05.31.2009 Clues / Apollo Ghosts

I missed the first time Clues came to Vancouver, but tonight I had a second chance. It was at still also still at the same venue, the Biltmore, and an early show at that. I suppose after seeing both Islands and the Arcade Fire in small venues, I had somewhat high hopes (I know unfair comparison). Expectations aside, there were a couple of surprises.

The night started out with Apollo Ghosts. Songs were sort of surf rocky, folky and heavily influenced by the city of Nanaimo. Not really my thing, but showed some promise. Singer had pretty good presence, bassist had a couple of good licks and the drummer, I don't think, curiously, played a single drum fill the entire night.



Shortly after Apollo Ghosts left the stage, 2 men dressed in black hit the stage unannounced. I later found out they were members of the rarely to tour Jerusalem in my Heart. For the next 5 minutes or so, the audience was hit with a barrage of middle eastern chanting/song/prayer?.



After an even shorter turnover, Clues took the stage. Much like their band name, musically they were a bit of a puzzle. Despite packing the stage with a expanded drum kit and a variety of different instrumentation, it was quite clear from the onset that front man, and former Unicorn, Alden Penner was the main focus of the show. Having only heard a demo prior to the show, I pretty much came into the show with a clean slate. That being said, some things worked somethings... not so much. I did get the impression that the next album would be a better measuring stick as to how to really rate them. Overall, the show didn't exactly blow me away, but did seem to keep me intrigued for the 2 hours I was there.

$10/$12