Concerts Reviews
Valley at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver – Live Review
On October 23rd, 2024, Canadian indie pop band Valley brought their Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden Tour to the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. It was a night filled with hits spanning across their catalogue since 2018 and a showcase of their new album’s great songwriting and lyricism. After being in America for the first half of the tour and Vancouver being the start of the Canadian cities, Valley expressed their love for the city and gratitude for being back home in Canada.
Renforshort
Canadian singer-songwriter Lauren Isenberg performing as renforshort, opened the show and brought the energy to the awaiting crowd. The Toronto-born artist began posting her songs online when she was only 14. After gaining popularity and releasing music as an independent artist, she signed with Geffen Records in 2019 and adopted the name renforshort. She mentioned to the crowd at the beginning that she was nervous. As the show continued, she began to loosen up and the crowd matched her energy. She performed a cover of Chappell Roan’s “Red Wine Supernova” and had the whole crowd shouting the chorus back at her.
Valley
At 9:05 pm the lights dimmed and the crowd erupted awaiting the band to come on. Blue lights started to illuminate, showing off Valley’s aesthetic stage design matching the cover of their new album, with grass and flowers covering the stage. The band opened with “Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden,” the title track of their new album and instantly had the whole crowd jumping and singing along.
The band is from Toronto and consists of lead vocalist Rob Laska, bassist Alex Dimauro, and drummer Karah James. The band formed in 2014 after the members of two other bands accidentally got double-booked for the same time slot at a local recording studio. The band has seen great success being nominated for two Juno Awards and a Socan Songwriting Prize.
In March 2024, guitarist Mickey Brandolino announced his departure from the band to pursue full-time music production. Leaving the band as a trio left uncertainty for the future of their music. Their new album is truly a showcase of the growth of the band and the songwriting of both Rob Laska and Karah James.
The band’s versatility and talents were on full display as the members switched instruments during the night with drummer Karah singing and playing guitar and Rob playing the piano during more acoustic songs. As the night winded down, Valley played hit songs such as “Swim,” “Like 1999,” “hiccup” and “There’s Still A Light in The House” which had the entire venue singing along and dancing.
Wednesday’s concert was a great night of indie music for die-hard Valley fans and first-time listeners. Playing their biggest hits and showcasing their new album, definitely had concert goers adding a few new songs to their playlist after the show.
Catch Valley on their Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden Tour across Canada from October to December!
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
VALLEY
RENFORSHORT
All Photo Credit: Hunter Soo
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: AC/DC – Hell’s Still Bellin’
AC/DC. Christ. What’s left to say? Everything’s been said, screamed, tattooed on someone’s bicep already. Doesn’t matter. That’s the whole racket, they never changed, never blinked, and more than fifty years later they’re still the loudest gang in the room.
Growing up, they felt ancient already. I am a 2001 kid. Turns out the joke’s on me: they’re still out there, riffing like it’s ’79, refusing to retire into legend status.
Princess Auto Stadium was packed with about 35000 attendees. Everyone was wearing red twinkling devil’s horns. To warm up the night, The Pretty Reckless started with one of the hits “Death by Rock and Roll.” Some support acts play like they’re grateful for the slot. Taylor Momsen played like she owns the stadium. The hair falling forward, somehow the less you can see of her face the more magnetic she gets. Stage presence isn’t something you learn. She’s just got it.
The band didn’t sound like an opener. Every riff landed with the swagger “Going To Hell” and “Since You’re Gone” kept it burning, and “About You” brought it down to something rawer before the lights cut. By the time The Pretty Reckless walked off, the audience were already screaming AC/DC! AC/DC!
Winnipeggers stood stunned through AC/DC‘s whole set. Angus Young, 71 years old still in that signature blue schoolboy uniform and yellow-and-blue cap, ran wild across the stage, duck-walking like no time had passed at all, genuinely, a dream come true to watch in person.
Meanwhile, the rest of the band, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, bassist Chris Chaney and drummer Matt Laug stayed largely in the background, keeping the engine running for Angus and Johnson to tear apart.
The production matched the legend, “Hells Bells” arrived with an actual giant bell hanging over the stage. The setlist ran deep: “Thunderstruck,” “Have a Drink on Me,” “Shot in the Dark,” “Stiff Upper Lip,” “Highway to Hell,” “Jailbreak,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” Almost every song sounded just as good as the album version. The crowd tore their vocal cords apart singing along to “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “TNT.” “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” closed things out with cannons blasting into the night sky.
The house lights came up and nobody moved right away. Smoke still hanging over the stage, ears ringing, horns still lit up red across the stands. Bands this old aren’t supposed to sound this dangerous. They aren’t supposed to still mean it. But AC/DC never got the memo about slowing down, and honestly, thank God for that. I walked out hoarse, deaf, and completely satisfied.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
AC/DC
THE PRETTY RECKLESS
All Photo Credit: Nischal Karki
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Party On, Vancouver: Dogstar Sells Out the Vogue Theatre
The Vogue Theatre was packed wall to wall on September 16 as Dogstar rolled into Vancouver, and the excitement was impossible to miss. New York rock band The Backfires kicked things off with a lively opening set, warming up the room before Bret Domrose, Robert Mailhouse and Keanu Reeves stepped onto the stage. Naturally, hundreds of phones immediately went up when Reeves appeared, because Vancouver was not about to let this extremely Keanu moment go undocumented.
Reeves held down the bass, Domrose took on guitar and vocals, and Mailhouse powered the night from behind the drums. While one member may come with a little more star power, Dogstar quickly felt like a proper three-piece instead of a celebrity side project. The chemistry between them was relaxed and natural, with plenty of smiles, glances and little interactions that made it clear they were genuinely happy to be playing together. Reeves frequently wandered across the stage to jam alongside his bandmates, occasionally making his way toward the front and sending another wave of phones into the air.
Dogstar’s story stretches back to Los Angeles in 1991, when Reeves and Mailhouse first started making music together. Domrose later joined the band, and the trio released two albums before going their separate ways in 2002. More than two decades later, they reunited, returned to the stage and released Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees in 2023. Now, with their latest album All In Now and another tour underway, Dogstar are giving this chapter of the band far more than a quick nostalgia lap.
The set began with “Siren,” immediately setting an easygoing alt-rock tone for the night. Their cover of The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” brought an extra burst of familiarity, while “Punch the Sky” landed with the kind of energy made for a full theatre. Rather than pausing for long speeches, the band kept things moving, letting the music and their chemistry do most of the talking. Domrose’s vocals stayed at the centre of the songs, Mailhouse gave them plenty of drive, and Reeves appeared completely locked into the groove on bass.
Yes, people cheered whenever Reeves moved closer to the edge of the stage. Yes, there was an undeniable thrill in seeing the internet’s favourite human casually rocking out a few feet away. But the attention did not stay on him alone. Domrose and Mailhouse were just as essential to the show, and together the trio delivered a performance that felt tight without becoming overly polished. There was still room for the songs to breathe, for the band to play off one another and for the night to feel a little spontaneous.
A fun surprise arrived during the encore with a roaring cover of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter.” The band shared that they had only performed it live once before, making it a particularly unexpected way to close the night. The Vogue responded accordingly, singing, cheering and soaking up every last second before the trio left the stage.
More than 30 years after forming, and over two decades after calling it quits, Dogstar are back on the road and clearly having a great time together. That sense of fun was infectious, turning the sold-out show into something warmer and more memorable than a simple celebrity sighting. Vancouver may have arrived ready to see Keanu Reeves play bass, but by the end of the night, Dogstar had given the crowd plenty of reasons to stay invested in the whole band.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
DOGSTAR
THE BACKFIRES
All Photo Credit: Heather Horncastle