David Vertesi @ Anza Club -- 10/22/14

It's been a while since David Vertesi -- tall bass player of Hey Ocean! -- has done a solo show in Vancouver. But earlier this month he released a brand new song, to tease his upcoming second solo album which should be released sometime next year, and a quick jaunt of western tour dates, wrapping up in him home of Vancouver.


Starting off the night at the Anza Club was Windmills from Kelowna. The one-man-band of Cory Myraas took the stage alone armed with his guitar and a looping station, building layers of his ambient-pop (or maybe post-folk) sound, with almost haunting vocals.
He combined it with awkwardly charming stage banter between songs, even going so far as to tell a couple purposefully terrible puns, or joking he was going to "kick it up to 7", as he wrapped up the set with a couple of the more high energy songs of the set.
It's always fun to watch loopers perform live, and he was no exception.


Next up was Rosie June joined only by Andrew Rassmussen on keys and synth, with more of a minimalistic pop sound. The focus was definitely on her lofty and breathy vocals for the show, but unfortunately much of the set it was either too low, or not clear at all, at times hard to make out what exactly she was singing. In fact, she didn't have very much stage presence, hardly moving through the entire set. Even Andrew behind the keys was more animated than she was.
Aside from her own songs she included a cover of Sugar Ray's "When It's Over", and the synth beats were definitely catchy. But I can't help but feel if she just had a bit more behind her vocals, it would have been a much more enjoyable set.


And finally, finishing the pattern of adding a band member, David Vertesi hit the stage with Andrew once again on keys, and Johnny Andrews on drums. They started with a slow-boiling instrumental before going into "Soft Skin" from Vertesi's first album Cardiography, joking that his genre of music was "sad dad cruise ship" (a phrase plastered on the shirts he had for sale).
His songs are simple, yet effective, many of them are about love, or the lack thereof, but it's the emotion he brings to the songs with his smooth baritone that really sells it and sucks you in. The best example of that came later in the set with the heart-wrenching song "Learn To Run" as it built to an intensely emotional release.
As well as the new songs -- like the catchy "Loud Talker" -- Vertesi also threw in a couple cover songs; first an almost lounge-y version of GOB's punk hit "I Hear You Calling" which was a really cool reinterpretation, and later a pretty straight up and dancey cover of "Say You'll be There" by Spice Girls. He wrapped up the set, without bothering with the whole faux-encore business, with his most upbeat (musically, anyway) song "Mountainside", leaving the floor dancing.

Vertesi left the crowd with only a little taste of his new album, but from the sounds of it, I am already looking forward to it.

setlist
[intro]; Soft Skin; Gentlemen Say; [new song]; I Hear You Calling [Gob cover]; Loud Talker; All Night, All Night, All Night; Learn To Run; [new song]; Say You'll Be There [Spice Girls cover]; Mountainside.

Portage & Main CD Release @ Anza Club -- 03/18/11

Last night was the much anticipated CD release show for Vancouver's Portage & Main. So anticipated, that the Anza club ended out being sold out by the end of the night. And rightfully so, as it was a pretty good lineup of Vancouver talent.

Adrian Glynn was first for the night, hitting stage alone with his guitar -- though for a couple songs he added a harmonica or a kick drum. He seemed really comfortable on stage, with a good presence; mostly because you could see the emotion put into his heartfelt folk songs. And even though a few of them sounded a bit similar, it was quite an enjoyable set. It came to a close with some audience-assisted stomp/clapping in a song, but by the end of the set the din of the crowd was getting a little loud. I think last time I saw Glynn, it was also with a noisy crowds, so I wouldn't mind catching him live again, where people are a bit quieter.

Sumner Bros were next up. I had seen them a couple weeks back at the Railway and enjoyed the set, and last night was no different. Well, except for the sound. It was a bit off at the beginning of the set, but after a few songs it seemed to be quite a bit better. Aside from that, the set was pretty similar, with their cover of Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" the traditional "Pay Me My Money Down", and their own catchy, blues influenced songs. They were pretty lively and energetic, and definitely worth seeing again.

And finally was Portage & Main. Had I not known, I never would have guessed this was their first show. True, John Sponarski and Harold Donnelly, who share vocals and guitar duties, have been playing in bands and with each other for years, but for the first show as this incarnation; and they were incredibly tight and firing on all cylinders. Their sound was very folk- and roots-rock influenced, and they played their new self titled album front to back.
Savannah of Redbird (a band that John also plays with) was out for backup vocals on "The Morning After", and other highlists included the infectious "What Have I Done", the incredibly energetic "Tonight pt. 2", and the slow build of "I'd Never Climbed A Mountain", that "ended" the set. But they were back out, with Savannah joining them again, for the album closer "Carolina", another high energy song and a great way to end the night.

In all, a pretty great night of music, and an impressive debut from Portage & Main. I already can't wait to see them live again.

The Zolas w/ Aidan Knight and Hannah Epperson @ Anza Club -- 10/15/10

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have had great luck with shows this year that have had a stellar line-up all around. With Aidan Knight and The Zolas on the same bill, this was looking to be one of those nights. And not that, but it had a great build-up of artists. The night was also hosted by Vancouver comedian Ryan Beil, in the guise of The Zolas sleazy manager contractually obligated to host the show.

The night started with Hannah Epperson, who took stage with nothing more than a violin and a looping pedal (which already had me intrigued). Her first few songs were instrumental and were quite beautiful. I was somewhat hesitant when it looked like she was going to add vocals, but her voice matched the mood, adding to the fantastic sound. And even though it was minimalistic, it never got repetative; the grand sound she created with just the violin loops was quite impressive, and I would be very interested in seeing her again.

Aidan Knight was next up, bringing his Friendly Friends with him. The biggest thing I noticed during the set is how much more comfortable he is with stage banter than the first time I saw him. His nervousness turned into an awkward charm, and even that now has more emphasis on the "charm" than the "awkward". Be that something he has worked on through the Peak Performance Project, or something that has just come with playing more, he has definitely become more comfortable. As for the set itself, it was full of old and new songs, including one he admitted to... liberally borrowing some lines from Simon & Garfunkel for, and his Peak cover of Said The Whale's "The Light Is You", where he takes what is possibly the fastest and most upbeat STW song, turns it into a slow, melancholy jam, and still makes it work. As the intense end of "Knitting Something Nice" climaxed, We Are The City came out to help and stayed honorary Friendly Friends for the final song, "Jasper". Aidan didn't jump into the crowd this time, but everyone joined in singing regardless, for a great ending to the set.

And finally, closing out the night, was The Zolas, and the crowd was going crazy for them. As soon as the familiar opening of "You're Too Cool" hit, everyone was singing along. By the end of the song, Zach was visibly in awe of, and moved by, the crowd, with a grin on his face when they sang along, stealing his lines. The band was in fine form -- especially Tom, who was playing with glass in his lungs -- as they hit most of the songs off of Tic Toc Tic, the new "Guest" (which always gets stuck in my head) and the new-to-us "Snow", welcoming the cold season. The band seemed to just feed off the insane energy of the crowd, who were not only going nuts, but throwing stuffed animals on stage (which Zach played with for a song) and lighting sparklers in the audience.
They ended the set with "Marlaina Kamikaze", but were back for the expected encore. Zach called out Aidan and some Friendly Friends, saying they were going to do a cover. As he started saying it was a band that most people would have just heard of, if at all, I perked up and when he said it would be Karkwa, my mind was (visibly) blown. With a trio of drummers, they did "Le Pyromane", and did a damn fine job of it, too. There was one more song to go, the one The Zolas usually end with, "Cab Driver" that brought the set to a powerful ending, with Zach even pulling people up onto stage (some more gracefully than others) for a dance party.

The one thing I have to mention, though, is the sound. It was the first time I had been there, and for the most part, the Anza Club sounded great... but there were a couple times where it seemed to cut out for a brief moment. It seemed to be just for The Zolas, and just at the more intense points, so they might have just been too much for the small venue to handle. During the set, The Zolas mentioned it was probably their last show for a little while, as they were going into "recording mode", and what a way to go.