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Not such a new band, but just beginning to get recognition around North America,
Longwave drifts spectacularly through their sophomore full-length album, The
Strangest Things. After a failed attempt at seeing them play in Toronto during
the North-By-Northeast festival, I was definitely looking forward to catching
the show here in Vancouver.
The Royal Hotel is an unfortunate venue to see any band in, but I imagine it’s
particularly disconcerting to out-of-towners. It’s not a dive or anything.
It just has this tiny stage, not the greatest sound, weird sightlines, and bland
lighting make it a challenge for musicians every night. I’ll sum it up
now – Longwave passed the test.
Starting off the early night was a band called Stellastarr*. I’d heard
a few nominal things about them prior to this gig, but I wasn’t expecting
the warbly, energetic, riveting music that was presented to me. The most striking
similarity I believe is to The Cure, and this similarity is mostly found in
the vocals. Shawn Christensen has a voice that trembles with emotion, Amanda
Tannen’s backing vocals compliment him perfectly, and the energy the band
puts forth is incredible. I was amused to see shirtless drummer Arthur Kremer
with the band’s trademark asterisk taped over one of his nipples with
black duct tape. Nice touch. They did fall prey to the nasty lights in the bar,
which they attempted to have dimmed. Overall, very impressive. I picked up the
3-song EP, have really been digging it, and I’m looking forward to the
full length album, which is due to be released in late September. Find out more
at www.stellastarr.com
Coming from New York and a shiny new part of the Big Hassle family (the same
fine folks who brought the world The Strokes), Longwave would now have an extra
challenge in trying to match the startlingly great set put on by Stellastarr*.
It didn’t take long for them to prove their worth as a live band. They
opened the set with “Wake Me When It’s Over”, also being the
first track on the album. They came out swinging. The tunes are atmospheric,
kind of calming and soothing, but with moments of pure pandemonium. Still, through
those louder times, the melodic elements still come through, and the songs continue
to be incredibly smooth and beautiful. During in one song’s breakdown,
guitarist Shannon Ferguson took one mighty leap backwards, and I suppose not
being aware of how close he was to the amps stacked at the back of the stage
(remember, the stage in this room is very shallow), collided with them, knocking
the top one straight over backwards, and also disturbing a fan keeping drummer
Mike James from overheating. Ferguson regained his own balance fairly easily
and came forward to get out of the way of all the gear. A member of the band’s
entourage quickly dashed onto the stage to pick up the toppled equipment. In
addition to the flying instruments, trashed drum kits, and on-the-floor freakouts,
Ferguson also employed the assistance of a small, unidentified toy that made
some wacky noises when dabbled all over the guitar strings or yelled into. Very
unique moments. Definitely a lot of fun. They ended the set with “Exit”
(how appropriate) and “Make Me Whole”, from their debut album, Endsongs.
To give Longwave a look, check out www.longwavetheband.com
While I believe this show would have been a million times better if hosted
at, say, Richard’s instead of the Royal, this was by far and away a better
result than I could have hoped for here. The bands were spectacular, particularly
in the face of this adversity. I look forward to seeing them again under more
favourable conditions, but either way, I strongly suggest giving this band a
look, whether live or on disc.
Don't forget to check out the Longwave PHOTOS and Stellastarr PHOTOS!
-Andy Scheffler
www.members.tripod.com/andydesign
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