Sunset Rubdown @ Rickshaw Theatre -- October 10, 2024

October 11, 2024 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows, Show Review

Even after last year’s reunion show(s) and a whole brand new album, there’s a part of me that still can’t believe Sunset Rubdown is back. But after the release of Always Happy to Explode a few weeks ago, the band has once again hit the road, starting their tour here in Vancouver at the Rickshaw.

Opening the night was Sister Ray, who I only caught the last few songs of, walking in to singer Ella Coyes’ soft vocals, and a haunting song, before they picked up a guitar for a more upbeat tune. After joking, since we’re friends now they wanted to hear everyone’s secrets (be it at the merch table or over DMs), they capped off with a song that I didn’t catch the name of, but liked the heartfelt lyrics. I’ll definitely have to check out their latest EP Teeth, and keep an ear out for them in the future.

It wasn’t long before Sunset Rubdown flashed on the screens flanking the stage, and the band came out, Spencer Krug and Camilla Wynne both on keys & vocals, Nicholas Merz on bass, and Jordan Robson-Cramer on drums (later joined by Eli browning to fill in on drums when Jordan took over guitar).

Starting with “Worm” off the new album, the band played a set that wove through their catalogue, all the way back to “A Day In The Graveyard II”, with songs ranging from the restrained “Losing Light” to the manic “Snake’s Got A Leg”; sometimes capturing all that in one, like “Shut Up I Am Dreaming Of Places Where Lovers Have Wings”, which went from calm stillness to a thrashing wave, crashing upon the shore and back.

Other highlights included Krug’s distinct vocals blending with Wynne on the seasonally appropriate “Ghoulish Hearts” and the absolute earworm “Reappearing Rat” from the new album, as well as a pair of personal favourites from Random Spirit Lover, the creepy “Winged/Wicked Things” and “The Mending of the Gown” with its ridiculously chaotic energy.

After nearly an hour and a half, the set came to a close with “The Men Are Called Horsemen There”, but after making the crowd work for it, the band was pulled back for an encore with one last song, “Stadiums and Shrines II”, thanking everyone for coming once again.

A couple times throughout the night, the band joked that since it was the first show of the tour, they didn’t have a firm setlist, so would just play everything and people could leave whenever they wanted. I have a feeling that if they did make good on that promise, the room would have been full until the wee hours of the morning (I know I would have stuck around).

setlist
Worm
Snowball
Cliché Town
Silver Moons
Snake’s Got A Leg III
Us Ones In Between
Ghoulish Hearts
Candles
Shut Up I Am Dreaming Of Places Where Lovers Have Wings
A Day In The Graveyard II
Losing Light
Reappearing Rat
Winged/Wicked Things
The Mending of the Gown
The Men Are Called Horsemen There
(encore)
Stadiums and Shrines II

Bend Sinister @ Rickshaw Theatre -- June 20, 2024

June 21, 2024 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows, Show Review

This month, The Rickshaw Theatre is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and putting on a whole host of shows with some of the city’s finest talent. The Pack AD, The Pointed Sticks, Bison, ACTORS, Hyaenas, and Rong⚡ are all among the bands playing over the span of a week, including last night’s show: the eclectic mix of Bend Sinister, Elliot C Way, Colleen Rennison, and The Furniture.

I got to the theatre a little later than I meant to, catching the last bit of Colleen Rennison. The former No Sinner singer recently put out a solo album, Persephone, and this was my first time catching her perform. With an 8-piece band and soulful voice – as well as sparkling dress – Rennison gave cabaret vibes as she hit songs off the new album, like the bombastic “Crawling on the Ceiling” or the smooth “Circles”. She also slipped in a cover of “I’m Just a Prisoner (Of Your Good Lovin’)” by Candi Staton, citing her as a big influence on the record, and capped off the set with another huge showcase of her incredible voice, and stage presence. She definitely made me regret missing my bus, and next time I will make certain I am there for her full set.

Next up was the country grit of Elliot C Way. Appropriately clad in cowboy boots & hat, and leather vest, his whiskey-soaked voice and accompanying pedal steel set the tone.
Throughout the set, Way teased some new songs, like one called “Living Hard or Hardy Living” which was being played in front of a crowd for only the second time -- and had one of the most country opening lines I’ve heard in a while; “Tequila in the summer, Whiskey in the winter”. After a few more tunes, including “Annabelle”, which Way introduced as about a dominatrix, he capped off the set with “Fool’s Gold” from his band The Wild North.

And finally, Bend Sinister took the stage to round out the evening. With their recent record, Mostly Great Things, out a few weeks ago, the anniversary show doubled as their album release, as they kicked off with “Leave The Lights On” from the album, starting strong and amping up the energy with “Hot City” (appropriate for this weekend’s weather in Vancouver).

The band wove through their last few releases, from the chaotic “Big Star” to the intensity of “Walk the Other Way”, and the joyous “Show Me How To Love” to the (relatively) calmer “One Shot”. Dan Moxon is always a monster on the keys and vocals, with an energy that the rest of the band definitely matches, as Dan introduced them throughout the night with solos; Joseph Blood on guitar, Matt Rhode on bass, and Dicky Neptune on Drums.

After the absolutely chaotic “Teacher”, the set came to an end with the introspective -- but no less rockin’ -- “What It Takes”, a look at the lives of touring bands now-a-days. But they hadn’t even left the stage while people cheered for more, with Dan joking he had to get up early, so just one more song. The finished off with the anthemic “Rock ‘n’ Roll”, complete with a pause mid-song for an action shot, the perfect way to close the set as they left everyone with the refrain, “Long live rock ‘n’ roll”

I haven’t really made it a secret that, for a long time, the Rickshaw... wasn't my favourite venue in Vancouver. Which, admittedly, had a lot to do with a bad experience at my first show there. But over the years, the venue has made improvements inside, continues to celebrate local music & book eclectic bands (and even some pro wrestling), and had carved out a great niche for itself.

setlist
Leave The Lights On
Hot City
Heard It All Before
Show Me How to Love
Renegade
Big Star
Walk the Other Way
One Shot
Gotta Get Ready Now
Got You On My Mind
Shannon
Price You Pay
Teacher
What It Takes
(encore)
Rock ‘n’ Roll

Sunset Rubdown @ Rickshaw Theatre -- May 15, 2023

May 16, 2023 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows

This show has been a long time coming. Not just because the last time Sunset Rubdown played a show in Vancouver was in 2009 (when Richard's on Richards still existed) but since the reunion show was announced, it's gone through two venue upgrades (from the Fox to the Biltmore to the Rickshaw) and one postponement (when the band got stuck at the ferry terminal on Vancouver Island). But the wait was worth it as the long dormant group returned to Vancouver to kick off the second leg of their comeback tour.

Opening the show was Nicholas Merz, whose set I caught the last half of. Alone on stage wearing double denim and a cowboy hat, Merz was behind a modified pedal steel creating loops for a bit of an avant-garde country sound, punctuated by his deep, crooning vocals. He would show off his voice even more when, a couple times at the end of a song, he strode up to the front of the stage with a bit of a soft-shoe to belt out some stark lyrics — once just himself, unaccompanied by the loops he created.
His set was either one of the most earnest performances I've ever seen, or -- and I can't quite put my finger on what makes me think this -- a very elaborate performance art piece. Either way, it was a very entertaining.

Then after a bit of a break, it was time for Sunset Rubdown as Michael Doerksen, Camilla Wynne, Jordan Robson-Cramer, and Spencer Krug hit the stage. Right off the bat, Krug apologised for the circumstances of the last show, and was incredibly grateful for the sold out crowd on an unseasonably hot Monday night. He joked that was the last they’d be speaking for a while and launched into “Snake's Got A Leg” from the groups debut album to kick off the set.

From there they ran through a selection from all four records, from “The Empty Threats of a Little Lord” to the relatively fragile “Silver Moons”, with other highlights including “Us Ones In Between”, building to an intense finish with Krug's distinctive vocals filling the theatre, and the dark and haunting “Winged/Wicked Things” sending chills through the (warm) room.

Between the familiar songs, the band teased some new material. The first time, Krug clarified it was just an old one that was never recorded, but later a new song was introduced with no such caveats. As far as I know, the band has been coy about any future plans, but fingers crossed.

Part way through the set, Nicholas Merz joined the others on stage on bass, though along with Michael and Jordan, the three of them swapped around on bass, guitar, and drums a little. And while he was behind the keys for most of the night, at once point Krug pulled out his guitar for a few songs, including “You Go on Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)” and probably my favourites of theirs, the barely-controlled chaos of “Idiot Heart”.

After a big intense jam to finish “The Men Are Called Horsemen There”, they brought the set to a close with the frenetic “The Mending of the Gown”, making the crowd work a little for the encore. But of course they were back, with just one more song, pouring all their remaining energy into the epic, winding, ten minute long “Dragon's Lair”, to cap off the nearly two hour set.

Since the breakup of Sunset Rubdown, I've seen Krug perform a number of other times; as Moonface, his collab with Siinai, solo piano shows, and even a Wolf Parade set. But as this show drew closer I started to worry that I was building the renion up too much in my head. Turns out that was for nothing, as the show more than met my expectations. The band hasn’t lost a single step, as tight as ever. Even at two hours, the show felt too fleeting, and I really hope we get to hear more from them in the future.

setlist
Snake's Got A Leg
The Taming Of The Hands That Came Back To Life
Silver Moons
Us Ones In Between
Shut Up I Am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings
Winged/Wicked Things
Stadiums And Shrines
You Go on Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)
Coming To At Dawn
Idiot Heart
The Empty Threats of Little Lord
We're Losing Light
The Men Are Called Horsemen There
The Mending of the Gown
(encore)
Dragon's Lair

The Protomen @ Rickshaw Theatre -- 10/05/18

October 07, 2018 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows

If you’ve talked to me in the last week or so, there’s a good chance I’ve been spouting off how much I was looking forward to seeing The Protomen this weekend. The last (and only) time I had seen them was over three years ago, so I was eager for them to come back.
As you may have guessed from the name, the Nashville band is known for their rock operas loosely inspired by the Mega Man series, with an absolutely incredibly live show that was enough to bring me out to… let’s just say a venue that’s not quite my favourite to hear shows at.

After a couple openers I sadly missed, a man in a silver robotic mask named K.I.L.R.O.Y. took the stage to introduce the band and hype up the crowd, proclaiming The Protomen were here to fight for us, if we were here to fight for them (the audience raising their fists with a resounding ‘yes’). Everyone was already 100% into the show before the rest of the band even took the stage, let alone before they kicked off the set with “Hope Rides Alone”.
Introducing us to the year 200X, the song saw lead singer Raul Panther III donning a Proto Man-coloured helmet and arm cannon for the song, and he would later wear a similar Mega Man-inspired helmet for “The Will Of One”, to signify character changes in the narratives. Dealing with the conflict between Mega Man and the evil robots controlled by Dr. Wily (from their first, self-titled album) or the backstory of Dr. Wily and Dr. Light (the followup, Act II: Father of Death), the songs wove a narrative of a post-apocalyptic future controlled by the robots created by a madman, and how it came to be.

But, as I’ve said before, all the gimmicks in the world can’t help a band if they can’t back it up musically, and The Protomen absolutely brought it with their prog-tinged rock. The crowd chanted along as the chorus of ‘citizens’ on the powerfully emotional “Father of Death”, and “Hold Back The Night“, saw Gambler Kirkdouglas taking over vocals, her incredibly powerful voice filling the theatre.
The set also featured a couple new songs, teasing the long-awaited next chapter in the trilogy, which from the lyrics I could gleam seemed to be the triumphant return of Mega Man for a climactic battle? In any case, they seemed perfectly fitting for an epic third act to the story.

After the intensely tragic “The Fall”, they fittingly brought the main set to an end with a cover of Queen’s “The Show Must Go On”. But it was obvious they would return, as the crowd chanted PRO-TO-MEN and K.I.L.R.O.Y. came back to introduce them once more, for an encore that somehow managed to surpass the energy of the last hour, both on and off stage. First with “This City Made Us” and finally ending with “Due Vendetta”, the crowd chanting along to the various evil robots named in the song.

Both times I’ve seen them play live now, the crowd has been among the most energetic, enthusiastic, and intense crowd I’ve seen, and the band clearly feeds off that energy and redirects it tenfold. No doubt this is going to be among my favourite shows by the end of the year, and I hope it won’t be another three years until the next time.