Grand Archives Concert Review

[microserfs21]

Since I told Passive that I would give him a mini-review on Grand Archives I figured I would just make a thread and post some pics as well.

I saw Grand Archives on friday with Sera Cahoone. I didn't know her at all but really enjoyed her show. It almost had a bit of a country vibe to it, which I don't mind, and she had a really nice voice. She was also really appreciative of the audience feedback, which I guess they have not received a lot of on the tour. More to come on that later.

I was really excited for the Grand Archives show because I absolutely love the album but I wasn't really sure what to expect from the band and from the audience. From doing some searching on facebook it seemed that not a lot of people in Toronto knew about Grand Archives and I feared the show would be dead. It was starting to look like my fears were coming true too as the small venue, The El Mocambo, was not exactly packed. People were there but there was enough room to move around that you could have walked right up to the very front of the stage had you wanted and still had plenty of shoulder room.

The band sounded excellent and really together the whole show except for one minor miscue which I found to be really of no consequence. They had excellent harmonies that sounded even better live. As beautiful as the record is I thought that they came across better live. I found a lot of the softer songs on the record came across a bit more hard live but I have come to expect that from a lot of bands that sound soft on record.

Oh, and the crowd came through even though it wasn't packed. Mat Brooke even made a few references to how good of a crowd it was and that how at some of the shows it was like "tumbleweeds". His word, not mine. It was a really intimate performance. He even came out for a second encore by himself and seemed blown away by the reaction he was getting. If anyone has seen them live or is going to see them live can you let me know if a second encore is common practice or if what I was part of was really as special as I think. Or maybe don't so I can just cherish this special memory and have it remain special.

I didn't really keep track of a set list but they played pretty much all of The Grand Archives album, a couple covers, and a couple new songs.

I would definitely recommend seeing them live. I loved the show and will see them again any chance I get. I also suspect that they probably have a stronger following out on the west coast. The band also hung around after at the merch table and took photos and talked with the fans.

Some pictures.










The Encore


Mat and I

[microserfs21]

No love for Grand Archives?

[PassiveTheory]

Sorry dude, I totally crashed after I got your PM.

But yeah man, thanks for the review! This makes me glad that I plan to see them in LA in 2 weeks.

What was the mistake that happened that "was of no consequence"?

[microserfs21]

Oh, it was just the intro to a song where Mat should have started singing but didn't so he stopped the song and then started over again.

[fatbastard]

There's a place in toronto named El Mocambo?

[microserfs21]

There's a place in toronto named El Mocambo?

Yep, it has a bit of a special history in Toronto.