by Holli Stephens
The adolescent population of Philadelphia took a break from studying for finals to pack Union Transfer’s floor in high expectation. With the release of their second album, Today We’re Believers, in 2013, the six-piece Canadian indie pop band Royal Canoe gave an electrifying performance on stage Wednesday night as opener for Bombay Bicycle Club’s ongoing tour.
Royal Canoe originates from Winnipeg, Manitoba and it was their first time in Philadelphia, drummer Derek Allard explained. They had exclusively got to the venue in time to do sound check and play a set. “Next stop is New York.”
No one would think that the band was having previous difficulties as lead vocalist Matt Peters alternated between two microphones and belted the words to the track “Bathtubs”, a crowd favorite. One mic completely distorted his soulful voice, turning it into a somewhat low robotic growl. He would lunge his body forward on his keyboard set and fellow bandmates Matt Schellenberg, Brendan Berg, and Bucky Driedger, all in unison. Watching this, plus the simultaneous head bobbing of drummers Allard and Michael Jordan during the entirety of the set, would make any spectator get up and groove to the husky drum beat.
It’s not just the stage presence of the immense cluster of keyboards that make Royal Canoe look so intimidating. Their synthesized melodies that charge into lengthy keyboard and guitar solos pack a punch to create a tuneful and even orchestrated sounding set. The overall sound is so layered and each part has its individual spunky flare.
Especially in the track “Nightcrawlin” Peter’s vocals did it all, hitting notes comparably to the range of a Soprano back down to the low distortion of the second mic. “Is it anyone’s birthday?” Peters asked with a grin as he grabbed a tambourine and xylophone-like chords play in the background. Seconds later the band broke into “Birthday”.
All songs from their past EP, Extended Play, were played which included “Hold on to the Metal”, “Bloodrush. These are all also featured on Today We’re Believers as well as “Button Fumbla” and “Nightcrawlin”. The band played a 50-minute set of crowd pleasers. At the beginning of each song the scream of approval could be heard from a different audience member.
“Button Fumbla,” Allard beams from the merch table as he signs a CD a fan just bought, “that was the favorite tonight by the band.”
London’s own Bombay Bicycle Club was headlining and equally showcased their unique sound verbally and visually as picturesque moving graphics were mounted on the circular set of visualizers behind them. February 3rd marked the release of the band’s 4th album, So Long, See You Tomorrow, so the set was a blend of old and new material.
The band was accompanied by keyboardist Louis Bhose and vocalist Liz Lawrence who gave tracks like “Shuffle” and “It’s Alright Now” that extra edge. Halfway through their set lead singer Jack Steadman got on the piano to sing the very emotional yet chilling “Eyes off You”. His voice effortlessly glided up to the notes of the chorus, down into a blend of Lawrence’s vocals and back into a powerful drum and guitar riff.
The audience got very involved in “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep”, singing the last 20 seconds of the chorus back to Steadman as he held the mic out. During “Feel” every hand could be seen in the air and a colorful display of cobras and decorative masks enticed the audience on the circular visualizers. Bombay Bicycle Club concluded with a two song encore and brought Royal Canoe back on stage to bask in the limelight.
