Category Archives: real live action

Bowerbirds & Julie Doiron

January 23 @ Biltmore Cabaret

Review By Sean Nelson

Julie Doiron, photo by Sean Nelson

Julie Doiron, photo by Sean Nelson

Sometimes being a concert reviewer puts you in an interesting position. It certainly did when I went to see Julie Doiron and Bowerbirds at a sold out show at the Biltmore. Bathed in gold light, the opening half of the night’s double header, Julie Doiron, launched into a spare, intimate, yet fully rocking set with Fred Squire on drums. Doiron and Squire have a lot of chemistry together—on the love songs, one could be forgiven for mistaking the duo for a couple. Doiron was also accompanied by Attack in Black’s Daniel Romano, which opened up her sound and allowed for some powerful guitar duets. From the angry discord of “No More” to the genteel wonderment of “Snow Falls in November,” the breadth of Doiron’s set went far to prove that she’s still Canada’s indie queen (sorry, Feist). Although it was full of highlights, including her recent title “Spill Yer Lungs,” the pinnacle had to be the cover of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home to Me;” everyone knew it and obviously enjoyed it.

But what the audience enjoyed even more was Bowerbirds’ set, which, judging by applause, they were clearly there to see over Julie Doiron (some folks in the crowd didn’t even know who Doiron was!). Full disclosure: I don’t really like Bowerbirds, but everyone else in attendance sure did. From opener “Hooves” right through to their curfew-extending finale, Bowerbirds received nothing but love from their audience—this was honestly the most applause I had ever heard for a band in the Biltmore. The folksy band played mostly as a trio, but opened up to a quartet several times, allowing for some incredibly varied instrumentation. I may not have enjoyed all of this, but, to coin a phrase, a few hundred Biltmore attendees can’t be wrong!

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Wilco

February 13 @ David Lam Park

Review By Al Smith

This was probably awesome, but since we only got there two hours in advance, we couldn’t get in. Or maybe we could have, but the lineup was seriously about 10 km long, so whatever. Instead, we watched some shitty bar band play in an alley in Yaletown for five minutes, then wandered over to the Brickhouse and drank a bunch of really gross beer. Maybe it’s the draught lines? Those fish tank things in the back also fucking reek.

Anyways, if you’re planning on going to any of this free Olympic-related business, I hope you don’t have a job or anything else important to do, because you’re going to need to get in line the day before the show if you don’t want to get shut out. Q.E.D.: it’s currently around 2 p.m., and there are 17,000 folks lined up downtown to see Deadmau5. What the fuck is wrong with you people? Read More »

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Vivian Girls

with Best Coast & Cosmetics, February 12 @ Biltmore Cabaret

Review By Quinn Omori

Riding a wave of hype that their lo-fi surf rock has garnered over the past year, Vivian Girls hit the Biltmore for their first headlining show in Vancouver.

Local act Cosmetics started things off, kicking into a brand of slinky, dark sounding New Wave that departed from the fuzzy, sunshiny jams that would dominate the rest of the evening. I wasn’t overwhelmed the first time I saw them play, but picking up a live drummer between then and now has really done wonders for their live show, giving the wonderfully nonchalant vocals and syrupy synth work a contrasting kick in the rear. Read More »

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Do Make Say Think

with Years & The Happiness Project, February 6 @ Biltmore Cabaret

Review By Darren Susin

Forty pedals deep and two drum kits wide, a Do Make Say Think (DMST) stage set up looks more like a pawn shop than anything else. Even the Biltmore’s spacious stage barely held the gear required for the night’s three bands. Opening the night were two bands made up of DMST members: Years, led by Ohad Benchetrit, and the Happiness Project, led by Charles Spearin. While Years leans more closely to the DMST sound, Spearin’s project is an experiment with conversations set to music. Most compelling among the spoken word was “Vanessa.” The speaker is a deaf woman who experienced hearing for the first time at the age of 30, thanks to a cochlear implant. On her first description of sound she says, “All of a sudden I felt my body moving inside,” and if that’s not a perfect description of music, then one does not exist. Read More »

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Health

with Nü Sensae & Myths, February 4 @ Biltmore Cabaret

Review By Quinn Omori

Maybe it was the fact that critical acclaim doesn’t always translate into any sort of mass appeal, or maybe it was because of the myriad of other shows going on this night (including current CiTR sweetheart, Fanshaw’s CD release), but for whatever reason, nobody was in a hurry to head down to the Biltmore to catch HEALTH on their latest stop in Vancouver. Read More »

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St. Vincent

with Wildbirds & Peacedrums, February 4 @ Venue

Review By Simon Foreman

For fans of St. Vincent, Annie Clark’s thin face and tousled hair are quite familiar, dominating the covers of her two full-length albums. It’s no surprise to find your eye naturally drawn there during a performance by Clark and her group, tracking her expressions and trying to gain insight into how the wiry, quiet Texan could produce such wondrous compositions. However, the feast for the eyes extended far beyond Clark’s visage on this night, as the dynamic lighting at Venue, the bookish tweed-jacketed drummer and Clark’s colour-changing dress all competed for visual attention. Read More »

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Kronos Quartet

feat. Tanya Tagaq, January 30 @ Chan Centre

Review By Doug Mackenzie

Saturday’s concert at the Chan Centre was a journey through unfamiliar landscapes. The Kronos Quartet is a string quartet probably best known for the scores to the films Requiem For A Dream or The Fountain, even though they’ve been at the forefront of modern classical music for 30 years, commissioning over 600 works from composers all over the world.

Tanya Tagaq is similarly innovative, in that she takes traditional musical modes to new places. As an Inuit throat singer, she’s collaborated with everyone from local dubstep producer Michael Red to Björk on the larynx-centric Medulla.

The concert’s first half was comprised of the Quartet playing challenging, harmonically intriguing pieces by Scandinavian composers. There was pleasingly indeterminate discord similar to an orchestra tuning, spirited liveliness emulating Swedish folk, outer-space sounds, even scary noise evoking unoiled hinges and whispering, confused ghosts.

Next was Tundra Songs by Canadian composer Derek Charke, wherein Tanya Tagaq also took the stage. While the juxtaposition of the two musical forces was interesting, the throat singing was sonically overpowering, and the piece thrived in its less vigorous interludes, as when the quartet accompanied a spoken-word Inuit folk-tale.

After Kronos’ version of “Flugufrelsarinn” by Sigur Ros came the final and most riveting performance of the evening—a solo by Tanya Tagaq. She began with simple, cooing melody, which, punctuated by rhythmic gasping, took on a guttural tone—it sounded like a coughing demon interlocked with a yelping dog, evil imp or gasping girl. It built to anguished howls and the emotion she channeled was so intimate and real that it was almost hard to watch. It was a lot to take in; super-musicians precisely rendering complex modern classical music, unchained passion and earthy power, all in one show—it was an expansion of my musical universe.

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Fine Mist

January 9 @ Biltmore Cabaret

Review By Quinn Omori

Fine Mist, photo by lindsaysdiet.com

Fine Mist, photo by lindsaysdiet.com

If you’re a fan of live music, you really have to take your hat off to Jason “my!gay!husband!” Sulyma. Just over a year after launching Glory Days on a snowy Saturday at the Biltmore, the weekly’s popularity has risen to the point where he could probably forgo the cost of paying a band to play (nearly) every week and still easily fill the place. In fact, while most similarly-formatted nights rely on the band to draw some of their crowd, Glory Days’ popularity, in and of itself, gives bands an opportunity to play in front of a guaranteed packed house made up of people that wouldn’t otherwise be attending their shows. While this is a great chance to perform in front of some new faces, the general indifference of most of the audience means that Glory Days’ bands are sometimes treated like an interruption of the evening’s DJ portions, rather than the night’s focal point. Read More »

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Peace / Tight Solid / Katie GoGo

with Tight Solid & Katie GoGo, January 13 @ Honey Lounge

Review By Sean Nelson

At the end of the year, or in this case, of the decade, Katie Gogo and Suzie Q brought an end to the Beehive monthly with a one-year anniversary show brimming with energy and eclecticism. Katie Gogo started the night off with a charmingly spare set showcasing the singer-songwriter’s sultry voice and idiosyncratic lyrics. For much of her set, GoGo accompanied herself on ukulele, but she was joined by several guests, including PrOphecy Sun for some haunting theremin (an early electronic instrument) accompaniment, and Suzie Q for a rousing rendition of “Hit the Road Jack.” Songs about spelunking and buying American Apparel tights alongside some en français lyrics made for a delightful start to the evening. Read More »

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Califone

December 4 @ Rickshaw Theatre

Review By Quinn Omori

Califone, photo by Quinn Omori

Califone, photo by Quinn Omori

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical leading up to Califone rolling into town on their latest visit. I’m a big fan of their records, but this night, before doing the regular concert thing, the avant-folk quartet took the stage to play a live score for All My Friends Are Funeral Singers (also the title of their latest album), a film written and directed by lead singer Tim Rutili. While Rutili’s talent as a songwriter has been well documented, this was, as far as I know, his first foray into feature-length movie territory. Read More »

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