This is the story of my week at The Biltmore Cabaret. I attended 3 events at the Vancouver Venue, hoping to see some great acts. Take a look and you'll see what I did!
Tuesday March 3rd, Jody Glenham CD Release Party
Location: The Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, BC
5 acts, short sets, fast-paced changeovers. Let's get started!
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Opener The Rising Price of Gas – solo-acoustic R&B/Hip Hop covers. That’s right. Like Lucinda Williams singing Ludacris. Pretty hilarious concept, but her supple voice paired with ukulele and guitar sounded surprisingly sweet, and out of the ordinary. 'Lollipop' was my fave.
Next up, Bad Moves telecaster-driven indie rock a-la Pursuit of Happiness or The Battles. Frontman Bobby let one slip with his quip “This is my last song… I mean Our Last Song.” I take it he does the writing. Whoever wrote those songs, they rocked my toque off.
3rd on the sched, Laura Smith with her band called... Laura Smith! I had to snicker at the introduction 'We are Laura Smith'. Laura has a pretty voice and a penchant for penning piano-pop, but something was amiss with her set tonight. There were technical issues, and I sensed a lack of connection with the crowd. There's a full band onstage & you could have played soccer on the dancefloor. That's never a good sign of how things are going. Laura and her band are playing 2 shows at the upcoming JunoFest, where I'm hopeful she can make more of an impact on the crowd and make this critic eat crow. You've got to remember, these folks are still pretty young, and still gelling musically. Could have just been an off-night, but overall, I was underwhelmed.
And now, the piece de resistance, headliner and ex-Winnipegger Jody Glenham celebrates the release of her sophomore album 'Focus Pull'. In a genius move, Jody screened her music video for 'One Shot' on a small canvas at the back of the stage. By forcing the audience to move forward, the singer/songwriter had us right where she wanted us! Now with a rambunctious crowd before her, Jody and her new backing band tore into the set. In a true sign of camaraderie, Laura Smith and Louise Burns returned to the stage to sing BGV's. That was a nice touch. A new band usually has its hiccups, but I saw none on this night. Great set, right down to the cupcakes, which Jody bakes herself (admittedly when she's nervous). The crowd either wanted more songs or more cupcakes, but alas there weren't any! Just kidding. I think the band only rehearsed 10-or-so songs for tonight, but rest assured, there are plenty more on Jody's 2 albums and myspace page. Now let's get some scotch!
But wait, there's still another act: Analog Bell Service. I don’t think anybody wanted to go on after these guys. Yes, they didn’t take the stage till waay late, but they shook the place all night long. Energetic ska-rock the likes of The Specials or The English Beat – only with an added P-Funk Punch courtesy of bassist Colin Cowan. Brothers Chris and Mike Leitch switched off the lead vocals flawlessly, trading guitar for keyboards without missing a beat. If you didn’t look at the stage, you probably wouldn’t notice that the lead singers had changed. Siblings singers are just naturally similar, vocally. Oh and the white sunglasses were so chic! Analog Bell Service stole the freakin’ show tonight! It’s a shame barely anyone stuck around to witness it. But I sure as hell did!
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