Tuesday, October 29, 2013

3am Mixtapes: Episode Ten: Spooky Songs

Hey look, it's another episode of 3am Revelations' very own podcast!

Each week on 3am Mixtapes, I will present to you, in my dulcet tones, the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as general like Best Dancing Songsor they can be as obscure and specific as Top Six Songs With A Kazoo Solo.

Since it's just about Hallowe'en, I figure what better way to celebrate than with the Top Six Spooky Songs! By which I don't mean Monster Mash on repeat, but songs that are about spooky & supernatural things. Or at least have titles implying such.

Featured on this week's podcast is:

"Wolf Like Me" by TV On The Radio
"Vampire" by Pink Mountaintops
"Colt Stands Up, Grows Horns" by Sunset Rubdown
"They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbours!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!" by Sufjan Stevens
"Eek, It's Hallowe'en" by Ryan Dahle
"Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" by North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative


Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!


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Saturday, October 26, 2013

WiL @ The Cellar -- 10/25/13

From the first time I saw him, opening at the Commodore for Wide Mouth Mason, I've been a fan of Wil Mimnaugh, otherwise known simply as WiL. With his energetic roots-rock sound, he has become one of my favourite guitar players, especially to watch live. So when he came through Vancouver at the Cellar Nightclub, celebrating the release of his first live album, Live at the Ironwood, I sure wasn't going to miss it.

It was an early show, and I got there a little late, missing first opener Connor Roff, and only catching the last couple songs of Jack Mercer. He was on stage alone with a very bluesy sound, and I wish I had caught more of his set.

Then at 9:30 sharp, WiL hit the stage, just him and drummer Kevin Haughton. Launching immediately into "Rain On", he played a nearly hour and a half set that spanned his albums, from old favourites like "Both Hands", which utilizes his raw powerful vocals, and a request from the crowd for "Mama", to a couple brand new songs.

Other highlights included the the powerful emotion of "Wedding Dress" and "Hey Now", where he really let loose at the ending, showing off how amazing of a guitar player he is. Going from wildly strumming so fast his hand is a blur, to intricate finger picking at a moments notice, his playing is as intense as it is mesmerising.
He's also got a great presence on stage; from joking around between songs to sincere gratitude for supporting him, to actual concern for the eardrums of the people standing near the speaker, he came across as very genuine. 

WiL lived up to his "I break strings" moniker, as well. After a few people in the crowd yelled some encouragement to break strings, he promised he would but admitted that it kind of sucks when it does happen -- "like yelling at a passing cyclist to get a flat tire!" -- and sure enough, during the second to last song of the night, he created more fodder for his wife's jewellery (she makes bracelets, earrings, and necklaces from the guitar strings).

Not bothering with the faux encore, WiL played right up until the curfew, wrapping up the set with the crowd (and my) favourite "Honey Pie", just tearing away at the guitar, somehow topping the intensity from the last hour and a half. I've probably seen WiL live a dozen times over the years, and he never fails to impress and amaze me.

setlist
Rain On, Hold Me On, [new song], Wedding Dress, Hey Now, We All, Both Hands, Mama, Oak Tree, Roam, Tell You Twice, Baby Baby, [mystery song], Honey Pie.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

3am Mixtapes: Episode Nine: Broken Up Bands

Hey look, it's another episode of 3am Revelations' very own podcast!

Each week on 3am Mixtapes, I will present to you, in my dulcet tones, the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as general like Best Side Projectsor they can be as obscure and specific as Top Six Math Rock Trios.

This week, we mourn the bands that we lost too soon. Those that broke up, split, dissolved, went their separate ways. Here it is, your Top Six Broken Up Bands!

Featured on this week's podcast is:

"Ghost Towns" by Treelines
"Snakecharming the Masses" by The Stills
"Come on Baby Say Bang Bang" by Jane Vain & The Dark Matter
"Dear Confessor" by Immaculate Machine
"Breakin' Up"  by Rilo Kiley
"Without Friends" by The Ghost is Dancing


Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!


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Saturday, October 19, 2013

Peak Performance Project Showcase #5 @ Fortune -- 10/17/13

The Peak Performance Project is a multi-year contest in which The Peak, along with Music BC, picks 20 BC musicians/bands each a year and makes them stars. Past winners are We Are The CityKypriosCurrent Swell, and Dear Rouge with a ton of great bands and artists included as well.

Part one of the project was a "rock & roll boot camp" where the musicians went on a week long retreat to get lectures and advice from industry pros, to help them refine their craft. Phase two is a series of shows at Fortune Sound Club; four artists a night for five weeks, each playing a 45 minute set. The bands are rated by a panel of judges, which will go toward their final score in the project. They've also been tasked to learn a "Classic Canadian Cover" to play during their set. I always love hearing bands play cover songs, and it's always interesting to see who each act chooses, if it's someone obvious to their style, or something way outside the box.

I've said a couple times previously, coming in to this year I had some very strong biases, and Hannah Epperson was one such bias. I've always liked violins in music and been fascinated by looping, so the first time I saw her ethereal violin looping ways, I was enamoured. She's been involved in past years, supporting other bands, but this time she has made the top twenty with her own material. 
She took the stage to start the night alone, building intricate violin loops and adding her soft and gorgeous voice, starting with "Murder of Crows". Her set was much like her songs -- starting with one, quieter part before adding layer upon layer -- as she was joined after a couple songs in by a gentleman first on saxophone, then on a drum pad.
Hannah's cover was also quite unique; she started with Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs", but the chorus twisted into "Shot For Me" by Drake, and there was even a little bit of the melody of Fred Penner's "The Cat Came Back" for good measure. It was probably the neatest of all the covers not only in the night, but the whole year. 
She brought the set to an end with the apocalyptic "We Will Host A Party", and if the crowd's response was any indicator, Hannah had plenty of other fans, old or new, in the crowd.
I'm not entirely sure how a solo female violin looper will do in a contest where the top three is historically predominantly male rock bands, but it will be a travesty if she doesn't at least make the top five.

Next up was Amble Greene, the musical project of Cameron Gray. With a backing band that included some nice co-ed backup vocals and some rock sax, he had a pretty straightforward pop rock sound, with a little bit of a folky twinge.
His cover was "Mistake" by Serial Joe, a bit more mellow than its pop-punk original. The choice to cover a song that most people outside of the 90's have forgotten made sense, as a lot of his set had a bit of a 90's influenced vibe to it. Though there was one song that stood out and I really liked; I didn't catch the name of it, but it was a bit darker and more moody than the rest of the songs.
Aside from a bit of recurring feedback, it was a decent set. Nothing spectacular, but inoffensive. He also had a projection screen to his side for the whole set, with images and video clips played on it, but it wasn't terribly visible for someone half way back in the venue.

BESTiE hit the stage next, with a pair of cheerleaders out for their first song. They had a ridiculously fun and catchy tropical power-pop sound, that immediately got people moving and dancing as they kicked off the set with "Pineapple". The band was full of energy, especially lead singer Tristan Orchard, who barely stood still on stage.
They brought out some friends to help them with their cover, a horn section (in costumes) and members of Humans for a really strong rendition of "Eyes of a Stranger" originally by Payola$. The horn section stayed on stage for their last couple songs, and the stage filled up even more as they invited "everyone that likes hot sauce" up for a big dance party for their final sing, "Sriracha".
I'm not sure if I would go home and listen to a BESTiE album, as there wasn't much variation in their songs, but they are a really fun and high energy live band that I would want to see play again.

The final band of the night, and of the showcase series for this year, was Abbotsford's  Oh No! Yoko. They were another band that I came in to this year's competition with a bias towards, but unfortunately it was not the good kind. I had seen them a couple years ago, and never really bought into the buzz around them, but I was interested to see how they've progressed.
The trio has definitely gotten more cohesive, as the band grew up together through high school, but their songs just fall flat to me; part of it might be the "yelpy" vocal style, which I am not really a fan of, but for whatever reason, I just can't connect with their math-rock sound.
Their set was pretty upbeat and energetic, thought there was a bit of a slowdown in the set when they had to set up and take down the keyboard in the middle of their set for their cover, a nice synthy version of The Guess Who's "These Eyes". After they brought the energy back up, they wrapped up with the only older song they played in their set, "90's Kids" and even got some of the remaining fans crowdsurfing.
They also give off a bit of that "we're too cool to care" vibe, which can sometimes rub me the wrong way. If they give a song a derisive introduction, then why should I care about it?


And with that, the showcase portion of the fifth year of the Peak Performance Project comes to a close. Now, and until the 25th of October, each of the twenty bands needs to solicit their fans for the voting portion of the competition, as well as write some business-type reports, and hope for the best. The top five is announced on November 5th, with the fifth and fourth places named, and on November 21st someone will be walking away with a giant novelty cheque for $102,700 as the top three is unveiled at the Commodore Ballroom.

And if you're curious, I'm pulling for a top five of Rykka, Hannah Epperson, Willhorse, The Lion The Bear The Fox, and Towers and Trees.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

3am Mixtapes: Episode Eight: Songelgängers

Hey look, it's another episode of 3am Revelations' very own podcast!

Each week on 3am Mixtapes, I will present to you, in my dulcet tones, the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as broad and vague like Best Duosor they can be as obscure and specific as Best Septets.

This week, we take a look at the strange phenomenon where two musicians, completely independent of each other, come up with songs that happen to have the exact same name. And I don't mean song titles like "Home" or "Run" or "Tonight", but ones that are a little less common. So here it is, your Top Six Doppelgänger Songs, or Songelgängers!

Featured on this week's podcast is:

"Pledge of Allegiance" by Matthew Good
"Pledge of Allegiance" by Louis XIV
"Phantom Limb" by The Shins
"Phantom Limb" by Wide Mouth Mason
"Loveless" by Said the Whale
"Loveless" by Matt Mays

Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!



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Monday, October 14, 2013

Peak Performance Project Showcase #4 @ Fortune -- 10/10/13

The Peak Performance Project is a multi-year contest in which The Peak, along with Music BC, picks 20 BC musicians/bands each a year and makes them stars. Past winners are We Are The CityKypriosCurrent Swell, and Dear Rouge with a ton of great bands and artists included as well.

Part one of the project was a "rock & roll boot camp" where the musicians went on a week long retreat to get lectures and advice from industry pros, to help them refine their craft. Phase two is a series of shows at Fortune Sound Club; four artists a night for five weeks, each playing a 45 minute set. The bands are rated by a panel of judges, which will go toward their final score in the project. They've also been tasked to learn a "Classic Canadian Cover" to play during their set. I always love hearing bands play cover songs, and it's always interesting to see who each act chooses, if it's someone obvious to their style, or something way outside the box.

Starting off the penultimate showcase was Victoria's Dougal Bain McLean. Occasionally a solo performer, Dougal came out with a full band to fill out his pop-rock sound. His songs were catchy, but what drew me in most was his voice; that kind of gruff-yet-smooth voice that sounds like he drank a bottle of whiskey before the show.
After a few tunes, including the jaunty "Camino", he traded his guitar for a violin for a couple songs. The first of which was actually my favourite song of the set; it had a greater intensity than the rest of the set, and made me wish he was on the violin more often. It definitely set him apart from some of the other singer/songwriters in the competition.
Staying on violin, Dougal went for more of a "modern classic" with his cover, a nice version of Patrick Watson's "Adventures in Your Own Back Yard", and he ended the set with the most high energy song of the night.

Coldwater Road took the stage next. The five-piece from Vancouver have kind of a pop-folk group, with split male/female vocals. They also had a cello to round out their sound, and a drummer that would occasionally swap out for guitar.
The band gave off kind of a fun, goofy vibe for a lot of their set, without being too silly or cheesy. Songs like "Seven Letters" were playful and perhaps a little tongue in cheek, though but they had a couple other, slower or more serious songs.
I thought for sure their cover was going to be something by Barenaked Ladies, but I was wrong and they went with a version of "5 Days In May" by Blue Rodeo.
They were a perfectly fun band to see live, but I don't know if I'd be going out of my way to hear more.

Next up was Bodhi Jones, for an unprecedented third time going through the project. He took part in the first and second years, and -- after a brief retirement from making music -- is now back this year. I said before I had a few biases going in to the shows this year, and Jones was one of them. I have never been much of a fan, but I tried to go into his set with an open mind.
He is by no means a bad musician, and he surrounded himself with great local musicians for his backing band, but his songs fall a little flat. None of them really seemed to "pop" to me, and some of the lyrics were a bit cliché. But he's definitely comfortable on stage and has a good presence, and seems to have a loyal fan-base.
Bodhi also chose to go more modern with his cover, "Weighty Ghost" originally by Wintersleep. He had people singing and clapping along at the end, which lead into his last song of the night, giving his set a big, grandiose finish.
Oh, and a couple songs in he had someone, whose name I didn't catch, come out and do a short rap/slam poetry. Which seemed a little out of place.

And finally, Lions In The Street wrapped up the night. They took the stage backlit, and stayed in silhouette for most of their set, with everything cranked up for the loudest of the showcases thus far. The four-piece had loads of energy with a swampy rock sound, though there wasn't much variation to their songs. I wasn't surprised to find they were a previously in Fox Seeds, as well, since they sounded like they would have fit in perfectly to that annual competition.
They kept up the same intensity and loudness throughout their entire set, including their cover as they added to the Neil Young count, going with a deep cut "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"
The band is ten year vets of the business, and that certainly showed on stage, but for whatever reason their set just didn't click with me.

And that almost does it for this year's Peak Performance Project showcases. Next week will be the final one featuring Hannah Epperson, Amble Greene, BESTiE, and Oh No! Yoko.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

3am Mixtapes: Episode Seven: Pumping You Up

Hey look, it's another episode of 3am Revelations' very own podcast!

Each week on 3am Mixtapes, I will present to you, in my dulcet tones, the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as broad and vague like Best Duosor they can be as obscure and specific as Best Septets.

Every now and then you need a little something to get you going. To get you psyched up. To get your ass in gear. And these six songs do a damn good job of that. They motivate and inspire. They pump you up. They make you feel like you can do anything at all! So here are the Top Six Songs That Make You Feel Like You Can Take Over the World (but not in a supervillain way)!

Featured on this week's podcast is:

"It" by Rich Aucoin
"Lovely Allen" by Holy Fuck
"Meet Me In The Basement" by Broken Social Scene
"Things Will Get Better" by Bend Sinister
"Deadlines" by Arkells
"Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur" by Sigur Rós

Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!


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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

3am Mixtapes: Episode Six: Duets

Hey look, it's another episode of 3am Revelations' very own podcast!

Each week on 3am Mixtapes, I will present to you, in my dulcet tones, the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as broad and vague like Best Dancey Songsor they can be as obscure and specific as Best Songs To Listen To While Slowly Descending Into Madness.

I always enjoy it when two singers I like come together to join voices. Or even being surprised unexpected pairings. So this week, with the Top Six Duets we see what happens as the results of their powers combined. And I don't just mean bands with two lead singers. I mean when someone drops in on another person's song to make a little bit of magic.

Featured on this week's podcast is:

"Where the Wild Roses Grow" by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (featuring Kylie Minogue)
"Hangover Days" by Jason Collett (featuring Emily Haines)
"You & I" by Wilco (featuring Feist)
"Stop" by Buck 65 (featuring Hannah Georgas)
"Poor Young Things" by Peter Elkas & Joel Plaskett
"Cigarette Thin (or The Age of Asparagus)" by Jim Bryson & Jeremy Fisher


Any questions or comments or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!



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