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.
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