Anyway Gang (Sam of Sam Roberts Band, Chris of Sloan, Menno of Hollerado and Dave of Tokyo Police Club) hit the road this spring for a handful of dates, starting in Victoria and gracing Vancouver with their own brand of silly, spontaneous, stage show/concert. It was a blast!
Billed as the ‘dad tour’, the guys hit the stage all smiles and waves, resplendent in stretchy ‘almost track pants’ jeans, ‘nearly’ orthotic shoes and a few scruffy beards & ball caps, setting the tone for the night – lets kick back and have fun! Chris Murphy got the laughs started from the first few notes with his comedic antics on guitar and fast as lighting quips back and forth with Menno Varsteeg in-between songs. The audience was entranced. At one point, although unsuccessfully trying to rope Sam Roberts into the banter, they had poor Roberts nearly prostrate on the floor – face pink with laughter, bent half double over his guitar unable to control himself – it was such fun to see the usually serious Roberts (front man for Sam Roberts Band) just letting go like that! Special mention to Dave Monks who (on the far side of the stage from us) smiled and danced all night with such sheer joy that it was infection to watch.
Make no mistake though – in-between the fun and games of jokes, sight gags, and progressively trying to outdo each other on the stage riser – this band is GOOD! Proficient musicians all – and well rounded with writing and singing chops to boot. Some of the songs were familiar (off their self titled, Anyway Gang, album released November 2019) and a good handful of new songs off the current album, Still Anyways (released May 2021) rounded out a set list that was well over an hour. The joke of the night was opening and closing with ‘Big Night’ but it worked and the audience sang loud and hard for that. A three song encore was a nice touch too. Having the show moved from the Imperial to the Biltmore was also a bonus – intimate venue with those fantastical red velvet crescent shaped booths and a good size dance floor – one of my favourite places to see a band up close and personal.
All in all, the evening was a fun, trippy, happy way to end the pandemic (so to speak) and break the ice back in to live music at long last. (*about half the audience wore masks and half didn’t and nobody even noticed any of it). If you have a chance to see Anyway Gang live – go! And check the band out on Spotify or anywhere you get your new tunes, give it a listen and it’ll grow on you. So glad we made the trip to see these guys!
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