Dan Mangan @ Vogue Theatre -- December 09, 2023

I’ve said it before, but there are some performers that just fit perfectly with certain venues, and Dan Mangan with The Vogue Theatre is one of those combinations. So it was great to see Dan finishing his Going Somewhere Tour — in celebration of last year’s album of the same name — here in Vancouver at the theatre on Granville street.

Unfortunately, I missed the opening act, Vancouver’s Noble Son, arriving to the venue a little before the lights went out and Dan’s voice was heard over the speakers, greeting people as he made his way from the back of the theatre down to the stage. Once there, he pulled out his acoustic guitar, and started the show off with a new Christmas song he wrote a few days before the show.

From there the first portion of the set was dedicated to requests fielded from his text line. “Jeopardy” was for someone’s birthday, his cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” to celebrate an anniversary, and the always-heartbreaking “Basket”.

At that point, Dan was joined by his band — Don Kerr on drums, Jason Haberman on bass, and Mike O’Brien on guitar — for the rest of the set, as they conducting the crowd on the backing vocals for “Lynchpin”.

From his latest single about chasing fame, “Say When”, to the perennial favourites like “Road Regrets”, Dan spanned his career, as well as a range of emotions. From the high energy “Troubled Mind” to the (sadly) always-relevant “Post-War Blues”, like melancholic “Lay Low”, or the mournful “In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchison)” a sweet ode to a lost friend.

The set started to wind down with the usual huge singalong to “Robots”, before Dan pulled out a special guitar adorned with some LEDs. The house lights went down and Dan was illuminated just by his guitar and a special “wizard stick” as he launched into “All My People”, prompting the crowd to sing along, as he hopped off stage and wading into the audience, as a surprise trumpeter played from the balcony. Dan stayed in the crowd for the final song of the night, once again leading the makeshift choir for “So Much for Everyone”, which has been Dan’s closer for a couple years now, and is a beautiful way to bring the crowd together and celebrate the communal feel of his shows.

Earlier this year Dan played a special solo show at the Fox Cabaret, and even though the sold out Vogue had about four times as many people, this show felt just as intimate. Between taking requests, telling stories between songs, and even chatting with the crowd at points, Dan has an uncanny knack to make any size room feel like a cozy show.

setlist
[Christmas Song]
Fool for Waiting
Jeopardy
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [Neutral Milk Hotel cover]
There Is No Such Thing as Wasted Love
Basket
Lynchpin
Troubled Mind
Road Regrets
Cold in the Summer
Say When
Lay Low
Just Know It
In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchison)
Easy
Post-War Blues
Fire Escape
Robots
All My People
So Much for Everyone

Haley Blais (and friends) @ The Wise Hall -- April 14, 2023

Ever since Haley Blais released her debut album Below the Salt a few years ago, I've been wanting to catch her live, but aside from a pandemic-era livestream from the Fox and a quick set at Constellation last year, I hadn't really got the chance. So I was happy to fix that this past Friday, with a show at the Wise Hall. It was a rare seated show for that venue, but during her set Blas quipped “I refuse to believe we can enjoy anything standing up” and I can't disagree with that.

Unfortunately I ran late and missed the opener, Troll Dolly, arriving shortly before Haley Blais took the stage with her backing band, comprised of a few familiar faces; Sam Lynch, Lindsay Sjoberg, Graham Serl, and Alex Maunders.

They started off the set with the chilled out “Rob the Original”, and weaved into a few more from her current catalogue, including “Survivor's Guilt” -- with the first guest of the evening, star of the video Jake Pascoe coming out to dance & accompany on the vibraslap -- and “Firestarter”, my favourite from her debut album, a song that starts slow and soft, building to a crescendo with Blais' voice sending chills and giving goosebumps.
Throughout the night we were also teased with a number of new songs from an upcoming album, like the groovy “Matchmaker” and “Cabin”, a more rocking number that once again showed off Haley's vocal range.

Leading up to the show, Blais had promised ‘special guests’, and delivered when she ceded the mic to her friends and peers, to put the spotlight on them. Mid-way through, Lindsey took centre stage with other members of Babe Corner out for the title track off their recently released album Crybaby; Maunders played a track from his solo project; and Dan Mangan surprised everyone with “Just Know It”, all backed by Blais on vocals.
Then near the end of the set, Blais brought out Jonathan Anderson and David Vertesi to play on one of her new songs “Reset Button”, before Vertesi went into into one of his songs, “My Parents House”, and finally Sam Lynch performed a beautiful new song that I didn't catch the name of.

After a good hour and a half, they brought the set to a big finish with a singalong to “Coolest Fucking Bitch in Town”, Blais conducting the crowd to chant the lyrics as the song wrapped up. But the sold out hall wanted one more song, and Haley indulged, coming out alone to start an older track “Small Foreign Faction”, before the rest of the band joined her and everyone let loose to cap off the night.

Leading up to the show, I had no idea who or what the “and friends” would entail, so the format of the show was a very pleasant surprise, and made for one of the most unique and collaborative shows I've seen in some time. It's rare that you see someone use almost a third of their set to let others shine, and the talent on the stage had the sold out hall rapt all evening. The crowd was (mostly) silent in all the right places, hanging on everyone — especially Haley Blais' — every note.

setlist
Rob the Original
Survivor's Guilt
Matchmaker
Be Your Own Muse
Firestarter
Crybaby (Babe Corner)
This Time (Maunders)
Just Know It (Dan Mangan)
[New song?]
Body
Reset Button
My Parents House (David Vertesi)
[New Song] (Sam Lynch)
Cabin
Coolest Fucking Bitch in Town
[encore]
Small Foreign Faction

An Evening with Dan Mangan @ Fox Cabaret -- February 03, 2023

As much as I want to see musicians that I love get huge, blow up, have lots of success... when they do, there's a small (selfish) part of me that misses seeing them play intimate venues. Which is why it's great when someone like Dan Mangan decides to play somewhere like the Fox Cabaret. Part of a series of acoustic shows, tickets sold out in minutes for this hometown Evening with Dan Mangan.

With Radiohead playing over the speakers, the lights dimmed as Mangan took the stage alone, armed only with his acoustic guitar. Starting off with “Just Know It” from the new album Being Somewhere, and driving back to “Road Regrets” as Dan’s gruff voice filled the room, the night was not only intimate, but a little interactive as well.

He chatted with the crowd between songs, telling stories, and taking requests for the bulk of the set. From the classic wordplay of “Pine for Cedars”, to deep cuts like the frantic “Mouthpiece”, “Unnatural Progression” from his very first release Postcards and Daydreaming, and even his cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”, he hit requests from throughout his oeuvre.

Dan also debuted a new song, a clever tune about vampiric and parasitic people (I'm going to guess called “Vampire”?), with other highlights including the frenetic “Troubled Mind”, the melancholic “In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchinson)”, and “Sold”, with clap-a-long ending that's foolproof against people who may lack rhythm.

After the always-heartwrenching “Basket”, Dan started to draw the set to a close by wading out into the middle of the cabaret with his giant light fixture for a couple of singalongs. First the perennial favourite “Robots”, and finally ending the night as he's been wont to do for the last few years; the collective voices of the entire room supporting him on “So Much for Everyone”.

And that same crowd hung on every note Dan played throughout the night, with virtually no chatter during his songs. I’ve often said that Dan Mangan has a knack for making shows of any size feel intimate, but seeing him play a show like this again, after so many years, was truly something special.

setlist
Just Know It
Cold in the Summer
Road Regrets
Lay Low
Tina's Glorious Comeback
Jeopardy
Mouthpiece
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [Neutral Milk Hotel cover]
Easy
New Song (Vampire?)
Pine for Cedars
Troubled Mind
Unnatural Progression
In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchinson)
Lynchpin
Fire Escape
Sold
Basket
Robots
So Much for Everyone

PHOTOS: Dan Mangan @ The Vogue Theatre - May 11, 2022

Dan Mangan
Vogue Theatre
May 11, 2022
Christine McAvoy Photography

Click here to read Kirk’s recap.

Dan Mangan @ Vogue Theatre -- May 11, 2022

This is a show that's been over two years in the making. Originally scheduled for April of 2020, this show has been postponed and rescheduled and postponed and rescheduled and... until finally landing on May 11th & 12th of 2022, luckily still at the Vogue theatre.

I caught the tail end of the opening act, Georgia Harmer, just her and a guitarist on stage. With a voice and talent that belies her age, she played stripped down versions of songs off her recently released debut album Stay in Touch, like the catchy “All In My Mind”, and finished off with “Top Down”.
I’ve been meaning to pick up her album, and from what I saw, I’ll need to do that sooner rather than later.

Not long after, the lights dimmed and Dan Mangan took the stage with his backing band, kicking right off with “Which Is It”, for a set that spanned his entire discography. From “Road Regrets”, which saw Dan's voice soaring over the theatre as he belted out the chorus, to the laid back “Lay Low”, a song about bailing on plans and staying home -- which Dan joked he now really regretted writing now.

Early on, Mangan said he wasn't going to talk too much, as he wanted to pack in as much music as possible, but with an effortless charm, he still told stories about the songs, bantered with the crowd, and gave out his ‘band cell’ number so everyone in attendance could text in for a recording of the evening's show.

Part way through the set the band took a brief break and Dan played a few songs solo, including a requested cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”, and was joined by Georgia Harmer for a lovely rendition of “The Indie Queens Are Waiting”, before the band returned for a huge singalong to “Robots”, Dan standing at the front of the stage, completely off mic, leading the crowd.

Other highlights included the charming “Pine for Cedars”, the raucous “Vessel”, and the intensely bombastic “Post-War Blues”, which ended off the main set.

But we didn't have to wait long before Dan was back out, on his own at first for the absolutely heartbreaking “Basket”, with more soft singing along (and I'm sure a few tears) from the audience. Then it was time to bring out ‘The Hammer’, a large lighting rig that syncs with the finale of the set, “So Much for Everyone”. In the past Dan has waded out into the middle of the crowd with this contraption, but since it's probably not wise to do that these days, he and the band -- as well as Georgia Harmer -- crowded around a single microphone, with Dan leading a choir of voices to send everyone off with their hearts full.

Sometimes you get a musician and venue that just "fit" perfectly together, and I think that's Dan with the Vogue. From the first time he played there in 2010, to the last time — as documented by All Together Now — he just feels at home there. And as I’m sure I’ve said before, he manages to make the full theatre feel like an intimate living room show.

setlist
Which Is It
Cold in the Summer
Road Regrets
Troubled Mind
Lay Low
Rows of Houses
Kitsch
Fool For Waiting
The Indie Queens are Waiting
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [Neutral Milk Hotel cover]
In Your Corner (for Scott Hutchison)
Robots
Peaks & Valleys
Oh Fortune
Pine for Cedars
Forgetery
Vessel
Post-War Blues
(encore)
Basket
So Much for Everyone