Elliott BROOD @ Railway Club -- 02/23/16

It seems that Elliott BROOD is establishing a pattern of playing bigger venues, followed by some of the ones they hit while up and coming; one time they'll play the Commodore, then the Media Club, back to the Commodore, and now the historic Railway Club.
I believe they mentioned the venue was the first one they had sold out in Vancouver, and of course this night was the same, as it was shoulder-to-shoulder packed with 150 of the most rabid Elliott BROOD fans in the city (some even making it a second night in a row, after their show in Whistler the night before). 

Opening the show was a quick set by standup comedian Dustin Hollings, whose material I definitely should not be repeating here. He's also an old friend of Mark so was glad to be opening the show for the Brood. 

Very shortly after Hollings, the trio of Mark Sasso, Casey Laforet, and Steve Pitkin took the stage, launching into fan favourite "The Valley Town", which got everyone stomping and clapping right off the bat. It was just a warm up for much claps and stomps throughout the night. 
The self-styled 'death-country' band hit songs from their entire oeuvre, from some of the first tunes they ever wrote, like "Bowling Green", to an incendiary brand new song, "The Coast". 
They also pulled some deep cuts; they admitted they probably wouldn't have played "Rusty Nail" in the bigger venues, but were glad to play at shows like this. Casey joked about the "house party" vibe, and that it was like a songwriter workshop with how much backstory they were giving each song. In fact, they were really loose on stage, joking and bantering with the crowd between songs.
They spanned from the "disco dance number about World Was I" (as Mark jokingly introduced it) "Their Will"; to slower, more sombre tunes like "If I Get Old"; to the absolutely facemelting "Chuckwagon", an instrumental off of Mountain Meadows that is one of my favourites, especially to see played live. The packed room sang along to favourites "Oh, Alberta" & "Northern Air", and they even slipped in a cover of CCR's "Bad Moon Rising". 
As the set wound down, over an hour after they started, they finished off with another one of my favourites, "Miss You Now", a melancholy slow burner, before standing awkwardly on stage for a minute, confessing they had nowhere to go, and then playing the final song of the night. 
It was, of course, their big finale "Write It All Down For You", which had the crowd yelling "HEY HEY HEY!" at the top of their lungs and stomping so hard that I'm surprised we didn't collapse through to the store below. 

Elliott BROOD is such a solid and amazing live band, whether it's in front of a thousand people, or a hundred fifty. And I really like the idea of alternating between the bigger venues and the tiny clubs. I hope they keep doing it, and while I am eagerly anticipating the next blowout at the Commodore, I can't wait to see which small club they choose after that. 

setlist
The Valley Town; 
Nothing Left; 
Jigsaw Heart; 
Northern Air;  
Oh, Alberta; 
Bowling Green; 
Owens Sound; 
Rusty Nail; 
Little One; 
Lindsay; 
Their Will; 
Bad Moon Rising [Creedence Clearwater Revival cover]; 
The Coast;
Chuckwagon; 
If I Get Old; 
Taken; 
The Banjo Song; 
Fingers and Tongues; 
Miss You Now.
(encore)
Write It All Down. 

WIL w/ Shaun Verreault @ Railway -- 04/06/14

Two of my favourite guitar players, especially to watch live, are William Mimnaugh and Shaun Verreault. And some of my favourite shows over the last ten years have been when those two shared the stage.
In fact, I first discovered WIL when he opened for Wide Mouth Mason at the Commodore many moons ago, and I've seen the pair do solo acoustic shows together a few times.
They wrapped up a very short, four date mini-tour at the Railway Club, where I've seen both play before, individually.

The Wide Mouth Mason frontman Shaun Verreault started the show going straight from his line check right into the set. He had a little bit of technical issues during the first song, his distortion pedal deciding it didn't feel like working ("that just goes to show, where there's a will, there's a won't") but it hardly phased him as he finished the song, even with electric guitar unamplified at one point. But it was a hurdle that was somewhat fitting with Shaun's "motto" for the brief tour, to try out the new and untested. Relying just on his electric guitar -- no acoustic -- Shaun included a brand new song he had never played before, one written for David Gogo, and he revamped a newer WMM song "The Night Fell", with some help from his looping pedal.
And of course, throughout the entire set he melted faces off with his phenomenal guitar work. Playing slide with his pinky, hands moving over the strings almost faster than you can follow, he is mesmerising to watch. One of the best showcases of his skills was "Catch My Death", a song from his Two Steel Strings solo album, recorded on a train speeding across the country. After a short while he wrapped up the set with a cover of Sam Cooke's oft-covered "Bring It On Home to Me", looking a little sad to be done such a short tour with his friend.

After a bit of a break, WIL took the stage joined only by his drummer Keith Gallant. His acoustic guitar looked like it had taken a beating for fifty years, but was likely not nearly that old, just showing the signs of WIL's intense guitar playing. But even though WIL may be known for his frantic, blurry-handed guitar playing, he's also got an amazing, soulful voice. And not only does he blend those two aspects together perfectly, sometimes it's even on the same song.
Started the set with "Long Kiss Goodnight", he played songs ranging from the brand new "El Paseo" to "Dance With The Devil" from his first album. Highlights included "Hey Now", which gradually built before exploding into chaos at the end, nearly silencing the Railway Club (no easy feat) and the first songs he ever wrote, and still a crowd favourite, "Both Hands". And after about an hour, he wrapped up with "Wedding Dress", but not before promising he would be back for more after a brief intermission, for people to grab a beer (or a cranberry juice and soda).
The second half of the set was a little shorter, taking a request for the incendiary "Honey Pie" and a couple songs he wrote for Alberta, where he grew up; "Ride" written for the Calgary Stampede, and "Roam" written for Travel Alberta.
And of course, it wouldn't be a WIL show without some broken strings. He snapped one during the final song of the set, "Tell You Twice", and after some prompting from the crowd, hopped back on stage for one last one, an incredible instrumental appropriately titled "4 String Song".

I could watch either of these gentlemen play guitar all night, so it's always great seeing the two of them together. And even though they didn't join one another, as they have in past shows, they always seem to bring out the best of each other. In fact, my only complaint of the night wasn't even anything to do with on stage, but rather the overly-excited guy in the crowd who thought he was part of WIL's band, playing the shrill-whistle and the off-beat-clap.

setlist
Long Kiss Goodnight, El Paseo, Hold Me On, Dance With The Devil, Hey Now, Oak Tree, Both Hands, Wedding Dress.
Baby Baby, Honey Pie, Ride, Roam, Tell You Twice.
(encore) 4 String Song.

Evening Hymns @ Railway Club -- 08/01/13

Sometimes you build up shows in your head to almost unreasonable expectations. That was kind of the case for me and Evening Hymns. One of my absolute favourite albums of last year was Spectral Dusk -- an album that Jonas Bonnetta wrote to cope with the death of his father, a hauntingly beautiful and powerful album that is full of emotion -- and while I missed the show back in the fall, I had heard nothing but good things about their live show. So when I heard they were coming back for an early show at the Railway Club, I knew I couldn't miss it, but was also sort of worried I had overhyped it.
Turns out I was wrong to be worried.

First up, though, was Vancouver's own The Abramson Singers. Their mellow, folky sound was driven by Leah Abramson's lovely voice. A couple songs stood out, including "Marguerite" and "Factory" -- the latter about the chicken factory on Main St in Vancouver -- but a lot of the songs in the set had the same tempo to them; a collection of slower, sad songs. Nothing was bad, but it would have been nice to have some variance in the set.
Leah also had a good stage presence, joking between songs telling awkward-road-stories and introducing songs.

It wasn't long after that before Evening Hymns took the stage with their dark folk rock sound. Joining Jonas was Sylvie Smith (bass, backup vocals), Jon Hynes (drums), and Shaun Brodie (guitar, trumpet, accordion). They started with a slow yet intense build up to "Family Tree", off Spectral Dusk, the song adding some weight and emotion to the set right off the bat.
From there they played a mix of old and new; "Mtn. Song", which had a little bit of Ronnette's "Be My Baby" slipped into the intro; and they including a couple brand new songs, a more rocking number called "Evil Forces" stood out.
Half way through the set he introduced "You and Jake" by telling a bit of the story behind Spectral Dusk, and specifically the meaning of the song, about the relationship between his father and Jake, his brother. The soft and gorgeous song was so full of raw emotion that (most of) the bar was silent, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few tears were shed.
Jonas chatted with the crowd between songs, his casual and effortless demeanour gave the show a comfortable feel as he introduced each song. He gave the impression that even in the largest of venues, he would be able to make the show feel small and intimate, like he was just telling stories and playing around a campfire.

The all-too-short set ended with "Cabin in the Burn", drawing to a nice finale, as all my worries about expecting "too much" melted away. It was a gorgeous and powerful set, and I can only hope Jonas is back with Evening Hymns before too long with a much longer set. 

setlist
Family Tree, Dead Deer, Evil Forces, You and Jake, You Will Walk Again and Again, Mtn. Song, Cabin in the Burn.

Shred Kelly @ Railway -- 02/13/13

This past spring I had the pleasure of taking a cross country train ride, from Vancouver to Toronto, with a handful of bands, as part of Tracks on Tracks. Of the many great things to come of that trip, one of them was my discovery of Shred Kelly from Fernie BC. They were one of the three bands voted on the train by the listeners of CBC Radio 3, and  from their first night on the train, I was instantly won over by their unique brand of "Stoke Folk". So I was glad to have caught them in the middle of their short Western Canadian tour for their new album, In The Hills -- especially since I hadn't seen them live since the train experience.

I arrived at the Railway just as Carolyn Butula was starting, the first band of the night. Carolyn is most commonly known as part of So Charlotte Spun a Web, but was doing a solo show, backed only by a guy on ukulele. She had a nice voice, and her songs were all right -- one or two maybe being a little cheesy or unoriginal -- but there wasn't much to distinguish her from the myriad of other folk/singer-songwriters.

It wasn't long after that the five members of Shred Kelly filled the small stage of the Railway, and it was immediately apparent that the venue was too small for them; both size-wise and sound-wise. They burst out of the gates with the lead track to In The Hills, "New Black", showcasing co-lead-singer Tim Newton's incredible banjo skills; and it wasn't long before the beautiful voice of the other lead singer, keyboardist Sage McBride, was showcased on "Leaving Town".

They kept up the incredible energy and pace on songs like the anthem for job dissatisfaction "I Hate Work" and "The Cold", a chaotic and gritty number. The upbeat and rollicking "Time is Passing" segued into one of the softer songs of the night, the gorgeous "Rowed Away", driven by Sage's strong vocals, and they invited people to waltz for "Fossils & Tin", which starts slow, growing to a grandiose ending.
After about an hour, they brought the set to an end with "Tornado Alley", a song that matches the intensity of the titular storm, Tim's fingers a blur flying over the banjo strings, as it building to a frantic and crashing finale, perfect for the ending of a set.

Going into the show, a small part of me was afraid that my infatuation with the band -- especially their live show -- was part of my glamourising the memories of Tracks on Tracks. But they were even better than I remembered, and proved to a packed Railway Club that they have no intention of slowing down.

setlist
New Black, Cabin Fever, Leaving Town, Ghost Inside My Head, I Hate Work, Time is Passing, Rowed Away, White River, Fossils & Tin, The Cold, The Bear, Tornado Alley.

Amplify! MDD Fundraiser w/ The Belle Game, Ruffled Feathers & Sidney York @ Railway -- 10/20/11

With Media Democracy Days coming up soon, it was time for the annual fundraiser show at the Railway. This year it featured a trio of great acts, fronted by lovely ladies, and even though the sound at the Railway was unusually wonky a couple times throughout the night (the sound guy showed up late, which could be a contributing factor) it was still a hell of a night of local music.

First up was Sidney York, with a set similar to the one she played last week. But even though it was familiar, it was no less fun. With six members packed on to the small Railway stage (a theme for the night), there wasn't as much room for moving around, but the whole band was brimming with energy.  The crowd was into it, too, clapping along for a few songs, including "Roll With Me" and the insanely catchy "Dick & Jane", and shouting & dancing along to "Mile High Love", which closed the set. Even when they toned things down for the heartfelt "Go Home, Atticus Jones", they were still captivating. As mentioned above, there were a couple hiccups in sound, but still a fantastically enjoyable set, and just added more reason for Sidney York being one of my favourite new artists this year.

The Ruffled Feathers were up next, who have been getting better and better with each time I've seen them. They started off starting of with "Home" kicking off a really fun set of their high energy chamber pop.
While Gina Loes handled most of the lead vocals, there were a couple songs where they traded off to other members; for "Lead Me to Destruction" Charley Wu took care of vocals and Andrew Lee handled them on "Rosin and Horsehair", which also saw Wu playing his mandolin with a bow. Both songs had their own uniqueness without betraying the overall sound of the band -- Wu's had a bit of a 50's vibe while Lee's had an almost spaghetti-western feel to it. They weren't the only ones, though, as throughout the set each member of the band got their own moment to shine.
Another highlight of the set was their latest single, "Blueprints for a Failed Revolution" from their forthcoming album Oracles. And if their set was any indication, is going to be a good one, which I am eagerly anticipating.

And wrapping up the night was The Belle Game, who kicked off with "Bloom" from their just-released EP, which started soft but swelled to a grand climax, setting the stage for their layered sound. They were occasionally joined by Andrew Lee on trumpet, doing double duty for the night (one day there will be a show where he plays in each band, mark my words).
Much like the bands before them, they two had a great energy and stage presence, even with a packed stage. Highlights of the set were the awesomely-titled "I Wish You Weren't Like A Dead Lover (Sometimes)", building up to a smashing ending, with singer Andrea Lo and guitarist Alex Andrews going nuts on a floor tom, and "Shoulders & Turns", where they urged people to get cozy and dance. They wrapped up the set with "Sleep to Grow", which had Adam Nanji taking his guitar into the crowd, and were called back for what may have been an actual legitimate encore of one final song. 

On any given night, any one of these three bands would have stolen the show and been well worth seeing on their own, and seeing them all together made for a grand show.