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Six bands in one, and a double shot of two of them! This is a quick collection of a pair of late-May shows I attended, both with completely different vibes from one another.
I was sitting at the back of the room, pondering the small amount of film I had with me and whether or not I should photograph the opening bands (which I hadn't been aware of prior to the show day). That decision was made for me when the Raking Bombs meandered unscrupulously onto the stage and began to play. My first though was just "What the f…??" I couldn't do anything for a moment, my eyes were the size of dinner plates I'm sure, and my ear drums were splintering into the wee-est of shards. They made no sense at all to me for a short while, but were so unbelievably compelling in their noisiness that I quickly leapt up and decided to get closer to the action. Holy crap. Shortish set, but loud, rambunctious, obnoxious, and fun. Guitarist and bassist Dave and Luke (last names guys??? Geez...) got intimate with their instruments on the floor, and singer Tome was a riot. He was up on chairs and amps, crawling around the stage, behind the curtains, and smashing the base of his mic stand into the ceiling. Percussion instruments were dragged out and used at points. The only thing that vaguely disappointed me about this set was the ending, where the spazzy, crazy nature seemed to break off and get… gee, kinda conventional for a moment. That wasn't so cool. Stay twisted, boys!
The second band was called Rakshasa. After getting all the A's and S's and SH's sussed out, I noticed just enough about them to realize they were kinda fancy-goth (not over-the-top… just black suits, the odd satin glove, that sort of thing). The singer, Amarant Minus, was morosely theatrical - you know, kind of deliberate-looking moves executed in such a way as to make it seem impassioned and with-the-moment. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe he totally does feel it, but anyhow, that was Rakshasa. They had some friends in the room. They were loud and rock. They had some interesting moments musically and might be worth looking at down the line again, but on this outing, seemed a touch scattered.
But this time, I knew I had the right guys. After a great interview with the band's main man, Denver Dalley, I settled in to see what they could do in a live setting. Well, it was magical. I was speechless right away. The music was definitely the black sheep of the night, being much softer (not to say it doesn't pick up or anything) and sweeter than the other bands. The set was incredibly short, but it began with Dalley up behind his little Korg electro-gizmo and a small bullhorn, and grow into a three-piece featuring touring bassist Casey Scott and borrowing Despistado's drummer, Brennan Schwartz. Sometimes, those two would leave the stage, giving Dalley his own breathing room up there. Soaring, unique songs. They carried over live as well as (I soon found out) they do on record, without being stagnant.
After that tiny, tiny set, which ended with "Sing A Song," I waited patiently for Despistado. I was waiting to be completely enraptured by them, actually. Their label, Jade Tree, had left me with lofty expectations after the band's EP, The Emergency Response, didn't totally turn my crank. "Oh just wait," they said. "That EP is two years old. Wait til you see them live - they've grown so much." And you know what? For once, a label wasn't just blowing smoke up their band's asses. These guys really had grown visibly (audibly…) in the time between when they recorded the EP I had received, and now. In truth, there's only a couple songs from that EP that they even play anymore, leaving the rest to be filled by newer tracks which will appear on a full-length album down the line. Everything about the band seemed more *together * than the recording. It's hard to tell if this is simply a case of them being better-developed live than on record, but I suspect not. 'Tis just experience.
Anyhow, they weren't exactly freaking out on stage, but they bopped around in an appropriate manner, remaining energetic, throwing a hand into the air here and there for emphasis. Singer/guitarist Dagan Harding's vocals squirreled to the forefront and were finally discernible, and as a unit, the band projected an enormous energy out into the room. The crowd was pretty into these guys as well, amassing quite the draw to the stage front moreso than any other act of the night. And hell, they were cheered back for encores twice! When the hell does that happen??? Go Despistado, go!
The night's two headliners scooted off for Victoria and Whistler, and I stood around in the parking lot talking to the Raking Bombs and their assorted friends about radio stations and not getting hugged enough in high school (*sob*) and going to NAAM for some chow. Eventually, everyone parted ways, I enjoyed my weekend, and the core group reconvened a couple days later at Mesa Luna.
It was an incredibly casual day all told. Members of Statistics and Despistado spent much of the early evening just wandering around, hanging out on the back stairwell of the venue, making a dance party with Statistics' box o' wonders, or sitting around and goofing off in their vans. There were a few interviews conducted, but mostly it was a matter of waiting around, maybe drinking a bit depending on who you were, eating vegetables, and hoping to God that the headlining bands that night would show up. This gig belonged to Honeysuckle, who were celebrating the release of their new CD, and I suppose also celebrating the dropping of half of their name (previously Honeysuckle Serontina). They did show up, quite late, and dragged their gear inside even as people were starting to trickle in through the front doors. Honeysuckle's singer, Jode Shortreed, had broken his finger on a cymbal the night before in Whistler, and part of their delay was to get him to a hospital to have the thing x-rayed and bandaged. But where was Black Rice, the second-to-last band on the bill? I don't know exactly when they arrived, but they did eventually, and all was well.
Statistics kicked off the night here. We had the addition of a projector screen on the stage, showcasing a rotating selection of Casey Scott's photography. Gorgeous, simple images, sometimes lovely, sometimes disturbing, but always beautiful and well-juxtaposed, many with unusual shallow focus points. They provided an interesting and fitting backdrop to the set this evening, which, while longer by a bit, was similar in execution to the one at the Showroom. After the first song (I believe he kicked this one off with "Sing A Song"), Dalley spoke up briefly about how pleased he was to have people at the show, but that there was a lot of space at the stage front that could be filled and possibly allow everyone to enjoy themselves a bit more. And the kids complied! Again I say, when the hell does that happen??? Often times if a band, especially a band like this that isn't terribly well-known around here, pipes up with that sort of comment, the people in the room will chuckle lowly, maybe cast a sideward glance around the room to see if anyone else took initiative for them to follow suit, and, seeing that no one did, firmly recross their jaded arms and maybe tap their toes a bit. Not so here - the all-ages crowd, which was smaller than most at Mesa Luna (they didn't even see fit to open up the second level of the room), grinned and whooped and ran to the front of the stage, to Dalley's beaming delight.
The crowd included members of Despistado (aside from the rotating band member manning the merch booth), and one kid who stood front and center. Said kid, in the middle of the set, craned his neck upwards at Dalley and asked him if he was going play "Another Day," which is the aforementioned single song from long ago that got the ball rolling for me as well. Dalley again looked pleased and a bit stunned, and told the kid that no, they weren't, because the band doesn't know it. But he did say it was cool that someone knew that.
Despistado tore into us next. They had already taken up the vast majority of the space at the merch booth with their 847539845 different shirt styles and colours, belt buckles, key-ring bottle openers, CDs and pins. Pretty nice selection of stuff. Over the top? Maybe, but it's still cool. Statistics had their shirts and discs, as well as a box of 4x6 prints from Scott to sell. Great idea. And Black Rice and Honeysuckle had to set up their swag on a separate table because there just simply wasn't enough space for them at the booth.
Anyways, Despistado. They put on a rad set. They kept the projector screen behind them with the photos. I think the lights (which hadn't been turned on for most of the Statistics' set and were completely absent at the Showroom) helped to enhance this one and charge the band and the crowd up. People were hopping about, creating small, four-person mosh pits here and there on the floor. There was so much more action on stage too. Still no leaping mayhem, but the understated, bubbling-below-the-surface, foot-stomping. Guitar-swinging energy was powerful. I was very much won over by this band in the couple days I spent seeing them play. Yep, they got me. They changed me. I'm impressed. Keep an eye out for them.
Black Rice I hadn't seen before. Why? I don't know. I've had every opportunity in the world to see them before, but I just kept on missing them for some stupid reason. But they were awesome! Just loud and slightly goofy, very swank looking. The guys from Raking Bombs (some of them) were around to watch these guys too, and had told me before the set that I had to make sure I stayed around to watch them. That, even if I got sick, or if my arm fell off, they'd keep me there to make sure I saw Black Rice. Fair enough. That wasn't necessary. There were no personal calamities at all. I stayed of my own accord and had a great time of it. The other bands were scattered about with smiles firmly affixed, watching the action from the sidelines/merch booth/stairwell.
And capping the night, the almighty Honeysuckle. Shortreed was no worse for wear due to his swollen and aching broken finger. He still jumped around like a freaking maniac. I honestly don't know how he keeps the energy up. That man gets some serious air when he leaps, and he leaps approximately once every .04 seconds. Actually, I don't know how any of the guys keep from smashing each other to pieces on stage. I don't think I witnessed a single collision between any of them, even though they seem to be throwing themselves around in an almost blind manner. Guitarist Dave Truscott has a wide-legged back-and-forth skipping action and wild faces, Shortreed is of course allllll over the stage and monitors with furrowed brows, and on the opposite side from Truscott, Andy Bond and Paul Kovach seem the most in danger of smashing headlong into each other. Those two bounce around back and forth and in circles, shouting out even when away from the microphones.
It had been a long time since I'd seen them play last, and they've always possessed this insane onstage presence. It's good to see it hasn't died off in the last while - if anything, they seem further full of vigour than ever before. People are starting to pay some attention to them, which is something they've deserved for a long time. Maybe they're just really happy - and they should be. The new tracks are amazing. They've got a winner with this one.
Post-show, folks were fractured on things to do. Some ran off to go to bed, some went off to be with loved ones before taking off for tour, and me? I went to Kinko's with part of the Despistado crew to look at email. Nothing could be more 'rockstar' than sitting in an institutionally-lit, silent internet station after midnight on a Monday, following a big rock show. The party continued afterwards for a short while, though I only joined in for about ten minutes. Fecking Vancouver transit.
Statistics and Despistado left our fair city a day and a half later (leaving the Stats perhaps with a negative impression of Canada after having some crap ripped off from their van. Damn.) in the toasty sunlight. Here's hoping their adventures on the road together continue to be tirelessly interesting. Take the good with the bad; these are bands that have seen a lot, have drawn a lot from that, and are here for you to take note of right now.
ElsewhereDespistado websiteStatistics website Honeysuckle website Black Rice website Raking Bombs website Rakshasa website By Andy Scheffler |
