I stumbled across a show taking place at the Little Mountain Gallery which I was interested in. Kate Maki, a one-time east coaster originally from Sudbury and Brent Randall and his Pinecones (now just called the Pinecones) from Halifax were very good reasons to try out this previously unheard of venue. Being a newcomer to Vancouver and a lover of great venues (sometimes more than the great music), I am still trying to get an idea of the best ones in this large city.
As soon as we found the Little Mountain Gallery (it was small and took us a while to find) we knew this was a very unique spot. Hole-in-the-wall is a suitable description of this place and interestingly there were many holes in the wall of the stage. With a capacity of no more than 40, one type of canned beer and plastic chairs this place had its own small local flavor rarely found in big city venues. It reminded me of Fundy Folk, a plastic-chair-in-fire-hall music session in the tiny town of Margaret(s)ville, NS, and maybe that is why these east-coasters picked this as their Vancouver stop.
Interestingly enough, the musicians performance mimicked that of the venues atmosphere. Their sets lacked any sense of refined sound but their warmth with both their stage presence and sound allowed for an enjoyable night. With both artists having recent releases on the Radio3-Top30, I expected some solid musicianship, but this was lacking. Maybe it was the venue that allowed them to slip into a nonchalant set or maybe it was the exhaustion from the long Canadian tour (with this being their last stop). So Ill let these artists have a 'get-out-of-blog-review-free card and I'll probably stop by to see them if they are ever in town again. Either way the music was listenable and the venue had such a nice feel that Ill be looking into more shows at the Little Mountain Gallery.
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