09.01.2008 The New Pornographers / Black Mountain / Stevie Jackson

The Stanley Park Exhibition is a (they're hoping) annual concert curated by the New Pornographers in their home town, an Stanley Park's Malkin Bowl. Proceeds from the ticket sales and merchandise will benefit two charities:

ALS Society of Canada

and

Urban Native Youth Association


go support.

There was a total of 10 bands playing over two days. On the first day Deerhoof, The Evaporators, Andrew Bird, Destroyer and Neko Case played. I didn't go, so there'll be no review.

There also won't be a review of the first two bands (Visqueen, 1900s) from the second day. (I had a paper to finish)



I arrived just as Stevie Jackson was making his introductions to the crowd. For those who don't recognize who this gentleman is, he plays guitar and does some singing for a well known band by the name of Belle and Sebastian. Apparently he also doesn't do a lot of solo shows. For the first couple of songs, he played solo, just him, in a nice looking dark suit and a guitar. He seems to have captured most of the crowds attention, due to his charming Scottish accent and humorous self deprecating banter. After a couple of songs he brings out his buddy Mick, also from B+S to accompany him on bass. As you would have guessed, they did a Belle and Sebastian cover. The last couple of songs, they are joined by Katheryn Calder, Kurt Dahl and Blaine Thurier (i think), for a few other songs I didn't recognize.



The sun was starting to set as Black Mountain ripped into their opening number "Stormy High." I chuckled to myself as a few kids and their parents retreated from the front of the stage. Black Mountain played about an hour of their usual heavy 70s psych inspired songs. They played mostly the same songs from their last tour. 'Tyrants' was a highlight as it was heavy, jammy and pretty mind blowing. However, as good as they played it didn't seem right that there was still a little bit of light left, spoiling the dark mood.





Whenever I think of how lucky Torontonians are with having Broken Social Scene as their 'home town' super-band, I then remind myself that they're probably pretty jealous we have the New Pornographers. Since, Destroyer and Neko Case played the night before, both Neko and Dan Bejar were in attendance today. It's been a while since they've played with their full line up as Kurt didn't tour on their last Challenger's tour. The ever enigmatic Dan Bejar was his usual self, arriving on stage (sometimes late) for his songs, and leaving after the song was done. There was a special guest who sang backup vocals for a couple songs, a Nora O'Connor, who sang backup vocals on the last two albums. Carl Newman remarked that it was the first time they've ever had 9 members. Adventures in Solitude was dedicated to Kathryn's mother, who has ALS. It was very touching and probably one of the highlights of their set. Noting the 10pm curfew, the Pornographers didn't break for an encore and ended with Bleeding Heart Show and "Don't Bring Me Down", an ELO cover.

$50/$35

Black Mountain - Stormy High (live 4.6.2008)

04.06.2008 Black Mountain / Green Hour

In terms of Vancouver and psychedelic rock, there really is no one better than Black Mountain and their collective offshoot bands. Headed up by guitarist Stephen McBean, the Vancouver 5 piece normally has the vocal duties split between the aforementioned McBean and Amber Webber. Interestingly enough, 3 of the members work for Insite, an organization that aids the less fortunate residents of the Downtown Eastside. Tonight was the second night of back to back Vancouver shows; they played the Commodore the night before. Despite being an all ages show, the crowd was made up of mostly university aged kids and older.

The first act of the night was actually Black Mountain's merch guy (I forgot his name). Playing in front of a handful of attendees, he played with just a guitar and his voice. Even with the limited crowd you got the sense that he was pretty talented. At times his singing reminded of Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, during the quieter songs. After 3 songs he left.



Vancouver's own Green Hour played next. Musically, they were quite proficient. Their vocals were didn't seem to fit to well with the music however. Their stage attire, 1960's hippie(?), was a little grating. I'm not even sure what to think of the psychedelic visuals they were using. Personally, I was never a big fan of the whole 1960-70's revival. It was almost pretentious.

Black Mountain ended the night. They began the set with the demure 'Night Walks' from their latest effort In the Future. Then quickly jump started the set with their single 'Stormy High'. The set was drew almost equally from their two releases. For the most part, the band was quite enthusiastic. Even having to replace their snare drum in between a song did not seem to phase them. Some songs such as 'No Hits' were drawn out, showcasing some of their more experimental side. A two song encore ended the night; 'No Satisfaction' and 'Don't Run'. Not a mind blowing performance, but very good by most standards.

Setlist
Night Walks
Stormy High
Angles
Wucan
Queens
Druganaut
13 Walls
Evil Ways
Tyrants
No Hits
=======
No Satisfaction
Don't Run our Hearts around

$15/$20