The Gentle Infidels

What a fantastic way to spend a Saturday! The Railway club continues to remain our favourite live music venue in the city. The entire front of the bar is oriented towards the stage, and the patrons all arrive with a great ear and appreciation of music. The sound is always fantastic and luscious and the scotch selection can’t be beat! Saturday night was a fundraiser for our good friends Arctic who are making their way across Europe soon. They had a huge raffle and I believe they raised a fair chunk of change for their trip.

The Railway Club - different night, same awesome awesomeness

We wanted to extend our thanks to everyone who came out to the show. We’re going to sound like a broken record on this blog soon but the crowd can make or break an entire night’s vibe. On Saturday everyone was tuned in, people listened intently to every act and gave a lot of great feedback. It made us feel so great to hear all of your cheers, applause, and startled exclamations when we pulled off some of our favourite musical moments. When you’re listening, we play much better, we rock harder, we love what we do even more. So thank you for giving us that performer’s adrenaline rush. It’s the best feeling in the world.

The second best feeling is LISTENING to some great music and in that respect we were not disappointed.

Danny Echo

Following us Infidels came Danny Echo in a stripped down, intimate format. Normally a full band with drums, keys and bass, this time around Danny played acoustic guitar and the keyboardist (Ian?) jumped on guitar as well. The duo traded rhythm and solo lines and really let us hear the underlying heart of each song.

With charming lyrics, great energy, and a really awesome red shiny jacket (totally in style) they had us hooked. The chord progressions used are reminiscent of Oasis, so Chris was doubly hooked owing to her obsession with said band for most of her formative years. We really want to see the full band in action soon.

Next up were the band of the night, Arctic! We love these guys. Marcus Martin and Kirsten Starcher are both amazing solo artists on their guitar and bass, respectively, so when combined they’re pretty much unstoppable. Rob on drums adds a strong backbone to the endless ambient guitar loops and fluid bass lines. He’s also able to incorporate the many samples, sequences and electronic drum sounds that Arctic uses to enhance their songwriting. Playing complex drums along to a click and sequences is a huge feat, we’re really impressed. We couldn’t even use a click to record our album, let alone trying to do it live!

Eyes closed listening indeed - Project Arctic

Kirsten mentioned that when we were playing she “went to [her] happy place” and just sat back and let the music wash over her. We did the same with Arctic’s set: Marcus’ seamless loop station and effects use is hypnotic and their vocal harmonies layered on top makes for some great eyes-closed listening. Arctic got everyone dancing in the tiny crowded front section of the club for their whole set. It already felt like an exclusive private party at some hot club in Europe, so they’re going to earn a lot of fans as they tour, for sure.

We Landed On The Moon!

Finally we got the pleasure of hosting a band from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, We Landed On The Moon! They’re a collection of warm people with some great merch (among other things, t-shirts that say “In your face, Russia” and astronaut ice cream) and a van full of positivity. Featuring 2 guitars, bass, drums, and multiple keyboards, this band was the icing on the cupcake of the night. They eased into their set with Melissa Eccles gently showcasing her vocal range, then surprising everyone by belting out the rest of the song (and set) on an incredibly strong set of pipes with the lung capacity to match. Part Hollywood silver-screen bombshell and part Indie Rock powerhouse, she played her tambourine with more focused intent than a battalion of soldiers, drawing in the crowd while the rest of the band kept pace impeccably. They threw in gang vocals, catchy guitar hooks and contagious rhythm, in fact, their songs are still stuck in our heads. We’re glad we got a sneak preview copy of their new album “This Will Be One For The Books”. Folks, come back soon, play the Biltmore Cabaret, and the cooler-than-thou hipsters of this town will be eating out of your hands. Consider our collective socks knocked off.

Our next show will be back at the Railway club (just try to get us to stay away) August 26th for the International Pop Overthrow Festival. Our 3rd year in a row! Not bad for a moody acid-folk band…?

Jerry Lucky, one of the foremost prog rock critics out there, gave us a really glowing review for his progressive rock files. Thanks for the kind words Jerry! You can check out the review at his site or on our press page.

See you Thursday @ Cafe Montmartre! We’re playing with Hayley Turner and Les Mains D’Isabelle. Chris is playing cello with this bilingual folk group – it features Myriam Parent on ukulele, vocals and piano, and Brandon Hoffman on bass, along with a few other players who won’t be around on Thursday night (Rebecca Treherne on French Horn!).

The show is free, and starts at 8pm. Cafe Montmartre is on Main and 28th. Come for great crepes and great tunes!

Thanks to Renada Freeland for taking some photos of us at the show!

You can check out the rest here

Thanks to everyone who came out to J Lounge last night for the Steampunk Cabaret! That was definitely one of the best dressed audiences we’ve played for in a while – corsets and pocket watches dominated the opulently decorated room. We had a fun and great sounding set, despite a few technical difficulties (Ed’s guitar cut out halfway through “A Taste for the Waste” and without missing a beat he moved the vocal mic to pick up the guitar sounds – pure rock and roll innovation), and we loved everyone’s loud cheers after each song.
There’s something so incredibly satisfying about having people really paying attention and getting sucked into our music. It makes a significant difference on our performance too – without really being conscious of it we play better and rock harder and feel absolutely amazing on stage. We’re still all tingly today. Our only regret was that it was Sunday night and we had to work the next day so we couldn’t follow the crowd over to the Red Room where our favourite DJ Spaz was holding court at Descent.

Thanks again to Corset for having us, they rocked the stage and had everyone dancing like people possessed. A great night all around for sure.

For your next dose of Gentle Infidelity join us on Wednesday at the Super Robertson Supper Show! Come to Vancouver’s famous Railway Club at 6pm and listen to a full set of prog-folk while you dine. No cover charge, early show, what a way to spend a Humpday…

Welcome to the new online home for your favourite Vancouverite prog-folkers, The Gentle Infidels. Within the next few days we’ll be getting things up and running, adding content like photos, music, merch and show dates. Here’s a bit of a preview – to your left, you will see our navigation panel, directing you around our site. To your right, you will find an always updating (she says hopefully) reminder of our next show, and links to our various social networking outlets.

Check back often or add us to your RSS feed, and we’ll be with you shortly.