Northcote Social Club
In
case you were wondering where Dan Mangan is from, tonight’s crowd has no
hesitation in reminding you. This is one of the most excited and happily noisy audiences
this venue has ever seen, and it could well be an O week show in Vancouver, so
often do you hear shout outs to Canadian sporting teams (Go Canucks! Go
Vancouver! Go Canadians!). The stage is littered with acoustic instruments, an
electric bass and guitar, the crowd with happily drunk Canadians. As Mangan and
his band walk out the place erupts with cheers that are soon drowned out by swells
of feedback, bowed double bass and shimmering of cymbals that begin About As Helpful
As You Can Get Without Being Any Help At All, the opening track from his most
recent album Oh Fortune.
As
the first of many heartfelt and vibrant indie-folk tunes finishes and is
replaced with cheering, Mangan begins his banter that can only be described as
even better than his excellent songs. ‘You have a very cool city. I went to
Fitzroy, it was nice, I would reference some other areas we walked around…but I
would pronounce them incorrectly' he deadpans between more friendly heckles.
‘Did you know Whistler is the 3rd largest Australian city?’ He continues. ‘And
judging by the turnout tonight, Melbourne is Vancouver's third largest suburb’.
He and the band ease into Oh
Fortune, then Leaves, Trees, Forest each of which foreground dynamic shifts,
the roughshod playing of acoustic guitars, Mangan’s wailing vocals and smart,
evocative lyrics. Feedback is barely controlled and at times instrumental
passages resemble Godspeed You! Black Emperor with patches of chaos and frantic
playing soon replaced by bucolic meditations.
As Sold kicks in, the crowd hollers, stamps, claps and sings with a rare fervour.
“Sweet!” he smiles at us after the applause dies down. “We got nominated for
some awards back in Canada,” he mutters to more cheers. “But the most exciting
thing was that the host was William Shatner…fucking Nickelback,’ he grins. The
amazing Road Regrets follows, with its huge chorus that any non-fans know
only too well by the end. The equally catchy and driven Post War Blues, and Stand By Me-inspired ‘Rows of Houses’
follow, amidst discussion of wi-fives (online high-fives), the German
equivalent ‘vi-fi’, and a brief acoustic interlude of Basket with its
whistling solo from drummer Kenton Loewen, a song that actually causes
quietness amongst the audience. The storming Some People follows and allows
guitarist Gord Grdina to run rampant over his acoustic in a very un-folky way. Geo-Party aka Jeopardy with its every-line-a-question delivered with
genuine angst and stellar playing all round sends the band off to a massive
ovation.
The
highlight of the night comes late, and the encore of his big Canadian hit Robots trumps even Road Regrets for its deafening crowd participation and
overwhelming positivity. The final song So Much For Everyone sees the band
somehow squeeze into the centre of the room and play acoustically, while the
audience sings loud backing, closing what can only be described as wholly
amazing and unforgettable set. But you could have guessed that because, since you're reading this, you're probably Canadian.
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