Spring Came and Brought Chad VanGaalen

On Saturday I finally kicked off my winter clothing and celebrated spring's arrival with the warm sounds of Chad Vangaalen at Sugar nightclub. Although prior to the concert I had heard only a few of his songs, I'd been told nothing but good things about Chad's music in the past. So by the second song, which was "Willow Tree", I became fixated on the lyrics and began bobbing to the strums of his little white guitar. Not much unlike those of the great Neil Young, Chad's high pitch vocals sound like the resonating calls of a nighthawk on the prairies.

While I did think some of the audience was getting a little bit too into his performance, VanGaalen's showmanship, which included paying $50 for a girls dreadlock, was pretty awesome. Victoria loves Chad VanGaalen and Chad VanGaalen loves Victoria. By the end of his set I was definitely getting more and more into his music and since the concert I've been listening to his new CD, Soft Airplane, non-stop. His songs are just so warm and chuck full of pretty melodies that it really makes it tough not to like the talented Chad VanGaalen.

Unfortunately, I missed the first band to take the stage, but what I did catch was a fucking amazing set by Women. The combination of early Brit and psychedelic was everything I'd love new rock to be. I will say their vocals were a little lacking volume wise, but these positive choruses and guitar bits that phased in and out kept me buzzed for their entire performance. The concert was the best $20 dollars I've spent in 2009.

Here's my favorite Chad VanGaalen track as well a great song by Women:

Chad VanGaalen - City Of Electric Light mp3
Women - Black Rice mp3

Jon-Rae Fletcher: Murder and Sorrow with Alot of Love

Last week I saw Jon-Rae Fletcher for the 3rd time and, as always, was shook to my foundations by songs of soul revival and broken hearts. His new CD, Oh Maria, is a concept album in which Jon-Rae voices a romance that brought him to dark days. These roaring vocals, country style guitar, and hymnal melodies create this unparalleled rarefied experience of flowing sorrow coated in brown-sugary folk.

The show was in the back of the 50-50 Arts Collective and was filled to the walls by a massive shaking and chanting audience. Jon stood at the front, backed by members of the mind-blowing band Ladyhawk, and played on the emotions of every hopeless romantic in the audience. I'm not one to compare concerts, but the vibes of this particular show will sit above all others in my mind for a long time to come.

Just closing, I can't go without mentioning the amazing opening performance by Himalayan Bear. In his solo performance, Ryan Beattie, also of the band Chet, wielded a wailing hollow body guitar and lulled us with his harmoniously filled dynamic vocals. I don't rightly know how to describe his music but when listening to it I felt like I could relate to the lifestyles of gold-miners in the 19th century.

Below is the title track from Oh Maria which sheds a little light on the concept of the rest of Jon-Rae's new album:

Jon-Rae Fletcher - Oh Maria mp3