Stanley Fest Day Two

Stanley Park Malkin Bowl

Vancouver, BC

on Sep 1 2008

Brian Pascual (CHARTattack)

09/03/2008 2:42pm

When the original forecast of rain for day two of the Stanley Park Singing Exhibition changed to partly sunny skies, hopes for a repeat of day one's success were high.

Just as The Evaporators brought high energy to the opening spot on Sunday, Seattle's Visqueen started Monday with their revved-up, sugar-coated power pop. Sounding like a less artsy Metric and a harder Go-Go's, the quartet received a positive response from a crowd that was noticeably smaller and younger than on the first day. Visqueen have toured with The New Pornographers in the past, and lead singer Rachel Flotard has sung back-up for Neko Case live and on Fox Confessor Brings The Flood.

Very little was known about The 1900s beforehand, but those who caught the Chicago septet's set were treated to a gem. Their male and female vocal harmonies and slightly countrified indie pop sound had people dancing. There was much to take in visually, with the guys dressed smartly in blazers, ties and cowboy shirts, while the girls looked like they walked off the pages of an early '70s issue of Rolling Stone.

Next up was the "is-he-really-playing-this-festival?" solo set from Belle And Sebastian's Stevie Jackson. Jackson's been friends with the Pornos since they toured with Belle And Sebastian a few years ago, and he said "yes" as soon as Carl Newman asked him to join the festival's lineup. Giddy Belle And Sebastian fans could only wait wide-eyed to see what Jackson would play.

If he'd announced before his set that he'd only play one Belle And Sebastian song, he might have received a collectively whiney, "Awww." After the fact, though, there was hardly a disappointed face in the crowd, as Jackson's solo acoustic folk-pop songs were just as quirky and whimsical as you'd expect. His often minute-long prefaces to each song were almost as good as the songs themselves, with Jackson rambling about scary pigeons, Japanese schoolgirls, urban ghettos and awkward boy/girl drama. Effortlessly charming and adorable, Jackson sated his fans when he played what he called a "cover" from the band he normally plays with, the sweet but mean "To Be Myself Completely" from 2006's The Life Pursuit.

With three upbeat, quirky pop acts already scratched off to create a certain vibe and flow, local rockers Black Mountain arrived to completely shift everyone's gears. Leader Stephen McBean fired out heavy riff after heavy riff and drummer Josh Wells provided so much bombast you could feel your nuts shaking. Black Mountain easily showed why they have to be seen live in order to fully feel their music. Fuzzed-out basslines and swirly keyboard lines rounded out the band's psych-metal prog rock. Vocalist Amber Webber also put everyone in a trance with her witchy wailing and tambourine shaking.

Black Mountain brought as blistering a set as any band could possibly bring to an outdoor stage. It was mind-blowing and I enjoyed it, even though it made for a less-than-logical build-up to The New Pornographers.

After two days and nine bands, the festival's headliners finally walked on around 8:30 p.m., with Case and Newman taking their places at the front of the stage. Any New Pornos fans should have been justifiably shitting themselves knowing they'd more than likely see 100 per cent full attendance from Newman and company. It happened, as the band's usual touring lineup was joined by "part-time" member Dan Bejar.

Prior to the festival, Newman said he was excited to be able to play a song like 2007's Challengers standout, "Myriad Harbour." He always feels bad for not playing it, but doesn't feel right doing so without Bejar.

At one point, Newman also pointed out that every member of the band over the last few years was onstage, with tour-challenged members Case and Bejar also joined by Chicago singer Nora O'Connor, who has sung on New Pornos albums (and who also sang with both Andrew Bird and Case the day before).

The band drew evenly from their last three albums and were in fine form. It almost wasn't fair that Case was part of the lineup, as her presence (and that voice) took things to a different level.

Once you mixed in Bejar singing "Testament To Youth In Verse" (despite the weird feedback that no one could figure out), this night was clearly a New Pornos love-in. Mass Romantic fans were treated to the title track, but, without a doubt, the set highlights were songs that Bejar played.

The fun that everyone had during "Jackie, Dressed In Cobras" was unmistakably infectious, and evidence that as sublimely good as they are in their normal touring form, The New Pornographers really aren't complete without every member present. At this point, New Pornos fans know the band's story and realize this isn't realistically possible for them to pull off all the time, which made this night all the more special.

Maybe Newman knows they're on to something here, as he informed an enthusiastic audience that the band plan to do this again next year.