Indie-pop rockers Van Damsel finish their Canadian tour at the Purple Room on Saturday.
After plugging away in various venues in BC for the last few years, Kamloops, BC indie-pop band Van Damsel are set to wrap up their first Canadian tour when they come to Winnipeg this weekend.
In recent years, in addition to playing live, the band has produced some pretty interesting videos including Communist, which ponders the question of how some of the most famous communists would cope in a modern capitalist society. The four band members portray Stalin, Guevera, Trotsky and Castro.
The band has also released a Public Service Announcement (PSA) called Steroid Intervention. Apparently steroid use is not just a problem in the world of sports but in the music industry as well. Funny stuff. These guys have a good sense of humour.
I remember when MTV and Much Music started out and videos became a tool for selling and promoting a band’s music. The first video on MTV was The Buggles Video Killed The Radio Star.
The music video became an art form and indeed there have been some pretty amazing videos out there. Some of these ‘video shorts’ could say more in a five minute song than some one to two hour movies. It’s interesting how a well produced and flashy video can boost sales of some not-so-talented musicians.
Of course, Van Damsel is not one of those not-so-talented bands. They actually have a good deal of substance to their songs.
The dual guitar sound of singer Sebastien Ste. Marie and Richard Bregoliss, with their jangly and hyper melodies, certainly sees the two nicely blending notes together. While the rhythm section of the two Matts, Rennehan on bass and Barron on drums, form a solid base and foundation for the aforementioned guitarists to blaze through their mini epic tunes. Ste. Marie’s vocals are enjoyable as he belts out some well written songs. Some of the tunes actually lean in the direction of progressive rock.
Van Damsel will play the final date off their first ever Canadian tour at the Purple Room at 318 Ross Ave. The tour is called, The Best of Everything Tour, but after they headed out on the road across this vast country of ours they thought about changing the name to This Country is Too Fucking Big Tour. The Best of Everything is the first single off of their upcoming album to be released this summer.
The Best of Everything is the first single form their debut album which will be released this summer.
The band was originally scheduled to play the Zoo this Saturday but due to double booking, they had to find another venue. Fortunately for the fans, their show has been added to the end of another concert at the Purple Room which starts at 8pm featuring Guerillas of Soul, Tom Keenan and Floteson.
The show costs $10 and people who bought tickets for the earlier show can stay for Van Damsel, whose opening act, Paisley, starts at 11 pm.
After listening to these guys for the last few days, I’m quite impressed with what I heard. It’s pretty high energy stuff that should have people movin’ and groovin’ on the dance floor. Looking forward to the show. There should be some good energy in the room.
Do yourself a favour and check out their videos. They’re very well done. You can see them by going to their website at: http://www.vandamsel.com/
All photos supplied by Van Damsel
