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Showing posts with label run the red light. Show all posts
Showing posts with label run the red light. Show all posts
August 13, 2014
March 7, 2011
Show Review: Run the Red Light, March 4th, 2011, at the Media Club
I've seen Run the Red Light play live many times.
I'm very familier with their music and show and thought I knew what to expect.
This show was different.
There were a couple of reasons that it different for me last Friday (for me).
1) to me it seemed that the band felt whole again. Mark (their talented bass player) had been away for a year in Holland experiencing Europe and seeing the world. The band had let him go his own way with hopes he would return. They even visited him in Amsterdam and played a show locally in that city.
I hadn't seen Run the Red Light since Mark got back and it was good to see him again and to see him back on the stage. It felt like all the pieces were back in place.
2) Run the Red light has one of the premiere lighting rigs in the city. Their light show is part of the live experience and the headliner last Friday requested that they leave it at home. Typically a national act will ask an opener not to "show them up" so to speak by having better lights, stage dressings etc. Friday they played without. It seemed...more intimate. I'll explain below.
The band seemed ramped to start the set. The club was sold out and as an artist there is nothing better then performing live in a small club to a capacity crowd. When the band kicked in they were heavy and loud. Ben has an intense drumming style. You could tell that he was really into it in the first 2 songs and was hitting hard and slamming the accents hard. All of the sound selection for this band is crisp and clear and the guitars sounded like a wall of sound. RTRL looked like they were just happy to be there with all smiles when the songs were finished. Also, they got into a few extended jams at the end of the heavier numbers and you could tell they were having fun.
Back to the lighting.
I've told Toby this before but their lighting rig has a tendancy to lose the audience's focus on the songs and you can lose the connection with the band. Friday felt more intimate. The entire crowd was glued on the band and was interested in every movement they made. Lighting would've been a distraction this particular night.
If you re-read my previous post here you will probably see that I am a huge fan of this band's music.
I have had a good enough relationship with Toby over the past that we give each other support on what "not-to-do" and what to improve on artistically.
A couple things I felt that would help their set going forward is the following:
- Their cover of New Years Day by U2 was great but their version although spot on felt weaker then their own original songs. My suggestion is to incorporate it into one/two of the original numbers with an interlude. I felt like I lost interest during this cover song and could sense that some of the audience around me was feeling the same way.
- Also another small tweak I would suggest is if the band could strip right down to just one guitar and vocals for 1/2 a song it would help the set dynamics immensely. There was a couple moments in the set where the instrumentation was minimal and as a listener was drawn further in only to be blown away when the band kicked into full gear on the big choruses. I felt that it could strip even further down and that as a listener would be taken on even more of a journey.
- Lastly, for one song, Toby put down his guitar and stepped up to the mic as a jus a singer. This was great and I would've liked to see him do it for more songs.
All in all, Run the Red Light is a brilliant band. They are brilliant live. They are some of the best players in not just Vancouver, but also Canada. You should really go and download all of their music get into them. I hope you get a chance to see them live soon!
They will be back at the Media Club on March 12th with Civil Twilight!
Details here!
Download their EP here
Check out Run the Red Light's website here
Love,
Marty
@martyzylstra
I'm very familier with their music and show and thought I knew what to expect.
This show was different.
There were a couple of reasons that it different for me last Friday (for me).
1) to me it seemed that the band felt whole again. Mark (their talented bass player) had been away for a year in Holland experiencing Europe and seeing the world. The band had let him go his own way with hopes he would return. They even visited him in Amsterdam and played a show locally in that city.
I hadn't seen Run the Red Light since Mark got back and it was good to see him again and to see him back on the stage. It felt like all the pieces were back in place.
2) Run the Red light has one of the premiere lighting rigs in the city. Their light show is part of the live experience and the headliner last Friday requested that they leave it at home. Typically a national act will ask an opener not to "show them up" so to speak by having better lights, stage dressings etc. Friday they played without. It seemed...more intimate. I'll explain below.
The band seemed ramped to start the set. The club was sold out and as an artist there is nothing better then performing live in a small club to a capacity crowd. When the band kicked in they were heavy and loud. Ben has an intense drumming style. You could tell that he was really into it in the first 2 songs and was hitting hard and slamming the accents hard. All of the sound selection for this band is crisp and clear and the guitars sounded like a wall of sound. RTRL looked like they were just happy to be there with all smiles when the songs were finished. Also, they got into a few extended jams at the end of the heavier numbers and you could tell they were having fun.
Back to the lighting.
I've told Toby this before but their lighting rig has a tendancy to lose the audience's focus on the songs and you can lose the connection with the band. Friday felt more intimate. The entire crowd was glued on the band and was interested in every movement they made. Lighting would've been a distraction this particular night.
If you re-read my previous post here you will probably see that I am a huge fan of this band's music.
I have had a good enough relationship with Toby over the past that we give each other support on what "not-to-do" and what to improve on artistically.
A couple things I felt that would help their set going forward is the following:
- Their cover of New Years Day by U2 was great but their version although spot on felt weaker then their own original songs. My suggestion is to incorporate it into one/two of the original numbers with an interlude. I felt like I lost interest during this cover song and could sense that some of the audience around me was feeling the same way.
- Also another small tweak I would suggest is if the band could strip right down to just one guitar and vocals for 1/2 a song it would help the set dynamics immensely. There was a couple moments in the set where the instrumentation was minimal and as a listener was drawn further in only to be blown away when the band kicked into full gear on the big choruses. I felt that it could strip even further down and that as a listener would be taken on even more of a journey.
- Lastly, for one song, Toby put down his guitar and stepped up to the mic as a jus a singer. This was great and I would've liked to see him do it for more songs.
All in all, Run the Red Light is a brilliant band. They are brilliant live. They are some of the best players in not just Vancouver, but also Canada. You should really go and download all of their music get into them. I hope you get a chance to see them live soon!
They will be back at the Media Club on March 12th with Civil Twilight!
Details here!
Download their EP here
Check out Run the Red Light's website here
Love,
Marty
@martyzylstra
February 10, 2011
Old Friends
The first time I met Toby & Ben was so long ago I can hardly remember when it was specifically. What I do remember is that they were interested in what we were doing and that they had actually taken the time to support whatever musical project it was I was in back then.
A few years later their band (then called retrograde) came to Victoria (where I was living at the time) as part of a national tour and I really had wanted to see what this band was about. In typical fashion for Victoria on a Tuesday night there was hardly anyone in the room but a few friends. I do vividly remember that show. This band was heavy. This band was tight. This band had chops that you would never ever see in Victoria at that time. I hadn't been away from the island much other then the odd trip as a teen to Whistler or to the rare concert and I was completely blown away at that time as a young musician seeing this band tear the stage down. These guys had so much presence that I had to get the record, devour it, and when I did I had to get a band together as tight and talented as they were.
About a year later I finally did have this band together and got a chance to play some shows with Retrograde and it was great to become better and better friends with Toby, Ben, Brendan & Mark. We stayed in touch as the years went by and when I moved to Vancouver finally in 2004 Toby and I became extremely close. I even convinced Toby to produce a demo/EP for Sweetheart & then eventually he produced our full length. What a guy.
As more years passed and Retrograde as a band decided they needed a change to make a statement about themselves that it was time to move on from "Retrograde" and that name. They thought "Retrograde" was associated with an outdated sound in Canada, and wanted to try something new and fresh. At the time I vehemently disagreed, but understood it was their decision.
--
I was living with Toby in the "Rupert Mansion" (I think just about everyone I know has lived in this house at one time or another) a number of years ago when "Run the Red Light" was finishing their EP. I remember countless nights when Toby would be in the control room in the basement tracking vocal ideas for a few songs. I love the process of recording. I would pop my head in and throw my 2 cents in.
The sounds coming from the room were great. They were different from Retrograde. I was excited to hear the final product. I even added some vocals to one track.
When I got the EP I instantly was drawn to "in too far". Here are sample lyrics:
We're falling out into the dark/the sounds are so unclear/the stars that died will come to life/again to disappear/close your eyes/and say goodbye/
Too far, in Too far, Nothing lasts forever in this world
I could talk about the nuances of the sounds of that song/record or the powerful vocals or the excellent performances/production that I have associated with Toby for all these years. What instead I will say is that you should go find out what this band is about. Go find out what passion and dedication to the craft is about. Go find out why this band has been around and stayed together. A belief in the creation of truly magical music by truly amazing individuals. These people are my closest friends and would give you the shirt off their backs. I know because they've given me the shirt off their backs countless times.
Download their EP here
Check out Run the Red Light's website here
Love,
Marty
@martyzylstra
A few years later their band (then called retrograde) came to Victoria (where I was living at the time) as part of a national tour and I really had wanted to see what this band was about. In typical fashion for Victoria on a Tuesday night there was hardly anyone in the room but a few friends. I do vividly remember that show. This band was heavy. This band was tight. This band had chops that you would never ever see in Victoria at that time. I hadn't been away from the island much other then the odd trip as a teen to Whistler or to the rare concert and I was completely blown away at that time as a young musician seeing this band tear the stage down. These guys had so much presence that I had to get the record, devour it, and when I did I had to get a band together as tight and talented as they were.
About a year later I finally did have this band together and got a chance to play some shows with Retrograde and it was great to become better and better friends with Toby, Ben, Brendan & Mark. We stayed in touch as the years went by and when I moved to Vancouver finally in 2004 Toby and I became extremely close. I even convinced Toby to produce a demo/EP for Sweetheart & then eventually he produced our full length. What a guy.
As more years passed and Retrograde as a band decided they needed a change to make a statement about themselves that it was time to move on from "Retrograde" and that name. They thought "Retrograde" was associated with an outdated sound in Canada, and wanted to try something new and fresh. At the time I vehemently disagreed, but understood it was their decision.
--
I was living with Toby in the "Rupert Mansion" (I think just about everyone I know has lived in this house at one time or another) a number of years ago when "Run the Red Light" was finishing their EP. I remember countless nights when Toby would be in the control room in the basement tracking vocal ideas for a few songs. I love the process of recording. I would pop my head in and throw my 2 cents in.
The sounds coming from the room were great. They were different from Retrograde. I was excited to hear the final product. I even added some vocals to one track.
When I got the EP I instantly was drawn to "in too far". Here are sample lyrics:
We're falling out into the dark/the sounds are so unclear/the stars that died will come to life/again to disappear/close your eyes/and say goodbye/
Too far, in Too far, Nothing lasts forever in this world
I could talk about the nuances of the sounds of that song/record or the powerful vocals or the excellent performances/production that I have associated with Toby for all these years. What instead I will say is that you should go find out what this band is about. Go find out what passion and dedication to the craft is about. Go find out why this band has been around and stayed together. A belief in the creation of truly magical music by truly amazing individuals. These people are my closest friends and would give you the shirt off their backs. I know because they've given me the shirt off their backs countless times.
Download their EP here
Check out Run the Red Light's website here
Love,
Marty
@martyzylstra
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