pop. Hardly contained behind the keyboard, she was out to the front of the stage a few times, to get the packed crowd into it, leading sing along to "Roll With Me" and later getting everyone clapping and singing (and likely whistling) along to "Dick & Jane". Brandi also broke out the ukulele and french horn at times, and combined with Sheryl Reindhardt and Krista Wodelet on oboe and bassoon, respectively, the unusual instruments gave the insanely catchy indie pop a touch of eclectic depth. They also threw in a cover in the middle of the set, a really cool version of Savage Garden's "I Want You", and brought the set to an end with my favourite, "Mile High Love", which somehow managed to top the energy of the entire set.

The Ruffled Feathers were up next, with their grand, chamber pop sound. They're new album Oracles is due soon (spoiler: it's good), and their set consisted mostly of songs off that, with the bulk of the vocals handled by Gina Loes, who also played guitar, and trumpetite Andrew Lee and Charley Wu -- mandolin & keyboard -- also contributing. The whole band has a very bubbly and upbeat stage presence, with their sense of sheer joy spreading through the crowd, definitely helped by Gina's adorableness.
Highlights of the set were the ear-worm-y "Blueprints for Our Failed Revolution" and "Home", and definitely "Lead Me To Destruction", which started a little 50s do-wop, with Charley Wu taking over lead vocals -- backed by Gina and Andrew -- before building to a chaotic breakdown and explosive climax.
They ended the set with the mood brought down a bit, and Lee urging everyone to slow dance (and/or make out) for the slow and romantic closer. They are another band that just keep getting better, and more polished, every time I see them, and this was the best yet.

And finally, rounding out the night was Treelines, and even though they hit the stage at nearly midnight (on a school night, no less) their straight up high energy rock had the crowd still into it. With a set ranging from the new EP, back to their self-titled debut, they burst forth right off the bat with "Summer Song" and hardly took their collective foots off the gas through the set; even during the slower songs, like the title track from their newest EP, Courage, which builds to a soaring chorus. Another highlight was the very Canadian, and very catchy, "Ode to the Prairies" which ended the main set before they were back for one more song. Orinially planning on "When I Get Grown", they spontaneously decided on the title track from their Young Man EP thanks to a request called from the crowd, with Matt Lockhart making sure everyone was ready to help out on vocals, since his voice was going (there were a couple tell-tale cracks near the end of the set). And the crowd definitely complied, commandeering the microphone for the chorus of whoa-oh-oh-oh-ooh's to end off the night.

As always, Treelines is a tremendously fun band to watch live, with all four members having an unbridled energy and enthusiasm on stage. And all in all, it was a fantastic way to kick of Vancouver's Unsigned series, with three bands that all had different sounds, but meshed really well together. I can't wait until the next one, and if it's even half as good as this, it'll still be a hell of a show.

setlists

Sidney York
Tea As It Should Be, Roll With Me, Math & Fractions, Apocalyptic Radio Cynic, Cold In Here, I Want You [Savage Garden cover], Dick & Jane, Doctor Doctor, Mile High Love.

The Ruffled Feathers
Canals of Suzhou, All My Cities, Home, Our Beautiful Hearts, Mockingbird, Lead Me To Destruction, Paloma, Blueprints for Our Failed Revolution, Your Embrace.

Treelines 
Summer Song, The Vancouver Song, Birds, Burned Up Hands, Statuette, Ghost Towns, Linked Arms, Courage, Cowboys, Ode to the Prairies. encore) Young Man.

We Are The City w/ Treelines & Fields of Green @ Rio Theatre -- 12/10/11

Two years ago -- to the day -- was the first time I saw We Are The City live. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. They quickly became one of my favourite "local" bands (being from Kelowna), and I have probably seen them a dozen times since. Even the brief departure of David Menzel didn't slow them down, but last night was the first Vancouver show with him back. And along with them was a couple other Kelowna transplants -- and Peak Performance Project alumni -- for a killer lineup at the Rio Theatre.

First up was Fields of Green, and right off the bat I noticed their energy, particularly that of drummer, who is almost a human analog of Animal from The Muppets, with wild arms flailing. They had a bit of a synthy, prog rock driven sound and some pretty catchy songs, with a few new ones in the set, as they had just finished recording a new album and part way through the set they switched things up with the keyboardist taking over on guitar for a few songs, and switching up lead vocals for another.
When I saw them earlier this year, I thought they were quite good, and really fun to watch, but a bit green, and I thought they have really improved in just the last couple months. I am definitely looking forward the the upcoming album, and their next show.

Treelines was up next, starting their set off with a bang by high-kicking right in to the rocking "Ghost Towns". As usual they, they had a great energy, especially lead singer Matt Lockhart, but especially his brother and bassist Steve, who never fails to amuse me by singing along to every word of the set, even though he rarely has a microphone in front of him.
Mid-way through the set they brought things down for a moment with the heartbreaking "When I Get Grown", which saw Matt Kelly on slide guitar, and the title track for their new digital EP, Courage, which starts slow but swells to a grand finish.  After a couple more they ended the set ended with catchy "Ode to the Prairies", and that awkward moment where someone in the front threw a bra at Steve, who didn't seem too amused by it (keep in mind, it was an all ages show). Treelines always put on a fun, rocking show and this was no exception.

And finally, We Are The City hit the stage to a bit of a haunting intro and kicked off with "Happy New Year", garnering a fair amount of singing along. The set was a mix of new and old, with Menzel nailing the guitar parts from the High School EP and the trio sounding better than ever. When I first saw them, I was amazed by how tight they were, and they have gotten exponentially better since then, with a great stage presence and an incredible energy; especially Andy who is up and down more than any drummer I've seen. They also have some of the best banter, which seems less like "stage banter" and more like three friends chatting with you, which is highlighted in the way Cayne & Andy play off each other and interact.
As for the set itself, highlights included the beautiful "April" and the intense "Astronomers", both from In A Quiet World, a newer, unreleased song called "The Birds" which ebbs and flows, and "Mourning Song" off their most recent 7", with an amazing outro/transition between that and "Dark/Warm Air", which saw Andy on vocals and has a bass line that thumps right to your core.
Early in the set I was ever so slightly disappointed that they did not play the entire High School EP in order, with the Amazing Factory video playing on the big screen behind them, but that disappointment was sated when they launched into "Dark/Warm Air" and the video came on screen. That was the "last" song, but they were back out for "Angel in White", with the video projected for that song as well.

My only squabble was that there was a slight buzzing for the entirety of We Are The City's set, and while it wasn't always noticeable, there were a few times during the softer parts of the song where it was; but aside from that, it was an incredible set, and an incredible night of three great bands.

Peak Performance Project Showcase #4 @ Red Room -- 09/29/11

The Peak Performance Project is a multi-year contest in which The Peak, along with Music BC, picks 20 BC musicians/bands a year and makes them stars. The first year was won by We Are The City, and last year, Kyprios, with a ton of great bands and artists included as well.

Part one of the project was a rock & roll boot camp where they went on a week long retreat where industry pros helped them refine their craft. Phase two is a series of shows at The Red Room, four artists a night for five weeks, each playing a 45 minute set. In the last two years, the bands would all have to learn and play a cover of a classic Canadian song, but this year they will all be playing the songs they wrote about Vancouver for the Vancouver125 celebrations. Honestly, I am a bit disappointed about that, because one of my favourite aspects of the showcase series last year was seeing which song they picked and how they interpreted it. But I am sure their Vancouver songs will be great.

The fourth showcase was my most anticipated, featuring two bands I had seen before and enjoy live, and two that I had not seen live before, but was most looking forward to seeing.
(Also, the night featured five different musicians named Matt.)

The Matinee kicked off the night, and boy did they ever kick it off with a bang. I had heard nothing but good things about their live show and they more than delivered. Starting with a slower tune, they quickly burst forth with a driving, folky roots-rock sound.
Lead singer Matt Layzell has an amazing charisma on stage and Matt Rose is a phenomenal guitar player, to say nothing about the rest of the band. They had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand, clapping along with "Sweetwater" and singing along at various points. There was also a fantastic moment in the middle of "The Road" where they brought out a couple extra drums for a breakdown, with each member bashing away. The whole set came to an explosive ending, which saw Rose smashing an acoustic guitar.
The set was pretty amazing, and I think it would be fair to say it was my favourite showcase of the project thus far.

Up next was Redgy Blackout, the other band I was really looking forward to. And they, too, definitely lived up to my expectations. They put on a really fun and energetic rock show, and as well as their own songs, they broke out a great cover of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up", which I loved (see above mini-rant about covers). Another highlight was Scott cracking out the trumpet (and top hat) for a jazz-infused "Who Am I", my favourite song of the set. 

They had a bit of a lull, though, and some lost momentum when they brought out a piano for their Vancouver 125 song and technical difficulties ensued, but they brought it back by the end of the song which featured a good number of the other PPP band members joining them for a song-along. They ended with the beautiful "Alexandria" and an energetic "Bottom of the Sea". 

Behind Sapphire was up next, hitting the stage with kind of a weird -- and long -- intro wearing Asian masks before launching into "Oh My, What A Fine Day". They passed out glow sticks, that they were wearing, and disposable cameras (I think) through the crowd. As usual, they had a great energy and looked like they were having the most fun on stage, but for whatever reason the sound for the set really wasn't the best. Grant's vocals were not coming through very clear and the whole thing just seemed really muddy, which really detracted from their set.
It was more a disappointment than anything, really; I have seen them before and know they can do a lot better.

Finally, it was Treelines closing out the night. They (high)kicked off their set with some straight up rock, and a pretty intense energy. Especially from frontman Matt Lockhart, but especially from his brother Steve, on bass, who is always belting out the lyrics, whether he is mic'd or not. They played a good mix of songs from their Young Man EP and newer ones, including "Courage" which featured a slow burn to a soaring chorus and "When I Get Grown" with Matt Kelly (now also from CBC's Cover Me Canada) on pedal steel and featuring Michelle Faehrmann on cello.
Their Vancouver song, creatively titled "The Vancouver Song", featured either the silliest or most brilliant lyrics, and was really a simple, straight forward, and descriptive, love letter to the city.
And they brought it to a close in fine fashion with "Ghost Towns", getting everyone at the front of the stage jumping and dancing along.

It was definitely the best all-around showcase thus far, though next week looks like it could be just as good. For the final week, we'll see Maurice, Lindsay Bryan, 41st & Home and Rococode wrapping everything up.

Sidney York @ Library Square and also Treelines @ Electric Owl -- 07/12/11

It ended up being a busy Tuesday (of all nights) which resulted in a little bit of venue hopping. I was incredibly excited to see Sidney York for the first time, at the weekly Higher Learning shindig at Library Square, but first there was a stop at Electric Owl for Hair-E-Oke, an event centred around local photographer and all around awesome person Christine McAvoy chopping off 8 inches of her hair to donate to the Canadian Cancer Society.

But before she trimmed her trademark tresses, we were treated to a short set from Treelines. Even though it was only a handful of songs, they were as energetic as ever, with Matt Lockhart drenched in sweat two songs in. They played a trio of new songs, which should be out on an EP later on this year, that all sounded pretty cool; though for one of them, which was a bit of a slow burner, there were some speaker or audio problems that were a little distracting. The problem wasn't consistent through the set, but popped up again during the last song, "Ghost Towns". It wasn't enough to ruin the show, but was enough to be annoying. Despite that, it was the usual fun set that you get from Treelines.
They also mentioned that all proceeds from the sales of "When I Get Grown" from Bandcamp will also be going to the Canadian Cancer Society.

setlist
Summer Song, Linked Arms, "Banger", "Slow Burner", When I Get Grown, Young Man, Statuette, Ghost Town.
(two of these songs are as-yet-unnamed; can you guess which?)

From there it was a quick hop over to Library Square for Sidney York. Unfortunately I missed the opening band, Vows, the solo project of Chris Kelly (of White Knife né Analog Bell Service) and got there just at Sidney York's first song was wrapping up. Her backing band included members of Hey Ocean!, Beekeeper & Rococode and York went between guitar and keys, with the sound rounded out with a woodwind section with an oboe and a bassoon.

Before the show itself, though, I think Library Square is now officially one of my least favourite "venues" in the city, as the band is pretty much just set up in a weird corner of the pub, and the sound was really not that great. At all. But despite that, Sidney York put on one hell of a show. Everyone in the band was full of energy, but especially Sidney, who had a great presence, and was incredibly captivating.

The first song was "Dick & Jane", which I was sad to have all but missed, but she hit just about every song off her new album, Apocalyptic Radio Cynic, which has been my favourite "surprise" albums of the year. The infectious "Roll With Me" and somewhat dark "Math & Fractions" were a couple of highlights. Mid way through the band took a break and Sidney played "Falling" from her first album solo, which was a fantastic showcase of her vocal talents. The band came back and wrapped up the set with a pair of songs that York introduced as a bad way to react to to a breakup, "Stalker", and a good way to react, "Mile High Love", which is one of my favourites off the album. After the usual fake-leaving, they came back out for the expected encore -- with Devon Lougheed even lampshading the whole practice -- for another song that was (I think) off the first album, and was a good song to end the set on.

Mediocre sound notwithstanding, Sidney York and her band put on a really good show, and I can't wait to see her again, hopefully at a better venue. And hopefully sooner rather than later. If it was this enjoyable at a place like Library Square, I can only imagine what it would sound like at somewhere like the Media Club or Biltmore.

setlist
Dick & Jane, Doctor Doctor, Tea As It Should Be, Apocalyptic Radio Cynic, Math & Fractions, Falling, Cold In Here, Roll With Me, Stalker, Mile High Love.
(encore) [mystery song]

West Coast Pop! w/ The Dudes, Treelines & Birthday Boy @ Red Room -- 03/26/11

After missing the last coupe weeks of West Coast Pop shows for various reasons, I knew that last night was one that should not be missed. And apparently quite a few people thought the same, what with the show being sold out.

Birthday Boys were on first, and they could be best described as RAWK!. They had all the hallmarks of a bro-rock band, alternating gravelly and screaming vocals, power chords and power stances, and that generic alt-rock sound. Though while it may not have been for me, I have to admit, they did have a pretty good energy on stage.

Second was Treelines, who are fresh back from their first cross-Canada tour. Playing mostly off their Young Man EP, they also tossed in a couple new ones; "Linked Arms", in which pockets of people in the crowd did just that, and another one I didn't catch the name of. The familiar stuff was great, too, with "Ghost Towns" bringing the place down, and "Young Man" building to its sing-along climax. Another highlight was the ballad-y "When I Get Grown", which saw drummer Grant take over bass, Steve on keys and Matt Kelly laying down some steel. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few teary eyes for that one. And as usual, the band had an incredible presence on stage, and even showed some polish after their tour. They're always a fun band to see live.

And last but not least, The Dudes. I have to admit, while I don't dislike the band, I have never really been too much into them. I enjoy hearing the odd single, but never bothered to pick up the album. That being said, their live show was fun as hell to watch. They had a fantastic energy and the crowd was eating out of the palm of their hands. From stage diving and crowd surfing to singing along to each one of the bands singles, the audience's enthusiasm was only outmatched by the band's. With the catchy collection of tunes, including "Dropkick Queen of the Weekend", "Girl Police" and "Pretty Lies", their songs ran the gamut from love to alcohol to... loving alcohol.
It was a really good set, I would definitely be interested in seeing them play live again.

The Dudes and Treelines were two bands that worked so well together, making a great and fun night of music. Though I have a feeling next week's show is going to be the one to set the bar.