Peak Performance Project Showcase #5 @ Red Room -- 10/06/11

October 07, 2011 by Christine McAvoy

Second up was Maurice, who I had actually seen a few years ago (back when Aidan Knight was still playing bass) but completely forgot about until recently, so I was going in more or less fresh. With one of the most finely crafted set of the showcase series, JP Maurice had a great stage presence and energy, with a few tricks up his sleeve, throwing streamers out into the crowd at random times. The set started a little low key, but built up in energy towards the end, with one of the highlights being "Mistake" and a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams", which sounded kind of strange coming from a male singer, but he nailed it regardless.
Throughout the set there was a cavalcade of guest stars of other PPP artists, with members of The Boom Booms, Jasper Sloan Yip, The Belle Game, Redgy Blackout and The Matinee all coming out to help in some form or another, in a nice show of the camaraderie that has formed from the competition.

Up next was another repeat offender, 41st and Home, in their second year taking part in the Project. While I liked them last year, I honestly don't think I would have put them in my top five, but they have really taken off since then. They started with the band members slowly taking the stage and Summoning Thom, as he came from the back of the crowd, through the room with actual flags waving behind him, rallying everyone to start clapping along as they launched in to "Modern Medicine".
I've seen them a few times in the last year, but I can safely say this was the best and most impressive set I've seen from them; with awesome intensity the set was incredibly dynamic, with each member firing on all cylinders; especially Thom, on guitar and vocals, and Sejal, violin and vocals, who were really playing to the crowd. A crowd that was completely eating them up, with possibly the loudest cheering I've heard in the showcase this year after "Eva". Near the end of the set, Thom once again jumped into the crowd to get everyone clapping, and then back up to finish the set off with "Gorbachev" for an explosive climax.
It was pretty amazing to see how far they've come in the last year, and their set was definitely one of my favourites from this year.

And finaly, wrapping up the whole project was Rococode. They were a favourite of mine going in to the project, and aside from a few audio glitches -- a couple instances of feedback -- they put on as great set as you would expect from them. With their tight, insanely catchy pop rock, sounding more polished than ever.
They opened strong with a couple of songs which never fails to get stuck in my head -- "Dreams" and "Empire" -- and seemed a bit more open to the crowd than previous shows, too, with Andrew chatting a bit more and actively getting the crowd to sing along. Part way through the set they brought out some strings as they toned things down for a moment for a haunting song featuring more of Laura on vocals, before they ended with a bang with "Blood", once again getting the crowd to sing along, and bringing the showcase series to a fantastic end.

And with that, the showcase series is over. The next step now is voting for the artists, which has already begun; you can only vote once, though, so choose wisely! The polls are open until 5pm next Friday, October 14th, and a portion of each artist's total mark comes from online voting.
The top five will be revealed at on October 26th on The Peak, with the unranked top three taking part in the grand finale show at the Commodore Ballroom November 17. And that night, someone will walk atay $100,500 richer.

And just in closing, a huge thanks to everyone at The Peak and MusicBC for making this happen.

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

September 30, 2011 by Christine McAvoy

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.

Peak Performance Project Showcase #2 @ Red Room -- 09/15/11

September 16, 2011 by Christine McAvoy

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.

First up for the night was Avairis, whose three members took the stage one by one for a song that built up. They were kind of dirty, bluesy rock group and while they played off each other really well, I didn't really get into them that much. I definitely didn't think it was bad by any means, but it wasn't all that great either; it just... was.
They would, however, win if the prize was based off facial hair, and Duff has a really interesting story -- he was once in a plane crash and messed up his right hand, so he decided to switch and learn to play the guitar with his other hand.

Fields of Green was up next, and they were one of the bands that I had not heard much of before, but was intrigued to see live. With a bit of a prog-infused alt-rock sound and a crazy energy, especially the drummer, who was a maniac behind the kit. Though half way through the set they killed all of their momentum when, after trying to get the Red Room silent (which did not work at all) they decided to do a completely unplugged and unamplified song. I can see something like that being killer in a smaller venue with a quieter crowd, but as it turned out, anyone not in the first five rows couldn't hear a thing, and that really hurt. That being said, they did manage to regain some momentum and ended the set with even more energy than they started with. For the most part, I really enjoyed it, and definitely saw potential in the band; they're a little green right now, but given a few years of hard work, they could be huge.

Third up was Acres of Lions, who are one of the repeats from last year's competition. When I saw them a year ago, I thought they were okay; a decently fun band, though nothing much else. But they really impressed me this year with how much they've improved since then. They played a solid set of fun, upbeat rock songs, and had a really good stage presence, really pulling the crowd into it. The best example was mid-set, with their new single, "Reaction", which got everyone clapping and ba baa-ing along, and was sure to get stuck in peoples heads well into the next day.
Plus, any band that has a song about Firefly ("This Was Not My Best Day Ever") is aces in my books.

And rounding out the night was Current Swell. I had heard some of their stuff before the Project started, and I never really cared for them that much, so I had a bit of a bias going into their set. But they were a lot more rocking that I thought they would be, and they had a fantastic energy.
While there were still more songs I couldn't get into than could, there were a couple I really dug. "Cursed", which has a fantastic guitar riff throughout the song, was great live and their Vancouver 125 song, "Granvilletown", was also pretty fun. I enjoyed them a lot more than I thought I would, but (to be honest) I still wasn't really "won over" by them. I would probably see them live again, but likely won't be scrambling to get an album.

Maybe not quite as good as the first week, but still a damn fun show. And, on a side note, pretty much half of the Vancouver music scene was on hand to see the showcase, which is always great seeing all the love and support.
On tap for next week next week, ~~we'll~~ you'll see The Oh Wells, Ashleigh Eymann, Sex With Strangers and The Boom Booms.

Peak Performance Project Showcase #1 @ Red Room -- 09/08/11

September 09, 2011 by Christine McAvoy

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.

Kicking off the whole series was The Never Surprise, joined by drummer Neko Friesen and Robbie Driscoll on bass -- both of which have played with just about all the bands in Vancouver. They started the set with some slow, folk-y songs, but as the set went on they picked up the energy a little. There wasn't too much banter, aside from some gratuitous "thank yous", but they all seemed confident from the start, which just grew as the set went on. A little bit of feedback struck them early on -- that actually persisted throughout the night -- but it was played it off quite well. They wrapped up the set with their Vancouver 125 song, which was probably the most energetic one they had. They were the crowd into it and clapping along, and it was definitely a good ending song.

Hilary Grist was up next, keeping the mood somewhat mellow with her singer/songwriter folk-pop style. Musically, I thought she was okay; a nice voice and catchy songs, but nothing that really stood out or that I hadn't heard before. But she did have a fantastic energy and stage presence. Coming out from behind the keyboard, singing at the front of the stage, she was great and getting the crowd into it. As the set went on there was a couple of nice moments, with the whole band came up to the front for a soft, cute song and one song consisting of a good sized brass section. She ended her set with a song that started off with just her, then the band joined in, then her large brass section came in as well, for a big ending with the crowd singing and clapping along.

Following her was Jasper Sloan Yip, who I had heard a few songs from, but for whatever reason had never seen him live or delved deeper into his work. But that will have to change, because he put on a thoroughly enjoyable set with a bit more rock in his folk, and a nice balance of slower songs and fun, catchy upbeat ones. Yip had an effortless charm to him, and he & his band all had a good presence on stage, and great chemistry, playing off each other really well. I also loved the addition of the strings, especially violin, to the songs, giving them a nice depth. He, too, ended with a big, grand, clap-along song -- which was a fun song, but had me wondering a little if someone told all the bands at bootcamp that was a good way to end a show.

Wrapping up the night was The Belle Game. I've had the chance to see their big, chamber pop sound a few times in the last couple months, and this was probably their best show I have seen them play. While they have never been lacking energy, this set had an abundance of it, with the members moving around more, being more dynamic. Members of the band would come up front and centre to show off, notably Alex Andrew on guitar and trumpetite Andrew Lee (on loan from The Ruffled Feathers) blowing his heart out for a couple trumpet solos, and a really good intensity from singer Andrea Lo.
And they also had a big, bombastic ending to their set, wrapping up the first night of the showcase shows with a bang.

Definitely a fun night, and a great start to the showcase series, which runs for the next four Thursdays at the Red Room. Next week we'll hear from Avairis, Fields of Green, Acres of Lion and Current of Swell

West Coast Pop w/ Yukon Blonde, Sun Wizard & Redbird @ Red Room -- 05/07/11

May 08, 2011 by Christine McAvoy

The penultimate instalment in the West Coast Pop! concert series, this was another one that I was really looking forward to. A band that has proven to be fantastic live and another one I have really been digging for the last couple months, it was sure to be a good one.

Kicking off the night was Redbird. Even though they don't have anything released just yet, I've been able to see them live a couple times this year (and get my hands on a few acoustic tracks) and they just keep getting better every time I see them, which makes me more and more eager for the upcoming EP.
Their too-short-set was full of energy and lots of fun, with Savannah's great voice blending really well with the folky, roots rock sound. "Oh Please My Heart" is a definite earworm of a catchy song, and "No Game", which -- despite not even being released -- has become one of my favourite songs of the year; especially with the far too relatable line "my subtlety sabotages me, so please read between the lines".

Next up was Sun Wizard, another fairly new Vancouver band, who had more of a straight ahead rock sound, with twinges of psychedelia. The four members were focused mostly on playing, with not much by way of stage banter or even too much to engage the crowd (the bassist even had the clichéd 'vaguely bored bass player' look). A couple of songs, most notably "World's Got A Handle", sounded great, but most of them were a little interchangeable, with the same kind of sound going on. But they put on a perfectly enjoyable set, and while I might not go too see a show of their own any time soon, I would not be against seeing them live again, and I could definitely see them getting better given time.

And finally, Yukon Blonde. I've had the fortune of seeing them a couple times before, but always as the opening band, so it was great to have them play a longer set. The band always puts on a great live show, and last night was no different. With their incredibly energetic, eardrum-melting power pop-rock and near-perfect harmonies, they had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands, singing along to all the older songs -- with Jeff Innes even handing over the mic to the crowd for part of "Wind Blows". There were also a few new songs sprinkled throughout the set, which were quite good, but taking the cake was one called (according to the setlist) Radio, an intense rocker that I can't wait to hear again.
The only complaint would be that a couple of times, the vocals seemed to be a bit low. But it wasn't a persistent problem, and didn't take away from their set all that much.

setlist (taken from the on-stage setlist, so some new songs may be shorthand)
Rather Be With You, Brides Song, Wind Blows, Oregon Shores, Iron Fist, Water, Blood Cops, Radio, Stairway, Babies Don't Like Blue Anymore, Nico Canmore.
(encore) My Girl, Loyal Man.