Fly By Nightlife

Photo credits: Robyn Gerry

As far as spirit animals go, everyone has their own breed. In Humans’ case, we’re talking about the Double-Headed Party Monster; Peter Ricq and Robbie Slade never fail to amaze us, and this past Friday at the Biltmore was par for the course. Actually, even better.

Opening was Blood Diamonds, with his warm, tropicalia-pop sound melting the ice nicely for the night.  Armed with a fool-proof trifecta of a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s, some folks from Oh No! Yoko! on drums and keys, and a guest appearance by Grimes, his set was pretty solid from start to finish.

Cue masters of electro-pop. Humans started with a 10-plus minute instrumental that kicked off their always high-energy set, which left nobody questioning why this show was sold out. Ricq and Slade charged through a load of new material and a smattering of tunes from 2010’s Avec Mes Mecs. Although playing to what seemed like a pretty Granville Street-infused audience, the duo’s synergy was nothing short of contagious; regardless of where anyone was hailing from, the sweaty, dancing mass of people were all on Planet Humans for the night. 

It’s mind-boggling how many times we can hear one song, and still want to hear it more. We’re already looking forward to the next show.

Photo credit: Robyn Gerry

A young cocky foursome from Manchester, WU LYF charged the indie-rock scene without really charging it at all. They’ve steered clear of mainstream press, capturing the British cult-rock mystery persona, and yet have a huge, sweaty following with critical acclaim all over North America.

For their November 19th show at the Electric Owl, the stage was set up simply, but appropriately; with just a huge WU LYF symbol behind the band, like an idol for worship.  

Misunderstood? Literally. Their lyrics are incoherent for the most part, as lead singer Ellery Roberts sings in gruff, scratchy tones that sound more like an old blues guitarist after 45 years of chain smoking and whiskey abuse. Regardless of what words you can make out, the music is good and on this night, the band was tight.
 
It turned into a proper rock show with moshers near the front going ape-shit for songs like “Spitting Blood” and “We Bros.”  The kind of show that when you walk out you feel like you left a little bit of yourself behind. And Roberts gave it all back to the crowd as he performed, at times almost possessed by the music, a look of vacancy on his boyish face. Joseph Manning’s drumming was impeccable and unusual. Unlike most drummers, he wasn’t always the one keeping the beat, but rather adding to it with wild cymbal clashes and bass kicks.

Toward the end, some rowdy frat guys took their shirts off to the bands visible disappointment and confusion; they clearly are not used to clean-cut, glistening topless dudes front and center at their shows. The crowd cheered them into an encore before the night was done and everyone was left buzzing after one of the Owl’s best shows to date.

In a homecoming on Thursday, November 17th, Claire Boucher, also known as Grimes, played the Electric Owl to what felt like an entire room of friends and family. She’s kind of like Vancouver’s electronic sweetheart; she has an infectious aura while performing, grinning ear-to-ear, dancing just as much as the crowd, completely tickled by simply being there.

Hearing most folks call her by her first name indicated that many in the crowd knew her from her school days in Van; a shy, introverted, spindly girl — a stark contrast to her persona projected from the stage. She was exuberant, excited, and connected to her fans.

Complemented nicely by the twirling and flailing of backup dancer Duffy (back for round two after last night with Austra), Grimes played for about an hour. Some of the fans couldn’t even contain themselves; when two girls climbed on stage to dance, it was a somewhat awkward scene for the crowd, but by no means fazed Boucher. Sure enough, by the end of the show, a half dozen other keeners were flailing along. Pretty entertaining for us spectators, indeed.

And although the interjection of one young lady on the mic, giving her own emotional two bits on drug-overdose, and finishing up with a frat-boy-esque, “GIVE IT UP FOR GRIMES,” was indeed a weird way for the evening to end, it also punctuated the enthusiasm appropriately.  It made the night more memorable, if nothing else.

Most importantly is this: Grimes is back, and we are glad.

On Wednesday, November 16th, we were graced with a wicked triple threat at the Electric Owl featuring Montreal’s Young Galaxy, and Tasseomancy and Austra, both based in Toronto.

It was a pretty perfect marriage of acts; the night went from one end of the Hipster Minstrel spectrum starting with openers Tasseomancy; a bit subdued, a bit Kate Bushy, and just plain weird at times. Next, enter quintet Young Galaxy, with their anthemic, stadium-sized alt-dance sound, which practically burst the 330 capacity crowd at the seams.

Follow those two up with Austra, sliding to the other end of the spectrum with their high-energy, operatic electro beats, and you’ve got one well-rounded bill. By the end, we felt like going on a dance trek through a thick, green, brambly forest draped in velvet and tassels; basically what the scene on stage was.

Austra has such a powerful sound, and trying to take our eyes from the enrapturing presence of lead singer Katie Stelmanis was nearly impossible. She almost didn’t even need to be flanked by the Tasseomancy twins, let alone the other three in the band. To imagine Austra with a drummer that had some real chops would be mind-blowing, but the harmonies, her vocals, and the visual stimuli of the interpretive dance going on for the show was enough to compensate.

Plus, they had one solo fellow (think Beck’s Dancing Dave circa The Information) join them on stage halfway through the set — apparently Grimes’ permanent fixture out to enjoy the show; I guess we’ll find out tomorrow at her show — for the sole purpose of scarf-twirling, hip-gyrating, and cape-spinning to the tunes. The perfect complement. How can you not love a show that has people on stage for the sole purpose of dancing? You can’t.

The hour-long set was the epitome of “The Beat and The Pulse;” it’s all in the name.

Photo credits: Emily Bach

We were busy folks on Saturday, November 12th. Immediately after moseying out of M83 at Venue, we hopped a Skytrain, made a quick pit stop at the Legacy Liquor Store in the deserted Olympic Village, and swambled up to Rock-U-Pie Vancouver at the Anza Club to keep the good times rolling.

Vancouver’s two-plus-two-equals-ten group Shot Royalties made their debut performance to what felt like industry night at the Anza Club; the high-energy intimate audience must have been comprised of at least 60% musicians. Not a bad sign that there was some pretty mad anticipation and curiosity for the quartet’s first live show.

The latest collaborative effort from members of Blanche Devereaux, Red Cedar, Mohawk Lodge, and Calamalka, the garage psych rock prowess of Vancouver’s latest special Shot Royalties was, quite honestly, f*(king badass. 

Greg Pothier (lead vocals, guitar), Doug Phillips (vocals, bass), Keith McCafferty (drums), and Colin Jones (keys) played a twentysomething minute set that ripped through a half dozen punchy, catchy tracks. From the slower droning guitar-heavy “Manic Schizophrenic” to our new favourite Sunday sing-a-long “Hangover City,” trying to compare them to another band is pretty pointless.

So don’t try to compare them. Now you know. We’re already hearing buzz of a second show in the works; we’ll keep you posted. You should just go find out for yourself.

To say that Saturday, November 12th’s sold-out M83 concert at Venue was mind-blowing is an understatement. To say that it was in the top ten live shows of 2011, does it no justice.

To say that it was the best concert Vancouver saw this year is spot on. Front-man Anthony Gonzales set the tone when he walked on stage playing a guitar; a surprise considering he is usually engulfed in a sea of keyboards. We were about to witness something special.

The quartet of multi-instrumentalist Jordan Lawlor, keyboarder-vocalist Morgan Kibby, drummer Loïc Maurin, and lead-singer, guitarist, and keyboarder Anthony Gonzales, were on tour for Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, one of the most anticipated and best albums of 2011. The tension, anticipation, and pure excitement were thick until the band launched into “Intro,” the opening track off Hurry Up (which, on the album, features Zola Jesus; Kibby filled her boots for the live show impeccably).

And then, the crowd erupted. The four on stage and the 500-plus lucky people in attendance spent the next 90 minutes on an vocally powerful, electrically charged, sincerely sparkly session of musical storytelling.

It went by too fast. From Saturdays = Youth, to Hurry Up, to Before the Dawn Heals Us, M83 was triumphant, almost transcending time. Finishing with “Couleurs,” a bass-fueled, pulsing instrumental jammed out in the encore, the band and the crowd parted ways, soaring on parallel wavelengths in separate directions, equally as high.

As the mass spilled out onto the slick, rainy Granville Street in one reverberating, youth-infused ball, it was clear that what we had just seen would not be repeated in a place of that size again. M83 is officially on another level.

Photo credits: Danaea Davies and Robyn Gerry

Hailing from the bowels of Ontario, Oshawa’s Cuff the Duke played the Electric Owl on Wednesday, November 2nd.  The dedicated crowd was just as excited to see them in 2011 as they were when they first saw the quintet begin in 2002.

The alt-indie rockers were tight. As usual. Touring for their latest release Morning Comes, they ripped through a set that felt like home and somewhat otherworldly, all at once. 

We think the pictures say the rest.

Photo credits: Danaea Davies

We predicted that last night’s Halloween Extravaganza was going to be ridiculous, and we were quite right. Last night’s Halloween Extravaganza was RIDICULOUS.

Blood Diamonds warmed up the joint with a DJ set before Teen Daze went on to serenade the sold out room with some sweet synthy bliss. He never fails to bring a heap of infectious happiness and gratitude to his live show, so the crowd was pretty slicked up when he bid us his farewells to make way for 21-person Vancouver hip-hop spectacle, Too High Crew.

We can only imagine the logistical nightmare of synchronizing 21 humans to collectively sit, let alone assemble for a one-hour rap set on the snug Electric Owl stage. With 19 of the 21 present, the sight of the costume-clad gang was indeed something to gawk at, and logistics weren’t even a thing. They brought it.

Riding high (literally and figuratively — the place was hot-boxed about 10 minutes into their set) on the timely pre-show release of second EP Rolling Stoned, they ripped through a bunch of new and old stuff that made their third live show just plain rad.

Was it the stage props? Yeah. The thick cloud of weed-smoke hovering in the crowd? You bet. Some of the dirtiest and baddest raps Vancouver’s heard in… ever? Most definitely.

Beat Connection followed the Crew to close the night off.

For optimal photo-viewing, use Safari, or whatever non-Firefox browser you can get.

Halloweekend is nigh. If you haven’t heard, Friday night is going to be RIDICULOUS.

The fine folks at Winnie Cooper and Beatroute are throwing a Halloween Extravaganza that is going bump harder than any other scary thing in the night could possibly bump.

The quadruple-bill kicks off at the Electric Owl with the Blood Diamonds DJ set at 8:30 PM, followed by dream-synth with Teen Daze at 9:30 PM. Next up is Vancouver’s TOO HIGH CREW, probably the largest rap group in the world, and easily  21 of the baddest motherfuckers on Fraser Street, at 10:30 PM. To close, Seattle’s Beat Connection plays at 11:30 PM.

This is as close as it gets to dream-team lineup, friends. Based on TOO HIGH CREW alone, if this is going to anything like their last show, this show is going to get retarded. Consider yourself warned notified.

Click here for all the gory details.

(A few) tickets online at the door(if you’re lucky) http://bit.ly/t7AOPD

UPDATED (Oct 28): Happy Friday, feathered friends. TOO HIGH CREW dropped their third LP, Rolling Stoned, just this morning. Download it here.

After having some delicious eats for the early shift at the Electric Owl on Friday October 14th, we woke up, put our helmets on, and flocked downtown to see the double-headed party animal, collectively known as Humans, at 560.  The crowd was, uh, gung-ho, to say the least, as were Humans Robbie Slade and Peter Ricq. Something along these lines, but a bit less cargo van.

The knob-cranked, serrated electro tunes were noticeably less vocal-laden than their shows in the past few months, maybe because the lucky folks in attendance got a dose of what’s to come on their next release. After premiering their most recent video, “Horizons”, they carried into balloon-party mode and got the mixed bag of downtowners and East Van’ers, dancing out the answer to the only question anyone should have on a Friday night:

Who knew? All we had to do was party.

We did. And it was good.

Big feathery flocky love to Winnie Cooper and Beatroute for putting on one wicked show.