When Ice Met Cream...

Sunday September 2 - Tokyo Police Club @ Plaza Club

Immaculate Machine opened. Just prior to their set, I stopped by the merch booth and found they were selling a special Immaculate Machine flask. I picked it up to have a look and was convinced by Kathryn Calder to buy this item when she told me "This flask is all class". It ended up being their only one in stock.



The trio from Victoria played a 50min set that showcased their catchy riffs and a bunch of new tracks off their latest release, Fables.



Tokyo Police Club hit the stage running with Cheer It On. The Newmarket, Ontario quartet performed a ferocious set that kept the crowd jumping, dancing, and clapping the entire time.

Keyboardist and vocalist Graham Wright plays with so much intensity. His presence in Cut Cut Paste was explosive and off the wall! They played a handful of new tracks on this night.



Vocalist and bassist Dave Monks gets animated when he sings, constantly lifting a knee up. Citizens Of Tomorrow, Nature Of The Experiment, and Be Good were definite highlights as both the band and the crowd were so involved in the songs. It was great!



Being that most of their songs are around 2 minutes in length, their 45min set didn't seem so short. Infact, I was completely exhausted and spent after their physically demanding performance.....though I had so much fun in doing so. This has so been my favourite club show so far this year.

***

Wednesday September 5 - The Brunettes @ Media Club



Ferraby Lionheart was the first opening act of the evening. The recent signee to Nettwerk Records played a folk-rock set with some lush tones and harmonies.

Local dance pop-rock trio Bella were up next. They got the crowd moving to some tracks off their new soon-to-be Mint Records release.



I first saw and heard about The Brunettes just over two years ago when they opened for Rilo Kiley at Richard's. They put on a show-stealing set that night and won many people over. Everyone I talked to at this show mentioned the same thing, that they were blown away by the Auckland, New Zealand duo during their first Vancouver stop in 2005.



The Brunettes kicked off their set with Structure and Cosmetics, followed by the very upbeat song Brunettes Against Bubblegum Youth.

Heather Mansfield is a multi-talented musician, with duties on vox, keyboards, clarinet, glockenspiel and harmonica. As you can imagine, their setup and soundcheck took some time to get the levels just right. One of their backing band members even utilized a kick pedal that was connected to a tambourine!



Their new single, Her Hairagmai Set, sounded wonderful. The band is a complete pleasure to watch, especially with all their funky instruments and ethusiasm onstage. As with last time, trumpet player Harry Cundy was a hit with the crowd, amusing us with his funny banter. Set lasted 1hr.



***

Friday September 7 - Wolf Parade @ Richard's

Holy Fuck opened the evening. The quintet from Toronto played a blend of fuzzed out electronica that was quite intense.



The Montreal based Wolf Parade entertained the sold out Richard's crowd with their indie prog-rock stylings. The last time I saw them, they were opening for Arcade Fire and missed their soundcheck as they were stuck in traffic on the highway en route to the venue. They also didn't have a setlist prepared for said show so they had to wing it onstage.

This night was a bit different and the quintet were able to devote their full attention to the performance. Vocalist and guitarist Dan Boeckner helped lead the charge as the Sub Pop mainstays introduced an array of new songs to the welcoming crowd.



With Dan also in Handsome Furs and vocalist-keyboardist Spencer Krug having his own side project Sunset Rubdown, the guys still showed no signs of burn out and slowing down...at least not on this night. I really enjoyed the new song Soliders, as well as It's A Curse and I'll Believe In Anything.



Set lasted 1hr 15mins.



Note: first song during encore was This Heart's On Fire, which is not written on the setlist.