Live Review: Kaleo - PNE Amphitheatre, Vancouver 23/06/2018

Icelandic rockers, Kaleo returned to Vancouver for the third (possibly fourth) time in as many years to play an almost sold out show at the PNE Amphitheatre, backed by a beautiful summer sunset. The group have found a large fan base in Vancouver, so it’s no surprise they have returned so many times.

Hitting the stage after fifteen minutes of pure anticipation from everyone in the venue, Kaleo started off the set with one of their more blues inspired tracks Broken Bones. You could hear the audience behind us singing along to every word along with singer, JJ Julius Son, right from the start. Equipped with a mic stand covered in feathers and a massive satellite image of Iceland towering behind him, Julius Son looked as comfortable as ever playing in possibly one of Vancouver's most picturesque venues with just under 7000 fans singing back to him.

The most anticipated song of the night was quite possibly All the Pretty Girls, with the crowd erupting as soon as that all familiar guitar intro began. Kaleo have this incredible talent where their live performance sounds almost even more beautiful than the recorded version. So that, topped with the energy in the venue was enough to bring a couple tears to the eyes of my friends and I.

Despite not being one of the most interactive bands on the planet, they have put together an absolutely captivating show full of their amazing music and a beautiful lighting set up. With songs that cover a fairly broad range of tempos and genres there was something for everyone, from Icelandic folk song Vor í Vaglaskógi, to foot stomper No Good, and of course their 2016 hit Way Down We Go. The group closed out the night in a big way with massive songs Glass House and Rock N’ Roller.

The only gripe I have with the show is that it was only about an hour long and they only played fourteen songs. Hopefully they are back in Vancouver soon so that we can get in more time with these amazing men.

This show the Kaleo Express World Tour, which started in the US in Autumn 2017. The group will be heading over to Europe at the beginning of July through August, then back to the US for September to finish up the rest of the tour.

Words and Photography by Kelli Anne Lane