PHOTOS: Shred Kelly, with Hyaenas at the Biltmore Cabaret - March 29, 2024
Shred Kelly, with Hyaenas
Biltmore Cabaret
March 29, 2024
Shred Kelly w/ Hyaenas @ Biltmore Cabaret -- March 29, 2024
A few months ago, Shred Kelly released Blurry Vision, and since then they've been touring the country in segments. This week finally saw them hit the west coast, and with Vancouver's Hyaenas alongside them, they returned to the Biltmore Cabaret to celebrate their newest album.
Starting off the night, the four members of Hyaenas took the stage; Sophie Heppell on guitar & vocals, Jessie Robertson on bass, Jen Foster on drums, and Luvia Petersen on synth (with all joining in on backup vox as well). The band opened with “White Rabbit” – appropriate for Easter weekend – and weaved through songs off their album which came out a year ago. The title track “Little Trophy” and the intense “Another Level” being highlights of their punchy synth-rock.
They also teased a few new songs, including “All The Girls”, as well as chatted with the crowd between songs, sharing ‘hot goss’ about their tourmates Shred Kelly, before capping off with the stellar “Written in the Stars”, for a fun set.
It wasn't long after for Shred Kelly to hit the stage, Tim Newton (banjo & guitar) sharing vocals with Sage McBride (keyboard) backed by Ty West (guitar) & Ryan Mildenberger (drums) and joined by Nik Winnitowy (bass).
Starting with the slow burner “Lay Down Your Head”, they gradually built the energy over the first few songs, before erupting with “The Bear” and a big singalong to, fittingly, “Sing to the Night”. From there the set ebbed and flowed with their alt-folk sounds, from softer songs like “Lost With You” which spotlights gorgeous vocals from Sage, and “Days We Have Left” (shouting out their Award win from this very blog), to the more bombastic “Ghost Inside My Head” and the frenzied “Cabin Fever”, Tim’s fingers a blur over his banjo.
After the sprawling “Nothing for a While” from the new album, the main set finished off with the darker and moody “Didn't Know”. But the band was out mere moments later, bringing some friends with them as they launched into a cover of Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” with the members of Hyaenas. Finally, they closed out the show with the raucous and tempestuous “Tornado Alley”, leaving the crowd exhausted.
Shred Kelly always puts on an incredibly fun show, and the pairing with Hyaenas was perfect, making for a Good Great Friday at the Biltmore.
setlist
Lay Down Your Head
Jupiter (Any Other Way)
The Bear
Sing to the Night
Long Way from Your Heart
Lost Without You
Cracks in the Finish
Take Me Home
Days We Have Left
Ghost Inside My Head
Cabin Fever
Archipelago
Nothing for a While
Didn’t Know
(encore)
Hungry Like the Wolf [Duran Duran cover]
Tornado Alley
Sam Roberts Band with Brandon Wolfe Scott @ Commodore -- February 24, 2024
With their new album out a few months ago, Sam Roberts Band hit the road for The Adventures of Ben Blank Tour. Their Vancouver stop was a return to the Commodore Ballroom for a pair of shows.
Opening the evening was Brandon Wolfe Scott, the Vancouver singer performing some of his solo material. He hit the stage with his backing band and launched into “In Stride” off last year’s EP Slow Transmission, treating the gathering crowd to his chill, throwback vibes.
He ‘got his Bob Dylan on’ by pulling out the harmonica for “Fade Out”, and his soft voice lilted over the crowd on the dreamy “Burden on your Shoulder”, before finishing off his short opening set with “Something Real”.
Whether it’s solo or with his band, Yukon Blonde, it’s always a treat to see Scott play, and he was a great pick for starting out the night.
It wasn’t long before the lights dimmed and the screen behind the stage filled with the Ben Blank album art, as Sam Roberts Band took the stage, starting off with a bang. First my fave off the new album “Afterlife”, then “With A Bullet”, and getting everyone to dance with “Them Kids”.
Reminding us of not only the band’s depth, but also longevity, they hit songs from all over their career, from classics like “Where Have All the Good People Gone?” which had the sold out room joining in, to the warm “Picture of Love”, the first single off the new album.
The set ebbed and flowed, not only musically, but also thematically. On a heartfelt “Cascades”, Sam opined “Ooh I need you, Baby in the worst way”, only to follow that up by spitting out “And if this is true then I don't need you, I don't need anyone” on “Metal Skin”.
Other highlights – and more singing along – included “Hard Road”, which exploded into the frenetic “Dead End”, and the three-song-punch that capped off the set, “Bridge to Nowhere”, “Love At the End of the World”, and the early hit, “Don't Walk Away Eileen”.
But of course, they were back for more, proving that “We're All in This Together” before Roberts put his guitar aside to dance around the stage and lead the crowd in singing with “Brother Down”. Finally, they wrapped up with possibly my favourite Sam Roberts song (and one which I wasn’t even sure they were going to play), the 8+ minute psychedelic journey of “Mind Flood”, with wailing guitars, intense keys, and drumming that thumped into your very core, the band going all out for a satisfying ending.
It’s been a minute since I’ve seen Sam Roberts Band play live (and even longer since a non-festival show), And after two hours of rock & roll, with the crowd in the palm of their collective hands the entire time, and hit after hit, this night was a great reminder of just how strong the band is live.
Sam Roberts Band setlist
Afterlife
With a Bullet
Them Kids
Bad Country
Where Have All the Good People Gone?
I Like the Way You Talk About the Future
Projection
Take Me Away
Let It In
Picture Of Love
Cascades
Metal Skin
Hard Road
Dead End
Spellbound
Bridge to Nowhere
Love At the End of the World
Don't Walk Away Eileen
(encore)
We're All in This Together
Everybody Needs Love
Brother Down
Mind Flood
Brandon Wolfe Scott setlist
In Stride
Our Back Garden
Fade Out
Way Way Down
Slow Transmission
Burden On Your Shoulders
Something Real
The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Commodore Ballroom -- February 17, 2024
Hot off the release of last year’s album, The Rise & The Fall, The Rural Alberta Advantage returned to the Commodore at Vancouver for a packed, Saturday night show.
I missed the opener for the evening, Mariel Buckley, arriving shortly before the screens around the room blinked to the RAA logo, and the tail end of “FGSH” blasted over the speakers, as the band took the stage. Singer & guitarist Nils Edenloff asked if everyone was ready to rock on a Saturday evening -- including the crowd, but also his bandmates Amy Cole on keys and vocals, and drummer Paul Banwatt, as they launched into “CANDU” off the new album.
The set ebbed and flowed, building with energy as the band with songs like the slow burn of “Don't Haunt This Place”, and “Vulcan, AB”, which had the crowd singing along. The explosive midpoint climax was the perennial favourite “Stamp”, one of many songs that showcased Paul’s absolutely bonkers drumming.
After that, the band eased off a little as Amy and Paul took a brief break for Nils to play “Two Lovers” solo, just his acoustic guitar and distinctive voice filling the room. From there they slowly built back up, hitting songs from all over their career, from the aptly titled “Edmonton” off their debut Hometowns, to the burning intensity “White Lights” off The Wild, and of course their latest, with the frenetic “Plague Dogs”.
They brought the main set to a close with an absolutely chaotic finish to “Terrified”, featuring the crowd joining in on the backup WHOA-OO-OOHs. And once they left the stage, the audience continued to sing, so the band returned and re-join for a brief reprise. With only a few more songs left, the trio finished off with one last song about their provincial namesake, a classic “The Deathbridge in Lethbridge” to cap off the night with a huge bang.
I’ve seen The Rural Alberta Advantage a handful of times now, and every time I do, I’m somehow still amazed that “just” a trio has such a big live sound, with fantastic intensity and raw power. At the end of the set, Nils drove home that this was a singular moment we were all sharing, and I would be more than happy to share more moments watching The RAA play.
setlist
CANDU
Bad Luck Again
Don’t Haunt This Place
Three Sisters
Four Night Rider
Tornado ‘87
Vulcan, AB
AB Bride
Drain the Blood
Stamp
Two Lovers
Don’t Wake Up
White Lights
Plague Dogs
Edmonton
Frank, AB
Brother
Terrified
(encore)
Terrified (Reprise)
In the Summertime
Runners in the Night
The Deathbridge in Lethbridge
Feist @ Commodore Ballroom -- February 13, 2024
It’s been quite some time since I last saw Feist perform live, so I was very happy to catch one of her three(!) shows in Vancouver, at the Commodore, on the Multitudes Finale Tour.
Arriving to the venue, there was a small stage auspiciously set up in the middle of the Commodore floor, and a large sheet blocking off the main stage. With no opening act for the show, the lights dimmed and the sheet flickered to life, with a live feed from a phone camera. The POV shot went from the backstage area, came out into the main floor & through the crowd, eventually ending up on the small stage, as Feist spun around with the camera on the audience.
Before she could even say a word, the crowd sang her a happy birthday, as she gratefully launched into an acoustic “Century”. From there, she performed ‘in the round’, moving the microphone to face different parts of the audience, and hitting songs spanning her career; from the classic “Gatekeeper” to “The Bad in Each Other” about a dissolving relationship, and the haunting “Become the Earth” making incredible use of the vocal loops.
Between songs, Feist told stories and generally chatting with the audience for an intimate feeling, even choosing a “volunteer” from the crowd to be in charge of the camera, sill streaming to the screen at the stage. (Though it was soon clear that if the volunteer wasn’t a plant from the tour, it was an incredibly lucky choice).
After about an hour, Feist was handed a mystery notebook, which she started to read, spinning it into a spoken word poem. The poem transitioned into “I Took All of My Rings Off”, as she slowly weaved through the crowd toward the stage. Standing at the edge, the sheet dropped to reveal her band, backlit on a smoky stage, who instantly joined in for a hug swell to finish the song. And let me tell you: chills.
From there, the second half of the show kicked into gear, as Feist and her band cranked up the energy with “My Moon, My Man”, and another hour reminding the crowd just how many bangers she has. Highlights including an aptly named “A Commotion”, the frenetic “Sealion”, and “In Lightning”, the tempestuous opener from her latest album Multitudes. The crowd sang along to the jubilant “I Feel It All”, before the soft & heart wrenching “Let it Die”, as Feist capped off this portion of the set with a relaxed, fuzzed out version of “1234”, which then erupted into the upbeat singalong everyone knows.
Another curtain dropped and instead of leaving, the band milled around onstage, silhouettes projected while getting ready for the encore. Feist emerged from behind the sheet and once again went through the crowd, this time with a green sheet, creating some wild visuals on the returning live feed, for “Of Womankind”, and then coming back up to stand in front of the sheet for the beautiful “Love Who We Are Meant To”, as the screen followed along to handwritten lyrics in the same notebook as earlier.
The band popped back out to took a bow — including the volunteer, who was indeed part of the crew — with Feist proclaiming it was the best birthday a person could ask for. Either half of the night could have been a satisfying show on their own. But both halves together, with the fun production twists, and Feist's incredible songs & effortless performance, easily made this a high bar for every other show this year to try and top.
setlist
(acoustic)
Century
Gatekeeper
The Redwing
The Bad in Each Other
Forever Before
Become the Earth
Calling All the Gods
I Took All of My Rings Off
(band)
My Moon My Man
How Come You Never Go There
A Commotion
Hiding Out in the Open
Sealion
In Lightning
A Man Is Not His Song
I Feel It All
Let It Die
1234
(encore)
Of Womankind
Love Who We Are Meant To