There are so many overwhelmingly positive thoughts in my head about The Besnard Lakes right now that I don’t even know how to begin. It’s been a few years now that I’ve been completely enamored by this band’s one of a kind sound. A sound that sounds so vintage and genuine. A sound that generally starts out pretty slowly and quietly but almost always builds up into a rock ballad of epic proportions. And I knew that finally seeing them live would be a one of a kind experience.

Little did I know that just walking up the steps would show me how one of a kind it would be. I’ve seen millions of shows at The Magic Stick. You walk up the steps into the large open room. The stage is on the right, and there’s a little half wall, and there are some pool tables on the left. Last night, for whatever reason, most of the venue was blocked off and the stage was in the pool table area which, by my estimation, shrunk the venue to about 25% of it’s normal size. I drew you a diagram so you can see how big the venue normally is and how big it was on this night.

It was a perfectly intimate setting to see a band such as this. And while the place never got packed, I felt kind of sad that more people weren’t going to experience this, but kind of happy that I was there.

First up was Lia Ices, who had the looks of a more indie Julia Roberts and a pretty great voice to match. I was surprised by her unique sound, sometimes soulful, sometimes rockin, sometimes kind of folky (and sometimes all of the above all within one song), but always interesting and entertaining. Her voice was the perfect compliment to the fantastic guitar playing and creative drumming (by the way, there’s really nothing better than some creative drumming). I took some pictures, but I guess I’ve forgotten how to take pictures (or more likely, I never knew how to take them to begin with), so none were fit to print. And it’s a shame.

As the Montreal foursome began to set up, lead singer Jace with his long curly hair, John Lennon glasses and western shirt and his wife, bass player Olga with her furry hat and boots to match, the anticipation was palpable. The set began in the tiny makeshift venue as the lights went down and then energy went up. Now comes the part where I really don’t even know what to say because there’s so much I want to say. The ups and downs of their music (most notably the ups) were completely exaggerated in a live setting, with huge guitar solos and smoke and bright lights coming out of nowhere over and over again, in perfect unison with the buildups and releases that makes their music so magical. I kept thinking about how I can’t believe more people don’t know about this band, and how this band is seriously the real deal.

And even though the entire band, from drummer to guitarist to vocalist to bass player, they also don’t take themselves too seriously at all, even though they so justifiably could. Richard White, the incredible guitarist whose riffs and solos moved the crowd both figuratively and literally, joked to Jace not to swear so much because his mother was in the audience (she actually was), to which Jace swore more than ever before. And when someone shouted “Progress!” near the end of the set, requesting “And This Is What We Call Progress”, one of my favorite tracks from their 2010 album The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night, Richard again joked, “Everyone just calm down!”, after which Jace said, “Ask and you shall receive”, changing the setlist on the fly to close out with the request. Fortunately they came back for an encore to end the night with my personal favorite of theirs, “And You Lied To Me”.

After the show, my friends and I were fortunate enough to have a few words with Jace and Richard, again showing their character by casually chatting with the fans after putting on one of the most special performances I’ve seen in some time. We also had a quick word with drummer Kevin Laing at the bar, who was also extremely cool, despite his passionate and intense drum playing (which plays such a HUGE part in the success of the band’s sound). And then I bought The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse on vinyl, because I can do that now. Just a few days til the record player arrives and I can hear the album in a whole new way.

Now, on to the pictures. There aren’t many of them, and they aren’t that awesome. The main reason for this is that the show was so enthralling that I had no desire to stop paying complete attention to take some shots. So, what you see is what you get.

In conclusion, there is something really special about this band, and if you haven’t given them a chance, you really need to, like right now. There’s so much more I want to say, and I feel I haven’t even scratched the surface of describing what makes them so great and unique, but I will leave it up to your ears to figure out what I’ve been trying to say. Here’s a nice 7:23 epic to give you a taste.

The Besnard Lakes – And You Lied To Me