Sing It Forward @ Vogue -- 01/09/15

Now in its fourth year Sing It Forward (or #SingItFwd) has returned to the Vogue Theatre for yet another sold out show. The annual charity event, put on by David Vertesi and Ambrosia Humphrey Vertesi raises awareness, community connection, and much needed funds for Vancouver's Saint James Music Academy, and over the last three years they've has raised over $100,000 for the music school.
And aside from the show itself, each year the musicians playing will go to the SJMA, hang out with the kids, teach them things, and record some videos performing with the kids.

The evening was hosted by Tamara Stanners (of The Peak) and Cory Ashworth (formerly of the Peak) and featured some video interstitials -- including a great mockumentary about Jordan Klassen with the kids done by by Johnny Jansen. Each band got about 15 minutes, three songs a piece, and the evening went along at a nice clip; rarely did it drag or did people have to wait too long between sets. Some bands chose go to acoustic, or more stripped down sets, and others had a full band setup.


Bend Sinister kicked off the night with the SJMA kids joining them for "Fancy Pants", a super fun and upbeat songs from their new album, which included a few of the kids forming a horn section. The prog-pop band were an energetic opening for the show, and anthemic songs like "Things Will Get Better" filled the theatre.

Jordan Klassen and his band took the stage next. Jordan was, as usual, a barely contained ball of energy, opening with his newest song "Firing Squad". He went backwards from there, with "Go To Me" and a great version of an older song, "Call and Answer", exploding into an intense ending that was a little more raw & aggressive than I had seen from him in the past, which I liked.

Dear Rouge did a bit of a stripped down set, Danielle and Drew were joined only by their drummer on a drum pad, and the Four on the Floor string quartet. Their fun, dancey pop got the room moving, and they invited Jordan Klassen back on stage for a song they wrote together called "Your Ghost" before finishing off with their big single, "I Heard I Had".

Between bands, a very small girl from the SJMA came out to sing "Reflections" from Mulan, melting a lot of hearts in the venue.

Bear Mountain was definitely the most changed act of the night, from their regular sound. With an acoustic guitar in hand, Ian Bevis joked that they were nervously trying things out "sans laptops", and their normally upbeat and dancey songs like "Faded" were mellowed out a lot. But I really liked the acoustic interpretations, especially when they brought up all the kids to be a choir, mimicking the synths in "Congo", in what was one of my favourite performances of the night.

The surprise guest of the night Hannah Georgas closed out the first half of the show, joined only by Rob Tornroos on guitar. She played a couple songs, which felt all-too-short, her gorgeous voice soaring for "Enemies", followed by a cover of Rihanna's "Stay" that had many of the younger kids in the all-ages crowd singing along.

After an intermission, a few of the kids from the SJMA were back out for a little bit of bluegrass, and The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer blew up the energy for the second half of the show. The duo was joined by Jody "Miss Quincy" Peck, and proved that in a sold out, 1,200+ person venue, two guys sitting on stools can bring down the house. They played songs from their new album A Real Fine Mess, including "Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To" and the raucous "Act Your Age"

July Talk was the band I was most looking forward to, and of course ended up being my favourite of the night. Coming all the way from Toronto for the show, they played a full band set, and did not hold back. The entire band has an amazing stage presence, but especially lead singers Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis. They're playful and outgoing and unfiltered, and that energy flows though their songs. "Guns + Ammunition" had the crowd singing (or whoo-hoo-oo'ing) along, and for "Paper Girl", they invited all the little kids on stage, Leah leading the kids in a giant dance party.

After a bit of a lull with everyone setting up his gear, k-os was out for some acoustic hip hop, with a band that included his old guitar teacher playing alongside him. Perched on a stool at the front of the stage, k-os focused on some older songs, the first three tracks from his sophomore album Joyful Rebellion. He was also the most interactive with the crowd, making sure everyone was warmed up before starting, and getting everyone to sing along to the "Man I Used To Be". At one point, he even stopping the band short just so the crowd could sing the chorus alone.

Hey Ocean!, as usual, wrapped things up. Joking that they were running out of old songs to play at the event, they promised a few newer songs, not even recorded yet. Starting off with "Loud Talker", a song that Vertesi recently released as a solo song, they then brought the SJMA kids out for their collaboration from last year, "Smile Like The Sun" before ending with another new song, "Sleepwalker".

But that wasn't quite it. They still had one more tradition, and that was to bring everyone back out on stage -- all the kids, all the musicians, everyone -- for one last cover song. This year was Queen's "Somebody To Love", and while everyone had their turns singing, they were smart in giving Dan Moxon most of the vocals as he just channelled the spirit of Freddie Mercury. I even saw other musicians on stage react with astonished awe when he nailed that impossibly high note at the end.


Like previous years, everyone from the musicians to the venue donated their time and effort, so all the proceeds could go towards the SJMA. And each year, there is something just a little bit special in the air. Maybe it's the community spirit, or all the talent under one roof, but it is one of the most unique nights in Vancouver. And this year was no different.

If you missed it (first of all, what's wrong with you?!) they were streaming the entire thing and have it archived to view by donation over at Circlework.tv. Or you can find recordings from previous years up on their Bandcamp, where I can only assume you'll be able to find this year's soon enough.

The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer @ Commodore -- 10/09/14

Two years ago was the first time I saw The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer, as part of the Peak Performance Project, And since then, I have had the worst luck seeing them again; every single time they played, I was cursed to miss it for one reason or another.
But finally, I broke that "streak" earlier this year at the Burnaby Blues & Roots Fest when they played a short set, and now I finally got to see them headlining a show of their own. And not just any show, their first headlining show at the legendary Commodore Ballroom, in front of a sold out crowd.

Unfortunately, I missed the openers Petunia & The Vipers, arriving at the venue a couple minutes before The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer hit the stage, adorned with over a dozen bare lightbulbs. The duo of Shawn "The Harpoonist" Hall on harmonica & vocals, and Matt "The Axe Murderer" Rogers on guitar and kickdrum were joined by a pair of lovely & powerful backup vocalists, Dawn Pemberton and Jody "Miss Quincy" Peck, and later on "Major" Tom Heuckendorff on organ to fill out the sound.

Starting off by teasing a verse of their song "Roll With the Punches" -- which was reprised a few times throughout the set, but for some reason never paid off with the full song -- they launched into an hour-plus set that focused on songs from their new album A Real Fine Mess. Their gritty, swampy blues sound drives straight into your soul, with songs like "Mama's In The Back Seat" with its frantic rhythm; the rollicking "Act Your Age", letting both Pemberton and Peck shine on backup vocals; and the Big Sugar-ish funk of the almost-title-track "A Real Fine Noise".

Part way through the set, the pair let the rest of the band take a break -- as Shawn joked they wanted to hog the spotlight -- for a pair of songs that included a bit of a slower song, "In The End", and one written by Matt's brother, Ben Rogers, "Love Me 'fore Ya Leave Me".
After a few more, they wrapped up the set by somehow taking things up another notch, with a one-two punch of "Wake Up" and the explosive "Get Out", both from their previous act "Checkered Past". And of course, they were back out for a couple more, enlisting in the aid of Miss Quincy & The Showdown drummer Jen Foster, for the aptly titled "Shake It", and wrapped everything up with "In And Out Of Love".

You wouldn't think that a show where the two main band members sit on stools all night would be dynamic, but in this case, you would be wrong. Even though both stayed seated for the set, they drew the crowd in with plenty of opportunities to clap, stomp, & sing along, and had energy to spare. Proof could easily be found on Shawn's shirt, which was soaked with sweat by the end (probably Matt's too, but his was darker to begin with). The duo was also vocally and visibly honoured to wrap up their tour with a packed hometown show, at the Commodore.


When they first announced they would be playing there, I was a little surprised, as I didn't realise that they had become a "Commodore band". But what didn't surprise me was watching them tear it up. They put on a great show, and I only hope this means my luck has turned, and I am able to catch them again next time.


setlist
Roll With the Punches (pt I), Cry a Little, Do Whatcha, Act Your Age, Don't Make 'em Like They Used To, A Real Fine Noise, Roll With the Punches (pt II), Mama's In the Backseat, Tea for Two, In the End, Love Me 'fore Ya Leave Me, Feel Me Now, Are You Listening Lord, Sweat This Pain, Roll With the Punches (pt III), Wake Up, Get Out.
(encore) Shake It, In and Out of Love.

Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival @ Deer Lake Park -- 08/09/14

While lots of other festivals this summer have been riding the hype train so hard it's about to derail, the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival relatively quietly took over Deer Lake Park this weekend -- Saturday, to be exact -- for its 15th year. Somehow, I had missed the festival every year up until now, but with a headliner like Big Sugar, and some other strong blues and roots acts this year, I decided it couldn't be missed.

I got to Deer Lake Park just in time to make a tough decision: Rich Hope & His Evil Doers or Miss Quincy & The Showdown. Seeing in that I haven't seen Rich Hope in quite some time, I chose his set. Joined by just his drummer, he kicked off the set by proclaiming this was "music for having the sex to" and ripped into some dirty bluesy rock 'n' roll riffs. A little bit of technical difficulties didn't throw him off his game as he ripped around the stage with songs like "I See Trouble" and "Let's Jump Around Some" as well as a few covers of songs by The Sparkles and Jimmy Reid. He had a great stage presence, chatting with the crowd a little between songs, and he even hopped off the stage and onto the grass to urge people to sing and clap along with the last song of his set, "When My Light Comes Shining"

From there it was immediately over to the main stage for The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer. I have had bad luck with the Vancouver duo's live shows, missing every once since I first saw them two years ago, so I was very much looking forward to their set. They started off just the two of them -- Shawn "The Harpoonist" Hall on vocals and harmonica, as well as percussion with his feet, and Matthew "The Axe Murderer" Rogers on guitar and a drum pedal for each foot -- but they soon brought out some help; an organist, and trio of ladies on backup vocals (including Miss Quincy herself). Hall joked that it took them from HAM 2.0 to HAM 5.1 as it really fleshed out their sound.
Highlights of their set included the rockin' "Don't Make 'em Like They Used To" from the new album, as well as a song about how Vancouver's music scene was (and, frankly, can still be) a little sleepy, "Wake Up". They ended off with the stomping (or, clapping since we were on the grass) number "Get Out", as they likely made more than a few fans that'll be there at the November 8th Commodore show they announced on stage.

Back over on the (thankfully tented and shady) Westwood Stage, the Winnipeg/Montreal Chic Gamine was hitting the stage. I had heard of them for a while, but for some reason had never heard their stuff, which I now feel silly about.
Led by Andrina Turenne, Alexa Dirks, and Annick Brémault, their three voices blended for amazing and soulful harmonies, as they also traded off on keys, snare drum and guitar. Their set started with a more soulful, almost R&B sound, including a song called "Girlfiiend" with the haunting and accusatory chorus of "does your girlfriend know?", but as the set went on they got progressively more upbeat and rockin'. With a mix of blues and soul and rock, they had a great flow to the entire set, and they teased an upcoming album with a few songs (as well as a Christmas album, but no songs from that). It's definitely something I'll have to keep an ear out for.

I took a bit of a break to grab some food while Irish Imelda May played the main stage, who sounded good from the food cart section, before it was back to see the headliner of the Westwood Stage, Wide Mouth Mason. With Gordie Johnson pulling double duty on bass, the trio immediately launched into an older tune "Why", stirring up some nostalgia in the crowd before shuffling between old and newer songs. The highlight, as with most every WMM show, was Shaun Verreault's incredible guitar playing, as he effortlessly shredded through the 45 minute set, from some of their oldest material "This Mourning" to their newer, "Go Tell It To The Waterfall" -- which Shaun also slipped in the chorus from another famous song about Waterfalls.
After a set that seemed way too short, they ended with "Midnight Rain", but the crowd was not having it and demanded one more. I didn't think it would happen as Bettye LaVette had already started on the main stage, but I was pleasantly surprised when they were back out for "Change" before thanking everyone and closing down the stage in style.

For the next couple acts I lounged in the back of the park (hiding in the sweet, cool shade) taking in the festival. First was Bettye LaVette, celebrating 50 years making music. And she definitely had both the voice and the stage presence of someone with that much experience. Her set featured many covers; Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" as well as some Tom Waits, and an absolutely soul-shattering version of "Love Reign O'er Me" originally by The Who. Her own "Close As I'll Get To Heaven" was another highlight, her 70-year-old voice brimming with soul and passion and heartbreak.
Second was Matt Andersen, filling the stage with nearly a dozen performers as he was joined by The Mellotones. He was a great guitarist and good performer, and the giant band filled out for a rich sound, but for whatever reason his style of blues just didn't resonate with me. At one point in the set he was on stage alone for a very low down deep blues song, and he dug into the Canadian Songbook for The Band's "Ophelia", and they wrapped up the set with another cover, "Get By With A Little Help From My Friends". It was certainly a good set, but for whatever reason I just wasn't into it.

And finally, just after the sun went down, the stage was set for Big Sugar. Joined by Shaun and Saf from Wide Mouth Mason on backing vocals, guitar and percussion, as well as Rich Hope for a handful of songs, the Toronto blues rockers started off with "Roads Ahead" from their newer album Revolutions Per Minute
before pulling out some old favourites, "Open Up Baby", "Diggin' A Hole", and one of my favourites, their version of "Dear Mr. Fantasy". Unfortunately, Gordie's vocals were buried during the latter, as there seemed to be some technical issues plaguing the start of the set (if the stage techs running around adjusting things were any indication).
But it soon levelled out and most of the set went off without a hitch. A lot of the songs in the set flowed into each other, either with a reggae-influenced verse from the deadlock'd keyboardist Friendlyness or seamlessly transitioning musically, and Gordie had fans joining along (or "jamming with Big Sugar" as he called it) for songs like "If I Had My Way" and the newer "Eliminate Ya". Other highlights included "Ride Like Hell" where Gordie literally turned his guitar into a revving engine and the more funky, hip shaking groove of "Little Bit A All Right", another one from their comeback album.
As their set drew to a close, they played a few more of my favourites; the second most Canadian song of the entire day, "All Hell For A Basement" and the insanely raucous "The Scene", both of which which had more jamming from the crowd. And the night was brought to an end with the Big Sugar tradition of an instrumental version of "O Canada", the crowd patriotically singing along, as Johnson finishing off by hoisting his double guitar behind his head to show off the maple leaf painted on the back.

Aside from a few technical issues on stage, most of the day went off without a hitch. The three stages staggered in time and were setup so there was almost no sound bleed, and near constant music. I would have maybe put on another act or two on the side stages, or even "tweeners", as the last three acts on the main stage had nothing during the breaks, but aside from that minor quibble, it was a great day of blues and roots.

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.