Live Review: Aurora - Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver 13/02/2019
Last Wednesday, Aurora kicked off her North American tour in Vancouver with support from Talos. We had the chance to catch them kick it off at the Commodore Ballroom.
Kicking off the night was Talos with their dreamscape-like electronica sound. The Irish band has been on nothing but an upward trajectory since the overnight success of Tethered Bones back in 2014. This musical endeavor is the brainchild of frontman, Eoin French, who almost ended up pursuing his dreams of being an architect in Los Angeles, but through a chain of events ended up staying in Ireland and creating what one could say is the musical equivalent of a beautiful house.
With such an intricate, ethereal sound it can be hard to imagine how Talos would be able to translate that effectively into a live show, but they have made it work with two different percussion sets, two keyboards/synths, and three guitars. With their second album Far Out Dust hitting streaming services only 5 days before, it was lovely to see the new songs (See Me, The Light Is Upon Us) mixed in with the tried and true favourites like Your Love Is An Island, getting the same amount of recognition from fans in the crowd. As they left the stage, a chant of “three more songs” began, letting the band know that they have fans in the city and are wanted to be seen again. If you are in need of a bit of spiritual enlightenment and musical nourishment, Talos is definitely the band you should catch live.
Next up it was Aurora’s turn on the stage. The young Norwegian singer-songwriter-producer is not one you want to judge by her cute demeanor. She has a fiery passion behind her songs and performance that will rock you to your core if you see her live, especially when surrounded by her dedicated and just as passionate fan base. Her music is extremely catchy while still maintaining emotional and sophisticated characteristics. Her unique blend of electronic and folk elements culminate into something that is an interesting and delightful mix of Lorde, Florence + The Machine, and Björk.
Aurora’s stage presence is powerful, trapping you in as she makes eye contact with the what seems like every person in the room, as well as singing with intense conviction. It will make you feel like you can accomplish anything. Her fun and silly personality also shines through in her performance. She twirled and bounced around the stage and caught everyone up on her day which broke up the intensity of the set beautifully.
This tour is in support of Aurora's second studio album Infections of a Different Kind – Step 1, which was released in September 2018. The album is the first of a two-part album, due to be complete in 2019 or 2020. The tour with Talos will continue across North America through to mid-March, before Aurora heads back to Norway and then South America, while Talos will tour the UK and Europe through April and May. Both of these artists are not to be missed!
Words and photography by Kelli Anne