Month: July 2017

Jack Johnson // Deer Lake Park

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Now if I’m being totally honest, other than the occasional Banana Pancakes Tinder reference, I haven’t given Hawaiian soft-rock golden boy Jack Johnson much thought since the early 2010’s. But it’s 2017, and the man is clearly going strong. With his 7th studio album, All The Light Above It Tooset to release September 8th, a new single, My Mind Is For Sale, and a tour to boot, Jack Johnson rolled into Deer Lake Park this past Sunday to perform for a sold-out crowd.

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Deer Lake Park was the perfect venue for this show, as the crowd stretched out all across the lawn on a bright sunny day, drinking, and enjoying food from a variety of food trucks that made me wish I hadn’t eaten dinner beforehand. The crowd had a nice family vibe as a lot of young kids grooved along with their parents to Jack’s set.

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From the moment Jack, Zach (keyboard, vocals, accordion), Adam (drums), and Merlo (guitar) kicked off with ‘Hope’ we could tell we were in for a good show. By the time they moved into ‘Sitting, Waiting, Wishing’ as their next song, it was evident that they haven’t lost a step since their music festival headlining days, back in 2013. The band was smoothly rocking and Mr. Johnson’s vocals were basically perfect. They even threw in a brief cover of Foxy Lady for a little extra musicianship.

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All the while, Jack flawlessly played the part of your friend’s cool dad. His stage presence was at once endearing, telling stories about falling off his bike in Stanley Park, and taking a break during a song to sign a record. But also self-aware, as he called on all the parents to put their kids on their shoulders before playing ‘Upside Down’ off of the Curious George soundtrack, and talked about how lame his 16 year old self would think his current band is. But above all else, it was pure fun, as he joked about the photographers making him mess up the words (sorry from Nine Eight Seven!), good-heartedly laughed at people who got hit unexpectedly by beach balls, and called up 2 people dressed as bananas for what else … ‘Banana Pancakes’. Also I’ve got to say this, I’ve seen people in banana costumes at a lot of shows, but this has got to be the best one yet (sorry Robbie and Brett!).

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This night was packed with good music. It seemed like every song they played was an easily recognizable hit, and it made you really remember what a great catalogue of music Jack Johnson has put together throughout the years. The highlight of the night had to be when he pulled out the ukulele for ‘Breakdown’. Say what you will about his mainstream soft-rock persona or family friendly concerts, but his vocals on this song were worth the price of admission and, if I’m being totally honest, made me into a Jack Johnson super-fan. The band put on a great show that clearly resonated with all of their fans, be they new, old, young, casual … and judging from all of the couples on dates at the show drinking rosé on a beautiful summer evening … may even have helped make a few new fans 9 months down the road.

5 out of 5 banana pancakes!

Review: Jeremy Campos

Photos: JP Bow

CBC Nooners // The Velveteins

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CBC are bringing their Musical Nooners Concert Series back for their 8th summer, running every weekday (12pm-1pm) from July 7th to August 25th at the CBC outdoor stage (700 Hamilton st). The event features different artists every day, with genres ranging across the board. It’s a great way to switch up your lunch break, and catch all these local acts, for free!

Among the many talented artists performing is a group that we’ve been quickly falling in love with: The Velveteins, an indie rock band from Edmonton. We were fortunate to catch them in Victoria last November, and Vancouver in April. You best believe we’ll be catching their CBC Nooner set on Friday July 28th.

The Velveteins began as a solo project after Spencer Morphy (vocals, guitar) took an extended trip down to Australia, where he became a beach bum and fell in love with psychedelic music while travelling the country in a campervan. He brought back that beach lifestyle to Canada in 2014, where he teamed up with Addison Hiller (vocals, percussion) and channeled it all through The Velveteins.

Their first EP, Fresh Claws, was released in 2014, followed by a second EP in 2015, titled: A Hot Second With The Velveteins (which was produced and recorded by Cage The Elephant’s Lincoln Parish). These releases received critical acclaim, creating a splash both across the country, and internationally. This May, The Velveteins released their debut full-length album, Slow Wave. Imagine a modern day Beach Boys. It’s the perfect soundtrack for these summer days.

 

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987’s Torben Robertson was able to get in a cheeky Q&A with Spencer Morphy, and even though we only got in a few questions, we can tell the dude’s a chiller.

1) You’ve said your sound is influenced by Australian Psychedelic rock. That’s cool, but seeing as it’s Canada’s 150th, can you describe the influence Canada, and your hometown of Edmonton, have had on the band’s sound?

Yeah totally. We really love Calvin Love’s new record, he’s from Edmonton. Also Michael Rault, whose another Edmonton boy. Other than that Daniel Romano’s super rad, we love him too.

2) Spencer, you’re clearly a capable player: who are your favourite guitarists?

Hah thanks! I’ve had several favourites. I’d have to say as a younger Spenny, Jimmy Page blew my mind. Nowadays I’m always finding new stuff. I really like the guitarist from Whitney, and Ex-Smith Westerns, also Jeff Beck rips.

3) You’ve played with some great acts. USS, July Talk, Milo Greene. For whom have you felt most fortunate to open? And for whom would you like most to open?

We toured with Elephant Stone in November 2016, and those guys are so rad. Definitely a highlight. Personally I would be so stoked to open for a pimp like Jimmy Buffet.

4) Bud Light Lime or Craft Beer?

Bud Light Lime 100%

5) Your collaged album covers are rad. Who does the art?

Addison and I both do them! They feature pretty much all photo’s we’ve taken while playing together.

6) How did you get in touch with Cage the Elephant’s Lincoln Parish? And what was it like working with him?

We just hit him up! I am a big Cage the Elephant fan so it as super rad to work with him. He had a pretty sweet spot in Nashville where we hung out for a week and made the record. Plus we could use all of Cage The Elephants sweet gear. It was a dream, and such a nice guy.

There you have it. See you guys next Friday!

987 out.

Article: Mikhail Din

Q&A: Torben Robertson

Photo 1: Jessie Kirton

Photo 2: Ashley Yip

Tall Tree Music Festival (2017)

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We heard from multiple sources that Tall Tree Music Festival is a weekend you must experience at least once in your life. Well, now we can say for certain that they were correct. This was one of those weekends where everything went right, where everything just fell in our laps. Here’s how it went down:

We arrived in Port Renfrew early Saturday morning, to the warmest welcome we’ve had in a long time. There were many steps we had to follow to get our media passes, but we were met with many smiles and high fives along the way. While the 2 of us representing 987 were getting our credentials, the rest of the crew went to go find us a spot to camp. (Festival tip #987: show up earlier than the second day if you want to easily find a spot to camp). The camping areas were a bit of a free for all, which may sound like a bad thing, but we found it refreshing. Our friends were walking around the grounds looking lost, but within 5 minutes they had found new friends and started a search party for any open spots. Success! One of the best parts of the weekend, other than the stellar lineup, was the making of new friends. All our neighbours quickly became our besties, even if only for 3 days. Tents all set up with the bud light limes chilled to a crisp in the cooler. We were ready to take this weekend on.

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Our first musical experience started with Vancouver local Dave Beckingham on one of the side stages. It was a great way to kick off the Saturday, as we were all getting a “chill vibe” from the festival, and Dave’s music really encompasses “chill vibes.” Recently back from a European tour through Belgium and Germany, playing hits off of his 2016 album, Just When the Light…strong start, Tall Tree.

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Jon and Roy were next on our to-see list. This was one of the biggest throwbacks for me as “Little Bit of Love” was one of the first songs I learned on guitar and a spark for my songwriting days. Talk about nostalgia. Jon and Roy + crew seriously brought it. Touring to support their new album, The Road Ahead is Golden, Tall Tree was one of their last stops in North America, soon to hit Europe mid-July through August to bring the Europeans a little taste of their West Coast indie rock vibes. Catch Jon and Roy at the CBC outdoor stage on Wednesday July 12th (12pm-1pm) for the CBC Nooner series (free!).

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Closing off the second night on the main stage were Easy Star All-Stars followed by Shapeshifter NZ. I’m not going to admit to anything, but I assume those who smoked a little something something had the times of their lives during the ESAS set. These guys have been rocking it since 1997, perhaps longer than some Tall Tree attendees have been on this planet. Their reggae covers ranging from Dub Side of the Moon to Radiodread were the perfect soundtracks to our first sunset of the weekend. Easy Star All-Star‘s latest album release hasn’t been since 2012, when they released “Thrillah,” a reimagined reggae version of Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller,” but that has not deterred them from touring ever since.

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Now, Shapeshifter…let’s just say it wasn’t as chill. Not saying that’s a bad thing, though. The drums, the bass, the crowd wasted on good times. Their set was INTENSE to say the least, but holy smokes…I loved it! P Digs‘ vocals were haunting, layered over the rest of his New Zealand born bandmates (who met in Jazz School and formed this live drum and bass group back in 1999). Their newest album, Stars (released back in November 2016), will be a great addition to your summer soundtrack, if you have one. If you don’t, here’s where you start. The crew I was with couldn’t stop talking about their set for the rest of the weekend, rightfully so. I wouldn’t usually think that drum and bass was my kind of genre, but there really is a time and place. That was the time and that was the place. We danced so hard that next on our itinerary was bed.

Day 2’s hangover was brutal! (Yes, I got drunk the night before, sue me).

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I did a little exploring before all the action started up again. Took in the “million dollar” view, as they call it, while listening to Layten Kramer and Caleb Hart from the outskirts of their respective stages. All this + a little food in my belly from one of the many amazing food carts, I was ready to rumble.

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A day trip to the nearest lake was next on our agenda. Not many festivals I’ve been to have this option. A dip in cold water to help with the heat was necessary.

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Back to the festival we went. The name of the next event was “Champagne and Floatie party” with Illvis Freshly. It was exactly what it sounds like. Floaties being tossed around while champagne was flowing and Illvis Freshly was dropping some Ill and Fresh funky hip hop beats. Nobody can get between me and my champagne!

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*insert 1 hour of bud light lime drinking here*

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It may not be such a big surprise, but the act I was most excited for all weekend was Tokyo Police Club. (Honourable mention to Goldfish, who did an outstanding job preceding TPC). I worked a cross-canada tour with Tokyo Police Club back in 2014. 28 shows in 42 days to be exact. This was the show I was waiting for. The icing on the cake. The best way to top off an amazing weekend that I had just experienced. They played their new shit, their old shit, their good shit, their hype and chill shit. Everything. They had me feeling some things I wasn’t expecting to feel, even though I’ve seen them a million+ times. I was fortunate enough to get backstage post show, to play catch up and give them all high fives. Before we parted ways, I obviously had to get a few words from them on what THEY had just experienced. Graham Wright (keys) gave 987 his exclusive lowdown: “We’ve played at a lot of festivals, but very few of them have been on mountains and none of them have been on mountains this nice. Somebody at the airport told me this was a “hippie festival,” which doesn’t ordinarily bode well for well oiled professionals like us, but for once it was exactly the right kind of hippie festival. The highest compliment I can pay it is to say it was worthy of the beauty that surrounded it. My only complaint is that i didn’t see any eagles, which apparently was a possibility.” So there you have it. If you don’t believe me, believe Tokyo Police Club.

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We give tall tree a 9.87/10. I would give it a 10/10 but it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

987 out.

Review + Photos: Mikhail Din

Credit top banner photo: Gia Calvento