It was about two minutes into Bartering Lines when I realized that I made the right decision in skipping Daft Punk to see Ryan Adams’ rescheduled Vancouver show. A somewhat surprise opener to the set, Bartering Lines was reworked into a heavy, dark stomper of a song that recalled Led Zeppelin; it definitely set the tone for the evening.

The one huge advantage of the venue change (other than a more intimate venue) was that Ryan Adams decided to play a Red Cave show at the Commodore (instead of the planned acoustic Blue Cave show at the Orpheum). This meant that Ryan and the Cardinals spent a good portion of the evening extending songs into lengthy jams. Easy Plateau, Mockingbird, and Peaceful Valley, all from his 2005 releases, were the best examples of this. The Cardinals were able to keep up with Ryan who seems to set the tone for each show, deciding where each song is heading about halfway through each track.

Ryan’s last trip to Vancouver was a bit of a train wreck, and I was concerned the crowd might get to him again. But Ryan was in a great mood and kept the crowd in stitches between songs with an ongoing “story” involving Christopher Cross falling off a yacht, his wife, and Jimmy Buffett throwing ham sandwiches (at The Cross). Ryan even managed to crack himself up at one point.

Another silly moment: Ryan commented that the venue made him think that The Time should be playing the Commodore. This led to the Cardinals starting an impromptu funk jam with Ryan joining in on vocals. Throughout the entire evening Ryan and the band were smiling and laughing with/at one another…it was great to see them so comfortable with each other on stage. Unlike his last performance in Vancouver, I think Ryan actually endeared himself to most of the crowd last night.

While I enjoy comedian Ryan, it was the music that truly stood out last night. The first set featured the band in full on jam mode; during this set the crowd was treated to a pretty cool performance of the rarely performed September as well as a relatively new unreleased song Trouble on Wheels. The second set was a bit more focused but the Cardinals still managed to impress at every moment (What Sin Replaces Love for instance).

The band spent much of the night reworking songs off Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights (which was fine with me) and actually only played four songs off Easy Tiger. Goodnight Rose, one of my favourites off the record, was great but the real surprise was an electric version of Off Broadway. The song has never really impressed me on the album but last night’s performance was excellent. I have a whole new appreciation for that song.

The set ended with a storming version of Shakedown on 9th Street followed by one of my favourites I See Monsters. It was a perfect end to the evening and I didn’t feel the band even needed to do an encore (not that I would have minded); I can’t complain after nearly two and half hours on stage. Can’t wait to see him next month in Sydney.

Photos from the gig here.

Setlist:

Bartering Lines
Trouble on Wheels
Cold Roses
Peaceful Valley
September
Please Do Not Let Me Go
Mockingbird
——Break———
Games
Goodnight Rose
Easy Plateau
Two
What Sin Replaces Love
The End
Pearls on a String
Magnolia Mountain
Beautiful Sorta
Off Broadway
A Kiss Before I Go
Wild Flowers
Shakedown On 9th Street
I See Monsters

Download: (all from the July 21, 2007 Red Cave gig in Santa Cruz)
What Sin Replaces Love
Bartering Lines
Trouble on Wheels

And that Daft Punk show I had to skip? Quinn’s thoughts. Rob’s thoughts.

Amanda and I got a real kick out of seeing Dappled Cities (Fly)’s Granddance in stores here in North America. They were the first band I ever saw in Sydney after I moved there in 2005 (they were opening for Spoon) so seeing them co-headline the very same venue (the Metro) just under two years later was one of those “full circle” moments. The band have gone from a small but beloved Sydney band to a band that actually has a record facing out of shelves in HMVs in Vancouver, Canada. Not bad boys! (Fun Fact: Beach Song is labelled Beach on the CDs here)

The Dappled boys are taking on North America thanks to Dangerbird Records who recently released Granddance in the US and Canada. If you poke around the internets a bit you’ll see the band’s name popping up on numerous blogs and other sites so it seems their new home in North America is paying off. Be sure to check out a session they did for Dodge recently which includes that new version of Colour Coding with the extended ending.

Download:
Dappled Cites Fly – Within Hours

Due to a city workers strike, Ryan Adams’ show Saturday night at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver has been moved to the Commodore Ballroom on Sunday night. I think it’s great the promoters were able to get the show off without having to cancel.

BUT

I had tickets to see Daft Punk on Sunday night in Seattle at the WaMu Theatre. So I had to make a choice:

Daft Punk = Guaranteed Insanity
Ryan Adams = Ex-junkie known for hit or miss live shows

I am NOT a gambler but seeing as I am a much bigger Ryan Adams fan than I am of Daft Punk, I decided on Ryan’s show at the Commodore. I made this decision based on the rumours that Daft Punk will be touring in Australia just before Christmas. Apparently the French duo are going to play Melbourne on December 22 and Sydney the night before (maybe Centennial Park?). Regardless of dates and venues I am now REALLY hoping that Daft Punk tour Australia this year. Apparently their live show is absolutely nuts.

I now have to hope Ryan Adams has an ON night at that the change of venue means Vancouver gets a Red Cave show rather than the acoustic Blue Cave show we were originally going to get at the Orpheum Theatre.

Making this decision really sucked.

Download:
Ryan Adams – I Taught Myself How To Grow Old (live July 21, 2007)

And what I will be missing…

Ugh.

Arts & Crafts continues to add to an already busy non-Broken Social Scene year with the release of the second album from The Most Serene Republic in October. Amanda loved the last album while I wasn’t thrilled by it. I found bits and pieces that were great but others that just didn’t click for me. However, if the first released track from the upcoming Population is anything to go by, I may be more into the band this time around. Check it out below.

Download:
The Most Serene Republic – Sherry And Her Butterfly Net

The album’s title and artwork remind me of Conor Oberst’s other band Desaparecidos who released an album a number of years ago that focused a lot on the urban expansion/growing older in and around Omaha. Not very rock ‘n’ roll but it was actually a pretty solid album. We’ll see if The Most Serene Republic tread in similar waters with Population.

Download:
Desaparecidos – Man and Wife, the Former (Financial Planning)
Desaparecidos – The Happiest Place On Earth

What can you do with nine bucks? A crappy meal? A few coffees? A magazine and a half?

Well Daz of Gerling managed to make a video for his new project The E.L.F.. The video is for the song Cockroaches which has been a favourite of mine for a while now. The song has a total summer feel which kinda sucks for the Sydney folks at the moment, but up here in the Northern Hemisphere the song makes even more sense and kicks even more ass. Check it out.

Download: The E.L.F. – Cockroaches

Since I’m out of town at the moment I missed The E.L.F.’s live debut this week at the Hopetoun, but Angus has provided a great review of the gig that has me even more stoked for the upcoming album. Can’t wait.

Anything else been going in Sydney since I left that I need to know?

The travels continue. We currently find ourselves in Boston for a family wedding and I’ve been loving exploring the city again. Boston is such a great town. One of my favourite record stores, Newbury Comics, is a place I always visit when I come here and it has once again impressed me.

I picked up the new Spoon record (complete the with bonus disc which is, sadly, kinda meh) at one of the Newbury shops yesterday and I was rewarded with a free Spoon 7″ which features a demo of The Underdog and something called It Took a Rumor to Make Me Wonder, Now I’m Convinced I’m Going Under. Thanks Merge! When my girlfriend picked up the new Interpol record from the same shop she got a free Interpol glass. Random….but FREE. Both records come recommended from me. Especially Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

Download:
Spoon – The Underdog
Spoon – The Ghost of You Lingers

Meanwhile, The White Stripes continue their tour of every friggin’ place in Canada. Now I was pretty impressed that the band were undertaking such an ambitious, most likely money-losing tour, of Canada. Then when the tour actually kicked off and the band started playing secret shows all over the place my respect for Jack and Meg went up even more. I mean on a friggin bus? A bowling alley? The tour wraps up in a few days.

The band’s secret show and real show in Whitehorse were both recorded and WhiteStripes.net has both shows for you to download. Awesome? Yes.

Download: The White Stripes – Black Jack Davey (live at Le Page Park, Whitehorse)

It’s good to be back home in Canada, if only for a short while. Keeping this place up to date has obviously not been a priority while I’m on holiday but here’s one track that I’ve been really digging since it arrived in my inbox at some point last week.

Download: Stars – The Night Starts Here

It’s been three years since Stars last released a record and over three years since I last saw them live (opening for Broken Social Scene at Richards) so I’ve been waiting ages for new stuff from the band. I was actually surprised by how much I liked Set Yourself On Fire after not really getting into the first record but here we are…anticipation has set in.

The Night Starts Here is taken from the upcoming In Our Bedroom After the War which will be released by Arts & Crafts on September 25 (just one week after they drop the Kevin Drew album). I love this track…it really blends the electronic and organic aspects of the band perfectly (in addition to the balance of Torquil and Amy’s vocals). If the rest of the record sounds as great as this I won’t be disappointed.

I last saw a show at Richard’s way back in 2005, not too long before I moved to Sydney, and I had pretty much accepted the fact that I’d never see a show there again as the condos continued their march out of Yaletown. So seeing The National at Richard’s last night was going to be special enough whether I was stoked for the band or not (and I was really looking forward to finally seeing The National). Unfortunately, due to jet lag, I was pretty tired for the gig; fortunately the band were pretty damn impressive live.

We stood up top and watched the band from the balcony but even from way back there the intensity The National bring to their shows was evident. The guitars were more aggressive, the drumming even more prominent, and the vocals were, obviously, great. Having never seen the band before I was impressed with the variety of the set. There was plenty of Alligator (including a rareish-these-days Karen) and most of Boxer (which is one of my favourite records of the year). The band also chucked in a couple tracks from the Cherry Tree EP, including the closing About Today.

Lots of highlights….but Mr. November was particularly awesome.

Setlist:
Start A War
Mistaken For Strangers
Secret Meeting
Brainy
Baby, We’ll Be Fine
Slow Show
Lit Up
Racing Like A Pro
Squalor Victoria
Wasp Nest
All The Wine
Apartment Story
Daughters of the Soho Riots
Fake Empire
Mr. November
——–
Karen
Abel
About Today

I took a few photos. The Broken West were supposed to open but were denied entry at the border (wrong visa?) which meant The National were the only music on the night. Quinn has a review as well…and he also mentions some of the idiots in the crowd. What was up with the Frat Boy singing along to Mr. November? Frightening. That said, it was great to see a show in Vancouver again…been too long. The National will be back in Vancouver in September apparently, but lets hope they make it to Australia soon.