One of the hardest working bands over the last two years, despite... everything... has been Said the Whale. Aside from putting on frequent live streaming shows, they wrote, recorded, and released a brand new album, Dandelion. And while they weren't able to tour the album immediately after its release in late 2021, as they normally would, they were finally able to hit the road this month, capped off by a hometown show at the Vogue Theatre.

Opening the night was Dad Sports, the first time playing Vancouver for the Ottawa band. They had a fun, upbeat indie pop vibe with catchy songs like “out 4 a breather”, off last year’s EP I AM JUST A BOY LEAVE ME ALONE !!! They seemed to be having a blast on-stage, and that energy spread through the crowd for a strong opening set.

After a between-set-music mix that featured a good helping of Foo Fighters (no doubt in honour of Taylor Hawkins) Said the Whale took the stage and launched into the first song off their new album, “The Ocean”. From there they played nearly two hours of songs new and old, from “Sweetheart” which drew to a big, climactic finish, and the hard-hitting “Honey Lungs”, to the perennial singalongs “Camilo (The Magician)”, and “Oh K, Okay”.

Midway through the set they stripped it down a little to an acoustic three-piece, something that they enjoyed doing during their frequent zoom shows. Though they joked the only downside in real life was the lack of a mute button -- and despite their best efforts, there were still pockets of chatter under their gorgeous acoustic songs like Ben's ode to a friend “Holly, Ontario” and the heartwarming “Level Best” from Tyler to his firstborn, who was in attendance that night.

They ramped the energy back up to finish out the set, with highlights being the irresistible “Loveless”, fan-favourite deep cut “Love is Art/Sleep Through Fire”, and “Show Me Everything”, where they were joined by a string quartet.

The main set came to a close with a very raucous “UnAmerican”, the crowd chanting along with each and every “hoo-hoo”. And after the quick break, Jacelyn returned to the stage, backed only by the string section, for “February 15”, a breathtaking piano & strings instrumental written for her husband, which (mostly, but also finally) got the crowd to fall hush and listen intently. And then to cap off the night, the rest of the band rejoined for a couple more raucous songs; the always-fun “The Light Is You” and “I Love You” to send the audience home on a high.

setlist
The Ocean
Sweetheart
Step Into The Darkness
Camilo (The Magician)
Honey Lungs
Oh K, Okay
Everything She Touches is Gold to Me
The Gift of a Black Heart
Moonlight
Holly, Ontario
Level Best
99 to the Moon
Return To Me
Wake Up
Loveless
Love is Art/Sleep Through Fire
Show Me Everything
Emerald Lake, AB
Unamerican
(encore)
February 15
The Light is You
I Love You