Show Review: Biffy Clyro, Februray 26th at Venue

I love discovering new bands before the mainstream catches on.  I've been lucky to have a couple of friends who have their ear to the ground when it comes to new music who know my taste in music and got me hooked on Biffy Clyro.  Last week I was lucky to be one of the few Vancouverites to experience Biffy's first major show in Vancouver at the Venue (Granville Street).

This band has been around for 15 years and has 5+ recordings and has steadily grown its audience in the UK over that time period.

I remember hearing stories of the first Vancouver show that Radiohead played.  I'm not sure of the exact date but it was at the Railway club in the early 90's and apparently there was only a handful of people there that night  Everyone you talk to in the local music industry talks about how they were there yet only 20 were in attendance (I'm guessing none of these music industry people were there, they just like to say they were a part of it).  This is typical for this kind of monumental show.  I remember hearing from a few friends about the Strokes first show at the Pic or the White Stripes show at the pic and how no one was there and how it was great to see these bands before they broke into the mainstream.

This is how I felt last week.

The Venue holds about 500 but they will stuff about 600 people into the room.  When we walked in the room was full and you couldn't move.  Although we were near the sound booth, the sound and energy was electric. 
I have to admit to you right now that based on "Only Revolutions" (the newest LP from Biffy) I was expecting smoke and mirrors (backing tracks synced to a lighting rig, a touring keyboard player, a touring guitarist) because this record sounds absolutely huge.  I was suprised when I saw this band was in fact just a trio.  They did not need any tricks to fill out their sound.  The guitars were huge.  The drums sounded massive.  The bass was booming.  They had a huge banner of the album artwork behind them but only the club lighting (which is terrific for a local venue). 
I am still a newcomer to the B.C. back catalogue.  This band is not afraid to play old songs.  Their set was all over the map, very progressive, and at times I felt like I was watching Rush.  Other times I felt like I was watching Nirvana and/or the Foo Fighters.  Other times I felt like the band was harnessing mid-90's Supergrass.   They were tight.  Fast stops. Fast starts.  Huge breaks that slammed back into the complex bridge.  They take risks in their music and they take even bigger risks on stage.  The bass player and drummer player even left the stage for two acoustic numbers in a row.  Their songs are diverse, ranging from 90's grunge to prog to melodic ballads with beautiful harmonies.
Most of the crowd that night was either British or Scottish or there with someone from the UK and all were singing along with every word.

I'm going to steal this quote from another show review: 
""Biffy who?" you're probably saying. It's a valid question. Too weird for CFOX, too noisy to fit into The Peak's 24-hour Mumford and Sons playlist; Biffy Clyro remain virtually unknown in this corner of the English-speaking world. Which is why they're reduced to playing Granville Street's 500-capacity Venue for the budget price of $14 a ticket. " (Robert Collins, ctvbc.ca)

This sentiment is the hard truth and it continues to be the truth about many bands that Vancouver is not exposed to.  In my opinion (which can be taken with a grain of salt) there is a niche of music locally that is not being promoted by the local industry.  Somewhere between CFOX & the Peak, great bands are getting ignored.  Some are local.  Some are from Canada.  Some are American.  Some are from Scotland.  Biffy Clyro is one of these bands. 

I am very glad to say I was part of the first wave of Biffy's breakthrough into North America.  I will definitely be the one who says "I was there."

Love,
Marty
@martyzylstra

British Invasion

When I was in my early teens I discovered the Beatles.

I think it was this random documentary that was on TV one day about how they broke into America in 1964.  I had heard a lot of their music growing up (how could you not, their music is ingrained into society) but there was something about them that I had never quite connected with until I saw this brief doc.  I remember hearing their cover of "Rock and Roll Music" and thinking wow, that's what a band is supposed to sound like.  I rabidly devoured everything Beatles and have done so like millions upon millions ever since.

This continued. With.  All.  British. Music.

When I get into something, I need to feed the addiction.  For example.  Just like a billion others, I got really heavy into Harry Potter a number of years ago.  I am a nerd.  (If you have read some of my blog you may have realized this by now) I loved the series so much that I started reading other books in the same genre (children's sci-fi fantasy) because I wanted more.  more and more and more.

This applies to music. 

I love the Beatles so I got into John's solo work.  And George's.  And Ringo's.  And Wings.  And Paul's.  Then I got into the Stones.  And the Who.  etc etc etc.

Then I went modern.  Radiohead.  Kula Shaker.  Oasis.  Blur.  Pulp. Supergrass.  The Stone Roses. (that was the 90's for me).

A while ago I met a group of Londoners travelling through Vancouver on their way to Whistler.  I got to talking with one guy in the group, Finn, who then gave me a few bands that were undiscovered in Canada but up my ally.  I told him I was really into Bloc Party/Franz Ferdinand/Arctic Monkeys/Boy Kill Boy/the Futureheads and was looking for some bands that were similar and new.  He introduced me to a couple amazing bands called the Pigeon Detectives and the Wombats and from there I got into Scouting for Girls, the Hoosiers, Two Door Cinema Club, Hard-Fi and more.   Needless to say Finn and I are close friends and I'm planning on seeing London in the summer and sleeping on his couch and singing Oasis songs over a pint (or 8) and talking about music until wee hours in the morning and also trying to desperately explain hockey.

Fast Forward to now.

About a month ago a friend of mine (who is from the UK) sent me a text saying, "do I want to go to the Venue to see Biffy Clyro play a show".  I said yes not having any clue who they were.  He said I'd like them and that it would be fun.  Fair enough.  I emailed another friend from the UK to email me an MP3 of her favourite Biffy song.   Born on a Horse was in my inbox the next day.  Mind blown.  I bought the entire newest record, "Only Revolutions" on iTunes and have been really getting hardcore about this band.  The more I delve into this band the more I realized that this UK based group has been together for years and even has a connection to Vancouver having recorded a previous record at the Warehouse with local legends GGGarth & Mike Fraser.

What you've learned from this post:
I want to hear new undiscovered music from over the pond.

I hope you can take some of my advice and maybe check out some of these awesome bands.

Love,
Marty
@martyzylstra