Georgas was the headliner that evening for an amazing bill of lovely and talented ladies, beginning with another Vancouver-based singer-songwriter, Jody Glenham (jodyg on the R3 blog). After Russ hung up his costume-- a larger-than-life-size edition of the highly-coveted CBC Radio 3 scarf-- we settled in for her set.
A bartender by night when she's not performing/touring, moxie is the word that comes to mind when describing Glenham. That's what it takes to self-release two albums, including her latest, Focus Pull, which earned a "Best of Vancouver" nod in 2009. At the keyboard, whether delivering the 40s-inspired "Coffee Soaked" or a contemporary pop gem like "Buttons," Glenham and her warm, redolent voice are as straight-up as a shot of (insert your favourite scotch whisky here).
Glenham's Halloween costume celebrated significant events in Canadian history. |
Allie Hughes was the evening's wildcard for us. If you haven't heard of her yet, we guarantee that will change. Even in the indie world there are a lot of bands doing the same thing, albeit well; artists like Allie Hughes give the status quo a welcome jolt. As much as we dislike cliches-- and Hughes is about as far from cliched as you can get-- sometimes no other words will do: we were blown away. While Hughes is definitely the diva (in person she was modest and not surprisingly, a tad eccentric), we were also really impressed by her band. Operatic and unabashedly original, don't miss the chance to see Allie Hughes live.
Following a six-piece band, especially one as over-the-top as Hughes, isn't easy but Hannah Georgas and guitarist/keyboardist Andrew Braun more than held their own.
With her distinctive voice, candid stage presence and some of the most popular songs in Canadian indie today (and on U.S. television, if you've heard the Walmart commercial featuring "You've Got a Place Called Home"), no theatrics are needed for Georgas. The silence in between songs as Georgas performed the majority of her debut album, This is Good, plus "The Beat Stuff" and some new material (looking forward to hearing those fully arranged), was truly louder than words from a less captivated audience.
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Not only does Georgas write some pretty good alt pop, she's a pretty good sport too, willingly posing with the giant R3 scarf as we sent a special message to a fellow blogger and Hannah fan.
Photos: Russ Gordon