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Dragonette at The Imperial
Dragonette comprises Martina Sorbara, Dan Kurtz, and Joel Stouffer. Neither Kurtz nor Stouffer have their own Wikipedia pages, but they are nonetheless good musicians and helped contrive an immensely entertaining show last night at the Imperial. If one could score a show’s entertainment value on how much one drank and how much one danced, we’d all give last night’s Vancouver edition of the Royal Blues tour tens, yeah, tens all round. Our shirts were sweaty and our heads now ache.
But mistake them not: these electro-pop hits are inspired by complex feels. Like the feels probably associated with separating from your spouse yet remaining together in the band and producing another record. That’s Sorbara and Kurtz’s situation and that record is Royal Blues (now you get it, right?? “Royal” because it’s a grand, flashy LP, “Blues” because they were sad while recording).
Sorbara keeps it lit fam. When asked about deciding on a name for the tape she was like, “let’s get real. I’m the boss. If you’re the only girl in the band, you’re the boss.” Fuck the patriarchy tho!
Yesterday she wore a short jacket covered in reflective triangles that looked like shards from a broken mirror. Grooving concertgoers were allowed glimpses of themselves in the shards and so reminded that they are an integral part of the Dragonette experience, as with any live experience.
If you feel like listening to one song and one song only from the album, “Darth Vader” is my pick, yeah, cos of how dirty the synth is. If you took a synth sound and left it under the supervision of pigs in their pigpen, likely it wouldn’t get as dirty.
Also worth checking out livetronica band The New Deal, Kurtz and Stouffer’s other project.
c u on the dancefloor
Review: Torben Robertson
Photos: Mikhail Din
Royal Blues
Dragonette’s new album, Royal Blues, was released earlier this month. The whole album is definitely worth a listen! It’s officially added to my pre-drinking playlist.
Heading to their set at the Imperial tonight to snap some photos. In the mean time, enjoy their title track 🙂
Holy Ground
The more BANNERS releases, the more stoked I’m getting for his show at The Imperial next February. Here’s some chill vibes to get us through this gloomy November.
The Drugs
I’ve always been in love with Mother Mother. The way they sound, the way they look, the way they everything…
From Ghosting to Modern Love, they’ve gone through an array of sounds, all of which I’ve taken a liking to.
It has been a while since I’d heard anything new from these local rockstars, I was starting to get a bit antsy! Finally, here we have it, their new single The Drugs.
Hometown Sweetheart, Hannah Georgas
It’s been around 6 years since I’ve seen Hannah Georgas…and oh my how things have changed. She’s evolved from the little indie-folk singer that I once knew and loved, into this deep, rocking superstar that I love even more! Not that I didn’t like her music before, but I found myself dancing a lot more this time around.
Don’t believe me? Have a listen for yourself! This one’s been on repeat for some time now.
Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
An interesting collaboration of Rostam Barmanglij, former producer and instrumentalist of Vampire Weekend, and Hamilton Leithauser, the former front man of the Walkmen, is “I Had a Dream That You Were Mine”, the first album from the duo.
The album is remarkably diverse. I’m getting reminiscent vibes of Gregory Alan Isakov (“In a Black Out”), the Papas (“a 1000 Times”), and even Bob Dylan (“Peaceful Morning”). It’s weird how every song sounds like a different album…But I think it’s in a good way.
Here’s my favourite of the bunch.
Being No One, Going Nowhere
STRFKR‘s track “Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second” could be one of my biggest inspirations to start playing music and jamming with my friends. I’ve been a big believer of this Portland-based indie rock band ever since I first laid ears on them back in 2008, and they never cease to amaze me.
Their 5th studio album, Being No One, Going Nowhere, is set to release on Friday November 4th, but luckily enough for us they’ve given us a 4 song teaser!
I couldn’t wait another 5 days to share, so here you go 🙂
You can count on another STRFKR post this upcoming Friday.
Saintmotelevision
I’ve wanted to see Saint Motel play live ever since I listened to their first studio album, Voyeur, in 2012. Their schedule to play in town always seems to clash with me being out of town, but I finally had the opportunity to see them perform on the main stage at Sasquatch this year! Unfortunately their set was cancelled due to intense winds…just my luck 🙁
They released their second full length studio album, Saintmotelevision, on October 21st, and, although it may be a bold statement, I think I like it more than their first!
They really caught on to the catchy sound movement. This upbeat, high tempo, make-you-wanna-dance album is definitely one for the ears!
Listen for yourselves 🙂
Coleman Hell’s full length debut!
For me, Summerland could be the album I was most looking forward to this year. I know that’s a bold statement, but Coleman Hell‘s music always reminds me of summer and good times, and during this transition into winter, it’s exactly what I need.
I highly recommend everyone have a listen to this, and put on your dancing shoes for his show on November 10th at Venue.
#neverforget
Glass Animals
Going in to Glass Animals, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I only knew 2, maybe 3 songs, which I liked enough to get me out the their show.
Needless to say, these guys blew me and everyone else in Queen Elizabeth Theatre away!
The singer was mental, in the best way possible. He was all over the stage, with his wacky dance moves and and the most soothing singing voice…ever. The stage set and light show definitely added a lot to this show too.
Went in a casual listener, came out a big fan.