Arias & Symphonies 30th Anniversary Concert

 

 

 

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The moment I arrived I knew it was gonna be crazy. I quickly took my place at the front before the place filled, still a spot or two remaining on the right side for me to squeeze in; the front was definitely a no go, already packed. I hate jostling for a good vantage point, I always arrive early so I don't have to. This time I arrived late, had to pick up a few friends before heading downtown.  Friday Night at the Revival was the best shows Ive seen in a very long time. This month marks the 30th anniversary release of one of the greatest Canadian albums of all time. Arias & Symphonies garnered both critical and commercial success following it's release in 2002, as perfect as an album can get, it yielded three top 40 singles and rocketed the band to the forefront of the Canadian New Wave scene. Friday's concert also marked the first time in more that 25 years the original heyday line has performed together. Along with Sandy Horne and Gordon Deppe, keyboardist Rob Preuss and Drummer Derek Ross also performed to the delight of the sold out crowd. Its was like 1984 all over again. As an extra bonus the concert featured the long awaited reunion of Images In Vogue who opened the night with an 8 song setting which included  “Lust For Love”, “In The House”, “Save It” and “Call It Love” among others. Its was no surprise that they sounded as great as they ever have. Dale Martindale's voice is, as it has always been, absolutely spectacular, hopefully this is the start of greater things to come, one can only hope. As for the Spoons what can I say that hasn't already been said. It's no big secret that this is one of my favorite bands, always amazing to see this much talent perform live, and this was perhaps the best show yet. New members Casey MQ (keyboards) and Chris McNeil (Drums) also  did a fantastic job, graciously relinquishing their duties during part of the set to allow Rob and Derek to shine. One thing is certain, they need to start playing larger gigs; the Revival, as great as it is, simply isn't big enough anymore. This concert sold out a week in advance and I know alot of disappointed fans that waited too long and were left without tickets... snooze ya loose I guess.

Images In Vogue

....From safety pins to synthesizers, someone once used this term to describe the transition of music from the punk rock 70's to the New Wave 80's. While there may be some truth to that, I seriously doubt you'd find any music fan that would agree that punk transformed into New Wave. Rather New Wave was born as a result of it, and just like punk it was the necessity to express ones self in a unique, independent and often rebellious way that made it so appealing. Canada like so many countries a the time, produced it's fair share of New Wave bands, the pool of talent during the 80's developed, and prospered on many different continents, and a myriad of nations were represented by bands of all sorts and styles, today this is of course no longer the case.

...One of the more unique and original sounding New Wave bands of the 1980's was Images In Vogue. The band was formed in 1981 in Vancouver, and originally consisted of vocalist Dale Martindale, guitarist Don Gordon, synth players Joe Vizvary and Glen Nelson, bassist Gary Smith and percussionist Kevin Crompton. They are a Canadian band of exceptional talent, from the very beginning they showed a willingness to pushed the creative envelope, blending synthesizers, guitars and electronic drums, moving back and fourth across that imaginary, and often dangerous line that separated innovative New Wave from Pop.

...I think "Lust For Love" is one of the best New Wave songs ever written, it also happens to be the most widely recognized song by this band. ...This is also one of the Coolest video's of the 80's...Enjoy...