BeatRoute Magazine B.C. print e-edition - July 2016

LIVE REVIEWS
Kevin Morby
The Media Club
June 7, 2016
For such a balmy Tuesday night, the
crowd at the Media Club extended an
inappropriately lukewarm reception to
the night’s opener, singer/songwriter
Jay Bartell. There was an inhospitable
buffer of empty floor space between
the audience and stage where the
young man performed with the sole
company of his acoustic guitar. Despite
the awkward distance though, Bartell
politely thanked the early-comers,
saying, “I appreciate your presence
and attention.” Visibly uncomfortable
between songs, Bartell charmed
the audience with cheers to the date
(June 7th) which he acknowledged
was someone’s birthday somewhere.
Then after swigging from his bottle of
Corona he lost his train of thought and
laughingly made a self-deprecating
remark that what he was going to say
probably wasn’t “essential to your life.”
Bartell otherwise played his set mostly
solemn-faced, staring unblinking; his
low and wise-sounding voice was
perfectly suited to his folksy storytelling
melodies in the vein of Kurt Vile or
Cass McCombs.
Since beginning to record music in
the early 2000s, Bartell has split his
time between Brooklyn, NY and Asheville,
NC. As well as supporting Kevin
Morby he is promoting his third record,
Light Enough, which was released at
the end of April.
Morby is also touring on the heels of
his third album release, Singing Saw.
The musician took the stage ready to
sweat, clad in a coral Seventies leisure
suit and bolo tie. With a trill whoop
he launched into “Cut Me Down”, the
opening track on his new LP, which was
given a kick of the spurs and amped up
to rock and roll speed. By then the venue
was packed and steamy; every inch
of floor space was accounted for. Morby
and his band kept up the pace for most
of their set and played liberally from all
three of Morby’s albums including the
titular track off the Woods’ bassist’s
first solo album Harlem River and “All
of My Life” from follow-up Still Life.
Morby was even generous enough to
treat the sold out crowd to a new song,
the twangy “Tiny Fires” and a cover of
Towne Van Zandt’s “No Place to Fall.”
As his set closed in on its rollicking
finish, Morby informed the audience
that he would play “the greatest joke
in all of rock and roll” and, instead of
exiting the stage, he would sit at the
back of it to witness whether the audience
clapped loud enough to warrant
an encore. By this time there was not
a cool body left in attendance, and the
cheering ruckus was more than enough
encouragement for the singer/guitarist
and his band.
• Thalia Stopa
photo: Galen Robinson-Exo
photo: Galen Robinson-Exo
Smokers Club Tour
Fortune Sound Club
May 31, 2016
To be honest, my expectations for this
event were pretty low. Between the
last minute venue change, the cornball
weed-focused marketing strategy, the
$45 ticket price, the legendary but
aging headliner, and the fact that is was
a Tuesday in Vancouver, this gig had
“I’ve been let down by the corporate rap
machine once again” written all over it.
Turns out I’m an aging, out-of-touch
hater, because Vancouver’s stoner
rap set came through in full force for
this one. From the moment I stepped
into Fortune I was blown away by
high energy levels that didn’t let up
until I left. The first thing I glimpse
through the thick cloud of smoke is a
shirtless G Herbo, whom I had previously
dismissed as some kind of drill
novelty act, getting the packed crowd
absolutely hype. A mass of early-20s
white boys jumping over each other
while aggressively shouting every
single lyric back at him. The combination
of rolling bass and freely shared
spliffs and vapes had me feeling the
vibe quick. A brief intermission later,
and the Underachievers pick up right
where Herbo left off.
We can have all sorts of discussions
about perceived lack of lyrical
prowess in modern rap, or the controversial
trend of MCs spitting over
complete vocal tracks, but you’ve got
to acknowledge the way these guys
can keep up the energy levels for a
whole set. Rakim said MC means move
the crowd, and by that standard these
guys earned their occupational title.
Quite frankly I’ve been left disappointed
in that department by plenty of
childhood heroes (looking at you Talib).
By the time Cam’ron took the stage
the crowd had noticeably thinned out,
which says more about the demographic
makeup of the crowd than
the veteran MC’s status in the game.
I had mentally prepared for a bit of a
lacklustre last set, given the oftentimes
blasé attitude with which older
rap artist tend approach live shows.
Especially in, lets face it, secondary
markets like Vancouver. Again I was
forced to eat my words as the chief
Diplomat proved he could hang with
MCs almost two decades his junior.
It definitely helps when your catalog
includes early-2000 anthems like ‘Oh
Boy’ and ‘I Really Mean It’. Every once
in a while its nice to be proven wrong.
You’ll definitely catch me at the next G
Herbo gig.
• Graeme Wiggins
Mac Demarco
Malkin Bowl
May 27, 2016
A large part of (semi)local boy Mac
DeMarco’s remarkable and ongoing
success is his reputation for zealous
performances, so expectations for
an outdoor show on a Friday night
were high. Teenagers dominated the
crowd flocking into the Malkin Bowl
in spite of an ever-present drizzle.
The line for merchandise nearly
rivaled the daunting lineup for beer,
and the majority of the crowd was
either huddled near the stage or
vying for space under the few trees
on the concert grounds.
Once the monitors onstage had
been covered with tarps and the
band made their way into view,
there was a mad dash to the stage,
and the crowd promptly toppled the
barricade separating them from it. A
banquet table of the bands’ friends
and family flanked the performers,
creating an odd kind of dinner
party vibe onstage. The set started
leisurely, with some banter from the
band and a few laid-back hits from
the last two albums. After the first
few songs, and a few swigs of whiskey
from a Dasani bottle, Mac was
enervated and the crowd followed
suit. Teenagers jumped onstage to
take selfies and briefly stand triumphant
before stage diving (to varying
degrees of success) once security
got close enough to be a threat.
As one particularly bold would-be
stage-diver was nabbed and led
offstage, Mac earnestly appealed to
the security guard to “take it easy
on the kid”.
The entire performance had an
easy, jovial tone. The band cracked
jokes, band members switched
instruments and played lighthearted
covers of Steely Dan and Herman’s
Hermits. During “Ode To Viceroy,”
cigarettes rained onto the stage.
Shirts and shoes came off, instruments
were playfully strummed
behind heads a la Jimi Hendrix,
and Mac went for what felt like a
15-minute trip around the venue
held up by the crowd, and notably
returning to the stage sans socks,
presumably forcibly removed by
over-enthusiastic trophy hunters.
The arguable highlight of the show
was the encore, a proggy cover of
“Enter Sandman,” featuring two of
the wacky inflatable tube men usually
used to attract attention to used
car lots on either side of the stage.
It was good-spirited mayhem that
reinforced Mac DeMarco’s reputation
for stellar performances.
• Galen Robinson-Exo
photo: Galen Robinson-Exo
40 REVIEWS
July 2016