Best of 2010 : Top 10 Live Shows

2010 was amazing for live music in Vancouver, most notably due to the Olympic games and its twin component the Cultural Olympiad in the earlier part of the year. With all that being said, the cream floats to the top, and certain shows stand out as definitive. There's always those few shows that you mention over and over to friends, those "and when so-and-so did this... I FREAKED OUT!" moments that you can't help but relive. Below are those shows for me in the past year. I'd love to hear what yours were as well!

This past year, I had the pleasure of seeing several Vancouver-based artists several times, including Hannah Georgas, Said the Whale, We Are the City, Aidan Knight, and Dan Mangan. I was fortunate enough to cover the Vancouver Folk Music Festival once again, as well as play witness to the first rendition of the Live at Squamish Festival. For the full list of shows I had attended, you can check out my concert listings.

Without further ado... the top 10 ticket stubs of 2010. Links to original reviews or photos when available.

#10: Great Lake Swimmers at Vogue Theatre- January 29

#9: Malajube at Performance Works (Cultural Olympiad) - February 12

#8: Timber Timbre at Jericho Beach (Vancouver Folk Music Festival) - July 17

#7: Hey Rosetta! at the Orpheum - February 19

#6: Hollerado at Live at Squamish - September 4

photo: Skot Nelson

#5: Hawksley Workman and Jill Barber at Richmond O-Zone - February 17

#4: Diamond Rings at Biltmore Cabaret- November 20

#3: Mumford and Sons at the Vogue - October 23

#2: The Bonfire Ball (Jason Collett, Zeus, Bahamas) at Biltmore Cabaret and Sugar Nightclub (Victoria) - March 26-27

#1: Arcade Fire at Pacific Coliseum - September 28

Honourable mentions:
Library Voices, Paper Lions & Bend Sinister at UBC Pit Pub, Oct 29;
The Malahat Revue (Hannah Georgas, Jeremy Fisher, Aidan Knight, Said the Whale) at Vancouver Folk Music Festival, July 18;
Hannah Georgas w/ Colleen Brown at Venue Nightclub - May 22;
Jamie Lidell at Venue Nightclub, June 14.

NEW VIDEO : Jill Barber - All My Dreams

This lovely video for "All My Dreams" by Vancouver-based chanteuse Jill Barber is directed by Jonathan Bensimon. It's off of her latest and fantastic album Chances, which has a wonderful old-timey jazz sound and feel much like the video. It reminds me of something she tweeted after an online news site mistook her for an actress on the red carpet. She said something along the lines of "well, I have been directing my own love story," and you really get that sense in this video.

Enjoy!

LIVE VIDEOS : Matthew Barber at Little Mountain Studios

Toronto crooner Matthew Barber performed live at Little Mountain Studios in Vancouver on April 15, 2010 in support for his latest release True Believer. Below are some dimly lit videos for your listening pleasure!

"True Believer"



"Revolution of the Sun"



"While Away" - featuring Jill Barber:

LIVE VIDEO : Matthew Barber ft. Jill Barber - While Away

Toronto crooner Matthew Barber played an intimate, packed show at Vancouver's Little Mountain Studios on April 15, 2010 promoting his latest album True Believer. For the song "While Away," which was unplugged, he was joined by his sister Jill Barber on backup vocals.

As you can tell from the video, although the room was very dimly lit, the acoustics were excellent. Enjoy!



There are only a handful of tour dates left, but Mattber will be on the road again come fall:
16 Apr 2010 20:00
The Duncan Garage Showroom - Duncan, British Columbia
17 Apr 2010 20:00
Lucky Bar -  Victoria, British Columbia
12 May 2010 20:00
The Mod Club - Theatre Toronto, Ontario
21 May 2010 20:00
Aeolian Hall -  London, Ontario

Live Blogging Olympic Music : Karkwa, Jill Barber & Hawksley Workman

I assure you the belatedness of this live blogging business is due to obligatory bodily demands such as sleep and food. I'll try to have a blog entry or Flickr photo set for every night that I attend shows for.

At this point, Canada was 4th place in terms of medal count. 90+% of Canadians had watched at least part of an Olympic sporting event on TV. And by Wednesday, February 17, 2010, the cultural component of the Olympics brought out the big guns with one of Canadian indie's hottest exports Feist and Chilly Gonzales playing a paid show at the Orpheum, and hurtin' Albertan Corb Lund playing LiveCity Yaletown. And of course, the shows below.

It's fair to say that I had no expectations whatsoever of Karkwa when I entered the Air Canada Stage at la Place de la Francophonie at an early 6pm. I had heard raving reviews of them from good friend Kirk at 3amrevelations and decided to venture out to Granville Island, on a sort of blind musical date. It's more than fair to say that Karkwa got a second date; they were a shock and a delight. Like fellow Francophone rockers Malajube, the members of Karkwa have a knack for knitting together elaborate, dazzling rock compositions that astound you with their beauty but knock you backwards with their force. And what a force! They had both percussionist Julien Sagot and drummer Stéphane Bergeron pounding on floor toms for many of the songs. Lead guitarist and vocalist Louis-Jean Cormier complemented the complex musical backdrop not by an overpowering voice, but by using his voice as another layer.

Next up, we have the lovely Jill Barber at the Richmond O Zone. After Karkwa, my company and I rushed from Granville Island to the nearby Vancouver suburb to catch Barber as she wraps up the first song in her set. With only a keyboardist and guitarist accompanying her, Jill Barber put on a stripped down show consisting equally of songs from older albums, as well as from her jazz-infused latest Chances. Her sultry presence and set full of romantic songs about love and loves lost had couples slow dancing in the audience, and the rest of us feeling kind of nostalgic.

After Jill left the stage, the crew hands set up the stage for the last anticipated act-- Hawksley Workman. Fronted by Ryan Corrigan (aka. Hawksley Workman) and backed by his companion Todd Lumley, aka. Mr. Lonely and full backing band, Hawksley put on not only a musically entertaining show, but showed his prowess as a performer with a hilarious and banterful stage presence. Always engaging, with stories that range from sexual dreams to moving to Amsterdam for a lover and so much more, Hawksley engaged us for the full hour and a bit that he was on stage. The set was heavy on new material off his newest Meat and Milk, with only the last three songs being older favourites-- "Smoke Baby," "Your Beauty Must Be Rubbing Off On Me," and "The City Is A Drag."

For live tweets from more Olympic shows, check out my Twitter.

MORE FREE OLYMPIC SHOWS : Free CBC Events

CBC, with its newly constructed headquarters located in a swank building in downtown Vancouver, will be hosting several free events to promote their programs during the Olympic period. The programs which are participating include Canada Live, Canada Reads, Cross Country Roundup, The Current, The Debaters, Hot Air, Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, Tempo, Q, and Wiretap.

If you're interested in being part of the in-studio audience, check out the CBC website here and hover on Free CBC Events under the heading. The different programs will show and you can email a request (or multiple requests) for tickets-- for absolutely free.

*** Update: iCal for the free CBC events now available. (Feb 4)***

Below are some Canadian indie highlights:

Q with Jian Ghomeshi
Thursday Feb. 18 at 4:00 pm in Studio 1
Q is coming to Vancouver for a special "Friday LIVE" taping from the Vancouver. Be part of the studio audience for this special two-hour variety show with performances by top International and Canadian artists. Get your front row seat as Jian Ghomeshi hosts this intimate, once-in-a-lifetime event. Don't miss it!

Canada Live -- Toque Sessions

Toque Session #1
Saturday, February 6 at 7 p.m. in Studio 40
C.R. Avery and the Legal Tender String Quartet with opening act Sam Parton
American music icon Tom Waits said of Vancouver's C.R. Avery that "...(he's) blowin' my mind..." Come witness the energy and artistry that is C.R. Avery with his current band that includes a classically trained string quartet! Former Be Good Tanyas front girl, Sam Parton, kicks off the evening with a set of intimate songs from yesterday and today.
Host: Grant Lawrence (tbc)

Toque Session #2
Sunday, February 21 at 7 p.m. in Studio 40
Jill Barber
Double-Juno nominee and multiple East Coast Music Award winner, Jill Barber, shatters the myth that says "they don't write songs like they used to". This Canadian chanteuse brings a 2010 sensibility to newly composed songs with a timeless, jazzy feel.
Host: Andrew Craig

Toque Session #3
Thursday, February 25 at 7 p.m. in Studio 40
Bluebird North at CBC presented in partnership with the Songwriters Association of Canada.
There's no purer expression of the songwriter's craft than a song circle. Join a group of amazing singer-songwriters including Shari Ulrich, Joel Kroeker, Tariq Hussein, Adaline and Ryan Guldemond [of Mother Mother]. They’ll be in the round, taking turns communicating oh so directly with their lucky audience.

Toque Session #4
Friday, February 26 at 7 p.m. in Studio 40
The British Columbians
This young quartet brings a fresh take on music that straddles the border between old time blues, and stompy rock 'n' roll. Real, earthy and rugged as a B.C. mountain top.

Concert Review : Rose Cousins & Royal Wood at the Media Club

Rose Cousins and headliner Royal Wood put on a fantastic show on November 17, 2009 at the Media Club in Vancouver-- one full of switching roles, great laughs and even greater appreciation of your loved ones.

Halifax-based Rose Cousins, touring her new album The Send Off, began her opening set by the strumming of her guitar and the clear, warm tone of her voice. Well, not completely accurate. She opened her set by commenting on the amount of people surrounded the stage and how it made her feel "popular." And indeed there was a unusually large crowd for an opening set, which consisted of a dedicated base of "Rosebuds," which included Vancouver artists such as Jill Barber, Nat Jay and T Nile. She also thanked Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3, who was in the audience, for interviewing her earlier on during the day and heaped praise on the CBCs across Canada.

It wasn't long into her set that the rest of the people in the room were equally captivated by her honest lyrics, perfect (can I say that?) voice and gut-busting banter, which ranged from touchingly personal to hilariously inappropriate. She also accompanied herself for the entire set on keyboards, guitar and mandolin, save the beautiful "All the Time It Takes to Wait" which was accompanied by the "talented and handsome" Royal Wood.

Rose had the attention of the entire crowd in the usually chatty Media Club. Mid-set, she put the audience on the spot by asking for things in a den-- with the crowd yelling things like "chesterfield!" and "Jenga!" and her constructing a vivid image of that idyllic childhood den with her descriptive imagination. She then transitioned into her song "The Dancers" which imagined an elderly ballroom aficionado couple waltzing around this constructed den.

This was not the only time she called out for audience participation, of course. In another great switching of roles, she called out for an audience member "who's good at keeping rhythm" before playing the last song in her set, "Sadie in the Kitchen." I volunteered hesitantly, and soon found myself sharing the stage with Rose accompanying her on the shaker egg. She gladly regaled myself, an audience member, with the spotlight (and microphone!) while she led the rest of the audience in a sing-along, complete with "random vocal projections." The adorable refrain "before bed, before bed, B for bed, B for bed..." was written with her friends' young daughter in mind, and meant to be an "adult children's song" that she composed for said friends' wedding. Her willingness to share the stage and completely engage the crowd in participation recalls the show by her good friend, Joel Plaskett, whom she supported in a Vancouver show in May.

So yes, I'm going to include that in my resume and CV from now on.

Royal Wood took to the stage with guitarist Dean Drouillard inconspicuously, launching into their first of many songs. Playing many songs from his latest The Lost and Found EP as well as his 2005 A Good Enough Day, Royal filled the Media Club with his romantic, melancholy ballads without his usual backing band. And was the show romantic! Couples lined the perimeter of the stage, as well as filling the rest of the venue, while Royal told of the songs inspired by his brother's wedding, his parents' love, his own love and that of his friend's grandparents. In one of the more poignant moments, he told the audience to never settle for less than the reverberating, lifelong love that they deserve, and for which he sings. These touching anecdotes were nicely interspersed in the song-heavy, banter-light set, which included hits "Juliet" and "Don't Fall Apart."

Royal invited Rose back on stage for 2 songs near the end of his set, and wrapped up with an extended, passionate "Acting Crazy (It's a Breakdown)." Before returning on stage for the encore, he seemed confounded by the presence of washrooms where backstage is supposed to be. The Media Club's backstage is actually at the back of the room, and he commented that he wasn't sure whether to enter the men or the women's washroom in order to get there. Matching Rose's incredible sense of humour, he poked fun at the men in the room by encouraging a final sing-along by saying "this is to show your sexual confidence," which of course, got a burst of laughter and the desired louder audience participation.

All in all, the show was a heartwarming experience, and concert goers exited the Media Club with muted smiles, holding their loved ones into the windy, rainy Vancouver night.

For more photos of the show, visit my Flickr set.

What is in our water?!

Tyler from Said The Whale put it best when he tweeted, "Vancouver is the new Montreal," then proceeded to list off a litany of amazing artists who have either called Vancouver home relatively recently (Jill Barber), as well as those who have grown up here (Dan Mangan).

After hopping cross-town last night to go to both the Immaculate Machine/Char2d2 show and the UBC students-only Hannah Georgas/Said The Whale/Mother Mother show, it struck me how lucky the inhabitants of our fair city are. I was able to hop from East Vancouver to UBC campus within half an hour and catch the beginning of Mother Mother's set, thanks to an early 11 pm curfew at the Biltmore.

The all-Vancouverites (except for I.M.) lineup did not disappoint; in fact, it was exhilarating to see Char2d2 fill up the Biltmore dance floor as an opening act, and its red-lit lounge with sounds much too filling to have been produced by two musicians alone. It was simply fun to see Brooke of Immaculate Machine swaying his massive head of reddish hair to their infectious pop-rock, like some kind of indie shampoo commercial. And it was mesmerizing to get completely absorbed by Mother Mother, who took a hold of an entire pub of college students, and make fanatics out of casual fans.

Immaculate Machine sings of their hometown Victoria,

Streetlights - darkness is unthinkable
It's dirty and the water isn't drinkable

Thankfully, we Vancouverites can rest assured that whatever is lurking in our water, its musical results are undeniable.

Musical updates!

Firstly, "Everything sounds better autotuned"



Indeed we are on very thin ice, since it's...

Summer! Bright lights, warm breezes, long days. That means a couple of things...

Festival season -- In Vancouver, we have the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. It's happening July 17-19 at Jericho Beach. After a long string of years of being really boring and mundane with the performers' lineup, this year we're seeing a change after a change in I believe the musical director. A short sample of artists I'm excited about:
Basia Bulat, The Weakerthans, Dan Mangan, Great Lake Swimmers, Rock Plaza Central, Steven Page (of ex-BNL fame), Iron & Wine, The Proclaimers...
Early bird tickets are available until June 12th.

In Edmonton, their folk fest has an incredibly enviably awesome lineup. If anyone reading this from the Metro Vancouver region is interested in going, holler at your girl!
Short list: Jill Barber, Neko Case, Joel Plaskett, Kathleen Edwards, Danny Michel..., also many of the artists from the VanFolkFest. Complete list here. Tickets go on sale June 1st.

And in Calgary, it's just nuts. Sled Island Festival is selling out before the schedule is even announced. Now that's good reputation.

In other news,

the wonderful Arkells got banned FOR LIFE (4 lyfe?!) from a club from their hometown Hamilton for trying to get in through the back door. Related news, club in Hamilton has bad business sense.

also, they would like you to know that "Unlike Billy Bob, we were very polite when we went on CBC radio program Q with Jian Ghomeshi."



"I've yet to witness much forgiveness in this business" -- indeed.

Joel Plaskett and Peter Elkas make beautiful music together. Sigh. Dreamy. The single is called "Poor Young Things." To be fair, I haven't heard it yet and cannot yet vouch for its degree of dreaminess.

Speaking of Joel Plaskett, three reviews of his Three tour on NxEW. Mine, Amanda Putz's, and Rockstar Aimz's. Overwhelmingly positive.

Hey Ocean! wants you to design a T-shirt for them!

Shad, Brasstronaut and Twin Castles play benefit show for funding community arts programs in East Vancouver. $1 parking lot BBQ!

Juno weekend review (proper)

Thursday night:
Caught last song in Hey Rosetta!'s set. They sounded good, had a cellist and a violinist which sounded fantastic.

Friday: (aka. Rock night)
Worked at merch table at main tent, where the Beat showcase was happening. Overheard performances by Kay & Ace (sp?), Divine Brown and Elise Estrada. When I asked who the last person was I got a "omg, you loser" look from one of my co-volunteers. why should I know? all she did was plug Parasuco repeatedly over the course of an hour. Divine Brown has a great voice and sounded very polished, but nothing new. Like a Canadian attempted answer to Beyonce or something.
Snuck into the Fox Showcase (sold out) with a co-volunteer after our shift with our volunteer shirts on. Security guy recognized me and that made things extremely easy.. we felt like such rebels!
Sets--
Incura: winner of Fox's seeds competition. wasn't too much into their style. almost screamo. front man very acrobatically gyrating, very amusing. realized during this set that black skinny jeans = certification for rockers.
Arkells: PHENOMENAL. I broke my no-music-buying Lent rule for their CD... which is a downer. but they were so good. anthemic stadium rock. brought out Zaki Ibrahim and another female singer to sing backup for a couple of songs. Did a rendition of "Ain't too proud to beg" which had everyone singing along. No Champagne Socialist sounded so good live...
Daniel Wesley Band: a more offensive Jack Johnson. I can't believe people moshed to this. Alcohol is a strange substance.
The Trews: SO GOOD. They were visibly confident because they were good and they knew it. Wow, they brought down the tent. I was barely standing.

Saturday: (aka. folk/funk night)
Got up at 6-ish because I was presenting research at a psych conference at 8... gosh. Closest thing to a hangover I'll ever get. Mysterious bruises, groggy, half mute and deaf and head wobbly. Poster presentations went well though, I didn't fall over once! Although I did fall asleep in the talks so I just didnt go after a couple.
Got home, Tim and I went to Cheryl's, the three of us set off to have our musical adventures for that night.
Sets--
Matthew Barber: if I didn't love him, his set would've been only ok. Doolin's was really dingy. a new friend and i went up to the front. we were probably the only 2 in vancouver that knew his music. we were requesting songs and chatting with him haha. guitar + harmonica, charming and good with banter, forgot some of his own lyrics. met Alex, a fellow fan of CBC R3 which was awesome! Also talked with Grant Lawrence (CBCR3 host) and Jill Barber (Matt's also very talented sister). Got a picture with Mr. Barber.
Hey Ocean!: The always talented and fun Vancouver band. Party central! We were very glad to get into Media Club. Missed the first 2 songs of their set but they played for a good hour and 20 minutes or so. their music is catchier than herpes. you can't not dance, it's a physical impossibility. :)

Sunday:
So sleep deprived. Lost voice so couldn't sing at church haha. Kept hoping that the worship band would burst into Caribbean rhythms but alas, t'was not so.
Juno ceremony-- (aka. low point of my weekend)
seat filler. got into GM place after about an hour and 45 minutes. got actually seat filling about another hour after that. Gordon Campbell was right in front of me, as was the bassist from Hey Ocean!. I think they're quite acquainted with each other actually. curious. Gregor Robertson front right. 2 of the judges from so you think you can dance canada (the pretty black lady and the french dude) and Nico (one of the previous winners?) right behind me. Nickelback were about a section over to my right. pondered the likelihood of self getting hurt in a targeted air raid one section over to the right. all that having been said, the only person I wanted to talk to was the Hey Ocean bassist.
Highlights--
Sam Roberts Band: artist of the year, their performance of Them Kids, bassist wearing a poncho
The Stills: performance. unfortunately was blocked off to where i was sitting
Kathleen Edwards & Bryan Adams: KE on violin; did a nice duet where they looked into each others eyes instead of audience. very sizzling and beautiful
City & Colour w. Gord Downie: did Sleeping Sickness, sounded way more upbeat than studio version which is appreciated
Great Big Sea & Hawksley Workman & members of Eccodeck: wrapped up the show with a rollicking finish beyond the credits.
Lights: acceptance speech was good. she's a cutie-patooty. mentioned how it's fantastic to be recognized as a independent musician in a large institution. a small crack in the gloomy clouds, she was.
Lowlights--
Nickelback: DON'T NEED MORE AWARDS. NEED TALENT AND RESPECT FOR WOMEN. they beat Feist for fan favorite (what) and The Trews and Tokyo Police Club for group of the year (WHAT.) album of the year category had really awful nominees so it was no loss. honestly, I felt sick. the whole stadium was roaring. I have never felt so disillusioned about music, nor musically lonely in a sea of people.
Simple Plan: meh.
MCs: Russell Peters was "about as funny as a kick in the nuts," to quote another blogger. The gay guy from video on trial was about as funny as a violent karate session to the nuts then. I'm glad he wasn't in the broadcast.