One Night Stand III @ Media Club -- 12/31/10

Last year, I said: "the best way to describe what happened last night would be that it was like watching a huge group party of Rock Band. Except instead of your tone deaf, rhythm-less friends, it was actual, talented musicians. And instead of plastic instruments, it was the real thing". And while it's pretty lazy to just copy and paste that, I can't think of a better description of One Night Stand III. All year I've been talking about the magic of Vancouver's local scene, and the third instalment of this New Years Eve party was the culmination of that, with a dozen musicians from various bands coming together for a night of cover songs. 
The band consisted of Adaline, Andrew Braun, Johnny Andrews & Laura Smith (Rococode), Brian Healy & Rob Tornroos (Elias), Dominique Fricot, Hannah Georgas, Jasmin Parkin (Mother Mother), Josh McNorton, Peter Carrutthers (Said The Whale), Robbie Driscoll (Hannah Georgas) as well as a surprise guest for a couple songs. They rotated on and off stage all night, except for Johnny Andrews, who was on the drums for every single song (but one), and played nearly three hours of music, across three sets.

The first started at 10 and consisted of:
Call Me (Blondie)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Stevie Wonder)
Just Like Heaven (The Cure)
Someday (The Strokes)
My Moon My Man (Feist)
Love Fool (The Cardigans)
Where The Streets Have No Name (U2)
Glory Days (Bruce Springsteen)
All These Things That I've Done (The Killers)

One of my favourite covers of the night came early with "Just Like Heaven", a song I adore. At first I though Hannah was an odd choice to take vocals, but as soon as she opened her mouth, I was proven wrong (really, I should have known better). The set saw Hannah, Smith and Adaline taking a lot of the vocals, with both "My Moon, My Man" (Smith) and "Love Fool" (Adaline) also being great covers. After that Dominique Fricot -- who was actually too tall for the decorations -- came out for a pretty spot on Bono, and the set ended with the crowd chanting along to the chorus of "All These Things That I've Done". Though I have to admit, I was a little sad that The Killers got a much bigger reaction than The Cure.

Second Set:
Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel)
Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode)
Pump It Up (Elvis Costello)
Breakdown (Tom Petty)
This Charming Man (The Smiths)
Rehab (Amy Winehouse)
Creep (Radiohead)
Where Is My Mind (The Pixies)

This set was a little slower in tone, but "Sledgehammer" was another great cover, and Robbie Driscoll stepped out from behind the bass to channel some Costello for his only song on vocals.
The set ended with a bit of Mother Mother, as not only Jasmine came out to sing, but there was a surprise appearance by Ryan Guldemond joining the group on stage. He brought the final set of 2010 to a close with one of his favourite songs, "Where Is My Mind". It was definitely another highlight of the night, and judging by the amount of singing (and ooo-ooooh-ing) along, I wasn't the only one of that opinion.

Third Set:
Never Tear Us Apart (INXS)
(I've Had) The Time of My Life (Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes)
If It Makes You Happy (Sheryl Crow)
1901 (Phoenix)
Dog Days are Over (Florence & The Machine)
The Good Life (Weezer)
Bullet Proof (La Roux)
Loser (Beck)
Instant Karma (John Lennon)

And the first set of 2011 started with the customary slow dance, before continuing the dancing theme with a duet from Fricot and Adaline. Who, as far as I'm concerned, both stole the show throughout the night; especially after Adaline crushed "Dog Days Are Over" in another of the best renditions of the night.
Finally, after Hannah nailed "Loser", with the crowd joining in on the chorus, all the performers came back out on stage to cap off the night with "Instant Karma" -- I was expecting a Beatles song, I was close -- for another sing-a-long, and a fantastic way to both end the night and start the new year.

In all, it was an amazing night. While I think I liked last years setlists a bit better overall, the experience of the night, the friends and the atmosphere and everything, far outmatched it.
And since I started by shameless copy & pasting, I may as well paraphrase the end of last years post, too: "There is a saying or superstition, I guess, that says that whatever you're doing at midnight is what you'll be doing for the rest of the year. If that's the case, I can't wait for whatever this next year has in store."