Monday, May 08, 2023
the hardest part is getting old


I took the train down to Seattle last weekend to see Laura Stevenson's Wheel 10th Anniversary tour.

I didn't hear Wheel when it was released. Laura Stevenson has kinda flown under the radar her whole career and she was definitely outside of my purview in 2013. But--as I've mentioned since I started sporadically jotting things down here again--her music is the music I've grown to love the most since I stopped writing this thing regularly. I'd have a hard time picking my favourite one of her records, but I fucking love Wheel, so I was stoked to hear the whole thing live and in full, especially since I missed her touring it the first time around.

I was also stoked to see a show at the Vera Project for the first time in ages (I think the last time was Shellac before Wheel even came out). Vera's a place that every city should have, but there's not many places like it. It's an always all ages venue that also hosts workshops, an art gallery, a screen print shop, and a recording studio. It's the kind of place I would've lived in when I was 15/16 and I'm just glad it exists. I wish we had something similar here.

Laura was on Craig Finn's (excellent) podcast, That's How I Remember It, and talked about the upcoming tour and how arrangement/production-wise, she did a lot of stuff in the studio because she could. And if I had a complaint about Wheel, it would be that it feels weirdly busy. On that note, it was nice to hear the songs, not exactly reimagined, but given a little space. Opener, "Renée," is a song that already sounds so moving in it's recorded version and it made me well up a little when it reached its climax (quoted in the title of this blog). Most of the familiar flourishes were there, but that extra breathing room really centred things on Laura's voice.

I also loved how it was just dead quiet during songs. As I mentioned above, Laura's kinda flown under the radar and I'd take that further to say it's kinda weird that she's not more popular, especially now, considering how much attention a lot of acts she's inspired are getting. But that also meant that people who go to see her are really there to see her and there wasn't the usual ambient chatter during the quiet parts.

I wish there'd been more time for more songs after the Wheel set, but the encore did included a really beautiful cover of "Strong Enough" (here's that from the night before in Portland) with opener Katie Malco and Kayleigh Goldsworthy (who was on keys and violin in Laura's band). Shout out to soon-to-be Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Sheryl Crow.

now playing: Laura Stevenson - "Telluride"


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upcoming shows
2/8 Twin Sister, Eleanor Friedberger, and Ava Luna @ the Media Club
2/9 David Choi @ the Rio
2/10 Secret Chiefs 3 and Dengue Fever @ the Rickshaw
2/13 White Buffalo @ the Media Club
2/14 The Ballyntines and Pleasure Cruise (TT) @ the Biltmore
2/18 Grimes w/Born Gold @ Fortune (early)
2/18 Cruel Young Heart, Young Liars, the Oh Wells, and Matiation @ the Dodson Rooms (AA)
2/18 Cursive w/UME @the Media Club
2/19 The Asteroids Galaxy Tour w/Vacationer @ Venue
2/20 Veronica Falls w/Bleached @ the Media Club
2/26 DJ Krush @ Fortune
2/29 Trevor Hall @ the Media Club
3/6 Slow Club w/Signals @ the Media Club
3/7 Cloud Nothings w/Mr. Dream @ the Media Clubr
3/8 Islands @ the Rio
3/10 Memoryhouse @ the Waldorf
3/17 William Fitzsimmons @ the Biltmore (early)
3/18 Magnetic Fields @ the Vogue (AA)
3/21 Plants & Animals>/b> @ the Rickshaw
3/22 Drive-by Truckers @ the Commodore
3/23 White Rabbits @ the Biltmore
3/23 Loney Dear @ the Media Club
3/24 Sharon Van Etten and the War on Drugs @ the Biltmore (early)
3/25 Nada Surf and An Horse @ the Rickshaw
3/27 The Ting Tings @ the Commodore
4/5 House de Racket @ the Electric Owl
4/6 Chairlift w/Nite Jewel @ the Electric Owl
4/7 Heartless Bastards @ the Media Club
4/8 Metronomy @ Venue
4/8 Gotye @ the Vogue (AA)
4/9 Cults @ Venue
4/10 First Aid Kit @ Venue
4/10 Andrew Bird w/Laura Marling @ the Vogue (AA)
4/13 The Odds and the Grapes of Wrath @ the Rickshaw
4/14 The Joel Plaskett Emergency @ the Vogue (AA)
4/24 School of Seven Bells w/Exitmusic @ the Electric Owl
4/26 Justice @ the PNE Forum (AA)
4/27 M83 @ the Vogue (AA)
4/27 Yukon Blonde @ the Commodore
4/28 Neon Indian @ Venue (early)
5/6 Delta Spirit w/Waters @ the Electric Owl
5/9 Yann Tiersen @ the Rickshaw
5/11 Great Lake Swimmers w/Cold Specks @ the Commodore
5/12 The Boxer Rebellion> @ the Biltmore
5/27 Coeur de Pirate @ Venue

legend:
AA = all ages
DG = @damaged goods
DFTK = @dirty for the kids
FJW = @fake jazz wed
EN = @easy now
GD = @glory days
HL = @higher learning JH = @junior high
JY= @junkyard
RRPP = @rocknroll pizza party
SD = @shindig
TT = @toonie tuesday
NW = @no worries

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pat's
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east van soul club
glory days
ice cream social
no more strangers
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vanmega
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fine mist
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ladyhawk
mt-40
no gold
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cam dales
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expendable youth
john cougar
my!gay!husband!
paul devro

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you ain't no picasso
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mp3s are for preview purposes, if you like what you hear, buy it at your favourite indie record store. please don't direct link to photos. click for more.

writing by Quinn
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