Live Review: Rhye - Vogue Theatre, Vancouver 23/09/2019

It’s a rainy, gloomy Monday in Vancouver; a sombre start to the week that can really only be cured by either a warm coffee or an incredible show. Lucky for us, today is the day Rhye are playing at the Vogue Theatre.

Toronto based Loony is up first, with a soulful and powerful voice that fills the venue. Her effortlessly beautiful sound leaves the crowd in a permanent sway, moving with the music as their minds become hypnotized. In this trance, we sink beneath the ethereal harmonies that dance above every beat. Backed by her two band members, Loony’s sound is nothing more than a masterpiece. As groovy bass lines intertwine with slick beats to create each melody, they slowly build into huge anthems.

It appears the artist may have more fans here than she knew as the crowd happily cheer her on and continuously sing every lyric back. And if you don’t know her yet, I can guarantee the noise of Loony will soon fill your headphones or radio stations soon.

After a short break, the seven-piece band that form Rhye walk on stage in unison and in no time, light up the venue once again. With R&B-infused blues and synth-pop, Rhye’s music is simply incomparable. Loud, melancholic, upbeat and beautiful all at the same time. It’s a tough sound to master yet this group of people have perfected every last inch to bring an electrifying performance to stage.

During the set, lead singer Mike Milosh continuously moves around to give space, praise and stage-light to the instrumentalists within the band. And with each solo, we dive a little deeper into the unbelievable sound that gives the soft-pop group the reputation they deserve and own.

“I kinda figured we’d dance a little bit then get sad, it’s kind of a weird play of emotions,” Mike admits as the set slips between sublimely silent renditions to a soulful-funk and back again. Rolling out lyrics in silky vocals, it’s a set you simply cannot turn from.

“This is probably one of the best shows we’ve had,” like I said, we’re lucky today was the day Rhye played the Vogue Theatre. I can’t think of any better way to end my gloomy Monday.