Peak Performance Project Showcase #4 @ Red Room -- 10/11/12

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. Past winners are We Are The City, Kyprios, and Current Swell 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 to get lectures and advice from industry pros to help 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. The bands are rated by a panel of judges, which will go toward their final score in the project, and they've also been tasked to learn a "Classic Canadian Cover" to play during their set. I always love hearing bands play cover songs, and I am definitely looking forward to see who each act chooses (and, as in the past, I am going to keep a running tally on how many Arcade Fire, Neil Young or Leonard Cohen songs we get).

The penultimate showcase was another with mostly bands I was unfamiliar with, so I was looking forward to what the unknown-to-me bands had to offer. Every year of the project I've discovered at least one or two new bands that, while they had varying success through the project, ended up being a personal favourite of mine. 

Georgia Murray: After a bit of a long instrumental intro, Georgia Murray took the stage with a band comprised of a few familiar faces and PPP-vets; Tim Proznick (Kyprios) was on drums and Ashleigh Eymann on backup vocals. Murray had a bit of a soul and R&B tinged rock, with a warm stage presence and a strong voice, but a lot of the songs blended together and sounded a bit the same. Though one did stand out, "Never Die", which sounded like it would have made a perfect James Bond theme.
Alanis Morissette made her second appearance in the showcase series as Georgia covered "You Oughta Know", which was a good, but pretty straightforward cover, and she ended the night with a bit of a slower and sultry number, "SRH".

Tough Lovers: A last minute replacement this year, after another band dropped out, the four-piece from Ladner had a bit of that mid-00's indie rock sound with a retro twist. With a great energy on stage, Tough Lovers have some pretty catchy songs, but they didn't really stand out from each other. Even their cover,
a very fitting and fun version of Paul Anka's "Put Your Head On My Shoulders" (which actually wasn't the first time that song was covered in the PPP) blended in with the rest of their set. That didn't make it bad, though; it was definitely an entertaining set, and were quite fun to watch live. But they're still only a couple years old, as a band, and they just need to keep at it, to "find their sound" so to speak. And I, for one, will be interested to see how they grow.

Fields of Green: When I saw Fields of Green in last year's competition, I thought they'd have a good shot at winning... if they entered the next year. And here we are, one year later, with the Kelowna quartet back for another go. Their synthy prog-rock sound has indeed matured, and they've grown as a band, with a wildly energetic show; especially Johnny Jansen, who is the most fun drummer to watch, seemingly flailing erratically, pounding the skins with wild abandon -- but without being sloppy in the least.
With songs that swirled to psychedelic crescendos, burst into explosive endings, and feature some nice harmonies, they created an intricate yet catchy sound.
For their Canadian cover they did a pretty good job with April Wine's "Say Hello" and wrapped up with their current Peak single, "The Do Nothings", another highly energetic and rocking song.
I think they definitely have a well deserved shot at it this year, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they end up in the top five.

The Gay Nineties: I had heard a lot of buzz and good things about The Gay Nineties before the show, so I was equal parts in interested to see them and apprehensive that they wouldn't live up to the hype. They started the set with a sheet up across the stage and an old movie playing on the screens with a musical number about "the gay 90's" before the curtain dropped and they launched into "In and Out of Style". I was immediately struck by their amazing energy and presence on stage; they were a well oiled machine with hints of psych-rock and grunge in their incredibly infectious rock. And both guitarist Parker Bossley and bassist Daniel Knowlton -- who share vocals -- had a great charisma, with a great back & forth, playing off each other really well. They broke out "Hot Child in the City" from Nick Glider for their Canadian cover, matching the energy of the rest of their set, and ended the night with a bang, with a song called "Handle It All"
The band definitely lived up to the buzz and ended up as one of my new favourites of the competition. Yet another act I am hoping makes the top three, and if this was any indication, they've got a strong chance of it.

And with that, the series is almost over. The final showcase happens on the 18th, and will wrap up with Dominique Fricot, Mike Edel, T. Nile, and Portage & Main (one of the bands I am rooting for most).

Peak Performance Project Showcase #3 @ Red Room -- 10/04/12

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. Past winners are We Are The City, Kyprios, and Current Swell 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 to get lectures and advice from industry pros to help 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. The bands are rated by a panel of judges, which will go toward their final score in the project, and they've also been tasked to learn a "Classic Canadian Cover" to play during their set. I always love hearing bands play cover songs, and I am definitely looking forward to see who each act chooses (and, as in the past, I am going to keep a running tally on how many Arcade Fire, Neil Young or Leonard Cohen songs we get).

For both the first and second showcases, the sound at the Red Room hadn't been the greatest, but for this night it was very OFF. It was through no fault of the bands; as I understand it, the mixing board fried before the show, so there was a scramble to get things up and running. But it still took a little away from the whole night. For one thing, a lot of the banter or talking between songs was either too loud or muffled (or somehow both), and there were feedback problems the whole night. 

Alexandria Maillot: One of this year's returning artists, Alexandria was in the first year of the Project, but wasn't eligible to return until now due to age restrictions (which were not in place the first year). She has an amazingly strong and soulful voice with a sound that bounced from poppy to soulful with a hint of folk at times. Her cover was "The Weight" from The Band, which was not a bold choice, but she covered it well.
She ended with what was my favourite of the set, the song featured on The Peak "Take Me Home", a jaunty and upbeat piano driven tune.
She has a great talent, but is still young, and I think she just needs to "finds her sound" so to speak.

Dear Rouge: With canned music and red lights bathing the stage, the duo of Danielle and Drew McTaggart came out with their band and launched into an electronic-tinged pop-rock set. It was very dancey and high energy, with Danielle hardly staying still, dancing up a storm while singing.
Their cover was another familiar choice with The Guess Who's "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature", a perfectly good cover, even though the harmonies didn't really come across. Part way through the set, most of the band left except for Danielle who was then joined by Indiana Avent on violin for a slower, acoustic song, which was good but felt wildly out of place in the set.
The band is still pretty new, and I think they have the most untapped potential out of everyone I've seen so far. With a bit more experience I have no doubt that they could win the competition... if they reapply next year.
(And, on a purely superficial note, I think they could have picked a better name. "Dear Rouge" looks nice on paper, but just sounds awkward when said aloud. It doesn't roll off the tongue, coming out more like "Deer Ooge")

Facts: Next up was the groovy synthy pop of Facts. They took the stage wearing matching white and the lights went down for a crazy light show, lasers beaming out into the crowd. They were also joined by PPP veteran Garth Covernton (41st & Home) on drums. Right off the bat, I found the vocals were a bit overprocessed and muddy. Not sure if that was their sound, or due to the aforementioned audio problems, but that, combined with the similarity of the set, made it seem to drag a little towards the end; they were definitely not bad, but it got a bit repetitive.
For their cover they chose "Ice Cream" from Sarah McLachlan, though to be honest, I didn't even realise until after the set. I am not overly familiar with the song, and with the low VOCALS between songs I didn't hear its introduction. They also threw in a cover of Joanna Newsom's "Peach, Plum, Pear", and were joined at one point by Evan Konrad (aka Bed of Stars).
It wasn't a bad set by any means, but I got the impression that they could have done a lot better.

Maurice: Yet another returning act to the project, JP Maurice and company wrapped up the night. While the other three this night I didn't know too well, I was already a fan of Maurice's alt-pop sound, so I was looking forward to his set.
Starting with "Get Mad", JP wasted no time playing to the crowd, going right up to the edge of the stage. For the undeniably infectious "Mistake" he was joined by Stephanie Chatman on violin and his cover was "Woodstock" from yet another renowned Canadian, Joni Mitchell.
After his version of TLGLTP's "Robin" -- the catchiest song about a threesome you'll hear -- he brought out a few members of Tough Lovers and Evan Konrad was back out for their Bootcamp Co-Write song, "Night Eyes".
I don't know if it was the best set I've seen Maurice play -- the sound issues were probably a factor -- but JP is a fantastic songwriter, his songs, and live performances, always exuding raw emotion. And are damn catchy. I really hope he makes the top five, and won't be surprised if he does.

Peak Performance Project Showcase #2 @ Red Room -- 09/20/12

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. Past winners are We Are The City, Kyprios, and Current Swell 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 to get lectures and advice from industry pros to help 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. The bands are rated by a panel of judges, which will go toward their final score in the project, and they've also been tasked to learn a "Classic Canadian Cover" to play during their set. I always love hearing bands play cover songs, and I am definitely looking forward to see who each act chooses (and, as in the past, I am going to keep a running tally on how many Arcade Fire, Neil Young or Leonard Cohen songs we get).

While last week's showcase was all acts I was already a fan of, this showcase was full of bands I hadn't heard too much from, but each one I was interested to hear more of. I've always had a soft spot for folk-y, blues-y and roots-y rock, and all four bands this showcase were along those lines.


The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer: The duo of Shawn Hall and Matthew Rogers started it off with their dirty blues sound, Hall on vocals and harmonica and Rogers on guitar and kick drum. They had a very high energy and everything that did came across with an effortless charm, both playing and the banter between the two. They had the same swampy blues sound through the whole set, but it never got stale, with songs like "Love Me Before You Leave Me", which built to a frantic and explosive ending, and it helped that they were joined by a trio of ladies, including Hilary Grist and Hannah Epperson, for backup vocals part way through. For their Canadian cover they went with one my my favourite Canadian bands, Big Sugar and thier song "Turn The Lights On" -- a great version, if a bit of a predictable choice for the blues duo -- and they ended with another explosive song, "Got My Mojo Working".
They were really fun to watch live, and so far they're my favourite new discovery from this year's Project. 

The Fugitives: One of the more interesting/unique bands in this year's showcase, The Fugitives combines slam poet Brendan McLeod and musician Adrian Glynn (no stranger to the Peak Performance Project himself) for what they call "modern folk". The four piece was joined by hired guns Niko Friesen on drums and John Walsh on upright bass, and Glynn played the most amusingly-named instrument of the night, the balalaika. Their unique style shone through on songs like "Start A War", which which features some very quick singing -- almost rapping -- that would be impressive on its own, but even more so when the whole band harmonizes.
For their Canadian cover, they couldn't pick just one song, so they chose a medley ranging from Arcade Fire's "Keep The Car Running" to "Ain't No Cure for Love" by Cohen, Maestro Fresh Wes' "Let Your Backbone Slide" to "You're Too Cool" by The Zolas, and finished it off with Stan Rogers' "Northwest Passage", which they wove together remarkably well.
Following that was "We Don't Care", about homosexuality in sports (which didn't come across quite as awkward as it could have) and a song with a bit more spoken word in it -- which came across fine, but I'm kind of glad they didn't rely more on it. They wrapped up their set getting the crowd to sing along to "All This Trouble".

The River & The Road: With more straight ahead rock & roll sound, the four piece was good, and they definitely packed the room with their fans, but I couldn't help feel the whole thing was just a little... generic. A lot of their songs had the same vibe to them, and at some points it even felt like they were going down a checklist; Ballad? Check. Everyone on stage for a sing along? Check. Singer playing a floor tom? Check. Percussion breakdown? Check. Even their cover was kind of a "safe" choice, going with "Northwest Passage" from Stan Rogers; a good cover, but it just blended in with the rest of their set.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't by any means dislike them -- they were very good at what they do, had a lively energy on stage, and clearly have some mass appeal. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they end up in the top five.

Headwater: Wrapping up the night was the energetic Headwater. They've had a bit of a lineup shakeup recently, with a few of their members quitting, but the duo of Jonas Shandel and Matt Bryant plugged on, with a band that included Pat Stewart of Odds fame on drums. They started their set off with a bang, a big energy song appropriately titled "Freight Train", and they drove their rootsy sounding rock through the rest of their set with some excellent guitar work and high energy.
Near the end of their set they broke out what was the best cover of the night, "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" from Shania Twain. It was exactly the kind of cover that I love seeing in the showcase series; a fun -- or even silly -- choice that is outside the band's wheelhouse, but done seriously enough that it didn't feel like a joke. You can tell they were having fun with it, and they absolutely pulled it off.

All in all, it was a pretty swell night of music. This year's Project has a great representation of this kind of sound, and all four bands did a great job to showcase that.
Next week there is a break in the showcases, but it's back to the Red Room on October 4th for Alexandria Maillot, Dear Rouge, Facts, and Maurice.

Peak Performance Project Showcase #1 @ Red Room -- 09/13/12

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. Past winners are We Are The City, Kyprios, and Current Swell 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 to get lectures and advice from industry pros to help 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. The bands are rated by a panel of judges, which will go toward their final score in the project, and they've also been tasked to learn a "Classic Canadian Cover" to play during their set. I always love hearing bands play cover songs, and I am definitely looking forward to see who each act chooses (and, as in the past, I am going to keep a running tally on how many Arcade Fire, Neil Young or Leonard Cohen songs we get).

And going in to this, I'm not going to pretend I don't have biases; there are bands this year I am familiar with and bands that I am already a big fan of, and this showcase was, at first glance, the one I was looking forward to the most. 


Ali Milner: The jazzy-pop sounds of Ali Milner started off not only the night, but the showcase series. Her backing band included some familiar faces; Erik P.H. Nielsen on bass and Rob Tornroos on guitar. I've seen Ali play a few times in recent months, and I would have to say this is the best set I've seen her play. Behind the keys with her gorgeous voice, her bubbly personality is infectious, and it translated into a fun and upbeat set, with dynamic songs like "Fly". 
Ali is no stranger to covering Canadian singers, and her cover wasn't new, rather a song that she's had in her repertoire for a few years, "After the Gold Rush" by Neil Young. It was a good cover, but I was hoping she would do something new.
The set ended with "Waiting", which saw Ali take out a box of egg shakers part way through the song and jump into the crowd to distribute them for people to play along -- and they all had numbers on them, with one lucky person winning some merch. 

I genuinely hope that Ali makes the top three -- which would make her the first female to crack the top three -- but I have a feeling this is going to be the hardest year to predict the outcome.

beekeeper: With the lights dimmed, and a robotic voice introducing them, the trio of Devon Lougheed, Luke Cyca and Brandi Sidoryk hit the stage with a high energy and did not looking back. Their genre-bending "math rock" may be hard to keep up with due to the frantic arrangements and seemingly constantly changing time signatures, but drummer Luke anchors them magnificently, and they put on one hell of a live show, which is either absolutely brilliant or incomprehensibly weird. Or both.
Devon was more focused on stage than I've seen him, especially between songs, still showing his manic energy and goofy sense of humour but not going overboard. He even took the set down for a moment with a sincere story and almost mellow (or, as mellow as beekeeper can get) song called "Drownings". 
For their cover, they teased playing Rush, but then launched in to "You Learn" from Alanis Morissette, which was definitely the most interesting cover of the night, giving it a "beekeeper twist", and even had Devon going into the crowd.
"Pinwheel Revolution" took a moment to show off Brandi's operatic past and her glass-shattering voice, and they brought the set to an end with a "family photo", pulling up as many fans as they could fit on the stage for a big group picture, and then letting everyone stay and dance for the last song, "Believe, Believe". 

Probably the most high energy and genuinely fun set of the night, beekeeper is another band that I really hope makes the top five, but I can see them maybe being just a little too "weird".

Redgy Blackout: The members of Redgy Blackout hit the stage looking slick, adorned in dress shirts and ties, with Scott also sporting a vest and top hat. They were immediately fun and energetic, with their unique mix of indie rock, folk and pop. Both Scott Perrie and Jeremy Breaks have a good live energy and play off each other really well, getting everyone moving to songs like "Coming Alive" and "Bottom of the Sea".
After what I thought was going to be an introduction into a Matthew Good Band song for their cover, they ended up going with Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)", giving a more up-tempo version, and getting the crowd to yell along with the "LIES!" 
Their final song they brought out Brandi from beekeeper to help out on backup vocals, enlisting the crowd as well, and scores of balloons being tossed throughout the crowd to wrap up their set. 

While I enjoy watching Redgy Blackout live -- they are tight, have great harmonies and write catchy songs -- I think they are just missing something, some ineffable quality to really push them over the edge.

Jordan Klassen: One of the more well known acts -- with a little bit of Peak airplay before the competition started -- Klassen ended off the first showcase. The first thing you notice about Jordan is his incredible energy on stage. He oozes enthusiasm, jumping and leaping around the stage; rarely will you see a more enthusiastic tambourine player. That energy definitely rubs off on his five bandmates, and even into the crowd. 
Klassen's rich, folk-pop sound gives way to grand songs that start slow and build to a soaring finish. Like the alternating slow burn and explosiveness of "Piano Brother", the lush "The Horses Are Stuck" and "Go To Me", which had a couple members mingle in the crowd with tambourines, creating a surround-sound feel for the song.
His cover was the 90s pop hit "Love Song" by Sky, which was not at all ironic, but endearing and appropriately cheesy. It was probably my second favourite cover of the night, as it was both a unique and interesting take on the song. The set, and the night, was brought to an end with "Call & Answer", which is probably my favourite song of his; another one that starts soft and grows to an energetic and huge ending.

I would not at all be surprised if Klassen makes the top three of the contest; he has almost everything they're looking for, and would definitely be deserving. 


And with that, the first showcase was done. Join me next week at the Red Room where we'll have the chance to see The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, The Fugitives, The River & The Road and The Headwater. It's bound to be a good one. 
And hopefully the sound in the Red Room is better next week.

Peak Performance Project: Year Four

The fourth year of the Peak Performance Project is upon us. The competition is a multi-year contest in which The Peak, along with Music BC, picks 20 BC musicians/bands and puts them through a "professional development program to help new and emerging artists create careers in the music industry". They go to a rock n roll bootcamp, play a series of shows, get some money to help them and are given radio time, all to help them further their career.

Previous winners of the project include We Are The City, Kyprios and Current Swell, and each year the competition is full of talented individuals. I have definitely discovered some favourite new bands from following along for the last three years.

So without further rambling, here is this year’s Peak Performance Project Top 20!

Alexandria Maillot
Ali Milner
beekeeper
Dear Rouge
Dominique Fricot
Facts
Fields of Green
The Fugitives
The Gay Nineties
Georgia Murray
The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer
Headwater
Jordan Klassen
Maurice
Mike Edel
Portage & Main
Redgy Blackout
The River & The Road
T. Nile
The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra Tough Lovers

That is definitely one interesting list. There is the most returning acts so far, with Maurice, Fields of Green, and Redgy Blackout from last year, as well as Alexandria Maillot from the first year, and new projects from Dominique Fricot (Painted Birds) and The Fugitives (Adrian Glynn). A couple of the acts already get airplay on the Peak, but I don't there is really a clear breakout band like Said the Whale or Current Swell from the past couple years.

As for my early predictions (or rather, what I'd like to see) I'm hoping this will be the year a female cracks the top three, with Ali Milner, and I've definitely got a few other bands I am rooting for right out of the gate; Portage & Main and beekeeper, as well as Maurice and, let's say Dom Fricot to round out the top five. But there are a few others I like or am interested in, and who knows... last year I hadn't heard The Matinée going in and they ended up being a clear favourite.

I think this year will be the most unpredictable yet and I am definitely interested to see what it has to offer.