Hannah Georgas @ Venue -- 05/22/10

photographs courtesy of the awesome Leigh Eldridge.

It was a homecoming for Vancouver's Hannah Georgas, as her CD release party hit Venue last night, and she brought along some amazing talent with her. The CBC Radio 3 sponsored show started early -- at about 730, for the 10 o'clock curfew -- and Tariq Hussain and Chris Kelly were there to host, introduce the act, and give out prized (like the highly coveted Radio 3 scarf).

First up was David Vertesi, who is probably better known for his work with Hey Ocean! He hit the stage alone and played a short set of songs from his upcoming solo album, grabbing everyones attention (especially the ladies) was his baritone voice. The songs themselves were a little folky, but with an edge to them. They were all good, but it was just him on stage, and I would be really interested to hear them with a backing band. Not that they didn't stand up on their own, but I think a fuller sounds would elevate them from good to great. You could tell he was maybe a little nervous, but not so much that it distracted from the set, and by the end he seemed much more comfortable. He mentioned having an album out a little later this year, so I will definitely be on the lookout for that.



Next up, after an amazing introduction from Chris Kelly, was Colleen Brown and she was a perfect fit to open for Hannah Georgas. Kelly introduced her by saying she was so much more than just a singer/songwriter, and that is a good way of describing her sound. It was catchy folk-pop, but her amazing voice was the star. She had the crowd captivated after one song with her powerful pipes (especially the guys), and kept it for the whole set. Most of the set was her on the keys and a guitarist, but for the last few she brought out a full band, and ended the set with what she called her "ball buster" song, which was an incredibly apt description for it. I really wish I had cash to spare to pick up her album, but I guess I will

And finally was Hannah Georgas. She started off with just her and Robbie Driscoll on ukelele and the light and romantic "Something For You" before the whole band came out to kick up the energy with "Bang Bang You're Dead". The set consisted of just about all her songs from both the new album, This Is Good, and last years EP, The Beat Stuff, and each and every one was just as good as the recording, if not better. Her excellent voice and range of songs, from insanely catchy pop to moody revenge to soft and beautiful, all translated perfectly live. Highlights were the acerbic Mama's Boy, a favourite of mine, the moody and dark "Thick Skin" (which I got a middling-quality video of) and "Deep End", that saw Colleen Brown join her, and the rest of the band, for the gang vocals. She had a great stage presence, too, maintaining a high energy and the occasional bantering with the crowd, she seemed absolutely calm and at home on stage, and genuinely happy to be there, especially for the hometown show. The set "ended" with All I Need, which started out calm and low, and gradually built and built in intensity until the band was just going all out.
They came back out a moment later for the obligatory encore with Dancefloor, a song about the lack of good places to dance in Vancouver, and it's high energy definitely turned Venue into a dance hall, if only for the one song. After that was a new(ish) song called "Ode To Mom" before she took a seat at the keyboard for the final song, "Shine".

I've said it before, but there have been a handful of shows this year where every band playing has been great, and this show would absolutely be one of those.

setlist:
Something For You, Bang Bang You're Dead, Chit Chat, Lover's Breakout, Thick Skin, Here it Goes, The National, Let's talk, Mama's boy, Lovesick, The Beat Stuff, Deep End, This Is Good, All I Need.
(encore) Dancefloor, Ode To Mom, Shine.

Bend Sinister w/ We Are The City @ Venue -- 12/10/09

Finally, my Bend Sinister bad luck streak is over! I had previously only seen them either opening or doing otherwise short sets; it seemed every time that they came for a show of their own, there was something conflicting. But finally, thanks to the first of the two Christmas parties sponsored by The Peak, I got to see them. All three bands of the night are bands from the Peak Performance Project, a 20 band contest to help nourish local talent. Being a fan of Bend Sinister from before, they are my top pick to win, but We Are The City has definitely impressed me as well, so I was glad that my two favourites from the PPP were playing a show together.

We Are the City was first up, and holy damn! Had I seen them and not known anything about them, I would never have guessed that they have only been a band for a few years... and are so young. Not only did they have a great energy on stage, but they were incredibly tight & seamless, and -- if their stage banter and joking is any indication -- they seemed incredibly comfortable and at home on stage. I certainly wasn't expecting them to be bad or anything, but I have seem bands that have been around for way longer be much sloppier on stage. It was pretty amazing. They hit most of the songs off In A Quiet World throwing in a new one, This Is A Bad Mistake. The highlight of the set was my favourite song off the album, Astronomers, which even had a nifty space theme on the giant LED screen behind them.

Next was Run The Red Light, whose stage setup was quite opposite of WATC's, with a smoky atmosphere, small towers of LED lights back-lighting them. They, too, had a good stage presence, but not so much banter or talk between songs. When they started, their sound reminded me somewhat of Mute Math, and through the show there were more than a few times where the similarities were reinforced. They were not bad, but seemed to lack variety. A lot of their songs, even the cover of Sarah McLaughlin's Possession (yeah, that's right), sounded a little similar. I'd probably check them out again if they were part of a good bill, but probably wouldn't on their own.

And finally, Bend Sinister. Even after seeing them opening for Young Galaxy about a month and a half ago, I was still absolutely blown away. These guys are absolutely amazing live and seem to get better every time I am able to see them. They started off with Things Will Get Better, which they most certainly did, since right after was one of my favourite songs, Julianna. I am pretty sure I had never see them do that live before, so that was pretty damn awesome. CT, and a few other songs through the night, showed off Jason Dana's intense drumming and after a new song (which I didn't catch the name of, but will dub Cruel Joke because why not) and bringing things down with Give In To The Night, they launched into Brothers Of Humankind, which absolutely brought down the house with its incredible intensity and power. And I've said it before, and I am sure I will say it again, but Dan Moxon is an animal on the keyboard. They ended the night in the best possibly way, by announcing they had a cover song they've been working on for a while, and it was time to bust it out. After a familiar opening, you better believe they had everyone in the place singing along to the opening lines "Just a small town girl..." That's right, Don't Stop Believin'. Epic!
Even though they played for about an hour, it still seemed too short of a set and I already can't wait until they come back.

An awesome night of music, with my two top picks for the Peak Performance Project sharing the stage. If one, or both, of these bands doesn't make it into at least the top three of the Peak Performance Project, I think I will lose a little bit of faith in the station.

setlist, with what seems to be the new norm of me getting all but one song.
Things Will Get Better, Julianna, CT, New Song (which I dub Cruel Joke), Careless, Give In To The Night (w/ reprise), Brothers of Humankind, Dr Lee, [mystery song], Don't Stop Believin' (Journey cover)

Arkells @ Venue -- 11/19/09

I am still positive that I will never take Venue's name seriously. But silly, pretentious name aside, they do host some incredible bands. Like Hamilton, Ontario's Arkells who were there last night.

The Novaks opened the night. They were... I don't want to say bad, because they were not. But a little boring... bland and generic. A lot of their songs sounded the same or similar. Even the slower ones just seemed like they changed the tempo. Again, they were by no means horrible; I've seen worse. Much worse. But just not very memorable.

This was the fourth time seeing Arkells, but only second time headlining, and it was probably the best and most intense of all the shows thus far. Holy crap, do these guys have an insane amount of energy. The show started a little iffy, by no fault of Arkells, as the sound was a little... terrible. A lot of it was washed out and distorted. I don't know if it was just where we were sitting or what, but it really took me out of the first few songs. Eventually it was fixed (or I just learned to listen past it) and I got to really enjoy the show. They played just about every song from their debut album, Jackson Square, with a few other surprises. There was a new song which was called Where Are You Going? I think. I could sort of see the setlist from where I was and that's what it looked like it said. It was a pretty good song. Mid way through the set they did one of my favourite things; broke out a cover song. Their choice? Based on a bar near their hometown which plays a lot of old, classic music, they chose Smokey Robinson and The Miracles' The Tears of a Clown. It was a little rock-ier, a little Arkells-ier if you will, than the original, but a pretty damn good interpretation.
The last part of the set was just a string of great songs and performances. When they got to Oh, The Boss is Coming, the crowd went apeshit. Singing along with most of it, Arkells even threw in that call & reply with the breakdown of the song. The band may still be relatively new -- I think they've been together for three years? -- but damn, do they know how to work a crowd. No Champagne Socialist is always an incredible song to hear live. They ended the main set with my favourite song of theirs, John Lennon. Again, everyone was singing along to the chorus, and there was a really cool point where they segued into a little bit of Eleanor Rigby -- just the "Ah, look at all the lonely people" -- which, again, everyone sang along to.
They came out pretty quickly after for the "encore" and kept the sing along theme going, getting everyone to sing the first verse of Amazing Grace with them, which turned into Deadlines. After that they ended the show with yet another cover, this time of Dancing in the Dark. Again, a pretty awesome variation on the song, and there has got to be some pun value in Arkells covering Bruce Springstein. (As my friend put it: "Oh, The Boss is Covered") The only thing the cover lacked was Max pulling a girl out from the front of the crowd to dance with him, Courtney Cox-style.

Random covers, insane energy, great stage show and, above all else, fantastic music. What else could one ask for in a show?

Setlist:
Blueprints, The Ballad of Hugo Chavez, Tragic Flaw, Abigail, Heart of the City, I'm Not The Sun, Where Are You Going? (??), Pulling Punches, The Tears of a Clown (Smokey Robinson and The Miracles cover), Oh The Boss is Coming, No Champagne Socialist, John Lennon.
(encore) Deadlines, Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springstein cover)

Wide Mouth Mason & Odds @ Venue -- 10/01/09

By this point, I think I have probably seen Wide Mouth Mason in the double digits. Odds, however, I had almost never seen. When they were big the first time around, I wasn't really going to many shows, so I never had a chance to see them "back in the day". I did see them play a short set before the fireworks one day, but that was more like half a show... it doesn't count. For these reasons, I think was more excited to have them on the bill than Mason. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good WMM show, but I had already seem them once (and a half, as they did a fireworks gig too) this year already, and countless times before.

Starting off the night was Jordan Carrier, and he... sounded pretty much like you'd expect a modern day Fox Seeds finalist to sound like. The first song sounded downright schizophrenic and the rest of his set, he didn't really seem to have a style of his own, just a patchwork of other bands. He, and his band mates, were not bad, musically, but not captivating at all and I pretty much forgot about the entire set as soon as Odds came on.

Odds hit the stage not too long after Carrier was off and played through the first song, which I thought was kind of muffled. Though when they hit the stage, none of the mics were on, so I thought it was just the levels... then I thought something was odd when I noticed the flashing lights were not strobe lights, but above both emergency doors. And that the high pitch whining wasn't feedback, but an alarm. Turns out the fire alarm was going off, and due to this, the PA system shut off. So, consummate professionals as they are, Odds joked and riffed on stage, about how this was now a photo shoot and such, before realizing they'd have to take a short break for things to get sorted out. Luckily, it wasn't too long of a break and they were back out soon after. They played a good mix of their older hits and the brand new material, and they still knew how to work a show, especially lead singer Craig Northey. I am so glad that I got the chance to see them in the end. It may not be the original lineup, but they're still as good as they ever were. And it was just another reminder why Pat Steward is one of my favourite drummers.

Finally, Wide Mouth Mason was up, and they were as sharp as ever. Even having seen them so many times, they never cease to amaze me with the sheer energy of their live shows. As is usual for their shows, they focused a lot on their hits and faster songs, but there were a few older ones in there, as well as two brand new songs from the upcoming (eventually) new album. One they had only played a few times before, and one they hadn't played at a show yet. The latter had the great title: Stop Yelling and Kiss Me. There were some nice jam moments as well, like during This Mourning (I think) they broke it down, and at one point during Shaun's solo-ing, he noticed someone near the front taking a video and went to play right in front of them. I've seen him do similar things before, and it's just cool to see the band interacting with the fans, not just up there to play, get paid and go home. I've met all three members before, and they are all incredibly nice, so that's no surprise there.
For the encore, they came back out with Change, which saw Pat Steward and Craig Northey take the stage to help out. Change segued into a live WMM staple, a cover of Stevie Wonder's Superstition which had Steward take over for Saf drumming and Northey on vocals. THAT then segued into a really good cover of Billie Jean, before going back to Superstition for one hell of an ending to one hell of a show.

Aside from the mediocre opening act, the disrupting fire alarm, and one other incident* it was quite the excellent night of rock and/or roll.

*of all the shows I've been to this year... hell, of all the shows I've been to ever... the one show I almost get into a fight at is a Wide Mouth Mason show??? Bizarre.

Holy Fuck @ Venue -- 09/24/09

Just a brief aside before the review: the Final Fantasy show tonight has been cancelled due to Owen Pallett having a serious flu. This makes me incredibly sad, as it was the show in this stretch I was most looking forward to... :(
I hope he gets better soon and is able to reschedule... and on a day when I have no other show!
But anyway, on to the matter at hand:

There are two interesting things about my little 5 day stretch (of 4 shows, now). One is they're all in different venues. Tonight was the newly renovated Plaza Club, renamed The Venue, which is a ridiculously silly name. They've opened it up a bit more, especially downstairs, but the awkward general shape is still there -- it still feels like you're inside a ship -- and the sound is only slightly better than it was. The stage got a much needed overhaul, though. It's much bigger with better lights and a pretty nifty LED screen along the back. It's an improvement over the old Plaza Club, but it's still kind of a sub-par venue. It's good enough, but with some of the other, excellent, venues in the town, it's like eating at McDonald's when there is a Cafe Crêpe across the street.

The other interesting thing is the wide variety of music. Sure, they're all Canadian, and would all fit under the "indie" umbrella, but the bands sounds were about at the opposite end of the musical spectrum as last nights lineup. First up was Basketball, who I knew nothing about before the show. And I wish that were still the case. The best way to describe them would be Tribal Electronica, and they started out okay, but by the end it kind of devolved into pretentious noise, with all songs sounding... kinda similar. They had decent energy, with the lead singer jumping into the crowd a few times to sing and all three members jumping around switching instruments through most of the set, but were most certainly nothing I'm in a hurry to hear again.

Finally around 11, Holy Fuck hit the stage and... wow. They may be an electronica band, but this was no simple DJ set. They don't use any fancy tricks -- like looping, splicing or programming anything -- so everything was done live with the help of drums, a guitar, and two tables full of keyboards and other miscellaneous instruments... as well as non-instruments, like a 35mm film synchronizer. Having the show done this way, you almost get the sense that no two Holy Fuck shows will ever be alike. Sure, the songs themselves will always be the same, but the subtle nuances of them will always shift and change, just by the very nature of how they play live shows.
They went for a solid hour or so, just rocking out with limited breaks between the songs and not much by way of stage banter -- only speaking to us twice, to thank us and that sort of thing -- but they more than made up for it with the amount of energy they put into playing; an energy that overflowed off the stage and got damn near everyone in the place moving. They were less a band a more a force of nature. Case in point, they ended the main set with Lovely Allen, which was indescribably amazing, and had had everyone jumping. I would have been completely satisfied had they ended the night there, but they came back out for a couple more, leaving our already blown minds steaming piles of goo all over the Venue floor.

Simply put, I can not wait to have the chance to see Holy Fuck live again.
(also, I managed to snag a copy of that creepy-as-fuck poster for my ever expanding poster wall. huzzah!)

I will leave you with proof. This video was not mine, I take no credit for it other than finding it on the YouTubes and posting it here: