04.12.2007 Silversun Pickups / Sea Wolf / Elizabeth

In 1999, a friend of mine had won tickets to 3 Doors Down at Richards on Richards. Back then, the song "Kryptonite" had been all the rage and definitely on heavy rotation on local radio stations. At the time, I was underage and couldn't go. I really didn't think much of it until I went to see the sold out Silversun Pickups last week. Much like the former show, the latter had a pretty hyped up single in "Lazy Eye".



The show began with local stalwarts Elizabeth who have been opening for bands such as Death From Above 1979 and Metric. Decent opening band. The guitar work was pretty good as far as I remember. Typical indie/dance/pop. They sound like Metric and Bloc Party. Apparently they are heading over to Europe to tour.



Next Up was Sea Wolf, who are apparently friends of Silversun Pickups. Sound is pretty hard to pin point. I do recall them using some interesting instrumentation (violins and cellos). Otherwise not too memorable when you consider what was next.



As it neared time for Silversun Pickups to hit the stage, you got the sense that it was the radio rock crowd that showed up. Much to my amusement, a "TURRRCooo, You suck" chant was heard before the set. This was followed by a chorus of boos when the crowd had to wait. Eventually the band did hit the stage starting with "Well thought out Twinkles". To pretty much no one's surprise, and for lack of better wording, they pretty much brought the rock. Guitarist and vocalist, Brian Aubert was in fine form and good spirits. Feeding off the crowd, the band plowed through all but one song off of their full length "Carnavas". Almost all the songs worked well in the live setting, and of course the crowd popped for Lazy Eye. After a short encore break, the band closed the show with three off of their EP. I would definitely say I was satisfied with the show and can bet they'll be doing some arena rocking in the future.

$20/20

04.12.2007 Pride Tiger / Land of Talk - Arts County Fair

Arts County Fair, the University of British Columbia's annual music festival, is as much of an institution as it is an excuse of for students to get drunk. Thank being said, the music is usually pretty decent, with respect to the bands that they bring in and the price that you pay. In past years, they have brought such acts as: Tea Party, Metric, Stabilo, New Pornographers and Bare Naked Ladies. This year was sorta average compared to recent years, though not as bad as about 5 years ago. On the plus side, I didn't have to pay (and don't recall ever having to pay for various reasons over the years) and all I wanted to see were Pride Tiger and Land of Talk; so that made for a short day.





Vancouver's pride and joy (har har) Pride Tiger started the day first. At 2pm in the afternoon, only about 10-20 people were in attendance, which after talking to drummer Matt Wood, I found out was about double what they had during the back to school barbeque. Despite this, Pride Tiger rocked out like it was a packed Saturday night at the Cobalt. Playing a mix of new songs and old songs from their indie release, there were solos a plenty. Suprisingly they played for about 40 minutes.



After a quick stage change an a very overpriced pita (no free BBQ this year to my chagrin), Land of Talk playd. During their set, a smoke machine was used. That, in conjunction with the colourful stage lights, sort of made me feel i like was watching an 80's hair metal video. The last time I saw them, they were opening for Holy Fuck. I would like to say that they were playing for more people this time around, but once again it was pretty close. Regardless, the band seemed to be in good spirits and cracked a few jokes during their set. Most of the set consisted songs from the Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss. They did play a new song, whose name escapes me at the moment. After a short set 20-30 minutes I went backstage where I was disappointed again to find out there was no free food backstage.

$8/$0

04.03.2007 Elias

The following words appeared on Elias' tour dates page on monday in regards to this show: Free Beer, Free Admittance. Not suprisingly 'Free Beer' appears to have been part of a bait and switch ploy in order to drum up patrons for a industry showcase. Fortuneately it wasn't really needed as the Railway Club has their own clientele that'll be there any day of the week regardless if there's a show going on or not. I first saw Elias back in the fall and thought they were alright and would have to wait a few months to see if they were progressing along musically before attending another show. At the time i thought they were still a little too unpolished for my tastes. Fastforward a couple months and I see they're playing an industry showcase, so it looks like they're doing something right. I guess i might as well check it out because it's also free.



anyways, the actual show started an hour before their scheduled time. i'm relieved to see that they're no opening bands. however, their set is pretty short for them being the only band playing. They played a mix of old and new songs. The guitarist either seems to have gotten better, or he's now doing something that's making me pay attention. The singer/keyboardist is still doing the Thom Yorke, drony voice, weird expression and keyboard thing, but it works. Plus the bassist is still putting in solid bass lines. The general consensus around town is that they're at the forefront of indie music in Vancouver and they certainly lived up to that reputation. I just wish it was a longer set.

$5/0

04.03.2007 Mew / Oh No! Oh My!

First off, yes this is the 2nd show in the same day. Elias, although a short set, still counts. Needless to say, I was feeling a little fatigued for this show - it had also been a long day. Anyway... I first heard of Mew in 2005 and I was immediately intrigued; the name of the band shares my last name. Obviously this is of no concern to you, the reader, however I was pleasantly surprised upon hearing their album "And the glass handed kites".

Fast forward 2 years and Mew is suddenly scheduled to play Richards on Richards amidst a decent amount of hype from the local papers. The local news/entertainment rag, had been giving rave reviews for the band and their latest album.

The first band Oh No! Oh My! from Texas, arrived fairly late having apparently been held up at the border for 3 hours. Pretty decent opener. Sound was good for a band that really didn't get much of a soundcheck. Troubles didn't end there as one of the guitarist broke a string mid song. Good mix of indie/dance/pop music. Played for about 40 minutes. Interesting use of instrumentation and some sound manipulation were used.

After a short break Mew hit the stage to great anticipation. Some interesting things to note were the fact that the drum kit was near the front of the stage and to the side and the large projector screen. Visuals on the projector were put to good use, often syncing up with the song that was played. Actually they were more like animations of the whimsical nature; think cats and bears with glasses playing violins. Definitely theater/arena caliber visuals.

Musically, Mew was up to par with their visuals. One thing that was quite noticeable was the drum tone that was fairly prominent throughout the show. From the first note of Circuitry of the Wolf (which flowed seamlessly to Chinaberry tree of course) the crowd was quite captivated with the performance. Pretty decent mix of songs from both Glass Handed Kites and their first album Frengers. Set was about 80 minutes including encore. Most of the songs were done well live, however some of the slower songs seemed to drag on. To answer the question as to whether singer Jonas Bjere would be able to replicate some of his near falsetto vocal parts on the album live; the answer is yes. Well, about 95% of the time anyway. During some of the songs the high notes were noticeably off. As well, some of the songs seemed better on album. Over all, definitely a show that was worth the price admission.

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$25/$20

Side note: Price of a t-shirt at the show was $30, making it more expensive than the show itself.