Alright my music blogging friends…I rallied last night and made it to the Biltmore Cabaret in the hip Mount Pleasant neighbourhood of Vancouver.
London rockers Wolf Alice were in town and I am starting to be a bit of a fan.
Tuesday night at Biltmore isn’t a busy night for rock & roll…but the folks that were there were committed to the night.
Vancouver’s new-grungers Dead Soft opened the show. I blogged a cut of their’s yesterday, “Everything.” I still think that is their strongest jam, and the song truly excelled live. I generally love this grungy fuzz rock happening right now. Not only in Vancouver, but all over North American rock & roll. I am sure it is because I’m a 35-year-old and grew up with the sounds. But hearing new bands fold in on the vibes makes my heart flutter.
Dead Soft sound great on their s/t record (on clear vinyl!), but like so many bands, it soars live.
here’s side-one track one, “Phase.”
Wolf Alice performed a wonderful set. They let a few songs take a walk, they brought down some crushing distortion, and then sprinkled in the odd ballad. One time the bass player and lead singer kinda did a synchronized dance step thing? I dunno…I was on a lot of cold medication, maybe I dreamt it? The band did dive into a few songs from their upcoming June record. And you could tell when they blasted one of their more established songs as the audience would cheer after the first couple bars.
At the end of the night Theo ? (the dude in the picture above that I posted) launched himself into the crowd. Punk rock.
I’m turning into a bit of a fanboy. This VOX article is pretty good to dive a little deeper into the songs. I wish I would have read it BEFORE the show: 5 songs from alt-rock band Wolf Alice you need to hear
Tuesday night rock show in Vancouver, you’re alright.
Just a few North American shows left. San Fran on Friday. LA on Saturday then SXSW before returning to the UK.
I’ll leave you with the first song Ellie Rowsell wrote for Wolf Alice. That band hasn’t being for all that long, but we’re going back to the early days. I just remember this song sticking out at the live set.
Go with yourself.
The Morning After 