Category — Concert Reviews

So last Monday I was getting ready to head to bed, but decided to check My Yahoo for any new news stories. I found an interesting article on the CBC Radio 3 blog and proceeded to read it. If you have ever been to their site you will know that when you get to the page a music play starts streaming tracks. Usually I have other music playing already and turn it off right away, but since I was on my way to bed I had already shut down my music and decided to let it play out. The track playing was a track by Raising the Fawn that immediately caught my attention. I loved it, it was like a mix of post-rock with indie and a whole bunch of experimentation. So the next day I got a couple of their albums and checked their tour dates, and low and behold they were playing Thursday night. Now Thursday night I was already somewhat planning on seeing Wil and Shaun Verrault play and also heard that Kytami was doing a gig that night too, so their was no shortage of good shows going on. However Lester and myself decided to take a chance and check out these two Canadian bands we had never seen live before.

Well I can honestly say I made the right choice last night, the show was really excellent. The first band Mico wasn’t anything too special, however they did make a big pile of instruments at the end of their show very reminiscent of Trail of the Dead. In-Flight Safety however was very fantastic. This group out of Halifax with their dreamy songs really impressed me, and put in a really solid closing 3 songs.

Raising the Fawn was last up, and before they started playing they had some serious issues with the sound. Really brutal feedback out of the speakers and such. Eventually they got it somewhat together (the keyboard didn’t work) and closed out the show. They put on a solid set as well, playing some really epic live sounding tracks like Carbon Paper and Until It Starts Again. They didn’t appear to have a setlist, and just seemed to make it up as they went along. The drummer was great to watch, as he had some really funny mannerisms and hit pretty damn hard. My only complaint of their set was that it seemed a bit short, but that could be that I was just really into it.

It really amazing me lately just how many good musicians there are out there. Just in Canada alone we have so many (like the 2 bands tonight), and it is sad to see that so little people know about these musicians. It was a bit of a shame seeing the place only about a quarter full for these excellent musicians.

Went and saw The Album Leaf last week at the Plaza Club. We got there just as the opening band Windows 78 started into their set. They put in a solid effort, and opened my eyes to some good local post rock. I had a hard time at first getting over the singers vocals on their non instrumental tracks, but by the end of the set started to dig them.

The Album Leaf put in a solid effort. Played quite a bit off their new album which I quite enjoy. One thing however that started to piss me off at this show was all the people taking photos. I don’t mind people taking a couple shots here and there then retiring to enjoy the show, but when 4-5 people in front of you are all holding up their cameras for the extent of the show taking endless pictures it begins to become a pain. For gosh sakes try and actually enjoy the show rather than trying to capture it on film. What was even worse is there was a girl up front with a professional camera and a big flash, however she decided she didn’t need her flash and turned it backwards, so everytime she took a photo she would blind everyone behind her. Anyway I can start to see some merit in enforcing the no cameras rule.

Went to see the Tragically Hip on Tuesday at the Commodore Ballroom. There was no opening act, just straight on Hip. This was the fourth time for me to see the Hip. The first time being in 98 in Calgary, and was likely one of the very first concerts I had been to. That time was at the Saddledome, a venue that holds around 20,000 people. Tuesday was in the Commodore which holds about 900. The hip put on a good show. Played for close to 2 hours and really gave it their all. Gord Downie is quite a character on stage, and really entertains. He was also sweating like a dog up there. When he would bend over you sweat would drip off his hat brim to the ground. Anyway you always know your going to get a great show with the Hip, and Tuesday was no different. Some of my favorites from the night were, Yer Not the Ocean, The Lonely End of the Rink, At The Hundredth Meridian, and Little Bones.

Last Saturday was the first time for me seeing a show at the Plaza. Was a nice venue. A little bit skinny, but pretty nice inside, and the sound was really good. Immaculate Machine opened the show. I am a pretty big fan of theirs, so it was really good to see them live. Not to mention they played the bi-lingual version of Broken Ship. It was funny because before the song Brooke explained that they were going to do it in both French and English. Then right before they started playing it Kathryn was like, “did you explain to them the whole bi-lingual thing?” Brooke and Luke then proceeded to make fun of her for always zoning out on stage.

Lead by Carl Newman the New Pornographers came out and totally rocked me. Dan Bejar and Neko Case were both missing from the band this night, but Kathryn did a fantastic job filling in for Case. Actually so much so that I thought some of the songs even sounded better. Kurt Dahle the drummer was also on complete fire this night. He had this funny little Hitleresk mustache that actually made him look very Ron Jeremyish. This in and of itself was hilarious, but just his antics on the kit put a huge smile on my face. I don’t want to downplay his drumming either, he was completely fantastic, not to mention his great backing vocals.

I really enjoyed the show. I have been listening to NP quite a lot lately and it is was really great to see them live, in their hometown!

So to finish up my concert week I went to Jason Collett at the Van East Cultural Centre out near Commercial Drive. This was the first time I had been to this venue. Walking up to the Centre I was a little shocked at how small it looked. From the outside it looked more like a house than anything else. After entering I was equally shocked at how small the inside of the venue was. It felt like a place I would go to see a kindergarten play or something.

So we found some seats and sat down around row 5 or 6 and waited for the show to start. Everyone was so quiet, and it looked like it was fixing to be a pretty special show. The lights finally dimmed down (in the crowd it was completely dark) and the opener Ridley Bent took the stage. He looked very ‘cowboy’, and started into things quite. He is like a hybrid country type music that always seems to tell a story. Oh and he is hilarious too, very funny lyrics, he had the whole crowd cracking up!

Anyway he played for a good 30 minutes or so. After a short interlude Jason Collett and Peso Mino took the stage. This was the second Jason Collett show I have seen and was very fantastic. It was really intimate; you could probably hear a pin drop if one did. His set lasted about 1 hour 15, but felt a lot longer. He played a couple of newer songs, and most of his latest album. Near the end of the show he received two long stem roses from two girls. This appears to becoming a tradition, as these two girls did the same thing last time he was in town. Inbetween the two set s we spotted Sean Verrault in the crowd enter the crowd, I guess he is a Collett fan too.

Anyway a great night and a fantastic close to my busy busy week.

“We’re a fucking triumphant band.” is the self proclaimed message of Pelican on their website. On Sunday I went down to the Lamplighter in gastown to test out how true that statement was.

We arrived at the venue just as KEN MODE finished their set. From the one song I heard they didn’t seem to bad. The next band on was called Daughters. I must say Daughters was one of the worst bands I have ever seen live. Just terrible. Well let me retract that a bit, I mean musically the band was alright, and the drummer was pretty quick, but their lead singer is just over the top bad. He spent much of his time in the front row of the audience scream/singing at the people there, and oh, begging for someone to buy him a drink. It was a pretty pathetic display, but alas I digress, this was suppose to be a Pelican review and not me telling you how shitty Daughters is.

So Pelican finally took the stage around 11pm, and blasted out into their first song. They were loud, very loud. Before the show I had heard they would be very loud and was worried that their sound would get lost in the process. However that was not the case, it was very much there and dead on. They played mainly from their latest album, as well as new songs they had been working on, most of which was more of their softer melodic stuff and not their overtly heavy numbers. I think the crowd was looking for the heavier stuff as in between songs you would shout outs for Mamouth and Drought. While the show did start off on a heavier note with Laurent and Trevor (man was he ever) rocking out hard. However after a few heavy notes they quickly switched into the mellower stuff and Trevor replaced his back snapping rocking out on guitar moves for a violin bow. As the night came to a close and they announced “This is our last song…” amidst further calls for Mamouth, they closed the set with, “… our last song tonight is not Mamouth, it is called the Last Day of Winter”. The played this epic of an song and then all walked off the stage, after barely being on stage for an hour.

So Pelican are you a fucking triumphant band? Well I will say you have all the makings to be one, especially since you left me longing for more. However the short set time really left me saddened that you couldn’t fit in a few more songs.

One thing I will say though, is any band that runs off the stage to get to the back of the venue so that they can man their merch stand is OK in my books. Hopefully I will see Pelican again in the future, and they can put on a bit longer of a show.

Last night I went and saw Andrew Bird at the Media club. I wasn’t sure if I was going to go but eventually found a cool friend to come along. I am so glad I did.

The opening act was Dosh, who is the drummer / looper for Mr. Bird. His music was all instrumental and extremely looped. Very good stuff, at times, it could almost pass for music you would here in a club. Regardless he put on a fine opening for Andrew Bird. The only problem I had was the people talking in front of us. I still don’t get that, why spend the money to go to the show, get close to the stage, then don’t even enjoy the music? Brutal.

Andrew Bird came on shortly after Dosh’s short set, and let me say he was simply amazing. This guy is so talented, not only does he have a fantastic voice, he plays the violin like a master, not to mention his violin plucking, and he can rock out on the ol’ guitar. Oh and did I mention the whistling? If there was ever an award for best whistler I would say Andrew Bird would win it. Oh and lastly, he has a great stage presence and is damn funny! Some of his stories for It is really a shame that there were barely 100 people (if that) at the show last night; I suppose it was the early show.

Some of my favorites from his set were:

Action / Adventure – which he prefaced with a story about how the song came to be in Canada. He was driving from Toronto to Ottawa and saw a big billboard for “Adult” lifestyle housing, and his mind started to get the best of him.

Why – such a great song, had me laughing.

Sovay – A fantastic anti-war song.

Lull – “i’m all for moderation but sometimes it seems moderation itself can be a kind of extreme”

Measuring Cups – I just love the line “put your backpack on your shoulder
be the good little soldiertake your places now, cause we’re all predisposed“

I – Another great story about how this song was suppose to be about Sesame Street and the capital I and how all these people would come out and polish off the I. Something about wanting the song to be trippy and psychedelic. Anyway I can’t remember it fully, but it was another funny story.

For me this has probably been one of my favorite concerts of the year! Not only was it great music with some great company, but to top things off they were selling an amazing gig poster from Horkey of Burlesque fame. What more could I ask for?

Tool put on a good show. They started a bit late, after a 1 hour break between the opening band. That kind of sucked, cause they could have gave Isis an extra 15-25 minutes. Anyway the show rocked. They went hard for about 1 hour 40. For their encore break they all just sat out on the front of the stage and hung out for 5 minutes talking and watching the crowd. Maynard looked pretty great too, had a good hawk going (full bic action on the sides), some fancy shades, no shirt, a big belt buckle, and some cowboy jeans and cowboy boots. Throughout the show he would wear a cowboy hat as well.

The sound at GM Place wasn’t that great tonight though, the vocals were a lot lower than I would have liked, and the otherall sound was a bit muddy. Regardless they still put on a great show. Some highlights were: Rosetta Stone, Right in Two, Lateralus and Anema.

Some favorite quotes:

“Canada is our favorite English speaking country in North America” – oh great, so you like Canada better than 1 other country! haha

“We appologize for our president” – this one I find is a common quote of late from a lot of US bands that tour up here.

“We want to congratulate you on your rising dollar. We encourage you to buy our country, before we invade yours for your oil.”

Went and saw Wil play a free show at the Buffalo Club a little over a week ago. Like most of the Wil shows I have been to, this one rocked. Actually this one was probably one of the best I have seen, if it wasn’t for a lousy crowd. I guess you can’t expect too much when you give free cover at a club that usually plays dance music. Highlights: The crowd singing along to the bunch of Wil’s songs, and the look on his face as they were, the 30 minute jam session with Shaun Verrault and Pat when covering Gomez’s Get Miles and the nice cowbell solo in the middle of it. I am very much looking forward to Wil’s new album, which apparently now is very close to completion!

On Thursday I attended the World Urban Forum Hip Hop concert being held in Vancouver. This was a free concert featuring artists from around the world who had positive messages. Anyway the reason I found out about it was by chance by searching for Gidi Gidi Maji Maji after they came up on my winamp playlist. Anyway a Georgia Straight and Vancouver Sun article showed up, which was shocking because I didn’t think anyone outside East Africa knew about these guys. After reading the article I found out that Gidi Gidi Maji Maji would be headlining this concert. Anyway I had seen Gidi Gidi Maji Maji play in Kampala when I was living there and thought they were amazing so I had to go to this show, I mean when was the next time I would see them in Vancouver?

Anyway the whole concert was fantastic. The people that stuck out the most for me were the Norwegian group Karpe Diem, the South African group Tumi and the Volume, and of course Gidi Gidi Maji Maji. The group from Brazil, as well as another Norwegian group were also pretty solid. Anyway check out my photos from the shows as well as my videos up on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=kloppster

Better late then never I suppose. Saw the Walkmen on the 10th at Richards on Richards. Ended up bumping into Dean who was at the show too. This band Mazarin open for the Walkmen. Oddly enough the singer had a very similar voice, and the guitars had that same Walkmen feel. Then they played a song that the singer introduced as a song he wrote 6 years ago. The song was none other than Another One Goes, a song on the new Walkmen album. Well it turns out the Walkmen covered it. Anyway Mazarin were decent, and I quite enjoyed the original of that song.

The Walkmen played a good but short set, something like 1 hour. There new stuff sounded great live. I never realized that their singer sings most of their songs almost screaming. Anyway I really enjoyed the trumpets on Louisiana, what can I say, I am a sucker for fun stuff like that. Anyway good show all in all.

Saw Xavier Rudd over the weekend at the Malkin Bowl. Was the first time I had seen a show at the Malkin Bowl, it is a nice small little outdoor venue. It is nice to see House of Blues bringing in the shows here, as Vancouver really lacks a good outdoor venue. Before Rudd took the stage a local native chief chanted a prayer to bless the land the show and the people. Then Xavier brought out a friend from Australia, who looked like a aboriginal from there, who played a bit on a didgeridoo, and cracked a few jokes. Finally Xavier took the stage and rocked it out. Playing kickdrum, guitar, didgeridoo, and harmonica often at the same time (of course not the harmonica and the didgeridoo at the same time) he rocked on out for over 2 hours. I never expected him to play that long, but wasn’t about to complain. He often went into jams, and extended a bunch of songs, one to almost 20 minutes. Anyway check out my photos (photos.kloppmagic.ca) and the videos I took (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=kloppster).

Did I mention that this show was a fantastic pre-show to the Sasquatch festival? Well it was pretty excellent. The special guest never showed however all in all a great set. They played mostly from their new album, which I really enjoy, and a few other favorites. I Know You Are But What Am I (probably one of my favorites from them) was greatly speed up and shortened or so it seemed, in a good way. Auto Rock and Acid Food from the new album sounded amazing live as well. I really love the vocals put through the distortion. The show ended with a good 5+ minutes of straight distortion, something Kyle would have loved.

Anyway as far as post rock goes Mogwai are king. Check em out if you have the chance.

Better late then never a little recap of all the little things that I thought were great, funny or otherwise memorable.

I went down to Sasquatch with Lester and Dean. As well Randall and his friend Steve were also going down in Steve’s car. So we all met up in Vancouver and drove down together and setup a pretty sweet camping spot.

Friday Highlights

Drinking $8.50 beers, and having Randall and Steve get locked into a beer garden that wouldn’t let them leave until they finished their beers. Randall passed his off to me (over the fence), and for the next 20 minutes the security guard stared at us.

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead

I really like these guys, I saw them at Richards a while back, and was curious to see how they would do in front of a big crowd. They didn’t disappoint and put on a good show, with the usual drum destruction antics at the end.

Steve gathering up all the Canadians in the crowd

TV on the Radio

I really enjoyed their set, they are pretty decent live, and very passionate.

HIM and Bauhaus.

HIM was a complete joke. Reminded me of Jack Black making fun of metal bands. Bauhaus, also wasn’t too impressive. Was fun making fun of them though.

NIN

To cap off the night NIN played an awesome set, no wait an amazing set. This was my second time seeing them, and it only gets better. Reznor is just so intense live.

That night we pounded back some beers then headed to sleep. It poured rain through the night. Several times. All in all though my tent stayed quite dry.

Saturday Highlights

In the early morning (say between 7-8am) I half asleep heard a vehicle pull in, and two guys talking, “yeah lets park here; perfect location, right by the road, and all these tents, plus look at all the Canadians park around here, perfect location.” Later after waking up I noticed it was two guys who parked their big ass van right behind us. They introduced themselves to us, and let us know that if there was ANY type of drug we needed they could provide for our needs.

Rogue Wave & Architecture in Helsinki

Anyway Saturday I started out by checking out Rogue Wave and Architecture in Helsinki. I really enjoyed Rogue Wave live. Architecture was good to see, they play lots of instruments, and kinda make you bounce, granted I can’t say I am overly fond of these guys. After Architecture I went back and caught the last song of Gomez. Made me wish I saw their set instead of Architecture.

Sufjan Stevens & Iron and Wine

Sufjan Stevens had a very Americana act (everyone dressed in stars and stripes and big uncle sams all over the place) and Iron and Wine. Watched both these sets from the grass, and was somewhat napping for both of them. After that I met up with Lester who was down in the pit.

Neko Case & the wrath of God & the Hip

We decided to head down to the pit for the next show, Neko Case. Up until this point of the day it had been sunny all morning and really really hot. I was glad to be in my short. However now some really black clouds were moving in and the wind was picking up. About 2 to 3 songs into Neko’s set the sky opened up and god poured out marble sized hail. Neko Case tried to play through it, until she realized it wasn’t going to quit and that she was getting hurt in the process. At one point she even said “OUCH” in the middle of the song. Soon after they shut down the stage and told everyone to hang tight and wait it out. This hailstorm lasted a good 30 minutes, covered the ground in white ice and pools of water, and pretty much sent everyone into hiding, looking for cover. When it finally stopped I found myself pretty wet, especially my shoes, they were soaked completely through. My top wasn’t too bad as I had a raincoat on, but my shorts were pretty soaked as well. Lester and me decided to walk back to the entrance and see if they would allow re-entrance due to this extreme weather. To our luck they did, so we headed back to camp and got a nice change of clothes and had some lunched. I did my best job of drying up my shoes, then made an insole of plastic bags to keep my socks dry. We headed back to the venue just as the Hip started into Grace Too. We got into the pit about 3 songs into the Hip’s set. They put on a good show, however it was quite rushed, it looked like everyones sets would be shortened for the day.

The Shins

I hadn’t really heard any of there stuff, except the one song or two on a movie here and there, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Not knowing what to expect or what their music was like they really blew me out of the water (or hail for that matter!); I was very pleasantly surprised.

Flaming Lips or Ben Harper?

Anyway after the Shins while they were setting up the stage everyone was cheering for the Flaming Lips. They were suppose to be up next, however right away I noticed the stage was being set for Ben Harper. They had both drum sets up, and the chair out front had Ben’s signature blanket on it. A few moments later it was announced, due to time constraints and Ben having to be in Vancouver the next day he would play next.

The Ben Harper set was probably the best set I have ever seen Ben play. Some highlights were Glory and Consequence, Morning Yearning, Black Rain, Pleasure and Pain, and a fantastic closing with Better Way.

Flaming Coldness!

Waited 1 hour for the Lips to setup the stage. Finally the started the show with Wayne in the bubble tromping all over the fans. Was fantastic. Sidestage he had aliens and Santa Claus’s battling with flashlights. Played an awesome cover of Bohemian Rhapsody. Eventually me and Dean were too fucking cold to hang out any longer and decided to head back to camp where some fat burgers and beer awaited us.

Sunday Highlights

Sunday saw the departure of the drug-o-van and the arrival of the frat girls with beer bong. This had bad written all over it.

After the ritualistic 4 beers for breakfast we head into the venue for the noon shows.

Pretty Girls Make Graves & Nada Surf

not very remember able.

Arctic Monkeys

Finally got to see what all the fuss was about. These kids (they are kids, really really young kids) can flat out rock. While there songs may not be full of depth, they can play pretty intense, and put on a good show.

The Decemberists

Having to follow the Arctic Monkeys must have been a bit tough, but they pulled it off. I actually wasn’t a big Decemberists fan coming into the show, deleted all their stuff I had a while back. This show just changed my mind on them. They were fantastic. At one point the lead singer actually got the entire pit to sit down on the ground after making all the band members fall down and become motionless. Great Show.

Matisyahu

God made a Rainbow appear for us during his set to let us know we wouldn’t drown, according to Matisyahu anyway.
Queens of the Stoneage

Caught most of this show, left nearing the last 2-3 songs to catch Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Queens were putting on a fantastic show though, really heavy, and rocking. They fucked up the lyrics on a couple songs (really badly during Burn the Witch), however I still really enjoyed their show, not to mention Josh calling the security guards gay. “Could you guys just pretend for a little while that your not gay and leave these guys in the pit alone?”

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

A lot of people at this show. I think it is called the Pitchfork effect. Anyway also according to Pitchfork these guess stink live. It didn’t show at Sasquatch though. I enjoyed their set, at least what I saw and heard of it. There was so many people there that I had to stand on a picnic bench in the eating area to catch a view. Also from where I stood the sound from Queens playing on the other stage was battling CYHSY. It was so bad at times that I could hear more of the Queens show then the CYHSY show. The lead singer’s voice for CYHSY continued to get more and more destroyed as the set went on and on. I think it is because he sings out of key. At the end he could barely speak when he was talking to the crowd; Lester thought he sounded like Aunt Selma from the Simpson! Ha

Death Cab for Cutie

Lead singer said it best when he said, “Playing after Queens of the Stone Age makes a band feel like a bunch of sissies”. Regardless they did their best to put on a ‘rocking’ show. I enjoyed it. Not a huge Death Cab fan, but another band that has impressed me with their live show.

Beck

Beck finished the night. Was awesome, one of the best shows of the weekend. He had full puppets of all the band members, showed a video he had made just that day about the gorge and the show. Played a wicked cover of Do You Realize, and all out rocked the show. Sadly he played a really short set at just over an hour, and two songs being videos and mascots. Regardless really good set, and I will definitely have to see a Beck show non festival.

Summary

Sasquatch was awesome, it rocked my ass off; lots of beer consumed, great bands were heard, all with some really great friends. So who is in for next year?

Went to the Stills show last night at Richards. This was one of the headliner acts for the New Music West festival that is going on right now. NMW must be one of the worst run festivals, not only did the lineup only get released like a week or two before it started, you would have NO clue whatsoever walking around the city that the event is actually going on.

Anyway The Diableros opened the show. I liked them. The band reminded me of the band off the Gilmore Girls. Drummer was Korean, lead singer was very indie looking, bass player had that indie geek look. Only thing they were missing was the old dude guitar player who thrashes. All bad stereotyping aside they put on a good show. I really liked their last song of the night.

The Stills were very good as well. Solid show. Another kind of short show though, clocking in at just over an hour. It seemed longer though, I guess they just have really short songs. There sounds was really big. They could sounds really good in the Commodore, or even a bigger venue like the PNE forum. I also really enjoyed the new stuff. It was funny they kept on talking about how they had been on the road for a month now, like this was some big feat. Anyway another enjoyable show.