The Rural Alberta Advantage w/ July Talk @ Commodore -- 10/23/14

Celebrating the release of their new album Mended With Gold, The Rural Alberta Advantage hit Vancouver for the first time in about two years. And if that wasn't reason enough to fill the Commodore on a Thursday night, they had fellow Toronto band July Talk along with them; a pairing that was bound to tear down the proverbial house.
I got to the venue just as the Toronto five-piece July Talk took the stage, fronted by the pairing of Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay. Their whiskey-soaked blues-tinged rock & roll mixes Peter's rough growl and Leah's sweet (yet no less powerful) voice, and the two have a great energy and playfulness on stage. They would be constantly teasing and getting in each others faces, and frequently strutting up to the front of the stage. Especially Leah, who spent most of the set perched on the monitors. Part way through the set, Peter even leapt into the crowd to surf, while still playing guitar, which inspired guitarist Ian Docherty to do the same at the end of the set.

And the crowd was definitely on their side, singing along to many songs -- Leah giving the crowd the mic to join in on the frantic "Guns + Ammunition" -- and when they announced it was the last Canadian show on their current tour and joked they should sing "O Canada", the crowd not only complied, but couldn't be stopped. 
Other highlights of the set included the great vocal-interplay of "Headsick", and "Paper Girl", which somehow managed to top all the energy they had throughout the set for a fiery finale.

It's not hard to see why they won (mere hours before their set) a Casby Award for Best New Band, and I hope they're back soon enough, with a show of their own.


That was going to be a hard act to top, but The Rural Alberta Advantage were up to the task, the trio consisting of the distinct voice of lead singer and guitarist Nils Edenloff, Paul Banwatt's frantic and incredible drumming, and multi-instrumentalist Amy Cole playing about four or five instruments, sometimes simultaneously.

Starting off with the explosive "Stamp", they created a folk rock (emphasis on the rock) sound much greater than you would expect from just three people. From their newest songs like "To Be Scared" and "Terrified" off the new album Mended With Gold -- both of which written about the Evil-Dead-like cabin Nils wrote the album in -- to the moody "Don't Haunt This Place" from their first album Hometowns, they tore through their whole arsenal of songs. And even though the trio is from Toronto, they had plenty of songs about Alberta, the fan favourite and chaotic"Tornado '87" and the newer, intense and heartbreaking "Vulcan, AB" being standouts.
With a fantastic energy, the band had the crowd whipped into a frenzy, people furiously clapping, singing, and even crowdsurfing -- impressively, even during their slower and calmer songs.

After about an hour, they ended the set with "Drain the Blood" before Nils came back on stage alone for the encore, starting with "The Build" as the band slowly joined him and closed out the night with a few older songs. The eerie "Barnes' Yard" bringing the energy back up, and they ended off with one last rager, fan favourite, and Alberta-inspired song "The Dethbridge In Lethbridge" with the crowd singing along to the last note.


setlsit
Stamp; Muscle Relaxants; Don't Haunt This Place; Our Love...; Runners in the Night; Tornado '87; Vulcan, AB; Luciana; On the Rocks; Two Lovers; 45/33; To Be Scared; Terrified; Four Night Rider; Edmonton; Frank, AB; Drain the Blood.
(encore) The Build; Barnes' Yard; In The Summertime; The Dethbridge in Lethbridge.

Dan Mangan @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre -- 11/09/12

"What Happens Next?" was the question asked in a recent CBC documentary on Dan Mangan that followed him on the days leading up to his show at the Orpheum Theatre last year. It was the biggest show that Dan had played in his career at that point, and exactly one year to the day after the show, we got the answer as Dan played a nearly-sold-out show at the gorgeous Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

 As excited I was to see Dan play, I was equally excited about the opening band, The Rural Alberta Advantage. The Toronto trio seemed very small on the large stage, but they more than made up for it in talent; the distinct voice of lead singer and guitarist Nils Edenloff, Paul Banwatt's frantic and incredible drumming, and Amy Cole, who at times was simultaneously playing both the keys and bass pedals, the latter with her feet. And the talent exploded off the stage with their great stage presence and energy, translating into a strong set of catchy songs, some old and familiar, some new they were trying out and road testing.

 They were definitely wining over the crowd, getting everyone to clap along a few times, with highlights of the set including the aptly named "Tornado '87" which starts soft then builds to a frantic pace worthy of the storm it's named after, the dark and moody "Under the Knife", and my favourite of theirs, the incredibly infectious and explosive "Stamp".

 The room may have been a bit big for their sound, but they still put on a strong and enjoyable set; and judging by the standing ovation they got at the end, I wasn't the only one to think so.
It wasn't long after until Dan Mangan took the stage, flanked by his usual backing band of Gord Grdina on guitar, Kenton Loewen on drums and John Walsh on bass. They were joined by a couple other musicians on keys, strings and horns to fill out the sound, and Dan also made sure to point out that everyone playing with him was also in other bands, which included The Crackling, Haram, Brasstronaut, Fond of Tigers, and even mentioned you could pick up their CDs at the merch table, which I thought was a nice touch.

 Before the show, I was a little afraid that Dan's charm and intimacy would lose something in the massive room, but those fears were squashed almost instantly, as the band took the stage and they started with Dan's most recent single, a b-side called "We Want To Be Pleasantly Surprised, Not Expectedly Let Down" and "About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All", a pair of grandiose songs. Dan's voice resonating through the entire room. It was especially notable during "Basket", when the band taking a break and Dan sang the incredibly heartbreaking song alone with his guitar -- no doubt resulting in more than a few tears shed.

 The nearly-sold-out audience was rapt the whole night, with lots of 'recognition applause' (when the crowd cheers the song just from recognising the beginning of it) throughout the show. There was also the usual massive sing along for "Robots" -- which did not end the set, as it used to, but rather came about two thirds through -- and drew many people from their seats to fill the area right in front of the stage. Other highlights were the incendiary "Post War Blues" that builds to a manic ending  and "Rows of Houses", which segued with an beautiful extended instrumental extro right into "Regarding Death and Dying".

 The set ended with the all-question song "Jeopardy", but Dan was back out a few minutes later, saying they could sneak in a couple more before the curfew and went into  "The Indie Queens Are Waiting" solo, with most of the crowd filling in for Veda Hille on the backup vocals. There was also an amusing moment when the phone of someone at the very front went off and Dan paused the song, asking to answer the phone -- but sadly it was too late and they missed the call.

 After a couple older ones, including the beautiful "Fair Verona" from his first album, Dan ended the night by getting right down into the crowd for "So Much For Everyone", leading the crowd in the backup "ooh-ooh's" and calling out The RAA and anyone else backstage to fill the stage with friendly faces.

 The first time I saw Dan it was in a room with about a tenth of the amount of people as this night, and I marvelled at Dan's ability to make a show intimate and close. And it's a talent that Dan has retained whether he's playing to three hundred or three thousand people; to make it feel like you're just sitting in someone's living room, watching a guy pour his heart out with his guitar. 

 setlist
We Want To Be Pleasantly Surprised, Not Expectedly Let Down; About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All; Oh Fortune; Sold; Leaves, Trees, Forest; If I Am Dead; Post War Blues; Basket; Starts With Them, Ends With Us; Road Regrets; How Darwinian; Robots; Rows of Houses; Regarding Death and Dying; Jeopardy.
(encore) The Indie Queens Are Waiting; Fair Verona; Tina's Glorious Comeback; So Much For Everyone.