First up, Scenic Route to Alaska! This is a three-man band all the way from...Edmonton! What better place could there be, really. This band had previously opened for a show, with the Collective West, that I missed about two months ago. I felt that the CW would have a great taste in music themselves, so I've been eagerly waiting to see SRtA, and finally on Thursday night at Wunderbar my dream came to fruition.
The band sounds a bit like Born Ruffians, a bit like and a whole lot like themselves. I don't know much about the band, but it's pretty great to see them already having found a sound that works for them. Very many a band comes and goes, not knowing in which direction they want to go in, and constantly struggling to find a niche and an audience. While the audience is still forming and the fan base ever growing, SRtA is already making music to my ears (literally), before their full album is even released. As of now they only have a 3-track EP out. It breaks my heart to come to the third song, only because I know that it's the end of the CD.
Lead vocalist Trevor Mann sure knows how to belt out some great songs without sounding like he's straining to make his voice heard and without making it sound like he's screaming at the crowd. The only thing that I could find even BETTER on the EP than during the live show, would be that it's nice to clearly hear how they layer the drums and vocals together (especially on the 2nd track of the EP, August Already).
During the set they played about 8 songs, and they seem to be chatting about recording some more. A girl can only hope right?
There were two other opening acts before SRtA, including The Nicest Guys In the World out of Halifax who were good, not only for an opening act. One other opener, not sure of her name, was...so-so. She could sing and play her guitar well, but was nothing special, and once during the show even asked the audience to quiet down...To me having an audience be quite, and enthralled with your music is a privilege that you earn, not a right that you're entitled to.
Now for the scathing review of Wunderbar. There isn't one. Sorro. However I do have a glowing recommendation about where to try to catch a great local show, or even just hang out with a few friends and grab some awkwardly-great named beers. Wunderbar isn't big, so don't go looking for massive doors, with a large glowing, neon sign. It's a quaint, cute, relaxed bar just on the East side of Gateway Boulevard and the South side of the street of Whyte Ave. The bar has a few picnic tables outside, where the music is still hear loud and clear. Inside there's quite a few tables, a three person maximum stage, and a back room with tables, a couch and get this, a nintendo game system. Yeah. Get your live music, great music, interesting people watching and retro gaming on, at a BUY ONE GET ALL price!
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And now I'd want to say onto an even more important show, except that I can't. I can definitely say it was just as great though! This time it was a rainy Saturday afternoon, made so much better by the collective stylings of Souvs and Rococode. Souvs are also a straight from the mean streets of Edmonton. The band is a four-piece number including two lead vocalists, Derek Ewanowich & Sarah Martens who know how to do their thang. Their vocals completely complement each other, yet the only thing that soured the combination was that it seemed like Martens mic was turned up too high during the first few songs...a problem quickly and easily fixed to make the rest of the set sound great. Not only are these guys and gal talented musicians, but they also know how to please a crowd of music-hungry fiends. They played a free show at the Electric Sloth music festival on Friday night, followed by this free show Saturday at Filthy McNasty's. One of my favourites from the set was a full-on drum-intense song. But not the typical beating/drum solo-esque thign you would expect. The high-hat and what I'm pretty sure was the snare (? I really need to brush up on my drum kit lingo), were brought front and centre and were in every way taken advantage of by drummer Josh Brown and Sarah Martens. And above and beyond that, you don't even have to leave your humble abode and your soft-as-kitten sweatpants to enjoy their sweet, sweet keys, cymbals and plucky guitar riffs; you can download a FREE (FREE, FREE) copy of their EP from souvs.bandcamp.com. (Or you could...nay... SHOULD, do the right thing and donate what you think is fair for 6-tracks. That way they can be on their way to recording an album! And really, what are you gonna do with all that change sitting on your dresser or your jeans anyway.) I feel like I tend to gush to the point of annoyance with bands that I take a liking to, but really this one impressed me for such a young band. Their lyrics were strong, their vocals were powerful yet catchy and had a where-have-I-heard-that-before! quality, and most importantly their instruments were tuned. Dare I say, they're so good, they should start charging for their shows too...?
Check out this interview on VOIDTV to fall in like with them more.
Oh and as for the venue that is Filthy's on Whyte? It was better than I thought it would be, for sure. I've only been there during the nights (or wee hours of the morning). But for shows it seems like they pack away the bar tables and booths as best they can and have quite a decent sized stage; it's raised about two feet for maximum views. Lots of bars along the Avenue have live music, but tend not to have the proper stage to accommodate the band, where Filthys is just the opposite, not enough live shows but a great stage and set of of seats (and one that serves actual FOOD! Get the wings in every flavour of the best tasting rainbow).
Just after Souvs were finished their alluring (is that the right word? Seductive? Charming? Just trying to say they hooked me and/or drew me in...yet it all sounds like they invited me over for a night of wine and debauchery...), out came Rococode. As they say they're "an unfamiliar band made up of familiar faces", including Shaun Huberts and Johnny Andrews (both of whom had made up a part of the Tegan & Sara backing band), along with Laura Smith and Andrew Braun on vocals. Smith's vocals are high-toned and delicate, while Braun's are loud, but well toned to hear above the instruments. There were times when the guitar and drums seemed to overpower what their vocals had to offer, but all in all they played a great set. I'm not sure if they would be a band I'd go to see on their own or buy their album, but they would be great to see at a folk/indie-rock festival. The stage was a tight squeeze for the full five members of the band that were performing...and awkward moments were brought on between the band as well as band-audience when the two singers tried to make playful banter that came out sounding brutal and insulting towards each other. It's never cool when bands don't even seem like they like each other...doesn't make me want to like them very much either! However their music was still great to see and I'm sure will be great to hear once they put out some tunes. For now you can check out their Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/rococode
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