I never knew how much I wanted to see Vancouver psych rockers Black Mountain at a soft-seat theatre venue until this show popped up. It's been nearly five years since the last time I saw them live, so I probably would have been excited wherever they played, but the combination of their soaring sounds with the Vogue sounded like a great match.
First up was Dutch duo zZz (pronounced exactly as it looks). I caught the last half of their set, with Daan Schinkel on organ & synths and Björn Ottenheim with drums & vocals making more noise than you would expect from two people. Björn's Billy Idol-esque yelps and the fast fingers of Schinkel created a cacophony of sound, with crashing drums and swirling synth through their set. They were definitely a strong choice to warm up the crowd.
From there it was a bit of an odd shift, as Destroyer was the other supporting act... but not full band Destroyer, just Dan Bejar alone with an acoustic guitar. Which was definitely a bit weird between the two other heavier acts, and I think a few people in the crowd were taken aback (at the very least, the guy behind me was). That being said, I always enjoy Destroyer, full band or acoustic, and it was nice to see him in a venue like the Vogue.
Bejar is always a little enigmatic on stage, and this night after every song he would step back from the microphone, take a bow, crouching down for a sip of whiskey, a sip of beer, then right back to it. He talked to the crowd a few times, thanking everyone and introducing songs, but mainly just ran through his vast arsenal; from older songs like "Watercolours Into The Ocean" and "English Music", to newer "Times Square", and even a few that I think were brand new. His unique voice trembled through the room with his occasionally-poetically-dense, occasionally-la-da-de-dah lyrics serenading. I think in the end there ended up being a mix of those who knew and appreciated the Vancouver mainstay, those who were won over, and those who were just confused by the main with an acoustic guitar opening for Black Mountain.
But speaking of them, it wasn't long after that before it was time for Black Mountain. Stephen McBean and Amber Webber took the stage at first, starting the older, eponymous song "Black Mountain" as the rest of the band joined them, before blowing the roof off with one of my favourites, the bone-shaking, tempestuous "Stormy High". The first half of the set actually featured a fair amount of their '08 album In The Future including the moody "Queens Will Play" showcasing both McBean's guitar shredding and Amber's powerfully haunting (and hauntingly powerful?) voice.
Of course, they also delved into more tracks from their newest, the appropriately named fourth album IV. Highlights including "You Can Dream" and "Space To Bakersfield", the ten-minute song taking an entire theatre's collective breath away to end the main set.
Though they didn't even leave a pretense of the show being over, with the guitars still reverberating as the crowd started stomping in unison for the encore. Obviously they obliged, back out with the absolutely intense "Mothers Of The Sun", finally wrapping up after a good hour and a half with "Mary Lou" twisting and turning to an astonishing finale.
Maybe it's because, even as a local band, they don't play all that often, they don't over-saturate themselves, I always forget just how incredible they are live. Their intensity and raw power is hard to match, and especially in a venue like the Vogue, they shone bright.
setlist
Black Mountain
Stormy High
Florian Saucer Attack.
Angels
Queens Will Play
Tyrants
You Can Dream
Line Them All Up
Rollercoaster
Wucan
Space To Bakersfield
(encore)
Mothers Of The Sun
Mary Lou
