Old Favourite: M83 - Too Late

Like a wall of stars

We are ripe to fall 

A beautiful song for reminiscing about life. 

Plus this space video accompanying it is pretty nice.  

Current Obsession: Fyfe - Holding On

Trust me.

You never know it's special 'til it's gone.

We're not holding on for nothing.

Please believe me.

We're far away from where we started from 

We're not holding on for nothing

Please keep holding on.

Feels like all I've been doing lately is holding on. This song really hits home.

Shred Kelly, Good for Grapes and Larry & his Flask - Live at The Imperial

 

 I think it's safe to say the wood floor of The Imperial has been officially broken in after last nights foot stompin, hand clappin', beer rasin' good time brought to us by three fantastic bands; Shred Kelly, Good for Grapes, and Larry & his Flask. Couldn't have asked for a better way to spend a post midterm Friday night than with good friends and good music. 

Shred Kelly, from Fernie, kicked things off strong with their mind blowing self described "stoke-folk" that sure got the dance floor moving. This was my second time seeing Shred Kelly and I was impressed that they are still such a high energy band. They also played a fantastic new song that was probably the best of their set. A very promising sign of more good things to come from this band.

My anticipation was high for Vancouver's own Good for Grapes, who took the stage next and completely blew me away. They had such a full sound complete with cello, drums, keyboard, trombone, and violin carried by great lead vocals and guitar. All their songs were fantastic and they got the crowd clapping, stomping and singing away. They even played a phenomenal cover of "Seven Nation Army" that slowed things right down before turning the crowd into a mosh pit. I found myself smiling throughout their entire set because I was so just so impressed by their talent, passion and energy. I can see this band going far and I hope they get all the success they deserve. Good for Grapes definitely gained more fans to their already large Vancouver fan base after last night's performance.

Things got crazy when Larry and his Flask finished off the night with their insanely high energy "bluegrass punk". The already amped crowd turned into a massive mosh pit and at one point the drummer crowed surfed from the stage to the bar (where he received a beer) and back. Larry & his flask are a four piece band from Oregon with electric guitar, banjo, drums, and stand-up base. The drummer was awesome and played standing up which was something I've never seen done before. The stand-up base player was crazy. He would pick up the huge instrument and walk/jump around the stage while playing it! Although it was almost too much energy for me, and I am not a big fan of mosh pits, Larry and his Flask was an awesome experience. This was the last night of their tour before they take a year off and work on their next album so they really left everything on the stage. That's one of the nice things about the geographic location of Vancouver is that you get a lot of first and last shows of tours in this city which I think is pretty neat to experience. 

 

Shred Kelly - Cabin Fever

 

 Good For Grapes - Little Carmichael

Larry & His Flask - Call it what you will

Current Obsession: Broods - Bridges

It was sink or swim 

and I went down.

Broods is a musical sibling duo from New Zealand creating some nice indie electronica sounds. Love her voice.

Current Obsession: Banks - Drowning

You are not deserving

Banks is an artist that I have been really enjoying lately. Her voice sounds like a mix of Lana Del Rey and Lorde and her music is sort of dark electronic pop/R&B. Her debut album "Goddess" came out in September. 'Drowning' is the best song in my opinion, although I do have to say that I thought the lyric was "hot maid of honor" for the longest time until I realized it was actually "heart made of honor".

Current Obsession: Shakey Graves - Dearly Departed (ft. Esme Patterson)

 

You and I both know.

I don't use the term "Obsession" lightly on this blog. I am embarrassed to tell you how many times I've listened to this song over the last couple days. It's catchy, it's different, it's folky, it's a duet, it makes me happy, and I guarantee it will be stuck in your head for the rest of day. 

While I am on this note I should probably tell you that the entire Shakey Graves album "And The War Came" is excellent and that you should check it out.

 

 

Angus & Julia Stone - Live at Vogue Theater

 

One more band to cross off the 'Bands to see before I die' list. Angus and Julia Stone are a sibling due from Australia and have been a consistent favourite bands since high school. Their second album, "Down the Way" is still one of my all time favourite albums. The last time they played in Vancouver was five years ago at a bar, and because I was underage I couldn't go see them which nearly killed me. After that tour the siblings split up, each releasing a solo album, and I thought their days of being "Angus & Julia Stone" were over. Luckily they got back together, released a third album and came back to Vancouver for a sold out show at Vogue just in time for my last year here!

As you can probably imagine, expectations were pretty high. Angus & Julia did not disappoint. In fact, they sounded even better live than on their albums. Julia's voice is really something else. Their individual voices and musical styles complimented each other beautifully and was wonderful to watch/hear. Their new songs worked very well live, especially Angus's powerful, electric guitar heavy, "Crash and Burn". They played a lot of older songs as well, although not the most popular songs that the crowd was shouting like Mango Tree and Just a Boy. They chose to play songs like "For You", "Yellow Brick Road", and "Draw your swords" and "Devil's Tears". Although I would not have been opposed to "Mango Tree", I was delighted that they played Devil's Tears because that song is particularly meaningful to my boyfriend and I who have been in a difficult long distance relationship. He was with me at the show and it was awesome to experience that one with him next to me. Just when I thought the show couldn't possibly get any better they covered The National's "Bloodbuzz Ohio" in their encore. They started the song very minimalist with just Julia's voice and then later the whole band joined in. Julia added her own twist to the melody of the chorus as well. Although it's impossible to compete with The National, their version was different and quite lovely. The siblings ended the show singing together on the slow "Santa Monica Dream" before hugging and taking a bow. I was moved to say the least. Yet another fantastic musical experience in Vancouver.

Cat Power - Live at Vogue Theater

 

I don't even know where to begin.  Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) is an American singer song-writer who performed at the Vogue theater two days ago supporting her new album Sun after a six year hiatus. It was definitely the strangest show I've ever seen but at the same time it was heart-rending and a whole new level of beautiful. 

I guess I'll start with the strangeness. I read Chan's biography several years ago and was aware that she is known for erratic performances and extreme stage fright (in her early days she performed entire shows facing away from the audience). I know she's had some psychotic breaks and some substance abuse issues as well. When she came on stage her movements were very strange, she kept pulling at her shirt awkwardly and even rambling incoherently between songs. After a particularly beautiful song she would apologize for not being good enough and at one point she stopped half way through a song, deciding she didn't feel like playing it.

Chan was the most insecure musician I ever seen on stage burdened with crippling stage fright, but when the music started and she began singing it was the most beautiful thing. I burst into tears during Sea of Love, and l was not the only one. I could feel the entire audience almost holding their breath and even refraining from taking many photos to as not to scare away this beautiful and delicate creature we were all so fortunate to witness give everything of herself on stage despite her discomfort. 

Chan only played three songs from the new album; Cherokee, Manhattan and Nothing But Time which all sounded fantastic. Her live performance of The Greatest and I Don't Blame You was very different than the heart-rending ballads found on the album. They were almost unrecognizable except for the lyrics and were transformed into powerhouses of drums, electric guitar and stronger vocals. Maybe this is a reflection of a personal transformation from the time she wrote the songs. She also performed several covers of artists such as Billie Holiday, Patsy Cline, and Hank Williams as well as a gorgeous Italian song. When an audience member requested 'I found a reason' she frankly told him she hasn't played it in 15 years and can't remember how to play it. She sent her band away for the last few songs so it was just her and her electric guitar which was my favourite part of the evening. She kept mentioning how she had no idea how long she'd been playing for or how long she was supposed to play for and ended up playing for almost three hours but no one was complaining and I think we were all hoping she would never stop. There was no encore or anything, she simply ended with a french song that she used to play on the streets of Paris while begging for money and then the lights then came on and she stepped into the crowd to sign people's records. 

Although I would have loved to have heard 'Good Woman', 'Colors and the kids', and 'Maybe Not', I realize that she has so many songs and there's no way she could play everyone's favourites. It did seem like a strange mix of songs that she chose though however it matches perfectly to her performing style - completely unpredictable and beautiful at the same time.

On repeat: Sylvan Esso - Coffee

Wild winter, warm coffee
Mind's gone, do you love me?

School is getting insane and this song has been on repeat lately. The mellow vibes help to de-stress and unwind.