The show started with The Old Familiar which appeared to be Jon Bunyan's band (the former guitarist for Bend Sinister). It was pretty much Jon Bunyan performing with another guy who occasionally played a stand-up bass. It was pretty good but like he warned us before almost every song he played, it was very "mellow" (especially compared to the following bands).
Then, The Green Hour Band hit the stage. Accompanied by psychedelic visuals of oil on an overhead projector, they rocked out like a blatant version of old BRMC and Oasis mixed together. When they were playing, I felt like I was in a movie. At the front of the stage, a group of people smoking weed, cigarettes and drinking beer; were dancing around. And with the stereotypical hippies in the front, the crazy visuals and rockin' music, I felt like I was in a different decade.
Bend Sinister started their show off with the same song that starts off their album, "The News". They played Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers from start to finish along with entertaining visuals from old movies throughout the whole show (minus the encore). At first, I was surprised at how well everything was put together; the visuals matched up perfectly with the music but then, I remembered that I shouldn't have been surprised considering Dan Moxon (vocalist/keyboardist) is a film major from SFU and enjoys film scores.
Along with the visuals, the band was rocking out hardcore on the theatre stage. At one point, Dan Moxon lost his headband due to head banging and hammering on one of the three keyboards/organs he was playing on. Jon Bunyan played with the band in a couple of songs; he mainly performed with them in the song he wrote, "Because Because." They also had two women dressed in similar attire singing back-up vocals and a set of string instrumentals in the back.
I felt a little lost at times; only because I was at a rock concert in a movie theatre. I wasn't really sure how to act. I wanted to rock out but I felt like I had to conform to the comfort of my theatre seat. Some audience members went to the front of the stage but they were mainly taking photos or just getting a closer look. Even though I felt restricted, I think this added another element to the concert (I also think it was something the band was going for). Audience members were coerced to rock out to the music in their heads with the visuals standing by. I kind of liked how this messed with my head at one point. When "Dr. Lee" was playing, I was completely absorbed in the visuals and actually forgot I was at a concert. About halfway through the song, extra lights came on and I snapped out of it. I came back to the concert amazed.
Overall, the concert was very good, unique and entertaining. Besides the occasional sinking mic, the concert flowed smoothly and was performed very well. I was especially impressed with the visuals and the intense onstage performance.
I suggest you definitely check out Bend Sinister's MYSPACE and when they play Vancouver again, check out their show.
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