Last night, Toronto’s Skye Wallace returned to her one-time home, kicking off a quick jaunt of shows through the west coast, starting at Green Auto here in Vancouver.
And, just as a side note: I’ve only been to Green Auto a couple times now, but the sound there is great — a lot better than you would expect from looking at it — and they consistently put on shows with fun (and inclusive) lineups. It’s a really cool space, and Vancouver definitely needs more venues like it.

I got to the venue a little late, missing opener Leo D.E Johnson and catching the last few songs of CJ Wiley. They had a fun, breezy rockin’ sound, and was joined by Skye Wallace for a couple songs, their latest single “Cheap Therapy” and the 90s-alt-rock vibe of “No One Like U”. They finished with a haunting song I didn’t catch the name of, but I made a note that I’ll have to check them out again when I can.

After a quick turnaround, Skye Wallace hit the stage backed by usual bassist J Strautman, as well as some familiar Vancouver faces, Jasper Sloan Yip on guitar and Dicky Neptune on drums.

Skye kicked off with the raucous “There Is A Wall” and the dark & moody “Truth Be Told”, before shifting into some new songs. The recently released “Momentum”, my favourite of the new batch of songs, worked on with the legendary Hawksley Workman; “Tough Kid” was dedicated to a friend in the audience; and they even teased a few unreleased songs, possibly releasing later this year.
Between songs, Skye chatted and joked with the crowd, and other highlights included the raw “Tear A Piece (Bite Me)” and the frenetic banger “Coal in Your Window”.

Wallace wrapped up the set with a cover of the Against Me! song “I Was a Teenage Anarchist” — after gushing about recently opening for Laura Jane Grace(!)
And the band was barely offstage before the crowd chanted for more, which possibly elicited the rare legit encore, with a quip that they hadn't planned on anything, before finishing with the existential questions of “The Doubt” and Skye’s incredible voice filling the room once more.

I feel like every time I see Skye Wallace play, I like them more & more, and this night was no exception. Especially having a killer backing band behind them, as well as a really cool venue.

setlist
There Is A Wall
Truth Be Told
Momentum
Tough Kid
[new song]
Mean Song 2
Tear A Piece (Bite Me)
[new song]
Coal In Your Window
I Was a Teenage Anarchist [Against Me! cover]
(encore)
The Doubt