The Ruffled Feathers EP Release Show @ Red Room -- 06/28/14

It's been a while since I saw Vancouver's Ruffled Feathers live; so long, in fact, that they've undergone a bit of a lineup change. But they hit the Red Room to celebrate the release of their new EP, Bottom of the Blue, the last album recorded with the previous lineup.

Leading off the night was Chersea, who regular readers (all 24 of you) will remember as one of my favourite new discoveries of the year so far. On stage alone behind a fortress of instruments, Chersea builds her songs by looping keys, synth, drum pad, guitar, trumpet, even a metal water bottle for percussion. Songs ranged from electro-pop of "I Could Lose It All" to the darker and sexier "Grey Matter" to even a little tropical flavour for "Mind Porn", and while the half-hour set had a few technical glitches, they didn't detract from the overall enjoyment.

Next up was Rebel on a Mountain, a pretty basic folk-rock band. They had a trumpet in lieu of the requisite banjo, and maybe a little bit of a 90s-alt rock influence mixed in, as well as a good enthusiasm on stage -- one member telling corny jokes between songs -- but in the end were just not interesting enough to stand apart from the rest.

And finally, it was The Ruffled Feathers time to shine. Their set also had a few small technical problems, buzzing & popping cords, as well as a faint hum on and off through the set, and a couple times Gina Loes' lovely voice seemed a little too low in the mix. But again, it wasn't enough to hurt the set as they starting off with the lush "It Doesn't Last", the lead sing from the new EP.
The entire band was bubbling over with energy, and their chamber-pop sound was bolstered by their unique instrumentation. The interplay between Andrew Lee's trumpet and Molly MacKinnon's violin was interesting -- the unusual combination complimenting each other quite well -- and Andrew's backing vocals contrasted with Gina's nicely.
The hour-long set spanned their three albums, and even hinted some new stuff with a song that was either named "Boned" or "Beaune". Other highlights included "Tough Love", with Gina on the ukulele and swelled to a grand ending, as well as the jubilant "Home" and the final song of the main set "Kiss Me In The Moonlight", Andrew aptly introducing it as "one of the cutest songs you will hear all day".
But of course, they were back for the obligatory encore and wrapped up for real with the gigantic "Blueprints For Our Failed Revolution" ending the set with a bang.

The Ruffled Feathers have always been really fun live band, and I'm glad the new lineup reflected that.

setlist
It Doesn't Last, All My Cities, Home, Tough Love, New Song [Boned or Beaune], Buffalo, Siberian Springtime, Caravan, Little Sister, Kiss Me In The Moonlight.
(encore) Your Embrace, Blueprints For Our Failed Revolution.

Jordan Klassen w/ Chersea @ Biltmore -- 05/31/14

Wrapping up a month-long Canadian tour, Jordan Klassen returned home for a show at the Biltmore. Which was especially enticing, as it also included one of my favourite new discoveries of this year.

Behind a mountain of equipment, Chersea took the stage starting off with a dark and moody song, which she dedicated to a friend who recently passed away. From there the set was decidedly more upbeat as she single-handedly looped combinations of keys, synth, drum machine, trumpet, and even harmonized with herself. The only song of the set she didn't loop was a brand new, never-before-played song that she was debuting.
Other highlights from the all-too-short half-hour set included "Mr. Cullum" a jazzy tune both named after and inspired by British jazz-pop legend Jamie Cullum, and the ridiculously catchy "I Could Lose It All" off her recently released EP Grey Matter.

Thanks to the curfew, it wasn't long before Jordan Klassen and friends took the stage. Often the last show of a tour can be hit-or-miss; either the fatigue of the tour weighs on the band, or they are more in sync than ever. This was definitely the latter, as the four members of the band were firing on all cylinders. Kicking the set off with "The Scribe of Doorposts", all four members of the band had a great energy, especially Klassen who can barely stand still on stage. One song near the end of the set, he and Jocelyn Price even jumped off the stage and into the crowd as Jordan tore at his acoustic guitar.
Working around a few patch-cord related technical issues, the set was full of songs that built to grand endings from his Repentance album, but they also covered "Falling", the only Haim song I know (I think), and sprinkled a few new songs throughout. One called "Miles" especially caught my ear.
After about an hour, they ended off with a bit of a crowd singalong to "Balcony" before quickly coming back for the encore, one last song before curfew, an explosive "Call and Answer".

I've seen Jordan Klassen a few times over the years, and this was was probably the best show I've seen yet from him. The intensity seemed like it was ratcheted up a notch, and whatever people mean when they talk about a band hitting "the next level", I think Jordan has done.

Chersea EP release @ Fortune -- 04/19/14

When I saw Chersea for the first time earlier this year, I noted that she might just be someone to watch out for this year. Well, at least a few other people seem to agree with me, because since then she has made it all the way to the regional finals in the CBC Music Searchlight competition, being one of the top ten artists in the Vancouver region of voting (you can vote here, until Monday at noon PST, if you are so inclined). And that was even before the release of her debut EP, Grey Matter, which she celebrated with a release show at Fortune Sound Club this weekend.

Opening the night was Coquitlam band Community Trees, a four-piece with an alt-folk sound and coed vocals. The mix sounded a bit muddy and off for the first couple songs, but they soon settled into it. They had some interesting and catchy songs, but maybe a little scattered, like they just need to tighten things up a little bit. That aside, they were a fine band to open the night.

After a quick turnaround, Chersea hit the stage behind a complex setup of instruments. Looping everything from keyboard to synth to drum pads to trumpets to bass guitar, as well as a vocal harmonizer, everything on stage came live from one person (with the exception of a couple more complex loops, which she admitted were built between sets, for the sake of brevity due to the curfewed show).
Chersea started with the title track "Grey Matter", the moody backlighting matching the tone of the song, and from there the set ranged from dark ambient-pop to the summery and upbeat "Chemical Polarity", to the straight up danceable and electro-tinged "Requiem" (which was one of three songs to feature backup dancers up on stage). She even kept the dance-party portion of the set going with a cover of Love Inc's "Broken Bones".
She harmonized with herself, showing off her strong voice, for the "last" song of the set, the single from the EP, "I Could Lose It All", but had time for one last song before the curfew. Not bothering to leave the stage, she encored with a new song called "Mr. Cullum", a poppy jazz tune named after and inspired by Jamie Cullum.

For years now, I've loved watching loopers play live; watching them single-handedly build layer upon layer to create rich soundscapes in real time, and Chersea does a fantastic job at that. I wouldn't be surprised if this is just the beginning for her.

Chersea @ Backstage Lounge -- 01/10/14

For years now I've had a love of looping musicians. It's always fascinating to watch someone single-handedly craft a song on stage, adding layer upon layer, to do what a whole band does alone.
A few months ago I was introduced to a local looper Chelsea Laing -- who performs under the name Chersea, and had recently won a Boss looping contest -- and was instantly enamoured with her music.
Now gearing up to release her debut EP, she took to Granville Island's Backstage Lounge to unveil her first music video for the title track, "Grey Matter".

Chersea took the stage behind a mountain of instruments; everything from keyboard to synth to drum pads to trumpets to bass guitar, as well as a vocal harmonizer. But despite all those, she opened the set with a flirty a capella vocal loop, "Classy", before delving into her ethereal, synthy ambient-pop sound.
Songs ranged from the upbeat and jaunty "Chemical Polarity" to the more dark and intense "Grey Matter", with the first half of the set being a little darker before shifting gears for a more dancey vibe in second half, matching her bubbly personality and trying to get the noisy Friday night crowd to move.
One problem with playing alone on stage presented itself when a couple times during the set there were technical glitches, and the set slowed while she had to fix them, but both times she quickly got things right back on track.
After a little over an hour, she ended off the set with a pair of strong songs, "I Could Lose It All" with vocal effects hauntingly harmonizing with her strong voice, and the catchy "Mind Porn" getting some clapping along to the rhythmic beat.

It can be hard to translate live loopery to recorded albums, but I am really interested to hear her Grey Matter EP. If she manages to capture the same feeling of her live set, it will definitely be to look out for.