I've known Jets Overhead for almost 16 years.
I was in high school bands in Victoria (area) on Vancouver Island and grew up musically with these wonderful people. I was extremely lucky to play shows and share the stage with the former incarnation of JOH and even played in a band with their star drummer, Luke Renshaw.
My weekend was hectic and I'd been looking forward to the show from the moment I heard about it but as usual I was considering flaking and staying home. I'm glad I didn't. I ran into my friend Rob from Boompa/Secret Study on my way downtown and he generously offered his "plus 1" guest list. I accepted and we had a good chat on the way to the show.
the Racoons:
I was looking forward to the Racoons set almost as much as I was to see JOH and I can say that they are intriguing. They are a trio with 2 guitars/keyboards and a drummer. The vocals are reminicent of current indie but also a late 80's/early 90's vibe similar to Joy Division but with a hint of later Isaac Brock's Modest Mouse. They use dynamics within the songs flawlessly and their use of drums to build the songs was creative and keeps the listener interested. They also used some drum samples and I really liked the sounds that were flowing from the stage. It was different from the usual 4 piece, 2 guitars/bass/drums. I liked the use of backing tracks and drum loops but I felt that there was some authenticity lost within the live show. I would suggest adding a bass player because a great bassist can add to the live sound and may make the band stand out even more. My only other critique would be to improve on stage banter. When there was banter it felt forced and I wasn't sure if they had a CD available or any merch to purchase. Overall they closed the set extremely strong with 2 upbeat dancier numbers that suggested Arcade fire influences and Interpol bleakness. I'd also like to hear the recordings and will review these later on in this blog.
Jets Overhead:
It's been a long journey for Jets Overhead to this night to Vancouver. I felt the band catch hold last year when it seemed you couldn't turn the radio on to any local station without hearing a Jets Overhad song from their last LP "No Nations". I was extremely happen for them and loved to see this well deserving band finally grab hold of long deserved success. Venue is a about a 500 person capacity and to fill this room you really need a strong fan base as Vancouverites are known world wide as not being very supportive to live music. That being said, Vancouver truly delivered on Saturday and the crowd was in a great mood and you could sense the electric energy to hear JOH.
Adam & Antonia are the live focal point of Jets Overhead. They are at the centre of the stage with Piers and Jocelyn flanking them stage right and left. The way their voices fit together feels magical and I noticed right away the timbre in Antonia's voice matches Adam's and compliments perfectly. You can feel the love between them (they are married) and I think the feelings for each other come out strongly in the lyrics and vibe in the band. It's a lovefest. I've been listening to this band's music since day 1 and on this night their set included most of my favourite songs. I won't get into specifics but their live show is still blowing me away. It feels organic and the minimal use of guitars keeps the listeners attention on the lyrics and melodies within the vocals. The drums do not overshadow any of the songs and the songs are usually built with a strong bass line which sometimes is just a single note. It was a beautiful experience to see these old friends again. I hope you will find out more about them and their music will speak to you as much as it has to me in my heart.
I suggest you find out more about Jets Overhead here
Purchase a few songs from the iTunes store here
Love,
Marty
@martyzylstra
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