The last time I saw Spencer Krug perform, it was with Wolf Parade, at the Just Like Heaven music festival in Pasadena, California, alongside a few thousand other people. So when Krug announced a string of solo piano shows -- for his new album Twenty Twenty Twenty Twenty One -- and the chance to see him alongside a few dozen people at the China Cloud in Vancouver, I knew I couldn't miss it.

The opening act for the evening was a Nanaimo band simply named SEX. The duo of Max Pittet on keys and Chris Thompson on synth (and both occasionally on bass) played a set of electronic-voiced synthpop. Their songs were often upbeat, like the sexy breakup song, “Come Again”, but even the ones with more serious subject matter still had an air of levity, like the double entendre titled “Kickin’ It” about substance abuse. The duo admitted they were a but nervous for their first show in Vancouver, but with banter that landed more on the “charming” side of “charmingly awkward”, they were a fun opening band.

Lit with a lamp in front of the piano, and a row of candles above the keys, Spencer Krug kicked off with "Black Is Back in Style", for a set spanning many of his projects. From the Moonface song "Heartbreaking Bravery", which was performed a cappella, with just a soft percussion of stomps and finger snaps; to the newer "Chisel Chisel Stone Stone", with its intricate piano runs, which Krug nailed after telling us he was still working out how to translate the song to piano; and even an old Sunset Rubdown song, "Us Ones In Between".

Cuts from the new album, like the dense "New Kind of Summer of Love", were translated into stripped down versions, but his distinct vocals and deft piano kept the crowd rapt. Both with the new songs, but especially with favourites like the bubbling intensity of "City Wrecker", and one of my all time personal faves, the absolutely gorgeous "Julia With Blue Jeans On", with Krug's voice going from a fragile tremble, to an fervent wail.

In keeping with the intimate vibe of the show, Krug chatted with the crowd a few times throughout the set, as if friends gathered in a living room. Near the end, he asked how long they wanted to watch one man play one piano, and after admitting the consensus of "forever" was slightly unreasonable, he decided to eschew the idea of leaving the stage & returning, saying he had just two more: one new, "How We Have to Live", and one old, "Fast Peter".

The last time I saw Spencer Krug perform a solo piano show, specifically, it was at The Lido a few years ago. While that was also a great show, the din of a bar really detracted from his set. This time, I couldn't have asked for a better atmosphere; almost dead silent, the incredibly respectful crowd hanging on every note, sometimes even waiting until between songs to open a can of beer. And if that's not having the crowd in the palm of your hand, I don't know what is.

setlist
Black Is Back in Style
Heartbreak Bravery
Slipping In and Out of Thee Pool
My Puppeteer
Barbarian
City Wrecker
Chisel Chisel Stone Stone
New Kind of Summer of Love
Us Ones In Between
The Fog
Julia With Blue Jeans On
How We Have to Live
Fast Peter