Rich Aucoin @ Biltmore Cabaret -- 10/31/19

Rich Aucoin has been on his "Death Tour" recently, promoting his latest album Release, and he finally brought it back to Vancouver, returning to the Biltmore Cabaret. But what could be better than a Rich Aucoin show? How about a Rich Aucoin show on Hallowe'en night? With loads of costumes both onstage and off, ranging from the lazy (mine) to the elaborate, it was the perfect night for a show about death.

Opening the night was Vancouver duo Tourist Company. Taylor Swindells and Brenon Parry took the stage in banana costumes, for their space-y alt-rock, kicking off with last year's "Spokane".
Swindells' ethereal vocals filled the room, as they played a collection of songs both from their previous album, the space-race-themed Apollo as well as some recently released songs. Highlights included the slower and incredibly emotional "'Til We Disappear", the frenetic "Conflicted/Restricted" and the driving (and infectious) "Fractured State".


After a brief break, Rich Aucoin introduced the show, dressed as an unmasked Spider-Man, joined only by Tony Dallas on drums (in a full Daft Punk outfit, helmet and all). He began, as he usually does, with a vocal warmup for the crowd: singing along to the 20th Century Fox fanfare. This lead directly into the "opening credits", clips from movies intercut with the names of people at the show, along with a fun/awesome "fact" about them.

After the intro, the set opened with the instrumental title track to the new album Release, Aucoin on synth and Dallas the backbone of the show — even when getting tangled in the decorative cobwebs, he literally didn't miss a beat. While the slow-burn spoken-word of "The Base" got the crowd hyped, the energy erupted into the next song, an old favourite singalong, "Undead".

With lyrics on the projection screen at the back of the stage, the audience screamed along for most of the night; in joy, in defiance, in catharsis, and Rich was right there with everyone. Sometimes literally as he would often hop off the stage and go into the crowd, illuminated only by a handheld bare lightbulb. Along with the lyrics, most of the new songs were accompanied by clips from Alice in Wonderland, as the new album was written to be synced up with the film, Dark Side Of The Rainbow style.

And of course, as is now the Rich Aucoin trademark, he brought out the parachute during "Are You Experiencing?", the rainbow canvas stretching back to fill the entire Biltmore dance floor, as people rushed under it to dance with Rich, or held on to the edges to wave it with the enthusiasm of a 3rd grade gym class. There are few concert experiences I've had that spark more joy (to borrow a phrase) than the parachute.

But as I've said before, no amount of "stage show" would be as fun if there weren't the songs to back it up, and Aucoin absolutely has that. From the unbridled exuberance of "Want To Believe" to the melancholic "The Time" and every emotion in between, the show included some of the most uplifting (and catchy) songs about death you will ever hear, including favourites off the new album like “The Middle” and “The Other”.

After a set that completely flew by, Rich brought the night to an end with one last giant singalong, as he started "It" by asking everyone to put their arm around their neighbour, and then wading into the middle of the crowd while urging the audience not to leave it all in their head.

I've joked to people that Rich Aucoin is one of only two musicians who I will voluntarily stand front-row for, and the ONLY one that will get me to actually dance, because the energy at one of his shows is utterly unparalleled. And not just coming from the stage -- he barely stands still even for a moment -- but in the crowd as well. Aucoin has a talent to bring everyone in the room together, not just as a collection of people standing in the same room watching the same show, but a true shared experience.

And don’t forget to check out Christine’s photos here!

setlist
Release
The Base
Undead
The Middle
The Change
The Self
Want To Believe
The Time
Are You Experiencing?
The Other
It

We Are The City @ Biltmore -- 08/12/17

If you’ve noticed East Vancouver looking a little more colourful in the last little while, that would be thanks to the Vancouver Mural Festival. Over the last week, there have been over 50 new murals going up throughout Mount Pleasant by a variety of artists. And since it was spearheaded by David & Ambrosia Vertesi, you know there’s going to be a musical component as well. Louise Burns & Yukon Blonde played a free outdoor show in the afternoon, and in the evening was the Underplay concert series (with a tough decision of where to be).

Opening the night was The Tourist Company, though I only caught the last few songs. The band seems to have undergone some changes since I last saw them, with a slimmed down lineup and a bit of a different sound. Last I knew, they were more of a folk band, but they've replaced that with a more of an alt-pop, space-y and ethereal sound; perhaps fitting with their latest album being named Apollo, mentioning it was inspired by the space program.
The new album was released last year, and I hadn't checked it out yet (to be completely honest, I was never into their 'folk sound') but based on the couple songs I heard, I will have to give them another shot. 

On the days leading up to the show, We Are The City was promising a “loud and trashy” set, and as the trio kicked off with "Baptism" it quickly became clear they were not exaggerating. They played fast & loose through favourites like the frenetic "That's It, That's All", and the raucous "King David", while songs from the latest album Above Club, like "Sign My Name Like ƪƲƐƐƝ" sounded more raw than their album versions. 
To go along with the vibe of the songs, the band had an unparalleled energy; Cayne frantically hitting the keys between yelps, David rocking out on the guitar, and especially Andy wailing on his drums. I have seen very few drummers who play with more energy and intensity, and who are more animated than him. 
Matching the band's energy was the jam-packed Biltmore, who were singing along -- even when unprompted and to deeper cuts. Near the end of the set, after admitting he blew out his voice, Cayne enlisted in the help of everyone to fill in on the high parts of "Kiss Me Honey", and the crowd more than stepped up to the challenge. After that there was one more left, as they ended off the night with "Friends Hurt", complete with Andy diving into the crowd to surf, and the band leaving the stage one at a time before Cayne made it quite clear there would be no encore, by literally smashing his keyboard onto the stage.

It’s been a while since We Are The City played in Vancouver, especially a venue as intimate as the Biltmore, and everyone involved was glad to have them back. Word is they're finishing off a new album, and while they didn't preview it this night, if it has even half the energy that they shared, it'll be a good one. 

setlist
Baptism
Keep on Dancing
Bottom of the Lake
Legs Give Out
King David
That's It, That's All
Sign My Name Like ƪƲƐƐƝ
Dark/Warm Air
Cheque Room
Everything Changes
Happy New Year
Heavy as a Brick
Kiss Me Honey
Friends Hurt

Peak Performance Project Showcase #3 @ Fortune -- 10/09/14

Can you believe it's already the sixth year of the Peak Performance Project? This year they've changed the project up a little. 102.7 The Peak and Music BC have pared it down from a Top 20 to a Top 12, but that was only to make room for a Top 12 of Alberta bands through the newly launched 95.3 The Peak, and Alberta Music.


Part one of the project was a "rock & roll boot camp" where the musicians went on a week long retreat to get lectures and advice from industry pros, to help them refine their craft, and team up with an Albertan band for a collaboration song. Phase two is a series of shows at Fortune Sound Club; three artists a night for four weeks, showing off what they learned to not only an audience, but a panel of judges. They've also been assigned to learn a "Classic Canadian Cover" to play during their set. I always love hearing bands play cover songs, and it's always interesting to see who each act chooses, if it's someone obvious to their style, or something way outside the box. (And yes, I do have a running tally of bands that chose Neil Young)

They took a week off showcases last week, so everyone could celebrate Break Out West and the Western Canadian Music Awards in Winnipeg, but they were back last night for showcase number three.


Jodi Pederson: The Vernon BC native started the night off with a few small sound issues; in fact, the sound the whole night wasn't the greatest, but Jodi's set seemed hit hardest with a muddy mix. But that aside, a good stage presence and great voice drove her set, with a smokey and soulful pop sound. But while she was a great performer, I don't think her songwriting was quite on the same level. From what I could tell, a lot of her songs were about the same thing -- love -- and certainly none of the songs were really bad, few stuck out. One that did, though, was a darker song called "Boys" that really let her voice soar.
She brought things down in the middle of the set for a couple slower jams, including her classic Canadian cover, "Born To Be Wild" (as I found out, while Steppenwolf is still American, the song was written by a Canadian Mars Bonfire) which was a really interesting, almost jazzy, take on the song.
Jodi wrapped up her set with the single, "City Lights", with what I thought was a slightly out-of-place drum breakdown in the middle, and ended with a number of her fans in the crowd holding up and spinning glowsticks.
She's definitely got the performance aspect down, and I think given a little more experience writing, she'll take off.


The Tourist Company: No stranger to radio competitions, the self described experimental folk-rock band was the Vancouver finalist in this year's CBC Music Searchlight contest. The took the stage joined on & off by some familiar faces, Michelle Faehrmann and Stephanie Chatman from Four on the Floor String Quartet (every year it seems at least one band makes use of members of the talented Quartet, and this year it was The Tourist Company).
I've said a few times before on this blog there's a certain type of prevalent folk sound that I just no longer care about, and while they are not the worst offender, they fit in to that category. Which isn't to say they are not objectively good, with solid harmonies, and tight, catchy songs, all greater than what you would expect from just four members. Stand-out songs were the driving drums and jangling glockenspiel on "Irrepressible Future", and "One Giant Leap" with Jillian Levey on lead vocals, instead of main singer Taylor Swindells.
Their set hit a lot of the expected beats of a folk-rock set, including breaking out the floor toms, and their cover was, a little predictably, a soaring folksy version of "Wake Up", closer to the acoustic version Arcade Fire did recently. They ended off with a big, high energy song that I didn't catch the name of, leaving a good chunk of the crowd cheering for more.
While I can not deny they are very good at what they do, what they do is just not for me.


Shred Kelly: On the other side of the "folk coin" is the Fernie BC stoke folk band. They were the one of three bands I was rooting for going into the project, having been a fan of them for a couple years now.
The five-piece started off with a newer song that encapsulates the band perfectly; Tim Newton starting the song slowly plucking his banjo until he picked up the pace to a blurry hand, joined by Sage McBride's lovely voice, the song building to an explosive crescendo. From there they kept up the energy, getting the crowd clapping and stomping along, before it came to a head with another new song, a bit of a darker song for them and my favourite of the set, and "Tornado Alley", culminating in a frantic storm of instruments worthy of the title.
They brought the set down for a moment, for a couple of their (relatively) softer songs, and then wrapped up with the perennial singalong, "I Hate Work", letting the Thursday night crowd blow off steam. That then segued nicely into their Canadian cover, Loverboy's "Working For The Weekend", during which they not only got a surprising number of people to "get low" and crouch down, but also split the room for the singalong: one side singing along with Sage "Everybody's working for the weekend" and the other with Tim, chanting "I Hate Work", to wrap up a set that reinforced my desire to see them in the top three.


And with that, there was only one more showcase to go, spotlighting the last three of the Top Twelve. Next week will be The Wild Romantic, Dearrival, and Damn Fools.