Vancouver Folk Fest, 2016. I was waiting for The New Pornographers to take the main stage when the tweener came out. Sometimes those between-main-set acts can be forgettable, or just there to kill time, but that night Lisa LeBlanc immediately caught my attention. So much so that I made it a point to see her full set the next day. And later in the year, her album Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen? became one of my favourites of '016. So I was pretty glad when she announced her return to our city, and the chance to see her at a "proper" venue like the Biltmore.
First up was local singer Alexandria Maillot, in her last Vancouver show before heading out on tour (not with Lisa). She began the set joined only by guitarist Daniel Baxter for a sultry cover of a song from The Civil Wars, before being joined by the rest of the band. Her short set featured songs from her latest album Time, including the bouncy "Time (On Your Own)", and "Smitten", her strong voice carrying the smooth "bedroom folkpop". Alexandria chatted with the crowd between sets, appreciative of the audience, and slipped in a few new songs, including the final song of the night she played alone.
Leading up to the show, I was worried what the turnout was going to be like with so much going on in Vancouver that night (there were at least two other shows I was sad to be missing). But I was worried over nothing, as not only was the venue packed, but the crowd was just a little eager, chanting "Lisa! Lisa!" before Lisa LeBlanc even got on stage. Starting with "(Self-Proclaimed) Voodoo Woman" its bluesy riff erupted into a raucous energy that was matched throughout the set.
Early on there was a little bit of guitar troubles, but Lisa's charm -- and the band playing smooth jazz -- saved the momentum, as she called an audible by skipping the song, picking up the acoustic, and (I think) fielding a request for "J'pas Un Cowboy" to keep the show moving. Her set was in "franglais", as she joked, the Acadian singer from New Brunswick going from the two languages seamlessly, both in song and chatting between them. She also switched between guitars both acoustic and electric, banjo, and even triangle throughout the set. LeBlanc was a ball of electricity on stage, hardly still while rocking out with her folk-rock (that leans much more toward the latter).
She eventually did get the guitar working for "City Slickers & Country Boys", and part way through the set the band took a break for Lisa to play an acoustic song. The latter half of the set featured what she called the "Banjo 'till you drop" portion of the show, with the incendiary "You Look Like Trouble (But I Guess I Do Too)" ramping up the intensity until her cover of Motörhead's "Ace of Spades". On a banjo. And it was incredible.
She ended the main set with "Why Does It Feel So Lonely (When You Are Around)?" but slyly mentioned "You know how these things go..." surely hinting at the usual encore. But even if it was built into the show, it was earned, as the crowd was once more chanting her name. The encore included one of my favourites of the night, the acerbic "Could You Wait 'Til I've Had My Coffee?" -- the best breakup song since "You Oughta Know" -- as well as a big singalong with the intent of teaching the Anglophones in the crowd cursing en français: "Aujourd'hui, ma vie c'est d'la marde". Finally, she finished off the night alone on stage, with her acoustic, and the song about "the dumbest idea I’ve ever had", a long distance relationship between New Brunswick & Vancouver, "5,748 km".
It was a perfect way to end, as LeBlanc was visibly overwhelmed and appreciative of the support the city was giving her.
