The Indie Queens are Waiting

Dan Mangan

Date: 03Nov11
Venue: Sonic Session/McDougall United Church

Guests: Scott with a special Appearance by Ms. Spina. 

Tickets $32 from Blackbyrd

CBC Radio 3 did a full album Roll-out for all the songs on this album, their first ever. Dan talks about all the songs between performances. The Podcast can be found on the CBC 3 website or iTunes. On the album, a 12 piece band was used, which he brought into Studio 40 for this podcast. The full band really fills out the sound, compared to the first two albums he put out. The strings really complement the songs nicely, if I do say so myself. I think that the art of the album is back in full force. The flow between the songs, and slight overlap in tracks accompanied with reoccurring themes and building a story is great on this album.  

Sonic Session

The local Modern Rock station Sonic 102.9 FM offers this unique and interesting sneak peak into the music industry with tickets that are available as prizes to listeners periodically. They are often difficult to obtain, but we were luck enough to log on at the right time and get a pair of tickets. The session started off late with the band running behind with a tight tour schedule, driving in from Saskatoon from a performance the night before, and a whole bunch of equipment that was difficult to cram into the miniscule listener lounge, running about 40 minutes behind, and cutting the session a little short unfortunately. Personally, I prefer the acoustic listener lounges, as the concert that night will be with the whole band, and it gets VERY LOUD and crammed in that tiny room with a full drum set, trumpet, upright bass, keyboardist and guitarist in there with their amps et cetera. I also was quite a fan of the simpler nice Nice Very Nice album with just Dan Mangan, his second album which was shortlisted for the 2010 Polaris Prize, which he toured with no band to back him up. I will never kick anyone with an upright bass out of any room, as I have a huge crush on the cello/bass; the drummer and the trumpet could've played from the hallway and saved my ears. Oh well, in 40 years when my hearing is failing, I'm sure modern science will invent new ways for me to experience music. 

He addressed his change from singer songwriter to band in his CBC 3 (21:50) a fore mentioned interview, and his movement away from the first two albums, showing up at radio stations with a full band versus the unplugged folk style with just the guitar, and he's trying to evolve his performance from playing in little coffee shops and trying to fill The Railway Club with even 100 people, to the new successes of playing sold out theaters and churches. I can appreciate striving for something new and reinvention, but simple can introduce an element of honesty into a performance. Some of the best reinterpretations of songs I've seen are done by stripping it bare, playing it acoustically with sparse back up... Kind of the reverse of "If I Am Dead" experience he discusses in the CBC radio 3 interview (27:45).

The band was able to play four songs and have a small interview with Layne Mitchell. I usually am quite fond of Layne, familiar from The Zone 91.3 FM back in my university days, and he actually took us on a quite awesome tour of the studio a few years back. Layne seemed a little off his game with this interview, I think due to the rushed nature and the hectic atmosphere leading up to the session, but I feel like he came off a little cavalier in the between set banter with Dan Mangan, particularly about the Sasquatch Festival, and being surprised about Dan's fan base when he had not. I could be reading too much into it, but let me know if you agree when you watch the session for yourselves here: 

Set List: 

Oh Fortune

Leaves, Trees Forest

Rows of Houses 

About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All

McDougall United Church Performance

Just a little sidebar to say that Blackbyrd really save us from freezing unnecessarily outside before the concert. I headed back into work after a late lunch concert, and was stuck there a little late, so we didn't get to McDougall until 2015, when doors were at 1930. The line-up was half a block long and not moving very quickly with some delays at the door confirming tickets. Scott and I are huge supporters of buying tickets at our local music store Blackbyrd whenever they are available, and we picked one of the last few there a week before the concert. We would much rather the handling fee go to  local music than Ticketmaster. Oh, fortune for us, an organizer walked down the line and offered anyone with actual tickets (that can tear vs the print off) to jump the line and go right in. We leaped to the front with a lot of glares from those stuck in the cold and nabbed a great spot in the balcony to the left of the stage.  We were able to get to the Merch table before the vinyl sold out, and get all comfy and settled in during the first opening band.

And that's why you support local music stores: rewards for doing what's right.

There were two opening bands: The Crackling & Daredevil Christopher Wright. We arrived halfway through the set of The Crackling. The lead singer is Kenton Loewen, the drummer from Dan Mangan's band (as well as Mother Mother). The song writing was solid, a little jazzy; I think the style was a fitting warm up tone for the people streaming in from the cold.  I forgave Kenton from his earlier assault of my tympanic membranes in the listener lounge. Daredevil Christopher Wright played for another 45 minutes as the rest of the crowd streamed in, filling out the terrace in the church. They opened with an interesting acappella song, which was a tad awkward, but definitely got the attention of the crowd, which is difficult to do when you are billed as "Guests" on the performance.

Dan Mangan

 Dan Mangan took to the stage around 2210 and was onstage until midnight, much to the chagrin of my sleepy Scotty. It was quite a late night, reminding me why mid week concerts are reserved for those artists that you really can't miss.... Although it made getting up for a flight to New York at 0400 the next morning quite atrocious. The church was packed to the brim, with people on the floor in front of the congregational seating and the terrace seats all filled up also.  

Set List 

About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All
Sold 
Oh Fortune
Leaves, Trees, Forest
Post-War Blues
Basket
You Silly Git
Road Regrets
If I Am Dead
Daffodil
Starts With Them, Ends With Us
Some People
Rows Of Houses
How Darwinian
Jeopardy
    
The Indie Queens Are Waiting
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Robots 

The set was great. With a mix of old and new songs, more of an emphasis on the new album, but a definite nod to the previous albums, and one solo song midway through the set. There was such a friendly, loving atmosphere, with lighthearted banter between sets. The band sounded excited to be only two sleeps from retuning home to Vancouver before the European leg of their tour began. A few areas got a little long winded and instrumentally exploratory, but all in all a great performance. The traditional closing song of Robots included Mr. Mangan hopping along the tops of the pews into the crowd and rousing chants from the crowd; something we all know but rarely have a chance to bequeath: robots need love too. 

The title "Oh Fortune" is based on Gertude Ederly swimming the English Channel and arriving home to a ticker-tape parade. Large monumental events like this impact many lives, with individual yet collective memories of one situation. Be it good or bad, these events shape what happens in our lives. It's a type of fate, but also a logical impact of causal relationships later in life and within a community. The album is a solids follow up, and I enjoy the variety of instruments on the album, although sometimes there is too much going to dissect all the parts, but just enjoy it as a whole. I suppose that is true for monumental events too. I really enjoy Rows of Houses from the new album, as well as Leaves, Trees Forest. Jeopardy is also awesome, for the mere fact that every verse is stated in the form of a question.

From the previous album, I really enjoy Les Mot Croises and Pine for Cedars, neither of which were played in the set. I heard a interview where Dan discussed the significance of crosswords to him and how he would work through them with his now fiance in the early days of his relationship, and the song always has resonated with me after. Pine for Cedars reminds me of the west coast, and days when I feel home sick for a forest where I can feel dwarfed by the lush green forests that make you feel safe yet insignificant, a brief moment in the life of a beautiful giant.