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

.

beekeeper @ Media Club -- 05/05/12

A couple months removed from the release of their latest 7", beekeeper returned home and gathered some friends to swarm the Media Club for their official release party.

Starting off the night was Fine Times, with a strong synthy-pop sound (one member even had a tower of keyboards almost as tall as he was). While the set started off a bit slow, they picked up momentum as they went, songs getting more and more catchy. Despite the awkward pauses and silence between songs -- and general lack of stage presence -- they put together a pretty entertaining set and I wouldn't mind catching them again sometime.

Next up was the first -- and likely last -- show from Brother Act, a band consisting of a few familiar faces. Led by David Vertesi and Shad, and backed by Devon Lougheed, Peter Carruthers, and Johnny Andrews, their set was brief, with only four song set of sloppy garage rock and purposefully rough vocals from Vertesi; a real contrast to his usually smooth baritone. With fun titles like "Men In Love Are Like Old People Trying To Use Computers" and smiles plastered over all the musicians faces, you could tell they were having a blast on stage, and that enthusiasm was definitely picked up by the crowd.

Next up was The Belle Game, the six members -- seven, when joined by Andrew Lee on trumpet -- crammed onto the Media Club stage for a set of mostly new material. The new songs definitely had their usual grandiose sound, but also showed growth from the band. Highlights included an amazing showcase of Andrea Lo's powerful voice, "River", and "Sabbath" which had a little bit of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River" snuck in. Another new one was spontaneously renamed "Denim and Leather" and the band ended with a couple familiar songs, "Left This Place" and "Sleep to Grow", which built to an explosive ending.

And finally, wrapping up the night was the sometimes incomprehensible, often catchy, and always fun beekeeper. The trio of Devon Lougheed, Luke Cyca, and Brandi Sidoryk have a great, high energy (with Devon jumping around so much he had to enlist the audience to borrow a belt) and their songs are rarely straightforward; not going just from point A to point B, but rather following Devon's manic energy all over the map. Songs like "Table and Bed" and "Pinwheel Revolution" both have halting, alternating or even overlapping vocals and "Pets Eat Their Masters" showcases the band's 90s influence.
Other highlights from the set include the title track for the new 7", "Take Me Back (To The Place)" which name drops some Vancouver landmarks, and the finale to the set, where they asked for as many people as possible to jump on stage for a giant "family photo", something Devon mentioned they had been doing on their previous tour, and couldn't wait to try it out at home.

And the "family" theme was pretty fitting for the night. With a lot of familiar faces both on stage and in the crowd supporting their friends, there was a lot of love and friendship buzzing through the room, and that made for a fun night of music.

Beekeeper w/ Sandman Viper Command and 41st & Home @ Railway -- 04/10/11

Seems like it's been a busy few days for shows. After a taping for k-os and Hannah Georgas on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight at the CBC, it was over to the Railway Club.

41st and Home started off the night, somehow cramming five members and gear onto the Railway Club's small stage. Their set consisted of mostly new songs -- I would assume from the EP they just finished recording -- which sounded pretty good. They had the same chamber-pop-ish feel as you would expect from the band, but definitely also shows how much they've expanded that sound in the last year. Among the new ones there were a few older; "Sleeper" had part of the crowd singing along, and "Eva", a perfect song to end the set; even though it seemed Thom's guitar was a bit too low during the song.
There was also a nice moment during the set where Thom needed to tune, so instead of standing there in awkward silence, Patrick played some smooth jazz on the keyboard. It was a neat way to break that potentially momentum killing pause.

Next up was the awesomely named Sandman Viper Command. They had an odd stage setup as two of them were on stage, and two of them on the floor right in front. The band a bit more of a straightforward rock sound to them, which they pulled off quite well, and well as a good stage presence, and some funny banter/chatter. But while there was nothing bad about them, there wasn't really anything all that great either. They played a Perfectly Acceptable Set, but nothing that made me need to run out and listen to more.

And wrapping up the night was Beekeeper. They won me over from the start, with a swarm of puns before launching into an incredibly energetic set, sharing the same layout, with bass and violin on the floor, but the other two on stage. Musically they were good, with some catchy pop-rock songs that were a little all over the place, at times. But what elevated the set was the energy, and especially the charisma from the band. Lead singer/guitarist Devon Lougheed had a great presence, and sense of humour, joking and telling stories between songs. And to say nothing of drummer Luke Cyca and his inexplicable puffy shirt (didn't realise he made a deal with a low talker, perhaps?). The set of fun songs included "Sudden Cuckoo", which has been getting some air on CBCR3, one that was introduced as a 40 second song (and ended up being just that) as well as some new stuff, teasing a split 7" with Sandman Viper Command later this year. As they brought the set to an end, they brought up everyone from the dance floor onto the stage to finish off with a stage full of fans.

A pretty fun show, in all, and a good way to spend a Sunday night.