Said the Whale: hawaiii 10th Anniversary @ Hollywood Theatre -- April 05, 2024

Ten years (and change) ago, Said the Whale released their fourth full length album, hawaiii, and this weekend they celebrated with an intimate hometown show at the Hollywood Theatre.

Opening the night was lincolnhotchen – who is also the current bass player for the group – with a backing band consisting of members of Winona Forever. Due to it being a (very) early show, I only caught the tail end of his set, including the dreamy and catchy “Highlight”, which made me wish I was able to get there earlier.

Thanks to the curfew, there was a very quick turnaround before a banner was raised with the hawaiii album art, and Said the Whale took the stage. Ben Worcester, Tyler Bancroft, and Jaycelyn Brown were joined by Lincoln on bass and the familiar face of Spencer Schoening on drums, as Ben gave an introduction and they launched into the first song on the album, “More Than This”. 

The band weaved through the album, from the high energy “Mother” to slow-burn of “Safe to Say”, chatting & joking in between, giving backstories of songs & the album art, and shouting out people who helped that were in the crowd that night (like producer Tom Dobrzanski). Other highlights off the album included the dark and synthy “Resolutions” — though sadly, Shad was not there for his part of the song — and playful beat of “Oh K, Okay”. 

As the album grew to a close, everyone but Tyler stepped aside, introducing the next track, written for his mother. After explaining how it hit even harder since she passed last year, he launched into “Helpless Son”, his voice breaking throughout the incredibly beautiful and heartfelt song. There was not a dry eye in the house, including the rest of the band; Ben was audibly teary when he returned, dedicating his own melancholic song, “The Weight of the Season”, to his uncle who recently passed.

After the album was over, the band had one more sneaky song from that era, the b-side “Barbara-Ann”. But they weren’t done just yet. Playing off an earlier joke about ‘eras’, and with just enough time before the curfew, the band decided to hit their breakout album Islands Disappear front to back.

With the looming deadline, the band didn’t say much between songs, hitting big singalongs like “Camilo (The Magician)” and “Emerald Lake, AB”, as well as some favourites, the stormy intensity of “Black Day in December” or the quirky love song “Gentleman”. Tyler joked that every live-show-fibre in his being felt like they should end it after the incredibly joyous “Goodnight Moon”, but of course there was one more song on the album: the sweet ode to Ben’s sister (who was in the crowd) “Holly, Ontario” as they wrapped up perfectly on curfew. 

As someone that still listens to albums all the way through, I always love the concept of full album playthrough live shows, and getting not just the expected hawaiii, but the bonus Islands Disappear was a great treat. Near the end, the band teased that they were toying with the idea of doing a yearly hometown show, and if they did an annual series of full album playthroughs of their entire discography, I would be there in a heartbeat.

setlist
(hawaiii Era)
More Than This
Mother
Narrows
I Love You
Safe to Say
Resolutions
Willow
On the Ropes
I Could Smoke
Oh K, Okay
Helpless Son
The Weight of the Season
Barbara-Ann
(Islands Disappear Era)
Dear Elkhorn
Out on the Shield
B.C. Orienteering
Camilo (The Magician)
Emerald Lake, AB
Islands Disappear
Black Day in December
Gentleman
False Creek Change
A Cold Night Close to the End
The Gift of a Black Heart
Goodnight Moon
Holly, Ontario

PHOTOS: Said The Whale with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra @ Orpheum - April 19, 2023

Said The Whale with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Orpheum Theatre
April 19, 2023
Christine McAvoy Photography

Click here for Kirk’s Review!

Said the Whale with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra @ Orpheum -- April 19, 2023

My favourite genre of live show is, quite possibly, “rock band plays with string section”. And ever since the release of their last album, Dandelion -- which featured some orchestral strings -- Said the Whale has been hinting & teasing at something more. So when it was announced that the Vancouver band was going to be performing at the Orpheum alongside the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, I knew there was no way I could miss it.

Under the baton of conductor David Bui, the show began with the Overture, giving us hints of what was to come, before Said the Whale took the stage going right into “Honey Lungs”. The trio of Ben Worcester (who was just providing vocals for the evening), Tyler Bancroft (on guitar and vocals) and Jaycelyn Brown (backing vocals and sitting at a grand piano in lieu of her usual keyboard) were joined by the 62-piece orchestra.

From there they ran through a 19-song set that spanned most of their career, from softer fare like “Show Me Everything” to heavier songs like “I Love You”, the orchestra amplified everything. “The Ocean” swelled, “Level Best” was never more heartfelt, and the orchestra rocked out to “Cascadia”.

Some of my favourites of the night included the haunting “Step Into the Darkness”, and an absolutely gorgeous version of “Dandelion”, which capped off the first half of the show before intermission -- Tyler half-joking that it was something more rock shows needed to incorporate.

After seeing more than half of Vancouver's music scene in the lobby milling about, the second half kicked off hard with “Wake Up” and “Love Always”, another favourite of the evening, the orchestra just taking the already intense song to an entirely new level.

Throughout the show, the crowd was entirely engaged, nearly dead silent until the last note of a song finished, then bursting into applause. It was perhaps the only time I've seen Said the Whale headline a show where people were NOT singing along with “Camilo (The Magician)”. And you could tell the band was just as excited to be there as the crowd was, visible thrilled to be performing like this; during one song that didn't feature his vocals, Ben just sat at the front of the stage, watching the orchestra, soaking it all in.

The main set came to a close with “Big Wave Goodbye”, but of course, there was an encore soon after. First Jaycelyn came out alone to play “February 15”, written for her husband. The last time I saw them perform live, this song was accompanied by a string quartet, so I was really anticipating seeing it with a full orchestra, and the breathtaking piano-driven instrumental did not disappoint. It was absolutely the highlight of the night, leaving few dry eyes in the house and receiving a standing ovation.
Next Ben joined the stage -- joking that was not going to be easy to follow up -- going into the beautiful “O Alexandra”, and finally Tyler returning to close out the night with “99 to the Moon”, another perfect compliment of strings, sending the song soaring.

I’ve always been interested in seeing the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra play, especially when they do special “pop culture” events, but never taken the opportunity to do so. I am glad I finally have, especially for a once-in-a-lifetime event like this. At the end of the show, Said the Whale brought up Alex Clark from the VSO, whose goal it was to bring more contemporary art to the VSO, so I can only hope they can do pairings like this more often. Said the Whale’s music lent itself perfectly to an orchestral accompaniment, and my mind is already racing with what other Vancouver bands deserve the same treatment.

But even without potential future collaborations, a quick look at the calendar of upcoming shows features a live orchestra score for films like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Black Panther, & more, as well as special nights dedicated to Looney Tunes and video game music. After this, I’m thinking I definitely have to pull the trigger on nights like that more often.

setlist
Overture
Honey Lungs
The Ocean
Moonlight
Everything She Touches is Gold to Me
Return to Me
Show Me Everything
Level Best
Step Into the Darkness
Dandelion
[Intermission]
Wake Up
Love Always
Cascadia
I Love You
Sweetheart
Camilo (The Magician)
Big Wave Goodbye
[encore]
February 15
O Alexandra
99 to the Moon

Said the Whale @ Vogue Theatre -- March 26, 2022

One of the hardest working bands over the last two years, despite... everything... has been Said the Whale. Aside from putting on frequent live streaming shows, they wrote, recorded, and released a brand new album, Dandelion. And while they weren't able to tour the album immediately after its release in late 2021, as they normally would, they were finally able to hit the road this month, capped off by a hometown show at the Vogue Theatre.

Opening the night was Dad Sports, the first time playing Vancouver for the Ottawa band. They had a fun, upbeat indie pop vibe with catchy songs like “out 4 a breather”, off last year’s EP I AM JUST A BOY LEAVE ME ALONE !!! They seemed to be having a blast on-stage, and that energy spread through the crowd for a strong opening set.

After a between-set-music mix that featured a good helping of Foo Fighters (no doubt in honour of Taylor Hawkins) Said the Whale took the stage and launched into the first song off their new album, “The Ocean”. From there they played nearly two hours of songs new and old, from “Sweetheart” which drew to a big, climactic finish, and the hard-hitting “Honey Lungs”, to the perennial singalongs “Camilo (The Magician)”, and “Oh K, Okay”.

Midway through the set they stripped it down a little to an acoustic three-piece, something that they enjoyed doing during their frequent zoom shows. Though they joked the only downside in real life was the lack of a mute button -- and despite their best efforts, there were still pockets of chatter under their gorgeous acoustic songs like Ben's ode to a friend “Holly, Ontario” and the heartwarming “Level Best” from Tyler to his firstborn, who was in attendance that night.

They ramped the energy back up to finish out the set, with highlights being the irresistible “Loveless”, fan-favourite deep cut “Love is Art/Sleep Through Fire”, and “Show Me Everything”, where they were joined by a string quartet.

The main set came to a close with a very raucous “UnAmerican”, the crowd chanting along with each and every “hoo-hoo”. And after the quick break, Jacelyn returned to the stage, backed only by the string section, for “February 15”, a breathtaking piano & strings instrumental written for her husband, which (mostly, but also finally) got the crowd to fall hush and listen intently. And then to cap off the night, the rest of the band rejoined for a couple more raucous songs; the always-fun “The Light Is You” and “I Love You” to send the audience home on a high.

setlist
The Ocean
Sweetheart
Step Into The Darkness
Camilo (The Magician)
Honey Lungs
Oh K, Okay
Everything She Touches is Gold to Me
The Gift of a Black Heart
Moonlight
Holly, Ontario
Level Best
99 to the Moon
Return To Me
Wake Up
Loveless
Love is Art/Sleep Through Fire
Show Me Everything
Emerald Lake, AB
Unamerican
(encore)
February 15
The Light is You
I Love You

Said the Whale @ Malkin Bowl -- 09/06/19

It's been a little over ten years since the first time I saw Said the Whale, playing at the Biltmore Cabaret. Since then I've seen them at nearly every Vancouver venue, but this summer they aimed big for a show at [un]arguably the most beautiful venue of the city, Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park.

Opening the night was Jaden Bricker, who won a contest Said the Whale was running for high school musicians and bands to open the show. Unfortunately I only caught the last couple of his songs, but his strong vocals and catchy indie-pop songs made me wish I (as well as Translink) had gotten my act together and been there 15 minutes earlier.

Next up was The Beaches from Toronto, who hit the stage hard. All four members had a high energy that barely faded as they cranked through a set of frenetic songs like their sultry single “T-Shirt”. Bassist Jordan Miller's powerful vocals filled the park, as her voice was occasionally joined by guitarist Kylie Miller and Leandra Earl on keys — all held together by the strong drumming of Eliza Enman-McDaniel.
Mid-way through the set, they did dial the energy down a bit with a a chilled out cover of “Kids” by MGMT, but were right back into with a banger “Desmonda”, from their latest EP The Professional. After a few more new songs, they launched into “Boy Wonder”, which built to a big finish and transitioned into “Late Show”, somehow topping everything that preceded it to end off the set.
I really only knew The Beaches in passing before this night, but seeing them live definitely made me want to dive in to their albums.

Then at 8:30 sharp (gotta love curfew shows) Said the Whale took the stage, flanked by a large pair of their Cascadia flags and a giant viewmaster slide in the back, Lower Mainland landmarks as the frames. Ben Worcester kicked off with "Gambier Island Green" before Tyler Bancroft and Jaycelyn Brown joined him on the now-classic “This City’s a Mess”, as their set spanned their entire career. From the ridiculously upbeat “The Light Is You” to the moody “Step Into The Darkness” and the hard hitting & raucous “Record Shop”, the set ran through hit after hit. And of course, they had to play "Black Day In December", a song about the windstorms which knocked down a good number of trees in Stanley Park.

The band was visibly blown away by the support of the fans, friends, and family, thanking everyone multiple times for being there and even shouting out some friendly faces in the crowd (Ben having to stop himself before he spent the rest of the set saying “Hi” to people). And they even had a few of those friends join them on stage throughout the night; the actual Camilo The Magician came out during his eponymous song for a quick illusion, a group of choir kids from Maple Ridge Secondary & Jaden Bricker sang backups on "Wake Up", and then stayed on stage for "False Creek Change", the sea shanty that also had CBC Radio host, lead singer of The Smugglers, and STW Superfan Grant Lawrence join on vocals as well.

After over an hour, they drew the main set to a close with a pair of hard hitting earworms "UnAmerican" and "I Love You", before of course returning just before the 10pm curfew. From there Ben once again silenced the crowd for the heartbreaking "Curse of the Currents" which had many singing along, and finally a very fitting song to cap everything off, "Goodnight Moon" exploding into a joyous ending for the evening, proclaiming that they had “so much love”.

I’ve seen some of my favourite shows (and some of my favourite bands) in Malkin Bowl, but Said the Whale is the first band I’ve seen play where everything just makes sense for them to be there. A band that shows their hometown love both in song and outside their music (as seen in their recent cookbook) surrounded by “Stanley’s Soldiers” couldn’t have been more fitting.

Also, make sure to check out Christine’s photos post right over here!

setlist
Gambier Island Green
This City's A Mess
Camilo (The Magician)
Step Into The Darkness
Mother
Black Day in December
The Light Is You
Cascadia
Oh K, Okay
Moonlight
Record Shop
Wake Up
False Creek Change
Loveless
Broken Man [incl. Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric]
Love Always
Level Best
The Gift of a Black Heart
Emerald Lake, AB
UnAmerican
I Love You
(encore)
Curse of the Current
Goodnight Moon