An evening of art-pop with two Canadian indie icons
To kick off March, that awkward transitional period where everyone waits arms-crossed in anticipation for spring to just start already, Dan Mangan and Blacksmith, touring their new album Club Meds, performed at the River Run Centre on March 1, along with tour mates Astral Swans and Hayden.
Juno Award-winning songsmith Dan Mangan, with his band Blacksmith, performs a powerful set at the River Run Centre, joined by Hayden and Astral Swans.
Astral Swans (Matthew Swann) kicked off the night’s music with a solo guitar and vocal act, with striking, stream-of-consciousness lyrics, at once both acutely personal and poetically surreal. Swann’s electric guitar playing, marked by a raw fingerstyle edge, brought a welcomed punk flavour to his songs. After a few moments, the shapeshifting, genre-hopping indie-pop auteur Hayden took the stage with his band. Jumping between piano and guitar for much of the evening, Hayden and co. performed a powerful set of eclectic compositions of all genres – folk, indie, chamber pop, and synthesizer-heavy textures all find their way into his idiosyncratic, brooding songwriting style.
Having been active in the Canadian music scene for over 20 years, Hayden’s stage presence contains a slight mystique, whether intended or not, and this is punctuated by his wryly humourous stage banter. Among other highlights, multi-instrumentalist Taylor Knox was a sight to behold, as he bounced between bass and drums, equally deft on both instruments and providing a strong base for the music’s intricacies to shine through.
After an intermission, Dan Mangan and Blacksmith took the stage amidst a stunning light show and eerie, moody fog machines. The band is currently on a Canadian tour of their latest album, Club Meds – their first under the Blacksmith name – and are joined alongside Hayden and Astral Swans. Mangan’s music, a distinctive blending of folk-rock with epic, operatic orchestrations, seems to touch on so many influences and forms, and still remains cohesive.
I’m reminded of the first (and last) time I had seen Mangan, as a teenager at a small bar in my hometown. His music has changed in a profound way with Blacksmith – integrating epic, sprawling synthesizer textures, jazz-flavoured lead guitar courtesy of the incredible Gordon Grdina (Haram), and evocative trumpet work by JP Carter (Destroyer). Mangan’s growth as a performer and songwriter is, if anything, a testament to the notion that one can grow artistically and still retain a distinctive sense of style, self, and humility.