Disclaimer: I have two goals in this post 1) Relay a personal story, 2) Provide a relatively cogent set of concert reviews. Forgive me if the two don't come together quite so eloquently. Also, I'm stupid and forgot my camera, so what was going to be a great, exciting post, is now just text. Woo!
It began innocuously enough, going downtown to see a great show with a friend of mine. We were planning on seeing what is probably one of the best lineups in the history of lineups: The Dudes, Dan Mangan, Said the Whale, John and Roy, Hey Rosetta! and Hot Hot Heat. When we get to the gates, though, my friend realizes that she is, in fact, without ID and cannot get into the show. She insists that I still go and not lose out on a great night on account of her. Bless her heart. So I go in by myself and stand around in a spectacularly awkward fashion, hoping beyond hope that someone takes enough pity on me to strike up a conversation. I'm not above making friends through pity. No such luck through the first set of the night- The Dudes. The Dudes hail from Calgary, Alberta and make great, upbeat tunes that are perfect for starting off a party. They move through their set quickly, but with a ton of energy, and manage to develop a great rapport with the audience in the short time they were on the stage. This thanks in large part to frontman Dan Vacon's memorable slogan-of-the-night: "When I say 'long,' you say 'ass tent.' 'LONG' 'ASS TENT." The show was in a long ass tent. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with The Dudes a couple years ago on a music video of theirs, and can safely say that they are some of the nicest guys you're likely to meet, and their friendly dispositions come shining through on stage through great songs like "Do the Right Thing" and "Don't Talk."
When The Dudes wrap up their set, I am still without a companion, and decide to simply embrace my creepy loner subject position with open arms for the rest of the night and enjoy the show. I move to the front of the audience area in anticipation of the next act, one of my absolute favorites, Dan Mangan. Turns out that when Mangan is on stage, the last thing you need is a friend. His deep, gravelly, heartrending voice draws you so deep into the songs that it just couldn't matter less if there were anyone else in the world. Mangan played a mix of songs from his last album, Postcards and Daydreaming, and new material from his upcoming LP Nice, Nice, Very Nice (a name presumably drawn from my favorite book of all time: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. So many bonus points), due out in August. He moved through every tune expertly with outstanding accompaniment from his band, finishing his set with the heartwarming sing-along, "Robots," which concludes with an audience of hundreds singing in unison, "Robots need love, too. They want to be loved by you." If you happen to live in BC, Alberta, or Saskatchewan, Dan will be touring with Hey Rosetta! this spring- a show definitely worth the price of a ticket (and then some).
As Mangan packs up his equipment and heads into the great unknown, I opt to stay where I am. What benefit will wandering and mingling have for me when I have nowhere to mingle and no one to do it with? In what would turn out to be the lucky, flukey, right-place-right-time moment of the century, two people come up beside me and stake out a spot along the rail for the next act, Said the Whale. They're mention that there's a good chance they'll be dancing, singing, jumping around, etc. through the next set, and apologized in advance. This led to the three of us getting to know each other a bit and grabbing a couple drinks. As we're heading back to the stage from the bar, one of my new concert companions stops at a fenced-off lounge area on the side of the tent and starts talking to who I presume is a friend. Surprise: That friend is Dan Mangan. She graciously introduces the two of us, and I throw every ounce of strength I have into not becoming a fan boy. Clearly, I've made friends with the right people.
We make our way back up to the stage and Said the Whale, a young Vancouver-based band, launches into a tight set of upbeat power pop, complete with glockenspiel and ukulele. Said the Whale are a relatively young band, but are already showing a ton of composure on stage. They moved between songs seamlessly and got the crowd (freezing, by this point) moving. This is a band worth watching for in the coming months and years, and one that has already produced a great album, Howe Sounds/Taking Abalonia, available through iTunes and in stores. Having thoroughly enjoyed our Said the Whale dance party, we decide it's prime time for another beverage. While fighting the bar line and other crowds, Jon and Roy, a pseudo-reggae jam band, takes the stage. I missed the majority of this set, but from what I heard, they sounded very fine indeed.
Next up was the act I've been dying to see all winter- Hey Rosetta!. These guys are actually insane. A little while ago I posted a video of them playing live in a studio for the XM channel, Verge, and said that I was stunned that it was actually a live recording. Now that I've actually seen them live...I still have a hard time believing it. They sound fucking incredible. They're a pretty sizeable band- piano, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, cello, violin, bass, drums, etc.- and yet every piece is heard in perfect balance. Their set is absolutely air-tight. And Tim Baker....his vocals...what in the world? People shouldn't be able to have voices this good. For serious- go see these guys with Dan Mangan this spring. The awesomeness of the set was probably helped by the fact that I watched a good portion of it alongside some members of Said the Whale who I'd just been introduced to by my companions. No big.
A fairly sizeable lull followed as the headliners for the night, Hot Hot Heat got set up. In the mean time, my luck improved once again as my friend and I headed back stage to spend some time with all the bands who'd already played in the night. Suddenly, the creepy loner who only a few hours ago had found himself without a soul to talk to was back stage with some seriously talented people- Said the Whale, The Dudes, members of Hey Ocean, Adeline, bits of Hey Rosetta!, Dan Mangan and his backing band, et. al. I was lucky enough to run into a young woman from Berlin who was in basically the same position as I was and was at least able to confide in her how absolutely and gloriously out of place I felt. Eventually, Hot Hot Heat takes the stage, and plays an absurdly energetic set. I've never been a huge fan of these guys, admittedly, but one has to give credit where credit is due, and those kids leave absolutely everything on the stage. They are spectacularly energetic and manage to bound around the stage not unlike gazelles, despite the fact that they are all wearing pants tighter than their own skin. I watch a portion of the set from back/side stage and then head outside again and have a nice chat with more parts of more amazing acts, and silently lose my mind some more.
The show wraps up, and I decide that I'd best not push my luck any further than I already have. I head for the bus, reeling from meeting people who I don't just think are amazing, but people who I count as serious influences and inspirations on my own music. As the icing on the cake (actually, let's be honest, this cake was basically all icing), while I'm sitting on the bus, I hear two hobos on crutches and three frat boys discussing their favorite books and the problematic relationship between the American executive and the military industrial complex it administers. I have thus proved, in a single night, that the world will always manage to surprise you.
Here's to night two!
