Tonight, the herald treks into the downtown core to accept an offering at The Pearl, a venue setting up great line-ups as it continues to pull in acts from all over the world, tied with some of the best Vancouver has to offer.
This evening is poised to be delicious as the openers are offerings the herald has previously relished. While he has never heard of the headlining band, he is certain satisfaction will be provided to Him.
DOUR
Kicking off the night, this local trio offered a dose of shoegaze, stoner, and psych rock that blended well to create a grooving, ethereal sound that lifted me up and allowed me to float along the floor.
While their sound was hardly uplifting and chipper, with most of the jams giving off a doomy stoner vibe, it was the sexy guitar tone that gave them that sound.
The drums were fantastic, steady, and tight. They played a number of interesting parts that played with the time signatures a bit, keeping my attention while the guitar tried to take it off into the clouds. The bass was a great middle ground between the two, bringing it all together to create a killer set to bounce around to.
It was a well-paced set, with a handful of slower songs sprinkled in amongst the mostly rocking and even explosive jams, as things moved well, never staying in a sound too long. They were tight, brought good energy, and crafted a killer opening offering.
The place was well attended with several folks up front getting into things, if only on the spot and subtly. As always, I found the empty spot up front, carved an area out, flailed, and spun to my heart’s content.
GADFLY
Making their first offering in a while, this trio is sporting a new bassist as they take the large and elevated stage at The Pearl, definitely the most prominent place I have seen them play. Bringing their familiar style of stoner/psych rock with a Persian flavor, the crowd got much more engaged, and even a little mosh pit busted open, if only briefly.
The lead singer/guitarist has a fantastic voice that blends Persian singing styles with stoner rock, adding an extraordinary element. One of their big hits, ‘Caravan,’ shows this blended weave of genres with its swaying verses and big bouncing/banging chorus.
The drummer was on extra fire tonight, bringing some serious thumping energy to the table. They were punishing those drums in a focused and aggressive manner, bringing all the energy for the rest of the band to feed off.
The new bassist seemed really comfortable up there, and their style fit into the sound nicely. They have clearly spent their time away from the stage getting up to speed, as there was nary a hint that this was their first show with them.
DZ DEATHRAYS
Coming into the night, I had never heard of this Australian quartet, but folks spoke positively of them, so I was stoked. The band was jazzed up, and their high-octave rock had the energized crowd bouncing. It was a good time, fuck yeah, rock show; the only problem is it was totally off-putting.
After the openers brought a certain flavor, feeling, and mood, I was locked in for something in a similar vein, and what I got just didn’t connect. There was nothing wrong with the music; the band was tight and polished, but it was such a flip from the openers that I found myself completely disengaged after fifteen minutes.
I could not lose myself in the music, allowing distractions to keep me from my task as a conduit for Him, so I gave them a standard half-hour and then left. While I was still able to flail to some degree, there was ample energy on that floor to satisfy Him, as this crowd loved what was on offer.
He was satisfied with tonight’s offerings.