Author Archives: Manraaj Grewal

Inside Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom and its Legacy

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Vancouver has no shortage of live music spaces from the Rogers arena to DIY spaces underground, but not all venues are created equal. Some are created for profit, for ticket sales and cool photo opportunity spots, others become necessary for a great night out. One name always tops the rest: commodore ballroom.

(Commodore Ballroom / Facebook)

The décor is very expressive of the time that this building opened in. With the beautiful grand floor that brings that luxury touch, but space small enough for it to feel intimate. It almost looks like a room you would see on a cruise ship, a place that comes alive during the night, with all genres of music, from indie bands to swing orchestras. The intimacy of the space plays a huge role in its popularity, with under 1000 spots, it means when you experience an artist you are experiencing them very closely. Its got a sprung dance floor, which means the floor basically softens impact for when you are dancing, so you get less tired of being on your feet for hours. Even though, we as audience might not consider this, the acoustics of a space matter a lot, the way the layout is, where the speaker are, it all matters. At the commodore, artists are able to perform at their full range, whether its whispered noted, or loud rock guitars. I have seen many artists say that they love performing at the Commodore because they get to test out their songs, their energy for each one, and the stamina for their performance before they go preform at bigger stages. They’ll quote the amazing, welcoming crowd, the energy and the physical space of the Commodore for why they love performing there. The reviews on google suggest attendees definitely notice things like elevated seating, the comfortable bouncy dance floor. Commodore is that perfect middle performing arena as local artists see it as a step up, a milestone after their struggle to get a chance to perform here and be in that spotlight, whereas for bigger artists, it’s a chance to connect with audiences on a more intimate and more intentional level. The history of this place can be seen clearly in its décor, the chandeliers, the lights and even the way the building looks, makes you feel as if you are experiencing a place that has witnesses so much of Vancouver cultural shifts. We Vancouverites like joking about how there’s nothing fun to do in Vancouver, or the music scene isn’t as good as Toronto, or Vancouver doesn’t stay open long enough, but Vancouver has gems like the commodore that so perfectly encapsulate the history and the future, giving chances to local musicians to open that door for them, to show them what is possible if they keep working on their craft while giving audiences something new to experience every week. You can check their next events here: https://www.commodoreballroom.com/shows

Manraaj Grewal

manraajgrewal@gmail.com

 

 

 

Hollow Coves is bringing their Dreamy Folk Sounds to Vancouver

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Vancouver is a hustling city, a city that is progressing faster than we can keep up. Its got nature, its got art galleries and small music festival pop ups that happen all year round, but Vancouver never seems to slow down. Take the Keith Urban concert for example, Its going to start at 7 pm with three openers and the show might possibly end at 11 pm on a Wednesday night, yet the yale saloon has an afterparty to the concert, because Vancouverites, we like to have fun, even if that means being groggy on Thursday, because what’s one night? Well the only solution I see for that is to have a band perform that are known for their soulful melodies, that will slow down time, and Hollow Coves comes to mind, and thankfully they are coming here tomorrow at Malkin Bowl.

Their dreamy folk pop melodies are made to be sung against the Stankey park backdrop. Each city has a musical tone to it, and if I could give Vancouver a tone, it would have to be the sense of calm yet wanderlust that Hollow Coves seem to pour straight into their songs. With songs like ‘the Woods’ and Coastline, you can imagine why their lyrics so perfectly capture that sense of travel and the peace you find as you travel down the road, your head out the window, breathing in fresh ocean air. When you get a chance to hear the artist where their songs are meant to be played, you can’t say no, especially when their tickets are a steal at only 60 dollars. The concert is tomorrow, a perfect midweek break from just starting classes again, coming back from vacation to work, they remind us to take a breathe, breathe in the fresh fall air, no big fireworks, no background dancers, just two guys on a stage with their guitar, singing to a crowd. Their last show in June last year was described as “spellbinding” by Variance Magazine. So Vancouver might be known for its hustle and bustle, for its constant annoying traffic and its ever changing weather within a day, but for just tomorrow night, everything will seem to take a pause, only nature and Hollow Coves will make music under the evergreen canopy of Stanley park, the harmonies will go into the night and we’ll remember that we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I can already picture it, its 6pm, the buzz of concert goers, as people watch the sun dip into the mountains, the rays coming outward in a beautiful pink color, people lounging on picnic mats, with their snacks, out walk Ryan and Matt, everyone cheers and sits a bit taller. Then a collective exhale of silence as the music starts to play, there’s some singing along, and swaying side to side, as everyone absorbs their music the way they like best, it slowly settles into their soul, as the sun sets completely, and the music continues.

It seems all I need is some candles and live music

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Imagine this: hundreds of candles on a stage, where a few instruments sit on stage, maybe a violin, a piano, a hushed silence falls over the crowd as the musicians take their seat. You are inside a church, and the beautiful music starts echoing through the chambers, the organ lifting your spirits as you listen to a tribute to your favorite artist. This is the atmosphere of Candlelight concerts that happen regularly in Vancouver at various churches like the tribute happening for Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi at Kerrisdale Presbyterian church or the tribute for Abba happening at Christ church cathedral. They do the big artists like Taylor Swift, and they do the niche. You must have surely seen the ads on Instagram as they really hype it up before a special holiday like Mother’s Day or Valentine’s day because it really is just for anyone you wish to experience this beautiful setting with. There is something about live music that just cannot come through Spotify, and to see only the instruments being played of every song, without someone singing it in pure silence except for the music, is therapy of the highest kind. Tickets can go anywhere from 40 dollars to over 100 depending on how in demand that show is.

It runs for close to an hour, and there are some portions where you may not be allowed to record on camera as their website says, its done “to preserve ambiance.” Considering their musicians are many times local or brought in internationally depending on what is required. If you are an artist yourself, you can apply on their website by filling out this form: https://candlelightexperience.com/artists/#artists-form and attaching audio or video recordings of your work. They prefer hiring local musicians who are able to do a variety of genres from classical, to rock, to pop, so that you are able to play various concerts and audiences will resonate with you. Between playing, musicians provide insights into the creative process of the artists they are doing the tribute for. You are also able to pay extra for a Candlelight photo, “an exclusive and new photography service where guests will have their photo taken in a specially designated area, most often on stage, and be given a physical photo to take home with them,” as written on their website.

 

A huge party is being thrown, are you going to miss it?

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Ever since I was a kid in high school I have had teachers that love the Arkells like its their religion. They have memorillia and they wear the Arkells t-shirts and for the longest time I thought my English teacher was a part of Arkells because he had so much of their stuff EVERYWHERE in the classroom. I said there’s no way someone will put up so much stuff of a band they like. So inevitably, when I found out the Arkells are performing on September 13 in Delta, you know I started planning.

John Donnelly festival producer for Barnside Festival told Tom Zillich for Surrey Now leader, that, “they bring the big show, with a full band and that sort of anthemic, feel-good rock, positive vibes, everybody singing, everyone smiling.” For people who may not be familiar with this band, they are a rock group, who pull influence from soul, pop and indie. They are known for their concerts, there’s lots of interactive elements, dancing and a sense of togetherness almost similar to that of Coldplay’s. But Arkells aren’t the only attraction for this festival. The festival is continuing for three days from Friday the 12th to Sunday the 14th and its happening at Paterson park. Tickets start at 100 dollars for single day admission with various artists performing each day, and the entire schedule can be found here. The festival has plus 100 vendors coming with some of my personal favorites being Bak’d cookies, What’s her face, a swimsuit brand that can customize the swimsuit fabric right then and there, and Seagypsy designs where the owner creates unique jewelry that’s perfect to give your outfit that Coachella vibe. If that wasn’t enough, there’s a site-wide liquor license, so you can drink, dance, create crafts all together. Other than Arkells, Walk off the Earth is bringing the music on Friday, and though they are known as a indie pop band, they really are genre defying, using instruments like the ukulele. They have got that charisma of impressing kids and adults alike, because the energy during their show just has that family friendly lyrics and music that kids will vibe to as well. Barnside festival isn’t like any other festival, its where big names like the Arkells and local artists from all around BC will be present. Its where you get to watch your favorite niche artists along with waiting until the big headliners come and in between you get to experience little parts of BC, with the vendors and the food you will eat. They have made admission for kids under 10 free, and I think that’s a beautiful testament to ensuring that accessibility is there for parents to attend, enjoy the music while their kids also get exposed to local BC talent, to seeing singers and musicians put it all out there on the stage, for little kids to dream of doing that one day, of them being proud of the province they live in that breeds such talent.

 

“Mom she looks like me”

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“Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”, that ad has been talked about so much, but you know who really has great jeans: Lararaj, part of the iconic Katseye girl group, has done an ad just as iconic as we always knew she was.

Adorning a nose ring, a bindi, and a om necklace, she has been the talk of many towns. Megha Rao, a model and now a CEO of a beautiful contemporary Indian inspired fashion brand, posted that ad on social media, writing when she stopped to take a photo of that Gap ad, her daughter asked her why it was such a big deal and why she was taking a photo of it, and Megha realized that for her daughter this was normal, something she took for granted, whereas for Megha growing up, she did not see this representation. I often have thought about this, the daily fight of today, me writing articles on representation is going to seem so unnecessary for the generation of tomorrow, something that is so normalized that I will not go around asking singers and musicians at the Juno carpet why it’s a big deal for us to finally have a South Asian category. Sometimes I think how much work gets put into for something to seem normal. Today we see treating women equally and us having the right to vote, to own property to be so normalized that the thought that someone had to fight for it seems absurd, because its common sense that we should all be treated as equal. Yet during that time, it completely wasn’t, just like today we are on the right path for bringing south Asian representation and the music to the global scale, but it’s a big deal. When Diljit collaborated with Jackson Wang, for a song, it was a big deal, when Karan Aujla did a song with OneRepublic, and both my worlds collided, it was a big deal. Being an immigrant, I have gotten so used to my two consciousnesses, I am talking to my friends about Justin Bieber at school, then I go home and listen to Bollywood songs they wouldn’t be familiar with at all. Representation is important to me because many music samples over the years have been stolen without credit from so many countries including India, and its been rapped over or sung over, but that’s part of our heritage and when singers like Lara proudly showcase that culture, and they are the face, then we rally behind them. When artists like Atif Aslam are performing at big venues like PNE, it lets us know that demand is there. That more than enough people love south Asian music for it be a mainstream genre, instead of the music being used just as background.

 

Harpo Mander is building the world she wants to live in

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South Asian representation has been having a good time in the music industry these past few years. Lara Raj’s iconic Gap ad joined that movement, with her wearing an OM necklace and a bindi on her forehead, proudly, the trajectory has only been pointing up. It’s an epidemic that’s been a long time coming to cities all around the world. And why should Surrey be any behind?

 

Our very own local Harpo Mander, who has been the face of 5X (a barrier breaking South Asian music and arts organization based in Metro Vancouver) and was most recently its executive director, is starting a new role as senior manager for South Asian music at Umusic a record label based out of Toronto. Why this is a big deal has to do with the fact that no matter how much we shout for representation, real change lies with people that have power and so to create the necessary change in the industry, one must be in those power ranks. Harpo has done both beautifully. She is lovingly referred to as didi on Instagram because she has a been proud voice of the importance of connecting with her culture, may that be sharing a saree her mom hand painted, or how proud her work makes her when she sees the artists she saw potential in before the world did,reach big stages. Her Instagram page is a testament to all her work may that be as her position on board of BC’s crown corporation PavCo, or for young music professionals, she continues to push boundaries as a young south Asian woman and that matters. Junos came to Vancouver this year and for the first time had a south Asian category and she was co-chair of the south Asian music committee. Her authenticity in this world matters because it shows girls like me the full picture, the struggles, the winnings, the whole journey of creating true change. Music is nothing if the artists don’t get the fair compensation, the love and appreciation they deserve for it, and hence it becomes important to have platforms like 5X that make this their goal. Umusic having a South Asian music division is not a want anymore, when Karan Aujla’s North American leg of the tour alone is earning 28 million dollars, and Diljit Dosanjh is out here selling out Rogers like its easy work, that division becomes a necessity. Surrey and other cities in Canada are filled with talented singers, and musicians that are working hard for their big break, and it takes people like Harpo to be in those positions of power to provide them that opportunity.