Last weekend I took advantage of a rare opportunity to see former BC Peak Performance Project winners Dear Rouge twice in two nights. The first show was in Vancouver at the legendary Commodore Ballroom on November 20th and then back in Victoria at Distrikt. I was already in Vancouver the previous night to cover the 2015 Peak Performance Project Finale so why not stay in Vancouver an extra day to see live music at The Commodore two nights in a row? It was also a very eye opening learning experience as a photographer having never “officially” covered a show in Vancouver before.
Live Nation and Skullcandy presented Dear Rouge live at The Commodore Ballroom Friday November 20, 2015.
This is the first time I have had the opportunity of covering an official Live Nation event in Vancouver and only the third time I’ve ever been to The Commodore (crazy, I know). I went into this show mostly to dip my toe into the Vancouver music scene. Opening for Dear Rouge were Vancouver’s The Tourist Company and Regina’s Rah Rah.
Oddly one of the media approval conditions was to meet at coat check at 10:30pm which was after the two opening acts were done. I was able to enter the venue when doors opened but I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to take photos of the openers so I played it safe and just took a couple snaps on my cell phone.
This is the second time I’ve seen The Tourist Company live and it was nice to see them perform on a real stage with good lighting as opposed to a tent in the middle of Centennial Square at night. There was also a sizeable crowd at the front of the stage which was encouraging for the rest of the night.
The Tourist Company: http://www.thetouristcompany.ca
Never heard or seen Rah Rah before this show and from my observation they remind me of Arcade Fire… if Arcade Fire were from the prairies and had more country influence in their music. Definitely wish I could have taken some real photos during the set, but thank goodness for the Victoria show.
Rah Rah: http://www.rahrahband.com
Finally Dear Rouge took the stage in what was their homecoming show after close to six weeks on the road touring Canada and some cities in the United States. It was a treat to see a capacity crowd on the floor for their set. The only downside from a photography stand point was that there was no barrier at the front of the stage for the show so there’ was no “photo pit”. I had to squeeze into a spot before the set and couldn’t move to get better angles. But those are the challenges you’re dealt and you make the best of it.
Dear Rouge: http://www.dearrouge.com
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Dear Rouge with Rah Rah and WILLA at Distrikt Nightclub (November 21, 2015)
Atomique Productions and The [email protected] presented Dear Rouge with Rah Rah and WILLA live at Distrikt Saturday November 21, 2015. I left Vancouver, caught the 3pm ferry and drove straight downtown to Distrikt. The start time of this show was surprisingly early. Normally an early show in town has doors opening at 7pm. Doors for this show were at 6:30 and WILLA’s set began at 6:45 which definitely impacted attendance numbers for WILLA’s performance. That was definitely unfortunate as WILLA performed a fun electro-pop set that should have had a more people on the dance floor.
It made me slightly concerned for the rest of the show after just coming from Vancouver where there were at least a couple hundred at The Commodore to see the first band of the night there. Thankfully my concerns were unfounded.
Willa: http://www.willamusic.com
Rah Rah once again were the lead-in to Dear Rouge. Something that made Rah Rah a joy to finally take photos of is the variety of shots you can get of each band member. One minute a band member is playing one instrument, the next they’re playing something completely different. After seeing them the previous night in Vancouver I knew they would throw baloons shaped as ‘R’, ‘A’, and ‘H’ into the crowd to bounce around, but some people in the audience clearly didn’t get the memo as one person snatched the R and held on for dear life.
Rah Rah: http://www.rahrahband.com
Finally it was time for Dear Rouge to headline their last show of the North American leg of their Black to Gold Tour. When it was time for the set to start Distrikt’s dance floor and terrace was full. It was clear who people were here to see. Maybe it was the low ceiling height and how compact the layout at Distrikt is, but the audience there seemed louder and more boisterous than the thousand plus in attendance at The Commodore.
Dear Rouge: http://www.dearrouge.com
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