Arctic Monkeys @ Malkin Bowl - September 20/09

A very subdued show, and very different in feel to their PNE Forum appearance in September/07.

Perhaps it was the smaller outdoor venue, or that they are touring to support Humbug, a very different sounding album to Favourite Worst Nightmare. All that southwest US/Tarantino/Western themed music. I'll confess I'm not a big fan of their direction this album, but don't mind it in small quantities. Crying Lightning is awesome and I LOVE the Nick Cave cover Red Right Hand. That's been a fave song of mine for 15 years and is a perfect example of the sound the Monkeys are aiming for on Humbug. Hearing those live was a treat, but I was there to hear the stuff of their first two albums.

I wasn't disappointed by the setlist. Quite clever actually. Woven together, the Arctic Monkeys played all ten tracks off Humbug and ten songs from the first two albums, seven off Nightmare and three from Whatever People Say I Am. I would have loved to hear Teddy Picker, A Certain Romance, and Fake Tales of San Francisco but I heard them last time. I was happy they included This House is a Circus and, of course, Dancefloor, which was amusingly modified.

These boys are not what I would call showmen, standing rooted to one spot during the whole show, and very few words to or acknowledgment of the audience, but I have to concede the music is great to experience live. The Monkeys are musically acclaimed for a reason.

Setlist:
Dance Little Liar
Brianstorm
Crying Lightning
Potion Approaching
Pretty Visitors
This House Is A Circus
Still Take You Home
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
If You Were There, Beware
Sketchead
My Propeller
Red Right Hand
Dangerous Animals
The View From The Afternoon
Cornerstone
Only Ones Who Know
Do Me A Favour
Secret Door
Fluorescent Adolescent
505

Green Day @ GM Place - July 4, 2009

Green Day are a great live band. I was wary cuz of all the sell-out talk, but I've still been a fan since Dookie, and couldn't let seeing them live pass me by. I shouldn't have been. I highly recommend catching these guys live.

I'm moving away from getting floor tickets unless the band is known for a great live show AND I'm a big fan. Otherwise it's just too exhausting; all that standing around before the show. But, for Green Day, I couldn't imagine sitting down or watching them at a distance and not experiencing the crowd energy down on the floor. It was totally worth it.

Among many, many things, Green Day are great at audience participation. There were no less than 4 different fans brought up on stage, one to even share guitar duties. While some lucky young fans were singled out, Billie Joe and the boys made sure everyone had a great time: energetic performances, pyrotechnics, lots of banter with the audience and leading us in sing-a-longs. The experience both lived up to and exceeded my expectations and made me feel like a young punk kid again. Perfect. Thank you Green Day.

Setlist:
21st Century Breakdown
Know Your Enemy
East Jesus Nowhere
Holiday
The Static Age
Before the Lobotomy
Are We the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Geek Stink Breath
Hitchin' a Ride
Brain Stew
Jaded
Longview
Basket Case
She
King for a Day
Shout / Stand by Me
21 Guns
American Eulogy
Encore:
American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Minority
Encore 2:
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

The Killers @ UBC Thunderbird Arena - April 24/09

Feeling a bit tired tonight, so skipped the openers. This was my first time at Thunderbird Arena. Apparently it's been renovated in preparation for the Winter Olympics. Sorta like the PNE Forum, but nicer. We didn't have great seats, near the back on the right side, but all seats seem to have a decent view due to steep seating. The only reason I'm sharing these moans is because some of this may have coloured my impression of The Killers show.

I'm glad I got to see them, and the show was okay, but it certainly didn't blow me away. And I thought the sound was a bit muffled, particularly on one of my favourite songs, Read My Mind. And while I'm not a huge fan of the Jumbotron, it certainly would have helped those at the back more fully appreciate the show.

The set decoration was pretty fun: palm trees, and a great layout of lights, where hundreds of lights in a grid pattern blanketed the backdrop and some of the stage fixtures, like the monitors in front. These were different for every song and sometimes during it, giving each song its own visual wash of colour.

The Killers launched right in to Human and then This is your Life off their new album, "Day & Age". In fact they played the first seven songs off the album, mostly in the first part of the set, sprinkling in some early songs and the Joy Division cover Shadowplay, complete with stills from Control, the biopic on Ian Curtis, which is a nice nod to one of their post-punk influences.

Other than the obligatory shout out to Vancouver, Brandon Flowers dedicated one song, I Can't Stay, to Nardwuar and nanaimo bars, making me guess they were interviewed earlier in the day. This song was a departure from my impression of The Killers, adding a full on Vegas show feel, complete with a sax player, and caribbean percussion. Very loungey. And hopefully very ironic. The palm trees didn't help at this point.

A Dustland Fairytale, apparently the new album's third single, brings the set to its first apex, soft teasing parts, followed by catchy and building crescendos. This song looks and sounds like its fun for the band to play, and I guess they'll be doing this live for a long time, maybe as a break from some of those hits they'll have to keep playing whether they like it or not.

This was followed by the highlight of the night, for me, Sam's Town. A super slowed-down and haunting version begins with desolate Las Vegas images projected behind the band, the stage awash in red. And with perfect timing, just as Flowers sings the final words of the line "But I know that I can make it / As long as somebody takes me home", up pops a motel "Welcome" sign. Take me home, indeed. I got shivers.

The main set is rounded out by a trio of hits, thrilling the now hooked and engaged audience. All but a few people are on their feet and dancing or singing along. At least the Killers got the set list down perfectly. Even from a distance it's clear that Flowers is an energetic and interesting front man, skinny in all-black, like the rest of the band, he bounds and dances around, across the stage and up on the monitors, occasionally playing a bit on the keyboard behind the stylized "k" centre stage. But, from our seats, it still felt a bit like watching a show on a 14" TV.

We ducked out before the encore, so we stood a chance at getting back home on the bus without being squashed, but it's pretty likely they played Bones, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, and When You Were Young, as their setlist has been pretty consistent so far on this tour.

So, an okay show. Certainly got me listening to the new album more, which is slowly growing on me.


Setlist:
Human
This is Your Life
Somebody Told Me
For Reasons Unknown
I Can't Stay
Joyride
Bling (Confessions of a King)
Shadowplay
Smile Like You Mean It
Spaceman
Losing Touch
A Dustland Fairytale
Sam's Town
Read My Mind
Mr. Brightside
All These Things That I've Done
Encore (Probably):
Bones
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
When You Were Young

The Airborne Toxic Event @ Richard's on Richards - Feb 18/09

Feeling tired, I decided to forgo the openers tonight and arrived just in time for the start of The Airborne Toxic Event's set at 11.

This is an L.A. Band that won me over last year when I was researching the unknown names on the Pemberton line-up. Does This Mean You're Moving On immediately made it onto my playlist and ATE were high on the list of must-sees for me when the Festival finally rolled around in July.

I was not disappointed: they were fun and engaging in the bright afternoon light on the second stage, and seemed genuinely grateful to have been invited. I knew I'd want to check them out if they came through town. And on Wednesday night, they did just that.

Just like on their debut album, The Airborne Toxic Event opened with Wishing Well and closed with Innocence. The first two songs were pleasing, but had me worried that the band's charisma was MIA. But by the third song of the night, Gasoline, it looked like they were warmed up and starting to have fun.

Anna Bulbrook, alternately on violin, keyboards and tambourine was winning and bouncy. She and singer/guitarist Mikel Jollett were the main visual show, climbing on the speakers, drum riser, and sides of the stage and grinning madly at each other. Stephen Chen on guitar was stone-faced and absorbed in playing, as was bassist Noah Harmon for most of the set, save the odd shy smile. Daren Taylor on drums was energetic, but I couldn't help visually comparing him to one of the mustached detectives on Hot Fuzz.


The sold-out Vancouver crowd was a bit loud and chatty during the show, which Jollett commented on a couple of times, scolding and teasing the audience, then apologizing for being snarky. He excused the limited range of his voice to us early on, saying they considered cancelling due to some throat issues, but after a shot of cortisone they decided to come play for us.

Despite the sound being lower than I would have liked, it was a fun, intimate show, and I enjoyed seeing them live again. If I get the chance, I'll see them again.

After a short set (we arrived at 11 and were out at midnight), ATE gave us one encore, Innocence, during which they invited their openers, Rademacher and the Henry Clay Project on stage with them, thanking them for being great tour mates, introduced the band, and then invited the audience to come up on stage if they wanted to. A handful of fans took them up on the offer, dancing and singing. I wonder how long this tradition will last, as I have no doubt this band is going to be playing larger and larger venues very soon.

Partial Setlist:
Wishing Well
Gasoline
Does This Mean You're Moving On?
Echo Park (new)
Goodbye Horses (Q Lazzarus cover)
Sometime Around Midnight
Plus:
Another new song
Papillon (I think)
Something New (I think)
Encore:
Innocence

Glasvegas w/Rich Hope @ Richard's on Richards - Jan 11/09

I was torn about seeing this show, until I saw that the opening act was Carl Barat (formerly of The Libertines, and Pretty Dirty Things). Separately I might have passed, but these two on the same act was worth checking out, to me.

Got there early so as not to miss the opener, and found out immediately that Carl Barat wasn't going to be there. Another example of Canada Customs protecting us from criminals wanting to corrupt us through music, no doubt. So, I was pissed to begin with.

Local rocker, Rich Hope, who've I've seen 2 or 3 times, was the last-minute stand-in, and did a good job winning over the crowd and getting us ready for an evening of rock, despite the fact he was seated with his guitar and the percussion was his foot on a tambourine. He pulled it off.
Glasvegas made us wait, and it wasn't until the sold-out crowd started getting antsy they finally showed up. They began the night with the slowly building Flowers and Football Tops. I was immediately glad I'd come to check them out despite the Carl Barat disappointment.

Glasvegas have a big sound on their debut album, and it was immensely satisfying to hear that richness translate to the stage at Richard's. The creeping, surging guitars and booming scots accent was well-matched to the almost blinding lights, backlighting the band, and along with the smoke machine, creating a transporting rock experience.

It was a short show, with no encore, but it felt right, and is understandable as they only have one album and an EP to draw from. I'm sure there were NO complaints from the gentleman directly to my right. The last song of the night, Daddy's Gone, was drowned out by him singing at the top of his lungs. The turned heads didn't bother him one jot. And in the spirit of the night, I wasn't bothered. It was a testament to the adoration this band can create in its fans. The Glasvegas experience is one you definitely shouldn't miss if you get the chance.

Setlist:

Flowers And Football Tops
Lonesome Swan
It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry
Please Come Back Home
Polmont On My Mind
Geraldine
Ice Cream Van
Go Square Go
Stabbed
Daddy’s Gone
Encore:
(None)

Music Drought?

Shockingly, I have only been to two shows since my last post in September!

I could use the excuse that I'm in a new relationship with all the new activities and preoccupations that entails, but really it has more to do with getting a bit fed up with the new music I'm hearing and the lack of anything coming through town that really excites me.

This is a common theme in my music-fan-life: obsession for a couple of years, a big lull, discovery of a new scene/sound that cranks up the concert-going again. Geography has had a lot to do with this over the years, but Vancouver is one of the best concert cities I've ever lived in, so I can't use that excuse this past 6 months.

I do not dig all the new hairy 70s retro bands, AT ALL. Much of the new poppy indie stuff is too close to bad disco for me to respect. And admittedly the post-punk revival thing is getting a bit long in the tooth, but I know what I like whether it has a label that fits into my self-conception, and nothing has done it for me for quite awhile.

Here's hoping the year is young and surprising...