PBR20 w/ Frog Eyes, Gold & Youth, Frankiie @ The Rickshaw Theatre -- 03/04/22

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Twenty years ago, Paper Bag Records released their first album, Broken Social Scene's You Forgot It in People. Since then they've worked with countless bands, including (but not limited to) Stars, controller.controller, Tokyo Police Club, You Say Party, Sam Roberts, The Dears, Frankiie, Gold & Youth, and Frog Eyes. And last Friday, the latter three took to the Rickshaw Theatre for the Vancouver chapter of the PBR20 celebration, a weekend of live shows in venues across the country, and livestreamed to the world.



The first band up was Frankiie, who were down a member thanks to our "good friend movid". But the remaining three picked up the slack for a fun set of their dream-rock sound. And despite being a little short, the band was clearly having a good time on stage, joking around with the audience between tunes.
Songs like the crunchy "Easy Breezy (Je Sais)" and the witchy “Funny Feeling" — which closed out their set — were easy standouts, for the band’s set that seemed to go by too quickly.
I had been meaning to catch Frankiie live for a while now (well, I mean, even before our good friend movid) and hopefully it won’t be too long before their next ‘full strength’ show!

Next up the stage filled with smoke and blue lights as Gold & Youth launched into the Nick-Cave-ish "Empire State of Mind" from their latest album Dream Baby. The song started soft and built to a crescendo that set the tone for their time. The voices of Matthew Lyall and Louise Burns intertwined together very well on songs like "The Worse The Better", with Burns even taking center stage for "Ruins". Other highlights included the brooding rhythm of "Maudlin Days (Robocop)" and the finish of the set, an almost-spoken-word "90s Night".
However, I don't think it's a secret that the Rickshaw is... not my favourite venue in the city, and sometimes the room does no favours to bands, especially ones as rich & dense as Gold & Youth can be.

And finally, closing out the night was the reunited Frog Eyes. Their first show since 2018, Carey Mercer, Melanie Campbell, and Shyla Seller were joined by the illustrious Paul Rigby for a set mostly focusing on their upcoming album The Bees.
The album isn't out until next month, but songs like "Scottish Wine" and "Speck of Dust" caught my ear immediately, having the familiar sounds of Mercer's voice chaotically wailing through the room, and the frantic intensity as you would expect from the band.
Aside from the preview of new songs, they also slipped a couple older ones in, like the old favourite "Idle Song", and a brief encore consisting of "A Latex Ice Age". Even before the band split, it had been quite some time since I last saw them live, so I was very happy to hear not only about the reunion, but to see them live again.

In all, it was a very fun night showcasing some of the finest among Paper Bag Records’ current roster, and a room full of familiar faces there to support the bands, the label, and the local scene.

The New Pornographers @ Vogue Theatre -- December 11 & 12, 2021

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Last year was the 20th anniversary for The New Pornographers’ debut album Mass Romantic, and for obvious reasons they couldn’t throw a big celebration then… so they delayed it a year! When I heard they were releasing a new 21st Anniversary edition vinyl, I was happy. Then I was more excited to find out they were doing an accompanying tour, playing the whole thing front-to-back. And I was even more excited that they would be playing two shows in each town; one for Mass Romantic, and a second for a full playthrough of Twin Cinema (celebrating that album’s 16th anniversary). How could someone choose just one of those shows? I sure couldn’t, so I went to both!

Opening both nights was Aoife Nessa Frances, from Dublin (if the name didn’t give it away) on her first North American tour. Joined by a small backing band of drums & keys, her voice drove the chill, alt-folk rock songs that lilted over the audience. She was an excellent opening act, and I’ll have to be sure to keep an ear out for her in the future.

Night One - Mass Romantic

With a showtune blaring over the loudspeaker, the band took the stage to massive applause. They immediately joked that we would need to do better than that, since the show was being live streamed to the world, to which the crowd happily obliged.

Carl gave a quick “we’re from here!” as the band launched into the bombastic title track, Newman and Neko Case’s voices blending together perfectly, as well as those of Kathryn Calder, on keys, and honourary member Nora O’Conner, who can be heard on both albums being celebrated over the two nights.

A few songs in, the enigmatic Dan Bejar took to the stage to thunderous cheers (and some light ribbing from Newman) for “Jackie”, as he would periodically show up through the set when needed. The band was clearly feeding off the energy of the hometown crowd, joking back & forth between songs, as they sounded near-perfect blasting through more favourites like “Letter From an Occupant” and “The Body Says No”, before the big finish of “Breakin’ The Law”.

Once the album was finished, the band took a brief intermission before returning for “a bunch of songs”, starting with the quirky Bejar-fronted “Myriad Harbour” as they went through just about the rest of their career, saving songs from Twin Cinema until the next night (well, almost). Highlights included more of Dan’s songs like “War on the East Coast”, as well as the big energy of “Dancehall Domine” and “Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk”.

Dan joined the band one final time for the absolutely beautiful “Testament to Youth in Verse” as the song swelled with a chorus of “no no no”, before ending the night with the one exception to the above. Explaining it was for the benefit of the livestream, they snuck in a single song from Twin Cinema, the perennial favourite (myself very much included), “The Bleeding Heart Show” as Neko’s voice thundered through the theatre for an incredibly emotional finish to the show. They took their bows and I was actually kind of glad there was no encore, as that was the perfect two-song combo to finish the first night.

Night Two - Twin Cinema

The second night was also the final night to the run of shows, which meant very “last night of tour” vibes – everyone clearly having fun, especially between songs where they were a bit more goofy and playful with each other and the crowd. And very grateful to be up there doing their thing (especially grateful to the one person near the front who yelled they had been to all twelve shows on this tour).

The set once again began with the title track of the album, kicking things into a high gear, especially with the early smash single “Use It”. Then right after, Newman joked how strange it was to be playing “The Bleeding Heart Show” forth in the set. Though it was no less emotionally impactful.

As usual, Bejar was on & off stage for songs like the frenetic “Jackie, Dressed in Cobras”, and they had another special guest for the show: Paul Rigby playing mandolin on “Falling Through Your Clothes”. The simmering energy of “Stacked Crooked” brought the album to a close, as they took a brief intermission before the next half of the show.

The second part of the show was close to the first night; songs spanning the rest of their oeuvre (except for Mass Romantic, of course), with a similar setlist to the previous night. They still opened with “Myriad Harbour” and the dreamy “Champions of Red Wine”, but also slipped in songs like the aptly named “High Ticket Attraction”, and “Born With a Sound” which also showcased Nora O’Connor’s voice.

After a one-two punch of “Brill Bruisers” and “The Laws Have Changed”, they brought the second night to a close with the beautiful (and pseudo-holiday?) “The Spirit of Giving”, the entire band on stage, voices all soaring to the back of the room.

I can’t say I’ve quite been a fan of The New Pornographers for the entire twenty-one years – closer to 16 as I joined in around the release of Twin Cinema, as I’m sure many others did. But both nights were just full of an incredible amount of love and nostalgia. I’ve seen the band play live maybe a dozen or so times in that span, in a few different forms, and I can easily say these two nights were the best I’ve ever seen them.

setlist - night 2
Twin Cinema
The Bones of an Idol
Use It
The Bleeding Heart Show
Jackie, Dressed in Cobras
The Jessica Numbers
These Are the Fables
Sing Me Spanish Techno
Falling Through Your Clothes
Broken Breads
Three or Four
Star Bodies
Streets of Fire
Stacked Crooked
(intermission)
Myriad Harbour
Champions of Red Wine
Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile
Testament to Youth in Verse
High Ticket Attractions
Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
Born With a Sound
You'll Need a Backseat Driver
Brill Bruisers
The Laws Have Changed
The Spirit of Giving

setlist - night 1
Mass Romantic
The Fake Headlines
The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
Mystery Hours
Jackie
Letter From an Occupant
To Wild Homes
The Body Says No
Execution Day
Centre for Holy Wars
The Mary Martin Show
Breakin' the Law
(intermission)
Myriad Harbour
Champions of Red Wine
Whiteout Conditions
Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile
The Spirit of Giving
You'll Need a Backseat Driver
Dancehall Domine
War on the East Coast
Play Money
Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
The Laws Have Changed
Testament to Youth in Verse
The Bleeding Heart Show

The Zolas @ The Vogue Theatre -- 11/26/21

About two months ago, I went to see some of my first live music of the year: The Zolas playing a free outdoor show in North Vancouver. Between the anxiety of too many people being there, everyone around me talking (loudly) non-stop, the mediocre sound, and the stage being, like, an inch off the ground limiting visibility, it was... not an ideal live music experience. So I was very glad to rectify that when they returned to The Vogue Theatre for a packed show (even if showing up a bit late meant you were in the very back of the balcony for the all-seated show).

Unfortunately I missed both openers, DWI (aka Dwight Abell from The Zolas in his solo project) and Vancovuer's own Schwey. But not long after I found an empty seat, the light dimmed and the instrumental "Reality Winner" rang through the theatre, as the band appeared on stage.

Starting with “Violence on the Planet” and the eponymously-inspired, britpop-esque “Yung DiCaprio” they focused on their latest album Come Back to Life. But of course hit some old favourites like “Ancient Mars”, with the crowd reacting so strongly that singer Zachary Gray got visibly flustered and emotional at the hometown response. Always full of energy onstage, Zach also chatted with the crowd between songs, clearly happy to be live & in person, and not resorting to walking tours via Google Maps, as he joked before the band launched into “Miles Away”.

Partway through the set they brought it down with a much calmer, acoustic version of “Strange Girl”, with Zach accompanied only by bassist Dwight and drummer Cody Hiles. Then those two took a break for a moment moment while a lone Zach fielded requests for some of the fan favourites, deep cuts, and ‘weird’ songs that they rarely played. After a cacophony of voices & song titles, Gray went into an acoustic medley that started with a song that I may have yelled from the back of the room, the eternally endearing “Cultured Man”, before segueing into other old favourites, “Marlaina Kamikaze”, “You're Too Cool”, and “Cold Moon”.

The full band returned as they kicked back into high energy with songs like “I Feel The Transition” and “Swooner”, before they brought the main set to a close with the heart-wrenching “Why Do I Wait (When I Know You've Got a Lover)”.
And of course, were back for one more, as Zach appeared in the aisle of the lower section of the Vogue for a big crowd singalong — with cell phone flashlights illuminating the room — to “Escape Artist”, a beautiful way to cap off the night, as the band took a bow centre stage.


(To see Christine’s Photo Recap click here.)

setlist
Reality Winner
Violence on This Planet
Yung Dicaprio
Molotov Girls
Ancient Mars
Freida on the Mountain
Miles Away
Energy Czar
Let It Scare You
Strange Girl
Cultured Man -> Marlaina Kamikaze -> You're Too Cool -> Cold Moon (medley)
PrEP
I Feel the Transition
Swooner
Why Do I Wait (When I Know You've Got a Lover)
[encore]
Escape Artist