Sam Roberts Band at the Orpheum

Photographs by Moe Yang.

As the snow fell, that Vancouverites are less than familiar with, it didn’t stop them from making their way to catch the all-Canadian show that hit Vancouver this past Tuesday. This marked the return of Montreal’s Sam Roberts Band with the supporting act of Canadian indie-rock favourite, Hollerado, out of Manotik, Ontario. The two have been touring together over the last month in support of Sam Roberts Band’s new album, TerraForm. The setting was the magnificent Orpheum Theatre, a venue that forces every artist that steps onto that stage to make remarks on the beautiful craftsmanship that is tailored throughout the entire establishment.

Hollerado’s set was chalked-full of energy with their brand of intricate, upbeat guitar solos, catchy hooks, and bouncy verses. Encouraging the older majority of the crowd to get out their seats that are provided on the lower orchestra section of the Orpheum proved to be a more difficult task than anticipated, but after lead singer, Menno Versteeg, pointed out the fact that it was his father’s birthday, the entire crowd managed themselves to stand alongside his father and enjoy the show from a more upright position. Debuting their newer songs to Vancouver like I Got You, Eloise, and Born Yesterday, they reached back into their catalogue and brought out favourites like Americanarama, Juliette, and closed their set with So It Goes, a song about forgiveness, which Menno pointed out that we need a lot of in the next few years, hinting towards the political position down south of the border.

The current situation didn’t hold back either of the performing artists from putting on a hell of a show. After the lively performance from Hollerado, the headlining Sam Roberts Band took to the stage. The six-man band (including a strategically placed sax player) performing between a maze of large sticks that lit up and at times resembled shooting stars. They opened their set with TerraForm, the first track from their latest full-length LP, under the same title. Roberts’ musical history goes back to the 90’s as his experiences still reflect the way he presents himself onstage. The 42 year-old owns the stage throughout the show, especially during If You Want It, as Roberts dropped his Jaguar and picked up the mic to show off his dancing skills. With such a rich and deep history, Roberts played classic songs from the time before the “Band” when he was under his solo title, like Where Have All the Good People Gone?, which commenced the sing-along aspect of the show, Bridge to Nowhere, Detroit ‘67, and Don’t Walk Away Eileen, which saw the return of Hollerado to the stage to help out with the hook and hop around bringing even more energy inside the venue. The years of performing hadn’t had any negative effect on Roberts’ capability to belt out some powerful prolonged notes as he proved still strong vocal abilities. The encore opened with the hypnotic synth intro of FIEND and closed with Brother Down, a feel good ending to the night.

A true class act, one of the best ways to describe Mr. Roberts as he jumped down from the stage to shake the hands of the people lucky enough to be in the front row, and made his way down the aisle to the back of the orchestra seating and climbed on a chair with a fist in the air and adoring fans reaching out to him. He paid homage to the city of Vancouver addressing the audience saying that Vancouver was a second home to him, pointing to the fact that it was the city that the band recorded their first album in. It’s always nice to see two Canadian favourites come together for a tour like this. Not only was Sam Roberts great, but the addition of Hollerado made for the perfect setting to bring people together and enjoy some good ol’ Canadian Rock and Roll.