Remembering Jay Smith with Matt Mays, Dustin Bentall, Adam Baldwin, and Odds @ Imperial -- 04/01/15

It is hard to preface an event like this, so I am just going to quote was the organiser Dustin Bentall said in the facebook post:

"In March of 2013 I lost a great friend, Jay Smith. He took his life while out on the road. In an effort to celebrate his beautiful songs and spirit we're throwing a party at The Imperial Vancouver. All proceeds from this show will benefit Unison Benevolent Fund. 

Unison Benevolent Fund is a non-profit organization that provides counselling, emergency relief, and benefit programs for the Canadian music community who face personal or professional challenges due to hardship, illness, unemployment or economic difficulties."

I was actually in attendance for the Matt Mays show in Vancouver, only days after it happened, and it was the most emotionally intense shows I have ever seen. So this night, with a great lineup, paying tribute to Jay Smith, was something that was easy to support.


Starting off the night was "Vancouver's official house band", Odds. They played a quick set of a half-dozen songs from old favourites like the the deceptively upbeat "It Falls Apart" to newer tunes, "He Thinks He Owns You", which is either about a jealous boyfriend, or a jealous dog owner.
As usual, the band was full of energy, lead singer Craig Northy effortlessly chatting between their ridiculously catchy songs. They wrapped up by inviting the first (of many) special guests on stage, Barney Bentall to join in on "Someone Who Is Cool", as well as Cary Pratt (aka Prairie Cat) on percussion.


Next up was Adam Baldwin, a long time member of Matt Mays band with Jay Smith, to play his own material. He started off on stage alone (joking that he opted to drink rum instead of teaching the band his songs) with a couple heartfelt songs off his EP, "Bonnie Raitt" and the single "Love You With My Eyes Closed". After that, he was joined by what was essentially the "house band" of the night, which included Odds' drummer Pat Stewart (who actually played with every single band that night), Rick James Baker, and Brad Ferguson, and later on both Dustin Bentall and Kendel Carson. The full band setup was quite a bit more rockin', and included a cover of "Tush" by ZZ Top, with vocals from Christine Campbell.

At the end of the set, Baldwin invited up a Vancouver band to play one of his favourite songs with him. Which was The Matinée as they played the eternal 'song of the summer' "Young & Lazy" with Adam.


Not long after, the man who organised the whole night (with a fair amount of help as he was quick to point out) Dustin Bentall, with a bit of a dark roots-rock sound. He played a few songs, mostly songs from his recent album You Are An Island, with highlights being the title track and "Shine", both featuring the incredible fiddle of Kendal Carson -- I mean, how many times have you seen someone absolutely shred on the fiddle in a rock show?

After his own set, he quickly brought out a few more musicians, including Shaun Verreault and Jay's sister Chelle Fraser to for a set of some of Jay Smith's songs. It was a rockin' set with songs like "Romantic Fool" and "Hurts Like Hell", as well as a gorgeous song with just Chelle and Kendal on stage called "LA Postcard"


And finally, after a round of raffle draws, prizes donated by some of the night's sponsors, it was time for Matt Mays. He came out with Adam Baldwin for a song that they decided to play just two minutes before hitting the stage, a cover of "May the Wind Take Your Troubles Away".
They were quickly joined by the rest of the band, including, once again, Pat on the drums, and Kendal Carson on the fiddle, as they launched in to a couple songs off his latest, Coyote, both "Indio" and "Take It On Faith" which had the crowd singing along unprovoked.

Carson's fiddle really added a nice depth to the songs, especially on the softer and heartfelt "Loveless", and one of my favourite songs "On The Hood", which got the whole place jumping during the chorus, and once again singing along to lyrics that just seemed perfect for the moment. It was clearly a night that meant a lot to Mays, to see a packed crowd singing along, and that was channelled into the music and his passion while playing.

But the single most emotional moment of the night came as the band took a break, for Matt Mays & Chelle Fraser to share a microphone for an acoustic version of "Chase the Light". It is a song that was written before Smith passed, but has since turned into a perfect tribute to Mays friend. It was an incredible, tearjerking performance, and I doubt there was a single person in the audience without a tear in their eye.

And that wasn't even the end of it; Mays invited everyone back on stage, every person that had played that night, for Adam Baldwin to take over vocals on a cover of The Boss' "Glory Days", the whole venue joining in for one last song.


I have long been a fan of Matt Mays, but without hyperbole or exaggeration, this was the best show I have seen so far this year. It was an incredible night, full of so many talented individuals on stage, remembering their friend and celebrating a good cause.

And if you want to donate to the Unison Benevolent Fund, you can do that right here.


setlist
May the Wind Take Your Troubles Away, Indio, Take It On Faith, Loveless, Tall Trees, On The Hood, Cocaine Cowgirl, Chase the Light, Glory Days [Bruce Springsteen cover].

Matt Mays @ Imperial -- 11/12/13

Relentlessly touring his latest album, 2012's Coyote, Matt Mays wrapped up his solo acoustic tour at a fairly new Vancouver venue, the Imperial. The last time he was here, Mays sold out the Commodore, so seeing him in a room with less than half the capacity was certainly a treat.

Starting the night was Adam Baldwin, a longtime friend and bandmate of Mays. Baldwin played a short set of about half a dozen songs from his newly recorded EP. It was pretty standard singer/songwriter fare, but Baldwin is a great musician, and his funny and charming banter between his heartfelt songs helped sell it.

Soon after that, Matt Mays slowly took the stage, aided by a pair of crutches, with his only explanation a bit later in the show with a succinct "hot tub party".
Taking a seat, he pulled out his acoustic guitar and harmonica and launched into "Plan" from the self titled Matt Mays & El Torpedo album. He played the first couple of songs alone, the heartbreaking "Loveless" and "Season to Leave" from his old band The Guthries, flubbing a bit of the lyrics on the latter. Any other show it would have been detrimental, but the very loose and laid back atmosphere of the show was forgiving. He jokingly blamed his codeine and T3s, and as the set went on, it just got more and more relaxed. Mays joked with both the crowd and with Adam Baldwin, who came out to join him for the rest of the set. The two needled each other like only old friends could, making the show feel less like a sold out venue, and more like a friend's living room.
Baldwin backed up Mays, going between guitar for songs like a nice rendition of the usually dark "The Past" and keys, for the more upbeat "Digital Eyes". Other highlights included "Queen of Portland Street" and the final song of the main set, "Terminal Romance"; usually an intense and passionate song, the acoustic version really emphasised the heartache of the lyrics.
But after a standing ovation, Mays hobbled back on stage for a few more; starting with a very moving performance of "Chase the Light", essentially dedicated to Jay Smith, that ended in a beautiful sing along.  He brought Baldwin back on stage so he could take over vocals on a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm Going Down", and they wrapped up the night with a quintessential campfire song, "On The Hood".

Mays has long been one of my favourite performers; his full band shows are raw and emotional and intense, and while the acoustic show was a lot more toned down, it was much more intimate, and no less emotional.

setlist
The Plan, Loveless, Season to Leave [The Guthries], The Past, Indio, Take It On Faith, [unknown song], Digital Eyes, Spoonful of Sugar, Tall Trees, Queen of Portland Street, City of Lakes, Terminal Romance.
(encore) Chase the Light, I'm Going Down [Bruce Springsteen cover], On The Hood.

Matt Mays @ Commodore -- 03/28/13

To say it was an emotional show would be a massive understatement. Only a couple days before Matt Mays was set to return to the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, his longtime friend and guitarist Jay Smith was found dead in a hotel room in Edmonton.
With what I can only imagine to be a heavy heart, Mays announced that they would finish up the last couple dates of the tour, with all proceeds going into a trust fund set up for Smith's family.
There is also a paypal link on the front page of Mays' website, which you can also donate to, if you missed the show.

I got to the Commodore part way through the first band of the night, Vancouver's We Hunt Buffalo. They were in the top three of the 2102 Fox Seeds competition, and they were pretty much exactly what you would expect from a "Fox Rocks" band. Loud, heavy guitars, hard drumming, and gruff vocals, they were very much a grungy, garage rawk band. And while they certainly were not bad at what they did, it was just not my thing.

Next up was July Talk. I had heard one song from them in rotation on CBC Radio 3, but didn't know what to expect, but they impressed me almost right away. Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay share vocals, with a huge contrast between his whiskey and cigarette fuelled rasp and her soft yet powerful voice; the two voices shouldn't mix, and yet they do so very well. The pair also had a great energy and playfulness on stage, constantly moving around and interacting with other members of the band, a few times Peter getting in Leah's face, and her teasingly shoving him away. And the playfulness didn't end on stage, Leah at one point borrowed the sunglasses of a fan up front for a song, and tossed her scarf to someone else mid-way through the set.
Their obvious passion for playing was infectious, and their blues-twinged rock, from the incendiary stomper, "The Garden" to the final song of the night, the catchy "Paper Girl". The band definitely gained a fan that night (me), and I would love to see them again next time they're in town.

And finally, it was time for Matt Mays. The band came out carrying a single lit candle, and immediately launched into "Indio", the first song from his most recent album Coyote. Mays has always been raw and passionate when performing, but his emotion really came through tonight. Songs like "Loveless" just oozed raw emotion, and lyrics became much more poignant. In "Dull Knife" Mays crooned "In this vicious life we lead / give us grace / give us speed" and later in the set, during "City of Lakes", he took special care with the suddenly heartbreaking line "I lost a friend in this past year / I miss his guitar playing in my ear"
But the most emotional moment was part way through the set when the band took a brief break and Mays introduced the sombre "Chase the Light" as a song for anyone feeling lost. By the end, the entire crowd was singing along, followed by at least a full minute of the most heartfelt applause imaginable. Mays was visibly moved, taking a moment to compose himself before moving on to "Travellin'", the band slowly joining him before it burst into another big sing-along.
He ended the main set with "Cocaine Cowgirl", building into a massive ending, but was back out for the usual encore with one of my all time favourite songs, the heartwrenching and epic "Terminal Romance", and brought the night -- and the tour -- to an end with July Talk joining the band on stage for "On The Hood".

And as the band was leaving the stage, Matt Mays and his band stopped in the middle of the stage, picked up the still burning candle and huddled around it for a moment, before going.

setlist
Indio, Stoned, Take it on Faith, Loveless, 13 Days [JJ Cale cover], Tall Trees, Dull Knife, Chase the Light, Travellin', Move Your Mind, City of Lakes, Cocaine Cowgirl.
(encore) Terminal Romance, On The Hood.

Matt Mays @ Commodore -- 10/24/12

I was lucky enough to catch Matt Mays during NXNE -- his set being a highlight of the festival -- but it's been a while since the shaggy Dartmouth rocker has visited Vancouver. But fresh off the release of his first album in four years, Mays embarked on a cross country tour that finally brought him  back to the west coast.

Opening the night was PEI's The Meds. Their self-titled debut EP was produced by Matt Mays, and his influence was pretty evident on their east coast rock sound. The band had a rocking sound and a good energy on stage, getting the slowly building crowd to clap along, and lead singer Kyle Drake came right up to the edge of the stage a few times. One song that stood out was the catchy "Dial Tones of the Earth", but while they were a solid band, there wasn't much to set them apart.

Up next was a late addition to the show, Vancouver's own The Matinée. The five piece roots rock band started, as they usually do, with "L'Absinthe" and it wasn't long before they got the crowd stomping along to "Sweet Water". Another highlight was their brand new single, the anthemic "Young & Lazy" and they managed to top the energy from the rest of the set as they ended with "The Road", with its giant percussion breakdown.
I been able to see them a ridiculous amount of times in the last year, but I never get tired of seeing them play live. All five members always have a great energy on stage, especially Layzell, who is a great frontman; not only does he have a fantastic stage presence, and charisma to spare, but he knows when to fade into the background and let the focus shift to someone else -- usually Matt Rose shredding on the guitar -- which is sometimes a rare skill for lead singers.

And finally, it was back to the east coast for Nova Scotia's Matt Mays. The band took the stage and exploded with the first track off of the new album Coyote, "Indio", going into a few more from the album. As always, Mays had an amazing energy. Hardly standing still for a moment through the whole set, he did a great job at getting the crowd into it right off the bat. A couple other highlights from the new album were the twangy "Loveless" and the more rockin' "Ain't That The Truth".
Part way through the set, the band took a brief break as Matt pulled out the Grestch White Falcon for a few solo songs, including "Queen of Portland Street" and "Travellin'" where the band to slowly join him and build to a huge ending with a giant sing along. He ramped the energy right back up with raucous "Rock Ranger Records", the funky "Madre Padre", and a pair of old songs that once again got everyone singing, "City of Lakes" and one of my favourites, "On The Hood" to end the set.
But of course, they were back for a couple more. Matt came out alone first, getting behind the keys for the soft and beautiful "Your Heart" before the band to rejoin him for one of my absolute favourite songs, the incredibly powerful "Terminal Romance", with Mays dripping raw emotion and heartache as he spat out the words. And as if that wasn't enough, they wrapped up nearly two hours after the start of the set with "Cocaine Cowgirl", and one last big sing along.

Mays always puts on a fantastic show, so full of raw energy, and tonight was no different. Hopefully it won't be another couple years before he makes his way back.

setlist
Indio, Stoned, Take It On Faith, Loveless, Tall Trees, Dull Knife, Rochambo, Never Saw it Comin', Spoonful of Sugar, Queen of Portland Street, Chase the Light, Travellin', Ain't That The Truth, Rock Ranger Records, Madre Padre, City of Lakes, On The Hood.
(encore) Your Heart, Terminal Romance, Cocaine Cowgirl.

North by North East: Saturday

Saturday was the day I was looking forward to most for NXNE. It was the day packed with seemingly everything I wanted to do, and while I had to sacrifice some things (missing Limblifter was a bit of a blow) it still ended up the best night of the festival.

It started off with the second annual CBC Radio 3 Listener Picnic, with R3 listeners descending upon Trinity Bellwood park to hang out and meet up -- many meeting for the first time outside the internet. Portage & Main, Zach Gray & Adrian Glynn (who prefer to be called "Emperor of the North, aka Murder on the Canadian, aka The Caboose Boys" for branding purposes and who climbed a tree to play above everyone), Jeremy Fisher, Ian Foster, and The Matinee all played short, acoustic sets to the gathering of R3 listeners and hosts Grant Lawrence and Craig Norris.

Later on it was more free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square. One of the bands I was most interested to see was of Montreal, since I had never had the chance to see them live but heard many good things. They took the stage in costumes and a bit of makeup, starting off with "Suffer For Fashion", living up to their reputation of an eclectic live band with an incredible stage show that features not only the band in costumes, but random others as well, and even short "dramatic scenes" being played out on stage. And not only were the theatrics fun to watch, but the music was solid as well. Kevin Barnes' distinct vocals filled the square, and their energetic and psychedelic pop got the rapidly expanding crowd moving. The too-short-set wrapped up with the manic "She's A Rejecter" and a couple costumed people leaping into the crowd and surfing almost the entire way to the back.

Next up was a band I had heard a lot about, but not much from, Portugal. The Man. I don't know if they lived up to some of the buzz I had heard, but they were a solid and enjoyable live band. A little more subdued rock than the bombastic sounds of the bands that preceded and followed them, with a hint of southern rock in their sound. The set started out good, but by the end it got a little repetitive; they were all excellent musicians, but the set seemed to drag a little, the songs a little samey, and there wasn't much banter or talk between songs, just some mumbled thanks and muttering their name. Aside from their own songs, they had not one, but two Beatles covers in their set, with a pretty good cover of "Helter Skelter" and some of "Hey Jude" in their last song, to get the people in the square singing along. Maybe it's because they were sandwiched between two extremely memorable live bands, but nothing in the set really stood out for me.

Yonge-Dundas Square got more and more packed as it came time for The Flaming Lips. They went on almost half an hour late, which had me getting a little anxious, but as the band emerged from the screen and Wayne Coyne got in his giant zorb to crowd surf, the feeling was a little relieved, and as they released the huge balloons and shot loads of confetti into the air, it was like nothing else mattered.
Starting off, after the crowd surfing, with "Worm Mountain" and a massive sing along to "She Don't Use Jelly" and "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song", the show consisted of the usual amazing sights of a Flaming Lips show. Dancers on either side the the stage, Wayne Coyne shouting/singing through a megaphone, giant hands that shoot lasers and much more.
There was also a very emotional moment mid way through the set, when Wayne paused to speak sombrely about that days stage collapse, which caused the death of a Radiohead crew member and the ultimate cancellation of that show. In sign of respect and solidarity, they covered "Knives Out" and then dedicated a very, very emotional and beautiful "Waiting For A Superman" to the friends and family of the man who lost his life, with Wayne visibly tearing up during the song -- and I'm sure some others in the crowd as well.
There was, however, a bit of a disconnect as the show went on; the square was packed shoulder to shoulder, and the heat was clearly taking its toll on people as there was a span of about twenty minutes where five of six people were being pulled out of the crowd for fainting -- and that was just near me. As amazing as The Flaming Lips are live, you just can't get as into the show when you start to worry about your safety, and the safety of those around you. So while it was still an extremely difficult decision to make, I ended up leaving a couple songs early to make sure I got in to see the next show on my must-see list.

And that act next on my must see list was Matt Mays at Lee's Palace. Having not seen the shaggy Dartmouth rocker in over two years, this was one of the sets I was most excited about for the entire festival; and judging by the size of the crowd, I wasn't the only one. Mays and his band started off with a handful of new songs, which sounded amazing and made me incredibly excited about the new album -- which he didn't go in to detail about. They sounded like you'd expect from Mays, but fresh, not a rehashing of old material, with a couple really standing out. Unfortunately, I didn't get names of any of the new songs, but they got me very excited for the inevitable new album.
After jokingly apologizing about playing only new songs to start, he played a couple songs solo, including "Travellin'", which had a chill-inducing moment -- despite the heat of the venue -- when the rest of the band kicked back in and nearly the entire packed venue sang/yelled along to the chorus.
From there he played a good number of songs from all four of his albums, rocking out to songs like "Tall Trees" and "Rock Ranger Records" and lots more singing along, especially to the ode to his hometown, "City of Lakes", and "Cocaine Cowgirl", which ended the set. But of course, the crowd wasn't having any of it and they were out for the usual encore, first covering The Boss' "Glory Days" and then ending the night with not only one of my favourite Matt Mays songs, but one of my favourite songs period, "Terminal Romance". The raw emotion and heartbreak of the song poured out of Mays, and the emotion in the crowd was palpable. It was pretty much the perfect ending for the night, and as much as I love Matt Mays, I never would have thought on a day where I was seeing both of Montreal and The Flaming Lips as well that his show would be the best of the night.