Pemberton!

Where do I even begin...

This past weekend was the first ever Pemberton Festival which boasted some big names like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, NIN, Jay-Z, Death Cab for Cutie and Coldplay. Actually the entire roster was impressive and the backdrop (Pemberton) was absolutely breath taking. My only complaint was that with 4 stages all on the go, I often had to choose between acts I wanted to see.

This blog is supposed to be about performers that are not "mainstream" and there were plenty of those at Pemberton... in fact they had an entire stage dedicated to local artists. I, however, didn't make it there. The highlights were abundant and different for everyone, as the line-up was diverse enough to suit a multitude of musical tastes.

One of the lesser knowns I managed to catch was Matisyahu who is undoubtably the most original act I've seen in a while, with his delightful brand of jewish reggae hip-hop - complete with some pretty decent beat boxing. The sound is nothing compared to the live show which really can't be described, except to say that the boy can move as fast as he can sing.

The video I found is from an appearance on Letterman and you can't really move around all that much when the TV cameras are on, but the sound is good.


Just a note to let you know that I'm going on a holiday of sorts so it'll be a week or so before I see another show. Until then...

An Elvis Costello Orgasm

Elvis Costello changed my life. Before the show, Sunday night at the Whistler Music Festival, I knew who Elvis Costello was, but couldn't name you a single song. Then he stepped on stage...

Okay, so saying the show was life changing, is dramatic, but true. Before I was merely curious, and now... Now, to say I'm a fan is a bit of an understatement.

After Broken Social Scene had wrapped up and the crowds made their way from the front of the stage to the beer garden, I decided that I was going to grab one of those spots right up front. BEST idea I had all weekend!! When Elvis Costello stepped on stage and started playing, the fresh mountain air turned electric and a force beyond my control turned the corners of my mouth up into this wide toothy grin. I inexplicably stayed this way for the next hour and a half.

Songs energetically came one after the other, the entire performance felt damn good. Elvis is an incredibly gifted singer, songwriter and he delivered those complicated creations with an infectious over confidence. His played his guitar like it was an extenstion of himself... sexually charged and in complete control of every note and every squeal.

At one point he did a version of "Watching the Detectives" that was so incredible, I will call it the greatest single moment I have ever experienced in music. I wish I could share but it's not to be found. The set flew by and when it was over, disappointment set in. I want more!

It's not enough for me to say "I'm an Elvis Costello fan". For the first time in my life, I am on the verge on quitting my full-time job and becoming one of those people that follow artists from show to show... I won't because I have no idea how people do that - but I if I ever figure it out...

If You Build It...

and don't advertise it... they may come... for free...if you beg. This past weekend's Whistler Music Festival was put on by Festival Network out of New York, who were clearly unfamilar with Whistler and its connection to Vancouver. I heard they advertised quite heavily south of the border but left Vancouver off their marketing plan until the last minute... ooops! It was really too bad because the Festival was incredible and I hope the financial loss they must have suffered doesn't effect plans for next year's festival.

The Line-up:
SATURDAY: Serena Ryder, Meshell Ndegeocello, Bedouin Soundclash, The Roots and Thievery Corporation
SUNDAY: The Stephane Wremble Trio, Medeski Martin & Wood, Robert Randolf & The Family Band, Allen Toussaint Band, Broken Social Scene and Elvis Costello & The Imposters

Let's start with Saturday. We left Vancouver at about 9am, but by the time we hit Whistler, checked into the hotel and made our way up the Gondola to the venue, it was almost noon and Serena Ryder was just finishing her set. I managed to make it in time to see Serena perform "Weak in the Knees" a very emotive song about wanting something you can't have - in this case, a married man. I first saw her perform that song acoustically at an industry showcase 2 years ago, after which, I ran out and bought her album. The album has just 3 orginal songs and coincidently 3 songs I like, however, rumor has it there is a new album full of orginals on the way - yay!

The Roots were undeniably Saturday's highlight. They are a high energy jazz influenced hip hop group, who were named one of the world's top 20 live acts in a 2003 edition of "Rolling Stone" I don't think anyone in the crowd Saturday night would've argued that fact. Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson (pictured on the left)was incredible and had the entired audience going as he and the other band members bounced around on stage and put on a spectacular performance. I felt bad for Thievery Corportation who had to follow...

On Sunday after 3+ hours of instrumental pieces, I experienced a bit of self discovery... I really, really like lyrics. I appreciate the talent it takes to masterfully arrange and perform an intricate instrumental piece. But there is something to be said about being able to enhance a superb piece of music with lyrics. Often it can have the opposite effect.

By the time we got to Robert Randolph & The Family Band, I was ready for some vocal attention. I was disappointed, but to be fair, their musical acumen is what they are known for. However their latest album "Colorblind" is full of lyrics. To add to my frustration, their recent big hit "Ain't Nothin' Wrong With That"... didn't play it.

This is getting long, but all I need to say about Allen Toussaint is that he is an absolute legend, and exactly what you would imagine and expect him to be. Broken Social Scene, who I'd expect to be great live, was a series of unfortunate events. First they step on stage and begin to play only to find out their instruments aren't tuned or plugged in. Once they get that sorted out they have bad, bad, feedback problems to the extent that they walk off the stage until it can be fixed. They mention at one point that Kevin's voice isn't up to par so there are songs they can't perform and their back-up singers weren't able to get across the border. They had their moments but overall the set was less than you know it should be so I will save judgement until I see them again. They looked good though...


Then there was Elvis... Who was the headliner and highlight of the show and worth every penny of your hard earned money should you ever get the chance to see him live. I'm going to create a whole new post for Elvis Costello, because he was just that good.

DERAILED!

A couple weeks back, I noticed that The Divorcees were going to be playing at the Railway Club. This is a band I discovered through the wonder of MySpace, but have never seen live, so it immediately caught my attention. I circled July 15th on my calendar and started counting down the days...

I show up at 9:30 and there is this big neon green sign on the door that says, "We are closed - sorry for the inconvience" WHAT?!?!?! The Railway Club is NEVER randomly closed. Then I am reminded of the man-hole fire the day before that knocked out power to most of the downtown core. Where did that happen again? OH YA... about a block from the Railway Club!

Silly me, here I was, all dressed up with no place to go. Literally. We wandered down to Gastown and it was black - no street lights, and nothing open. But wait. Are those people I see inside the The Lamplighter? We walk in and they have a generator running a couple tvs and keeping the beer cold. So we stay and it's Dead Bunny Comedy night. I have a little hint for aspiring comedians... if people aren't laughing its because you're NOT funny and telling the audience that they are lame for not laughing at your unfunny jokes will not make them laugh. It wasn't all an uncomfortable disaster, the headliner for the evening Todd Allen, was very funny, it just took WAAAY too long to get to him.

Musically speaking, I'm going to James Taylor on Friday and hitting the Whistler Music Festival this weekend. I can't wait to hear Mr. Taylor do this song live...

Flat Top Joint

Earlier this week I was a little bummed as most of my friends had tickets to see the legendary Stevie Wonder at GM Place and I ... well I did not. I had conceded to the fact that I was probably just going to spend the evening feeling sorry for myself when I picked up a copy of Friday's Province. Thanks to Stuart Derdeyn and his list of "Great Things to Do - Weekend" I discovered one of the best events I've been to all year... They called it "BOP" a 50's themed night, featuring four great Rockabilly acts including L.A's Pep Torres, The Roy Kay Trio out of Seattle and two local acts, The Still Creek Brothers and The Roadhouse Juice Daddies.

I walked into the Fairview Pub on Broadway at about 9:15, and it was like I'd walked onto the set of "Happy Days" complete with beehives and flat top haircuts. Add in some poodle skirts, tight jeans and the sounds made famous by artists like Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Bill Haley and you couldn't help but "bop" along.

I was impressed by the Still Creek Brothers. Not only did they look the part but their duoing vocals added a depth and dimension that the other bands lacked.

The band I was looking forward to the most, did not disappoint... The Roy Kay Trio was fabulous even with borrowed instruments. They did a great cover of "Cadillac in Model A" orginally done by Rockabilly pioneers of the 30s and 40s - Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.

The good news is the Fairview Pub on (898 W. Broadway) has a night they call Rockabilly Roundup each month. I'll definately be back!

Open Mic is Like a Box of Chocolates

One of my favorite little coffee shops, the Wired Monk on 4th and Trafalgar, has a couple really decent open mic nights each week. If you've never been to an open mic night, the concept is simple - show up, put your name on a list and you can perform 3 songs. No questions asked. As you can imagine, you never really know what you're going to get with the open mic and last night was no exception. I'll be honest, I had moments of utter discomfort as I watched performers struggle through their material missing notes, chords and sometimes the entire concept of melody with orginal compositions that were... well, orginal.

We'd been there for about an hour when to be quite honest I was about to leave. The last group had completely butchered "BirdDog" by the Everly Brothers, one my one of my all time favorites - I have about 30 of them. That was when Kyla Rawlins took the mic. She opened her mouth and I thought WOW, those are some powerful vocals. She mixed jazz, r&b and opera vocal styles with a hint (at times) of what I would call east coast country. Regardless, out came a sound that can't quite be classified except as polished, controlled and delightful. Clearly the highlight of the night. Kyla has a CD coming out soon and I'll keep you posted in the meantime check out her webpage at http://onlinerock.com/musicians/kylarawlins/music.shtml

I'll leave you with some BirdDog