Mangan vs. the Bar Queens

October 18th, 2009 posted by robb

Dan Mangan w/the Country French
Rivoli
10.16.09

Over the past couple years I’ve been following Dan Mangan. So far it’s been a great story for this Vancouver singer/songwriter, whose recent sophomore release “Nice, Nice, Very Nice” in August with Criminal Records has caught some big attention from CbcRadio3 and the indie folk music community.  I remember being among a handful of people at NXNE last year, or even catching his free show at the Annex Room with IndieCan, where a small cult-ish Toronto group yearned for him to belt out “Robots” or “Not What You Think It Is.”

Walking in late at the Rivoli on Friday (unfortunately missing the County French), I was initially taken back by the number of people there. Mangan and his band had been having a rough day:  they performed a gig in Peterborough the previous night, a CBCRadio taping during the day and an early evening promo show at Criminal Records just a few hours before hitting the stage.

Mangan played a blend of new and old tracks, this time bringing a full band of horns, pianos and string players along with him.  He was quick to pick the crowd with his upbeat, clap and foot stomping “I’m Sold”. The 3 hours of sleep did not hinder; it only added a bit more ash and whisky to his already passionate deep and raspy voice.

Unfortunately he wasn’t able to stay in control of the crowd soon after.  It wasn’t his fault though, since most of his music is downtempo and without drums…and Mangan frequently use of pregnant pauses.  It really takes an attentive and intimate crowd to feel the full effect of his music.  Unfortunately this wasn’t in the cards this evening in this apparent industry folks and hyped hipster show.

The back bar noise (usually drowned by the drums/electric guitars) overpowered Mangan and foiled any attempt of emotional connection to the music.  Beautiful songs like “The Indie Queens Are Waiting”, which include soft female vocals by Veda Hille, was butchered and lost any sensibility when all you can hear are details on Lucy’s drunken stupor last night.  It was also clear they weren’t listening at all – during a few dramatic pauses mid-song, folks in the back clapped, thinking the song was over.   This is worse than newbies at Roy Thompson Hall who clap between every movement in a symphony or opera, since they’re only guilty of innocent ignorance on classical music ettiquette.  In this case, the knobs in the back had no respect or care over the show; they clapped while continuing their banter about their work week and how bad the Leafs. It’s just a classic case of stardom, and perhaps why many singer/songwriters become cynical or complacent feeling that no one is really listening.  Bummer.

The turning point of the show was when a righteous audience member dutifully yelled “SHUT THE FUCK UP” after yet another ruined pause during “Basket”.

The peanut bar did subside (post yell) for the back half of the set — and this is where Mangan started to showcase what he was all about;  highlights included “Tina’s Glorious Comeback”, “Pine for Cedars” and “So Much for Everyone”.  I was hoping to hear “Unnatural Progression”, but in retrospect this was probably for the best in the event of being butchered by the bastards in the back!

The crowd favourite, “Robots“, ended his set and had the crowd singing, “Robots need love too.  They want to be loved by You. They want to be loved by you”. Mangan also brought his “1980’s awesome” plastic robot and encouraging him to be crowd surfed during the tune.  This was the only case where a full capacity crowd was a benefit, although it was not to outweigh the loud obnoxious peanut gallery for most of the set.

Let’s hope next time the crowd can appreciate the music more than the hipster hype.

REVIEWED BY: ROBB

Section: Reviews

Tagged as: dan mangan, folk, rivoli, singer/songwriter, toronto