PHOTOS: Dear Rouge with Gay Nineties @ Commodore Ballroom - April 10 2025
Dear Rouge with Gay Nineties
Commodore Ballroom
April 10 2025
Dear Rouge with The Gay Nineties @ Commodore Ballroom -- April 10, 2025
Last year Dear Rouge released their fourth studio album, Lonesome High, and have finally returned to the Commodore Ballroom for a packed Vancouver show. And not only that, they brought some old friends along with them!
Opening the evening was the return of The Gay Nineties. The Vancouver band has been on hiatus for just a few years, but Parker Bossley, Bruce Ledingham, and Malcolm Holt were joined by Pascal Le Vasseur as they kicked off with a brand new song. And while they hit a couple older ones early, like the explosive “Hold Your Fire”, the bulk of the set was new material. Including an early standout for me, “Tidal Wave”, and a fun one called (and about) “Internet, Sex, and Drugs” which Parker teased might be their next single. They wrapped up with another old favourite, “Letterman”, which had everyone in the crowd that was ‘in the know’ singing along, proving they haven’t missed a beat. Their hook-filled indie rock was as sharp as ever*, and I’m very excited to hear more from them.
(*or as Christine put it: “The Nineties are back and they’re Gayer than ever!”)
After a break, the stage lights dimmed and a single figure stood on stage, as the rest of Dear Rouge joined Danielle McTaggart and launched into “Cutting Teeth”. Early on they addressed the recent passing of Drew McTaggart’s mother, asking everyone to remember someone that couldn’t be in the room, and dedicating “Stolen Days” to her.
The set had a great ebb and flow, building up the energy with the dark & moody “Black to Gold” and the raucous “Modern Shakedown” before exploding into “Meet Me at the Rio”, and then taking it back down with the acoustic “Live Through the Night” — which Drew introduced at the only song they’ve played at every single one of their shows. Danielle made a quick change into a sparkling, fringed jacked (with tambourine to match) and — after a false start to make sure someone in the crowd was safe — “Wicked Thing” started building back up, to the frenetic energy of “Tongues” and Danielle making a toast before showing off her moves with “Not Afraid to Dance”, segueing into a cover of the No Doubt classic “Hella Good”.
But it wasn’t just for that song; the whole night Danielle barely stood still. When she didn’t have a guitar in hand or behind the keys, she was strutting around the stage, and even into the audience. As “I Heard I Had” started, she grabbed a flashing light and jumped into the crowd, making her way from one side of the Ballroom to the other, singing to, at, & with everyone around her.
The band closed out the set with “Too Close to the Heat”, but were soon back for the encore. First Danielle returned alone, on the keys and behind a single light for the haunting “Lonesome High”. The rest of the band returned as they dedicated “Garbage” to anyone going through it, and capped off the night with their latest hit “Goon”.
Dear Rouge consistently puts on incredibly fun live shows, full of energy & spirit, and this night was no different. Add on the return of The Gay Nineties, and you have a fantastic night of Vancouver music.
Dear Rouge setlist
Cutting Teeth
Blow My Heart Up
Fake Fame
Stolen Days
Black to Gold
Wallpaper
Modern Shakedown
Meet Me at the Rio
Live Through the Night
Wicked Thing
The Show
Tongues
Not Afraid to Dance [ft Hella Good by No Doubt cover]
Selfish Love
I Heard I Had
Too Close to the Heat
(encore)
Lonesome High
Garbage
Goon
The Gay Nineties setlist
Treat Me Bad
Hold Your Fire
Turn Me On
Tidal Wave
Outside Looking In
Out of Touch
Okinawa
Empty Mansions
Internet, Sex, and Drugs
Letterman
Dear Rouge with Hotel Mira @ Vogue Theatre -- December 10, 2022
It's been a busy year for Dear Rouge. After releasing their third studio album Spirit, they've played festivals, opened for Metric, and just finished a cross Canada tour with Hotel Mira, ending with a show at the Vogue Theatre here in Vancouver.
Unfortunately I missed the first opening set from Mauvey, arriving slightly before the intro of Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” rang throughout the theatre, signalling the entrance of Hotel Mira. Kicking off with “You Know Best”, the band played a selection off their latest album Perfectionism, as well as teasing some new tunes, and hitting older songs from the band’s previous incarnation, JPNSGRLS, like ”Southern Comforting”.
As ever, each member had a high energy, especially frontman Charlie Kerr, as he danced, gyrated, and even waded into the crowd on a few occasions. I don't think I've ever seen him stand still for more than five seconds while on stage.
Highlights including “Better on your Own” which Kerr dedicated to a recent breakup in the crowd, the raucous harmonies of “Jungle”, and the infectious “Fever Pitch”, where Charlie plucked a ‘Listen Bitch’ sign out of the audience for the chorus.
They finished it off with another old favourite, the frantic and chaotic “Oh My God”, and I’m willing to wager that it won't be long before the group is headlining the Vogue themselves.
The stage was dark and smoky when the members of Dear Rouge, all clad in black, came out. Interestingly enough, both bands started with the lead singer in a long black coat, which they doffed a few songs in -- though Danielle's outfit under the coat was much more sparkly than Charlie's undershirt.
Starting off with “Relationship Problems”, their hour-and-a-half set spanned their three album, from the frenetic “Boys & Blondes”; to the soft & tender “Life Goes By And I Can't Keep Up”, which spotlighted Drew McTaggart's vocals; to the giant singalong for “I Heard I Had”.
Danielle McTaggart stalked the front of the stage for “Modern Shakedown”, and “Black to Gold” saw the stage bathed in an amber light. In fact, with the large rig behind then — that included a disco ball and big neon ‘Dear Rouge’ sign — the lightning did a great job setting the mood throughout the evening.
Near the end of the set, they were joined by special guest Jessia to duet with Danielle on the song “That’s It, That’s All”, before closing with the anthemic “Gimme Spirit”.
But of course, the group was back out with a couple more, ending the night with the incredibly fun and quirky “Meet Me At The Rio”, which broke down into a cover of Le Tigre's “Deceptacon”, before a big finish.
It seems like the last few times I’ve seen Dear Rouge — even going back before the pandemic — had been either as an opening band or in the middle of a festival, so it was nice to see them be able to spread their wings as the headliner. And then you add Hotel Mira into the mix, and it’s an fantastic double-bill spotlighting a pair of Vancouver’s hottest acts.
Dear Rouge setlist
Relationship Problems
Fake Fame
Live Through The Night
Boys & Blondes
You Rattle Me
Dream Dreamer
Modern Shakedown
Wanna Love
Life Goes By And I Can't Keep Up
Black to Gold
I Heard I Had
Facedown
That's It, That's All (Jessia)
Tongues
Gimme Spirit
(encore)
Stolen Days
Meet Me At The Rio (feat. Deceptacon by Le Tigre)
Hotel Mira setlist
You Know Best
Better On Your Own
This Could Be It For Me
Eventually
Everything Once
Son in Law
Jungle
The Eyes on You
Speaking off the Record
Southern Comforting
Fever Pitch
Oh My God
PHOTOS: Dear Rouge, Metric @ The Orpheum Theatre - August 13, 2022
Dear Rouge, Metric
The Orpheum Theatre
August 13, 2022
Christine McAvoy Photography
Read Kirk’s review of the show HERE.
Metric with Dear Rouge @ Orpheum Theatre -- August 13, 2022
With their latest album Formentera released a little over a month ago, Metric hit the road for the Doomscroller Tour. The west coast log of the tour included Vancouver’s own Dear Rouge, and made a stop at the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver.
The very first time I saw Dear Rouge perform -- at the Red Room, as part of the Peak Performance Project ten(!) years ago -- I distinctly remember thinking they gave off Metric vibes, so I was really happy that they were opening this show. Especially since the last few times I saw them were at outdoor music festivals, so it was great to get them in a proper venue, particularly one like the Orpheum.
With a large neon 'Dear Rouge" sign behind them, the band opened with "Relationship Problems" off their latest album Spirit. They split the short set between new songs, like the biting takedown of influencers, "Fake Fame", as well as older tunes, getting everyone to sing along to "I Heard I Had".
Performing at the storied theatre seemed to put the always-energetic band on top of their game, Danielle McTaggart’s voice ringing through the theatre as she bound across the stage, backed by Drew McTaggart ripping it up on guitar, and the rest of the band holding their own.
They closed out the set with their ode to the best movie theatre in Vancouver, "Meet Me At The Rio", building to a huge and raucous finish.
After the brief intermission Metric took the stage, with a setup that included some "modular" keyboards -- four different keyboards all on stands with castors, so they could be rearranged at a moment's notice -- and an intense light show.
They kicked off the show with the tour's namesake "Doomscroller", the 10-minute epic going through almost as many twists-and-turns as the entire rest of the set. From there they went on to play cuts from the new album, including my favourite so far, the moody & ominous "All Comes Crashing", as well as classics like "Gold Guns Girls" and the thumping "Help I'm Alive", Emily Haines’ incomparable energy leading the fist pumping through the crowd, as Jimmy Shaw’s guitar wailed.
Part way through the set bassist Joshua Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key took a break, so Emily and Jimmy could perform a couple acoustic songs, including "Combat Baby" which got an overwhelming response from the crowd; literally, as Haines had to pause and compose herself at the bridge before continuing, and could barely get the last line of the song out at the end.
The band returned for more singalongs to “Gimme Sympathy” and “Sick Muse”, before the main set ended appropriately enough with the final song on the new album, “Paths in the Sky”. But of course, they weren't done and returned moments later for an encore consisting of another one of my all-time faves from them, "Black Sheep" (coincidentally being performed on the 12th anniversary of the release of Scott Pilgrim) and capping off the night with Emily Haines saying how after the last two and a half years, she could have stayed on stage forever, but reluctantly ending the show, sending the crowd home with "Breathing Underwater".
A lot of the shows I’ve seen so far this year have had a sort of catharsis to them, like a collective exhale. Maybe it was the size of the venue, the fact that it was still early in Metric’s tour, or a combination of various things, but this show felt a perfect example of that. There was an energy in the theatre, both on-stage and buzzing through the audience, that’s not going to be matched any time soon, and it made the bands, and the show, all the better for it.
Dear Rouge Setlist
Relationship Problems
Live Through the Night
Fake Fame
I Heard I Had
Black to Gold
Gimme Spirit
Tongues
Meet Me at the Rio
Metric Setlist
Doomscroller
Gold Guns Girls
Dark Saturday
What Feels Like Eternity
All Comes Crashing
Help I'm Alive
Formentera
Cascades (acoustic)
Combat Baby (acoustic)
Enemies of the Ocean
Gimme Sympathy
Sick Muse
Now or Never Now
Paths in the Sky
[encore]
Lost Kitten
False Dichotomy
Black Sheep
Breathing Underwater