Peak Performance Project Showcase #1 @ Red Room -- 09/13/12

The Peak Performance Project is a multi-year contest in which The Peak, along with Music BC, picks 20 BC musicians/bands a year and makes them stars. Past winners are We Are The City, Kyprios, and Current Swell with a ton of great bands and artists included as well.
Part one of the project was a rock & roll boot camp where they went on a week long retreat to get lectures and advice from industry pros to help them refine their craft. Phase two is a series of shows at The Red Room, four artists a night for five weeks, each playing a 45 minute set. The bands are rated by a panel of judges, which will go toward their final score in the project, and they've also been tasked to learn a "Classic Canadian Cover" to play during their set. I always love hearing bands play cover songs, and I am definitely looking forward to see who each act chooses (and, as in the past, I am going to keep a running tally on how many Arcade Fire, Neil Young or Leonard Cohen songs we get).

And going in to this, I'm not going to pretend I don't have biases; there are bands this year I am familiar with and bands that I am already a big fan of, and this showcase was, at first glance, the one I was looking forward to the most. 


Ali Milner: The jazzy-pop sounds of Ali Milner started off not only the night, but the showcase series. Her backing band included some familiar faces; Erik P.H. Nielsen on bass and Rob Tornroos on guitar. I've seen Ali play a few times in recent months, and I would have to say this is the best set I've seen her play. Behind the keys with her gorgeous voice, her bubbly personality is infectious, and it translated into a fun and upbeat set, with dynamic songs like "Fly". 
Ali is no stranger to covering Canadian singers, and her cover wasn't new, rather a song that she's had in her repertoire for a few years, "After the Gold Rush" by Neil Young. It was a good cover, but I was hoping she would do something new.
The set ended with "Waiting", which saw Ali take out a box of egg shakers part way through the song and jump into the crowd to distribute them for people to play along -- and they all had numbers on them, with one lucky person winning some merch. 

I genuinely hope that Ali makes the top three -- which would make her the first female to crack the top three -- but I have a feeling this is going to be the hardest year to predict the outcome.

beekeeper: With the lights dimmed, and a robotic voice introducing them, the trio of Devon Lougheed, Luke Cyca and Brandi Sidoryk hit the stage with a high energy and did not looking back. Their genre-bending "math rock" may be hard to keep up with due to the frantic arrangements and seemingly constantly changing time signatures, but drummer Luke anchors them magnificently, and they put on one hell of a live show, which is either absolutely brilliant or incomprehensibly weird. Or both.
Devon was more focused on stage than I've seen him, especially between songs, still showing his manic energy and goofy sense of humour but not going overboard. He even took the set down for a moment with a sincere story and almost mellow (or, as mellow as beekeeper can get) song called "Drownings". 
For their cover, they teased playing Rush, but then launched in to "You Learn" from Alanis Morissette, which was definitely the most interesting cover of the night, giving it a "beekeeper twist", and even had Devon going into the crowd.
"Pinwheel Revolution" took a moment to show off Brandi's operatic past and her glass-shattering voice, and they brought the set to an end with a "family photo", pulling up as many fans as they could fit on the stage for a big group picture, and then letting everyone stay and dance for the last song, "Believe, Believe". 

Probably the most high energy and genuinely fun set of the night, beekeeper is another band that I really hope makes the top five, but I can see them maybe being just a little too "weird".

Redgy Blackout: The members of Redgy Blackout hit the stage looking slick, adorned in dress shirts and ties, with Scott also sporting a vest and top hat. They were immediately fun and energetic, with their unique mix of indie rock, folk and pop. Both Scott Perrie and Jeremy Breaks have a good live energy and play off each other really well, getting everyone moving to songs like "Coming Alive" and "Bottom of the Sea".
After what I thought was going to be an introduction into a Matthew Good Band song for their cover, they ended up going with Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)", giving a more up-tempo version, and getting the crowd to yell along with the "LIES!" 
Their final song they brought out Brandi from beekeeper to help out on backup vocals, enlisting the crowd as well, and scores of balloons being tossed throughout the crowd to wrap up their set. 

While I enjoy watching Redgy Blackout live -- they are tight, have great harmonies and write catchy songs -- I think they are just missing something, some ineffable quality to really push them over the edge.

Jordan Klassen: One of the more well known acts -- with a little bit of Peak airplay before the competition started -- Klassen ended off the first showcase. The first thing you notice about Jordan is his incredible energy on stage. He oozes enthusiasm, jumping and leaping around the stage; rarely will you see a more enthusiastic tambourine player. That energy definitely rubs off on his five bandmates, and even into the crowd. 
Klassen's rich, folk-pop sound gives way to grand songs that start slow and build to a soaring finish. Like the alternating slow burn and explosiveness of "Piano Brother", the lush "The Horses Are Stuck" and "Go To Me", which had a couple members mingle in the crowd with tambourines, creating a surround-sound feel for the song.
His cover was the 90s pop hit "Love Song" by Sky, which was not at all ironic, but endearing and appropriately cheesy. It was probably my second favourite cover of the night, as it was both a unique and interesting take on the song. The set, and the night, was brought to an end with "Call & Answer", which is probably my favourite song of his; another one that starts soft and grows to an energetic and huge ending.

I would not at all be surprised if Klassen makes the top three of the contest; he has almost everything they're looking for, and would definitely be deserving. 


And with that, the first showcase was done. Join me next week at the Red Room where we'll have the chance to see The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, The Fugitives, The River & The Road and The Headwater. It's bound to be a good one. 
And hopefully the sound in the Red Room is better next week.

Maurice @ Biltmore -- 02/22/12

It was the start of a busy streak of concerts last night at the Biltmore, with a couple Peak Performance Project alumni teaming up. One band who I hadn't seen since the showcases in September, regrettably, and another who I've seen a couple times since, but don't tire of seeing.

Starting off the night was Redgy Blackout, who put on a lively and fun show with their unique mix of indie rock, folk and pop. Both Scott Perrie and Jeremy Breaks have a great energy, especially during “Who Am I” -- the most upbeat songs of the set with a bit of a jazzy feel -- when Scott put down his guitar for a trumpet and was free to show off his dance moves.
They broke out a few new songs through the set, and another highlight was the beautiful "Alexandria" before they ended with a bang, another big, upbeat number, "Bottom of the Sea".

Library was up next, with some pretty middle of the road rock. They had an okay energy, but not much stage presence. And the songs were not bad, but a lot of them blended together. Even the cover of Springsteen's "Atlantic City" sounded pretty similar. It was nothing terrible, but nothing all that memorable, either.

And finally, Maurice hit the stage, including Jason Cook on drums (doing double duty, as we was with Redgy Blackout as well). They started the set off with the soaring "Big Country", getting the crowd into it. Even though it was a late start, they still managed to bring out the energy in everyone, and had a few people dancing up front, which is a credit to both their music and JP's great stage presence.
After a couple new songs, they slowed things down a little with the heartwrenching "Love Drug", featuring an electric violin, but then brought things right back up with the insanely catchy "Mistake", for which they were also joined by Stephanie Chatman on violin. The usual, and fantastic, cover of Fleetwood Mac’s "Dreams" made an appearance too, which segued into a little bit of both "Teenage Dream" and "Moves Like Jagger" at the end, awesomely and hilariously. And after the upbeat "All I Ever Wanted", they drew the set to a close with their version of Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party's "Robin", a fantastic song to wrap up the set with.

Peak Performance Project Showcase #4 @ Red Room -- 09/29/11

The Peak Performance Project is a multi-year contest in which The Peak, along with Music BC, picks 20 BC musicians/bands a year and makes them stars. The first year was won by We Are The City, and last year, Kyprios, with a ton of great bands and artists included as well.

Part one of the project was a rock & roll boot camp where they went on a week long retreat where industry pros helped them refine their craft. Phase two is a series of shows at The Red Room, four artists a night for five weeks, each playing a 45 minute set. In the last two years, the bands would all have to learn and play a cover of a classic Canadian song, but this year they will all be playing the songs they wrote about Vancouver for the Vancouver125 celebrations. Honestly, I am a bit disappointed about that, because one of my favourite aspects of the showcase series last year was seeing which song they picked and how they interpreted it. But I am sure their Vancouver songs will be great.

The fourth showcase was my most anticipated, featuring two bands I had seen before and enjoy live, and two that I had not seen live before, but was most looking forward to seeing.
(Also, the night featured five different musicians named Matt.)

The Matinee kicked off the night, and boy did they ever kick it off with a bang. I had heard nothing but good things about their live show and they more than delivered. Starting with a slower tune, they quickly burst forth with a driving, folky roots-rock sound.
Lead singer Matt Layzell has an amazing charisma on stage and Matt Rose is a phenomenal guitar player, to say nothing about the rest of the band. They had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand, clapping along with "Sweetwater" and singing along at various points. There was also a fantastic moment in the middle of "The Road" where they brought out a couple extra drums for a breakdown, with each member bashing away. The whole set came to an explosive ending, which saw Rose smashing an acoustic guitar.
The set was pretty amazing, and I think it would be fair to say it was my favourite showcase of the project thus far.

Up next was Redgy Blackout, the other band I was really looking forward to. And they, too, definitely lived up to my expectations. They put on a really fun and energetic rock show, and as well as their own songs, they broke out a great cover of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up", which I loved (see above mini-rant about covers). Another highlight was Scott cracking out the trumpet (and top hat) for a jazz-infused "Who Am I", my favourite song of the set. 

They had a bit of a lull, though, and some lost momentum when they brought out a piano for their Vancouver 125 song and technical difficulties ensued, but they brought it back by the end of the song which featured a good number of the other PPP band members joining them for a song-along. They ended with the beautiful "Alexandria" and an energetic "Bottom of the Sea". 

Behind Sapphire was up next, hitting the stage with kind of a weird -- and long -- intro wearing Asian masks before launching into "Oh My, What A Fine Day". They passed out glow sticks, that they were wearing, and disposable cameras (I think) through the crowd. As usual, they had a great energy and looked like they were having the most fun on stage, but for whatever reason the sound for the set really wasn't the best. Grant's vocals were not coming through very clear and the whole thing just seemed really muddy, which really detracted from their set.
It was more a disappointment than anything, really; I have seen them before and know they can do a lot better.

Finally, it was Treelines closing out the night. They (high)kicked off their set with some straight up rock, and a pretty intense energy. Especially from frontman Matt Lockhart, but especially from his brother Steve, on bass, who is always belting out the lyrics, whether he is mic'd or not. They played a good mix of songs from their Young Man EP and newer ones, including "Courage" which featured a slow burn to a soaring chorus and "When I Get Grown" with Matt Kelly (now also from CBC's Cover Me Canada) on pedal steel and featuring Michelle Faehrmann on cello.
Their Vancouver song, creatively titled "The Vancouver Song", featured either the silliest or most brilliant lyrics, and was really a simple, straight forward, and descriptive, love letter to the city.
And they brought it to a close in fine fashion with "Ghost Towns", getting everyone at the front of the stage jumping and dancing along.

It was definitely the best all-around showcase thus far, though next week looks like it could be just as good. For the final week, we'll see Maurice, Lindsay Bryan, 41st & Home and Rococode wrapping everything up.