41st & Home @ St James Hall -- 03/15/13

It's been about a full year since the last 41st & Home, with their regular five members, but with all the members back in town they were ready to get back into the swing of things. And the first stop? St James Hall. That was where I saw them the very first time, three years ago when they were just "some band playing with We Are The City and Aidan Knight", but they've grown a fair amount in the that time.

Starting off the night was Skye Wallace with an eclectic backing band: bass flute, timpani drum, violin, and even a saw for a couple songs. Her lovely voice drove the folky sound, which filled the church venue beautifully. There was maybe a lack of variety in songs early on in the set, but as she went on the songs gradually picked up the pace, and by the end she had added a couple more members to the band, including 41st & Home's Garth Covernton on drums (who was drumming for every band that night). The last few songs definitely stood out the most, with the set as a whole building wonderfully; I would be interested in catching her live again at some point.

Next up was the spacey synth-pop of Facts. When I saw them last year as part of the Peak Performance Project, their set was plagued with some audio problems, but this time was a better.
With a swirling cacophony of new wave-y synth, the vocals bounced between three members of the band, which lead to an interesting mix of lead vocals, sometimes muddled, sometimes crisp, depending on who sang. Their set included a cover of Sarah McLachlan's "Ice Cream" and their single, the catchy "Retro Ocean". Each member of the band very upbeat with an almost frantic energy and they put on a pretty fun live show, and I'm glad they sounded a lot better than last time.

Not long after, it was time for the main event. And right off the bat, you could tell 41st and Home was glad to be back, the giant grins on all of their faces giving away their joy as they took the stage.
With projections of ambient shapes and patterns behind them (only visible after a couple songs when they got the stage lights turned off) they started off with a new song, playing a set that was about split between old material and brand new. Familiar favourites included "Eva", which build to an grandiose ending -- a trait shared by many of their songs -- and the haunting "Wilderness Eyes".
The new material sounded really good; it was unmistakably "41st & Home", but also showed some growth. Two that caught my ear were "Gold", another song that built up to a huge ending and featured great harmonizing between Thom Kolb and Patrick Fiore. The other was a slow jam that featured a little more of Sejal Narsey on vocals called "Breathe"
They brought the set to an "end" with "Gorbechev" drawing up to a completely chaotic ending, but were back for one more -- after Thom nearly thought he broke his guitar -- "Hummingbird", which wasn't quite as tight as the rest of the night. Perhaps they still had a bit of stage rust, perhaps Garth was reaching his end after being behind the drum kit all night (which would be perfectly understandable). But with that aside, they put on a good show, and I am looking forward to seeing what comes next. 

Jeremy Fisher w/ Steph Macpherson @ St James Hall -- 04/12/12

Even though I've seen Jeremy Fisher live a few times, I had somehow never seen him play a show of his own; it was always headlining or playing with others (a la the Malahat Revue). So when I heard he was coming back through town to St James Hall -- with a fine opening act, no less -- I was determined to go.

Opening the show was Steph Macpherson for a solo set consisting mostly of songs from her forthcoming album, Bells & Whistles. Mostly it was just Steph and her guitar -- her rich voice and gorgeous folk songs --  but  mid way through, she took a seat at the grad piano for the beautiful "Open Book". Throughout the set, Steph drew the audience in, giving it an intimate feeling by telling stories between songs and wearing the emotion of the lyrics on her sleeve. She also got everyone involved, singing along for the end of "Best Of Us" and clapping to the final song of the set, the upbeat and undeniably catchy "Summer Salute".
The set was short, but very sweet, and made me that much more excited for her upcoming CD release show, with a full band, next month at the Media Club

setlist
Bells & Whistles, Keeping Time, Best of Us, Open Book, Silver Platter, The Verdict, Summer Salute.

Not too long after, Jeremy Fisher hit the stage; just him, his guitar and an assortment of harmonicas. Right away, he created a very relaxed laid back atmosphere, talking and joking with the crowd and weaving stories between, and sometimes even in the middle of, songs. Even when he joked that it was a hard song, or warning us he'd screw up, he seemed absolutely comfortable on stage and made it seem effortless, with a great presence and connection with the audience.
Fisher played for just over an hour, hitting songs old and new, and also paying homage to his influences with a few covers, like when "Scar That Never Heals" segued into "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard". He also made use of the grand piano on stage for a couple songs, "Left Behind" and later for a brand new songs called "The Bride Is Dead", which was about exactly what the title implies, and was hilarious; definitely a highlight of the set. Other favourites included the high energy "Alison", and "Laissez Faire".
Near the end of the set he took requests, playing a few fan favourites, before ending with "High School" and "Fall For Anything", joined by Marcus Takizawa on violin. He was back out for an encore, this time with Vancouver's Adrian Glynn for a couple songs, first a new song by Adrian then ending the night with "Cigarette".

setlsit
Gone [John Hiatt cover], Shine A Little Light, Ain't Got Nothin' But Plenty Of Time, Scar That Never Heals -> Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard [Paul Simon cover], Left Behind, Singing on the Sidewalk, Alison, The Bride is Dead, Jolene, Lay Down (Ballad Of Rigoberto Alpizar), Just Friends, Canned Goods [Greg Brown cover], Laissez Faire, Naked Girl, High School, Fall for Anything. 
(encore) [Adrian Glynn song], Cigarette.

The Zolas with The Liptonians and Hannah Epperson @ St James Hall -- 10/24/11

On the heels of the release of their split 7", The Zolas and The Liptonians have brought their western Canadian tour to an end with a pair of shows here in Vancouver. St James Hall was the site of their second show -- the first happening while I was otherwise occupied -- and was all ages, which meant a lot of teenage girls there to see The Zolas.
(If you even want to feel old, just go to an all ages Zolas or Said the Whale show)

First up was Hannah Epperson, armed with only her violin, loop pedal and soft, beautiful voice. I've seen her a few times before, but I am always taken by her masterful loops, building layer upon layer with just her violin. A few of her songs were just instrumental -- and were captivating on their own -- and when she added vocals, her voice matched the mood perfectly. She had the crowd completely enthralled, with dead silence for her while she was playing, breaking into cheers only when she was done each song.

The Liptonians were up next, launching into "You Know I Did", and their fantastic contribution to the split 7", "Destroy Destroy Destroy". Right off the bat they proved why their live shows have such a great reputation, with their incredibly tight sound and solid harmonies, and the show just got better from there. "Perfect Swimmers" was one of the highlights, a soft song that fit the venue perfectly, and had everyone golf-clapping along in lieu of their forgotten shaker, and one of my favourites, "Growing Old in the City", featured a garbage can lid and a cacophony of sound that swells to an insane climax. I am fairly certain that if I ever go mad, I want that song playing at the time.
After what seemed like not nearly long enough, they drew to a close with "March Back Into the Sea", starting soft and swelling to a great ending for the set. And I already can't wait to see them live again.

setlist
Terrell's Dream; You Know I Did; Destroy, Destroy, Destroy; Lesage; The Privatest Parts; Perfect Swimmers; Float On By; Growing Old in the City; Hey! Hey! Help is on the Way!; March Back Into The Sea.

And wrapping up the night was The Zolas. Or rather, The Zoliptonias, as Zach Gray's partner in crime Tom Dobrzanski couldn't make the tour, so Grey was backed by the five members of The Liptonians. It was really interesting seeing Zach with a completely different band, especially up to six members from the usual four, since it really rounded out songs; they had a great chemistry and the sounded fantastic.
Starting off the set with the dense and moody "Guest" "Cultured Man", the other song from the split 7", before getting a nice bout of recognition applause (or, shrieks given the demographic at an all ages show) for "You're Too Cool". The set featured mostly older songs, prompting lots of clapping and singing along, but also another new song, "Strange Girl", and after a raucous ending with "Marlaina Kamikaze" Grey came back out alone for just one more song, the soft "These Days", backing off the mic a few times, really taking advantage of the quiet crowd.
I feel a little weird saying it it was a fantastic set from The Zolas, given that really only one Zola was there, but it really was a great show, and was pretty cool to see the collaboration, and I kind of with The Zolas played as a six-piece more often.

setlist
Cultured Man; You're Too Cool; The Great Collapse; Marionettes; I've Got Leeches; Body Ash; Strange Girl; Marlaina Kamikaze.
(encore) These Days.

The Mountains & The Trees @ St James and Jess Hill @ Joe's Apartment -- 03/24/11

It was a busy Thursday (really? Thursday?) in Vancouver with no less than four shows worth checking out. Aaide from a fundraiser for Said The Whale at Wise Hall and The Golden Dogs at the Biltmore, there were two acts I wanted to see. Luckily, the two people I wanted to see were staggered enough that I was able to venue hop and see both.

The first? Jon Janes, aka The Mountains & The Trees from Newfoundland. He was on first for an early show at St. James Hall, just him and his guitar (and, his kickdrum suitcase for a song). He played an all-too-short set of about half an hour of his folk-y, singer-songwriter songs. 
Starting the set with a new song that he wrote last time he was in Vancouver -- that I didn't catch the name of -- he alternated between old and new songs, with the highlights being a new song, "Oh Heart", that was incredibly heart wrenching, and the closing song, "Up & Down", a song that is really cool to see live, with his excellent use of looping and a bow to play guitar.
There were a few times in the set where you could tell he was battling an illness, but it wasn't so much during the songs, mostly in his banter -- which was no less charming and amusing. 

setlist
[new song], Little Town, Oh Heart, More & More & More, Winter Blues, Up & Down.

I had some time before the next show, so I was able to catch the next act, The Phonemes. Or, simply just Magali Meagher. She had a pretty nice voice, and a good folky sound, with some catchy tunes. She, too, played for about half an hour, and mid way through traded her guitar for the grand piano that was on stage for a song, bringing out Laura and Mark to help out. She went back to the guitar and Jon joined the three of them for a some with nifty crowd participation; everyone was given pieces of newspaper before the set and everyone clapped along with crumpled newsprint. They staryed out for her last song, which was a more energetic number and probably the best of the set.

Though I was a little sad to miss Laura Barrett and Woodpigeon, it was then time to head over to Joe's Apartment (yes, an actual venue, not the dwelling of Joseph). This was the first time I had been there for a live performance, and it was a pretty decent venue.
The show was the CD release of Orchard, the new album from Vancouver's Jess Hill. She went all out with a full band, which even included some strings and a foley guy for random sound effects. The set consisted of most of her new album, which the band did a fantastic job of recreating;  Her powerful voice blended excellently with the great string arrangements.
Highlights were the song that first hooked me on Jess Hill, "Orchard", the building intensity of "Stagger" and the eerily haunting (pun fully intended) "Give Me Your Ghost", with included a saw for added atmosphere.
She ended the set with a pair of songs I have seen a few times, but never seem to catch the name of (so for the sake of why not, I'll call it "Digging A Hole") the first just her singing, and getting the crowd to scream at a couple points, then launching into a fast paced closer.
Jess also had great charisma on stage, with some charmingly-nervous banter and story telling, giving the night a real intimate feel. None of the venues I've seen Jess in have been all that big, but I have a feeling she would be able to make a room of any size feel as intimate as a coffee house.

I've seen Jess Hill a few times since finding out about her through the Peak Performance Project last year, and I would definitely say it was the best show I've seen her play. Combined with The Mountains & The Trees earlier, it was a a great night of country-spanning music.


setlist
A Common Bird, Of A Shadow, Apple Tree, Orchard, Give me Your Ghost, An Open Letter To My Heart, In The Evening, Stagger, Don't Cry, Grow.