Off the Dial

We Are The City onstage at the Commodore Ballroom

Written by: Rob Latham

Three of British Columbia’s hottest rising musical talents went head-to-head in a battle of the bands contest at the Commodore Ballroom, in Vancouver, on Friday night (January 22) with Kelowna rockers We Are The City scooping the whopping $150,000 first prize.

The progressive indie rock trio put on an impressive display, oozing musical confidence far beyond their mere 19 years of age and thoroughly deserved to win the final of the Peak Performance Project, an annual event bringing together the best musical talent in the province. The trio fought off stiff competition from second-placed The Left and third-placed Bend Sinister, who walked away with a cool $75,000 and $50,000 respectively.

We Are The City has what it takes to be the next big thing to come out of Vancouver, their live shows are a special experience due to the intensity and love the band members put into their music. And this show was no different as the band fully embraced the opportunity to perform on the stage of what is undoubtedly Vancouver’s best live venue.

Lead singer and keyboard player Cayne McKenzie‘s voice was more intense and impressive than ever, while drummer Andy Huculiak and guitarist David Menzel, whose amazing Jimi Hendrix-esque guitar technique using his mouth is always a hit with audiences, exhuded an overwhelming energy that provided an unforgettable set.

Major highlights of the evening included two of the band’s most popular tracks ‘April’ and the infective ‘There Are Very Tiny Beasts In The Ground,’ as well as a special performance of brand new track ‘This Is A Bad Mistake.’

For anyone who hasn’t seen We Are The City perform live you really are missing out, they are an addictive hybrid of the melodic harmonies of Radiohead and the raw edginess of Muse that fused together creates a truly unique sound.

The final showcase of the Peak Performance Project was indicative of the number of young, talented bands emerging from British Columbia. Despite coming in third place Vancouver rockers Bend Sinister put on an incredible show that perhaps did not deserve to see them come in third position, with lead singer Dan Moxon displaying superb stage presence, crowd interaction and musicality.

The band’s set carried a huge sound that was intensified by the Commodore Ballroom acoustics, with sounds ranging from Queen-esque granduoso to Arctic Monkeys-like heavy riffs, combined to create an entertaining performance.

Second placed The Left carried a more poppy sound, a slightly more radio-friendly offering that didn’t carry the same intensity as the other two bands but encumbered excellent on-stage presence, including an appearance from Vancouver’s famous ‘Green Men’ on their final track.

But the evening really belonged to We Are The City. As soon as they played their set there was only ever going to be one winner in the contest and this victory, plus the $150,000 kitty, should be a plateau for the band to become huge in 2010.

You can see We Are The City perform live at the Biltmore Cabaret, in Vancouver, on Wednesday night (January 27).

It’s been a while but we finally drew our winners of the Axis of Conversation vinyl giveaway! Four lucky mailing list subscribers were either randomly selected or responded in time to win a copy of the clear-vinyl 7″ from the Calgary act featuring a remix version of their track “the Pull”.

So who were our lucky winners? Clay Brown and Tim Pushor of Calgary, Ouan Keo from Edmonton and Jim Bueckert of Saskatoon! Congratulations to our four contest winners!

Keep an eye out for future music giveaways and if you’re not on our mailing list (I promise, we rarely bother you in your Inbox), make sure you join today and you’ll automatically be entered into any contest we hold!

Click below to hear “All We Make Is Enemies” by Axis of Conversation;

Yes, I know I’m a tad late on this but a couple of weeks back, we randomly selected a winner for our Sights & Sounds CD Giveaway. The lucky recipient was Steve Barmash and all he had to do we be on our mailing list! Congrats go out to him and I’m sure by now he’s enjoying his free copy of Monolith. You can read our review of the new Sights & Sounds CD here.

In more contest news, we’re only a couple of days away from randomly selecting not one but FOUR winners in our Axis of Conversation 7″ Giveaway. The Calgary band was gracious enough to send us a few copies of their clear-vinyl 7″ that they released during this year’s Sled Island festival. For your chance to get your hands on a copy of this sweet release, make sure you’re on our mailing list. That’s it. Oh, and tell your friends!

Source ~ Direct from Band!

Calgary’s Axis of Conversation have been together since 2006 and when singer/guitarist Chris dela Torre contacted me and stated that the A-side title track was “the fastest and most aggressive single we’ve ever done”, he wasn’t kidding!

The 7″ comes in a beautifully art-worked black cover and is pressed on stunning clear vinyl. The B-side features a pretty cool remix of “the Pull”, which originally appeared on their full-length release Delusions of Safety. It was remixed by Morgan Greenwood of another Calgary band, Azeda Booth.

For those who buy the 7″ vinyl, you also get a coupon to not only download the two tracks on MP3, but you also get a bonus third track called “Ladders and Snakes”.

The group released All We Makes is Enemies at their sole Sled Island show here in Calgary on June 25th at the Palomino after performances in Toronto for NXNE and have since played two shows in Vancouver. They have three shows booked in Calgary later this month; a free gig at Vicious Circle on the 19th of July, at the Palomino on the 23rd and at Broken City on the 30th.

In addition to sending us the 7″, Axis of Conversation were kind enough to send us not one, but FOUR extra copies to give away to you! All you need to do is be on our mailing list. We’ll pick four random winners and announce them in the next couple of weeks. Until then, enjoy the title track below;