An Evening with Dan Mangan @ Fox Cabaret -- February 03, 2023

As much as I want to see musicians that I love get huge, blow up, have lots of success... when they do, there's a small (selfish) part of me that misses seeing them play intimate venues. Which is why it's great when someone like Dan Mangan decides to play somewhere like the Fox Cabaret. Part of a series of acoustic shows, tickets sold out in minutes for this hometown Evening with Dan Mangan.

With Radiohead playing over the speakers, the lights dimmed as Mangan took the stage alone, armed only with his acoustic guitar. Starting off with “Just Know It” from the new album Being Somewhere, and driving back to “Road Regrets” as Dan’s gruff voice filled the room, the night was not only intimate, but a little interactive as well.

He chatted with the crowd between songs, telling stories, and taking requests for the bulk of the set. From the classic wordplay of “Pine for Cedars”, to deep cuts like the frantic “Mouthpiece”, “Unnatural Progression” from his very first release Postcards and Daydreaming, and even his cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”, he hit requests from throughout his oeuvre.

Dan also debuted a new song, a clever tune about vampiric and parasitic people (I'm going to guess called “Vampire”?), with other highlights including the frenetic “Troubled Mind”, the melancholic “In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchinson)”, and “Sold”, with clap-a-long ending that's foolproof against people who may lack rhythm.

After the always-heartwrenching “Basket”, Dan started to draw the set to a close by wading out into the middle of the cabaret with his giant light fixture for a couple of singalongs. First the perennial favourite “Robots”, and finally ending the night as he's been wont to do for the last few years; the collective voices of the entire room supporting him on “So Much for Everyone”.

And that same crowd hung on every note Dan played throughout the night, with virtually no chatter during his songs. I’ve often said that Dan Mangan has a knack for making shows of any size feel intimate, but seeing him play a show like this again, after so many years, was truly something special.

setlist
Just Know It
Cold in the Summer
Road Regrets
Lay Low
Tina's Glorious Comeback
Jeopardy
Mouthpiece
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [Neutral Milk Hotel cover]
Easy
New Song (Vampire?)
Pine for Cedars
Troubled Mind
Unnatural Progression
In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchinson)
Lynchpin
Fire Escape
Sold
Basket
Robots
So Much for Everyone

Dear Rouge with Hotel Mira @ Vogue Theatre -- December 10, 2022

It's been a busy year for Dear Rouge. After releasing their third studio album Spirit, they've played festivals, opened for Metric, and just finished a cross Canada tour with Hotel Mira, ending with a show at the Vogue Theatre here in Vancouver.

Unfortunately I missed the first opening set from Mauvey, arriving slightly before the intro of Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” rang throughout the theatre, signalling the entrance of Hotel Mira. Kicking off with “You Know Best”, the band played a selection off their latest album Perfectionism, as well as teasing some new tunes, and hitting older songs from the band’s previous incarnation, JPNSGRLS, like ”Southern Comforting”.

As ever, each member had a high energy, especially frontman Charlie Kerr, as he danced, gyrated, and even waded into the crowd on a few occasions. I don't think I've ever seen him stand still for more than five seconds while on stage.

Highlights including “Better on your Own” which Kerr dedicated to a recent breakup in the crowd, the raucous harmonies of “Jungle”, and the infectious “Fever Pitch”, where Charlie plucked a ‘Listen Bitch’ sign out of the audience for the chorus.

They finished it off with another old favourite, the frantic and chaotic “Oh My God”, and I’m willing to wager that it won't be long before the group is headlining the Vogue themselves.

The stage was dark and smoky when the members of Dear Rouge, all clad in black, came out. Interestingly enough, both bands started with the lead singer in a long black coat, which they doffed a few songs in -- though Danielle's outfit under the coat was much more sparkly than Charlie's undershirt.

Starting off with “Relationship Problems”, their hour-and-a-half set spanned their three album, from the frenetic “Boys & Blondes”; to the soft & tender “Life Goes By And I Can't Keep Up”, which spotlighted Drew McTaggart's vocals; to the giant singalong for “I Heard I Had”.

Danielle McTaggart stalked the front of the stage for “Modern Shakedown”, and “Black to Gold” saw the stage bathed in an amber light. In fact, with the large rig behind then — that included a disco ball and big neon ‘Dear Rouge’ sign — the lightning did a great job setting the mood throughout the evening.

Near the end of the set, they were joined by special guest Jessia to duet with Danielle on the song “That’s It, That’s All”, before closing with the anthemic “Gimme Spirit”.
But of course, the group was back out with a couple more, ending the night with the incredibly fun and quirky “Meet Me At The Rio”, which broke down into a cover of Le Tigre's “Deceptacon”, before a big finish.

It seems like the last few times I’ve seen Dear Rouge — even going back before the pandemic — had been either as an opening band or in the middle of a festival, so it was nice to see them be able to spread their wings as the headliner. And then you add Hotel Mira into the mix, and it’s an fantastic double-bill spotlighting a pair of Vancouver’s hottest acts.

Dear Rouge setlist
Relationship Problems
Fake Fame
Live Through The Night
Boys & Blondes
You Rattle Me
Dream Dreamer
Modern Shakedown
Wanna Love
Life Goes By And I Can't Keep Up
Black to Gold
I Heard I Had
Facedown
That's It, That's All (Jessia)
Tongues
Gimme Spirit
(encore)
Stolen Days
Meet Me At The Rio (feat. Deceptacon by Le Tigre)

Hotel Mira setlist
You Know Best
Better On Your Own
This Could Be It For Me
Eventually
Everything Once
Son in Law
Jungle
The Eyes on You
Speaking off the Record
Southern Comforting
Fever Pitch
Oh My God

Tim Baker @ Commodore Ballroom -- November 18, 2022

Tim Baker has been busy. With the release of his latest solo album, The Festival, the former Hey Rosetta! frontman has been getting back into touring shape, as seen on the series of shorts on his youtube channel, It's Gonna Be Great. And it's a good thing he did, because his current tour landed him here in Vancouver, at the legendary Commodore Ballroom.

Opening the night was Georgia Harmer, alone on stage with all her guitars -- joking about wanting to show each one off now that she could tour again. Playing stripped down versions of songs off her laetst album, Stay in Touch, her voice managed to cut through the chatter Friday night crowd. The catchy & rollicking “All In My Mind” and the breezy “Top Down” caught people's attention, before “Be Here”, a gorgeous closer.
I managed to see a little bit of her set when she opened for Dan Mangan earlier this year, and I was quite happy to see her again this night.

As the lights dimmed and the the sound of waves crashing filled the room, Tim Baker took the stage with his All Hands band. He started off with “Lucky Few”, at first just his soft voice alone at the piano, a single spotlight on him, before the rest of the band slowly joined in, bathed in a blue light as the song grew.

From there the set ebbed and flowed — much like his songs themselves often do — swelling up with intensity like the soaring “The Shield”, before crashing down like the melancholic “Dance”. Other highlights included my two favourites off his new album, “Year of the Dog” exploding into a heartwarming finish, and the fun and bouncy “Some Day” that had the crowd joining in.

Part way through the set he slipped in a couple old Hey Rosetta! songs, first a “Soft Offering (For The Oft Suffering)” and then “Welcome”, a classic which hit me way harder emotionally than I was expecting, building to an incredible finish.

After a huge fun singalong to “All Hands”, Baker ending the main set, appropriately enough, with “Don't Let Me Go Yet”. Which the crowd did not, calling him back for more; the joyful Hey Rosetta! tune “Harriet” and yet another appropriate closing song, “Goodnight Everybody”.

If you were to force me to make a list (which I hate doing) of my favourite bands, I think Hey Rosetta! would rank pretty high. But even though they went on an “indefinite hiatus” in 2017, it's been hard to miss them, as Tim Baker has continued on, making some excellent solo albums, putting on incredible, emotional live shows.

setlist
Lucky Few
The Shield
Spirit
My Kind
Dance
Strange River
Jungle Suite
Year of the Dog
Some Day
Soft Offering (For The Oft Suffering)
Welcome
Echo Park
The Festival
All Hands
Don't Let Me Go Yet
(encore)
Harriet
Goodnight Everyone

Spencer Krug @ China Cloud -- November 11, 2022

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

Skye Wallace @ Fox Cabaret -- November 09, 2022

Skye Wallace made her long-awaited return to Vancouver last night, on the heels of her latest album, Terribly Good. In the midst of a cross-Canada tour, the Toronto singer came back to the city that was once her home, with a stop at the Fox Cabaret.

Unfortunately I missed the first opener, Nonarchy, arriving to the venue part way through Zoey Leven's set. I caught the last bit of her breezy, indie-pop sound on songs like “Closer” and “Gatekeeper”, an upbeat, jangly tune off their 2019 debut EP, Messy. The few songs I heard definitely made me want to keep an ear out for more in the future.

Not long after, Skye Wallace took the stage joined by her band; Devon Lougheed (guitar), Gina Kennedy (keys), Jenna Strautman (bass), and Chris Dimas (drums). She kicked off the hour-long set with a couple of older tunes, the darker "There is a Wall" and the raucous "Mean Song 2" before launching into new material off Terribly Good.

Highlights included "Everything is Fine", the self-convincing anthemic answer when asked how you’re doing; the gritty "Tooth and Nail", which slipped into a fun cover of The Watchmen's 90s hit "Stereo"; and "Keeper", a bittersweet number which she admitted was almost her first love song... until they broke up some time between writing and recording the song.

Part way through the night, Devon and Chris took a break while Skye introduced a song written about Angelina Napolitano, "Swing Batter". With just her playing electric guitar and Geena & Jenna on backing vocals, the song’s intensity, combined with Skye's incredibly powerful voice, sent chills & goosebumps throughout the room.

The set came to a close with the raw "Tear A Piece (Bite Me)" before finishing off with another cover, Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time". But after a moment the band was out for one last song, a favourite of Skye's dad (who was in attendance) "Reaper", an absolute banger which saw Skye hop off the stage and onto the floor to shred on guitar, while a portion of the crowd lost it in a mosh pit (which Skye had half-jokingly requested earlier in the evening).

As Skye Wallace mentioned a couple times during the show, she was incredibly excited to be back onstage, especially back in Vancouver, and especially at the Fox. But even if she hadn’t said anything, that excitement and energy was radiating off stage and through the crowd, for a great night of dark-folk-rock.

setlist
There is a Wall
Mean Song 2
Truth Be Told
The Doubt
Everything is Fine
Phantom Limb
Swing Batter
Keeper
You Left
Coal In Your Window
Tooth and Nail [w/ Stereo by The Watchmen]
Tear A Piece (Bite Me)
If I Could Turn Back Time [Cher cover]
(encore)
Reaper