Titus Andronicus / La Sera – Live In Vancouver (05/28/16)

Saturday was a gloomy day in Vancouver. Torrential rain poured from the gray, murky skies – eliminating any motivation to leave your house and venture outside. If, on the off chance, you took the plunge – you’d return soaked to the bone.

But those fair few who trudged through the rain and the wind to make it to The Biltmore Cabaret were rewarded with a rock and roll show that was well worth the trouble.

Opening the night was Los Angeles trio La Sera, who brought the crowd together with their infectious, jangly indie pop. Fronted by former The Vivian Girls bassist, Katy Goodman, La Sera (who are touring in support of their latest Polyvinyl Records release Music For Listening To Music To) could easily be described as cute. Not in a condescending, derogatory way ; but in an alluring and captivating way.

There was an innocence and excitement in their performance that just pulled you in. The banter between Goodman and her shredding guitarist Todd Wisenbaker were akin to Tegan And Sara void of the convoluted nonsensical stories. They bounced and jumped around, climbed on speakers, hopped into the crowd and even trapped Titus Andronicus front man Patrick Stickles in the bathroom hallway in midsong.

It was, simply put, fun.

Her vocals were spectacular too, like Waxahatchee or Girlpool and while they could’ve used an added guitar to fill out the sound on occasion – it’s safe to say that several jaws hit the floors as they watched Wisenbaker’s fingers fly up and down the neck of the guitar. The set ebbed and flowed in intensity and served as the perfect opener for Goodman’s highschool classmate Patrick Stickles and his band Titus Andronicus.

As has become the norm at a Titus show, the set began with Stickles carefully strumming the guitar and speaking into the microphone as he asked the crowd to stay respectful and preached the benefits of inclusivity. Saying “have a good time, but make sure your good time doesn’t come at the expense of someone else’s good time.” The speech received a cheer and was pretty much followed for the night, as no one got too crazy and wild and – for the first time in a long time – not a single crowd surfer!

That’s not to say the set wasn’t energetic, as it was and anyone who’ve seen Titus Andronicus before could attest to them putting on a solid performance.  Unlike their last stop here, this time saw them playing more songs from The Most Lamentable Tragedy concept album including Fatal Flaw, Dimed Out, and Mr. E Mann but they still kept their classics in the set, like In A Big City and A More Perfect Union.

Despite the lengthy opening statement, Stickle only stopped to speak to the crowd at one other moment throughout the evening. Instead, the band jammed as many songs into their hour and a half long set as possible. Eliminating the banter is necessary  when they’re trying to squeeze in the lengthy opuses of The Battle Of Hampton Roads and No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future.

And like that, it was over. No pomp, no encore – just some rocking good songs, thank you and good night. A good night well worth fighting the rain for.