When Morcheeba announced their North American tour, I jumped on tickets faster than you can say CAN-EE-BUS!
The venue was the Algonquin Commons Theater, a moderately sized multiplex auditorium, which provided superb acoustics for the ultimate distribution of all those lovely sounds Morcheeba sent out. My select spot was directly in front of the stage (added bonus was ample arm room and freedom to dance).
It was a fantastic opportunity to see them in an intimate venue such as “The Commons,” plus I managed to get some great shots of the band.
The opening act was a young up-and-coming Canadian artist named Loviet, a guitarist with some pre-recorded instrumentals, accompanied by a drummer. We can clearly hear the 90’s rock influence in her music, reminiscent of Sheryl Crow with a hint of grunge. She introduced us to a few original songs, one called “Broken Lips,” her latest single has started to climb the charts.Â
The members of Morcheeba casually walked onto the stage to meet up with their instruments. Skye Edwards gracefully followed behind, making her way to the front of the stage. It was then the crowd began to roar.
If you know Morcheeba, then you are well aware of Skye’s beauty and charisma. She has been a powerful front force for the band throughout the years. A stunning performer, her vocals are extraordinarily unique. Soft, sultry and soothing. You would never suspect that she is relatively shy with the ease at which she can connect with a crowd.Â
The artist is known to speak candidly about her shyness. Despite how she may feel at times, she has a knack for making a connection with her fans. Â
As a talented seamstress, designing dresses for many of her shows, her background in fashion design serves her well.
“Do you like my dress”? She shyly asks the audience twirling around to proudly display another one of her many talents.Â
At one point, the audience were challenging, as she commented on how reserved they appeared.Â
She began to coax them to stand up, dance and sing. It wasn’t long till her encouragement helped them to let loose and sing along with her.Â
Along with the psychedelic atmosphere, pulsating lights, rhythmic music and dry ice, the effect was hypnotic and enthralling. Complementary to the musical loveliness they create is their light show. The colours adorning the stage were cyan and yellow, producing hues of magenta.
Morcheeba creatives are remarkable musicians, each one bringing something unique and brilliant to the table. Their music is a fusion of psychedelic rock with electronic beats and rhythms.
Multi-instrumentalist Ross Godfrey, the other half of this trippy dippy duo, plays guitar as though he was born with it. He is a prodigious talent who can play riffs with his MOUTH which Hendrix himself would be impressed! I honestly believe he is one of the most underrated guitarists in the industry. Again, perhaps this is because Morcheeba is not deep into the mainstream river of fluff, so much of the masses aren’t aware of his musical genius.Â
He played most of their songs with a vintage Squier Fender Telecaster, which I have little doubt is customized to his liking. His guitar playing is simply extraordinary and I bet it is physically impossible for the man to hit a sour note.
“We think war is nasty,” said Ross commenting about the current war in Ukraine. An advocate of cannabis, he suggested that world leaders should all get together and indulge in an evening of weed and party to settle their differences rather than to wage war. Ross has done countless interviews regarding his career and political preference and is transparant about his creative processes. Each account demonstrates his humble and carefree nature. He has integrity and is admired for his kindness and musical talent.
The band opened the set with The Sea, a tune off their 1998 album Big Calm. It is a nudge to Neil Young’s song Down By the River. Ross is a die hard fan of Neil Young and will often play homage to Young in his Canadian shows. They played a selection of songs from each of their 10 studio albums and they played for close to two hours straight! The encore was a hefty one with four songs, two of which were covers.
There are a plethora of reasons why this band is incredibly remarkable. I suspect one reason is that the band members are family. Skye’s son Jaega (on drums) has toured with the band from the get-go of his existence, along with her husband Steve Gordon (long-time bassist).
I’ve no doubt Ross is like a brother, and Skye, is their queen. The band is promoting their latest and 10th studio album Blackest Blue for this tour, with one last show in Vancouver tonight. They will do a final show for this year at the Baloise Session in Basel Switzerland on Friday, November 11th.
I am such a huge fan of this band, I call myself a “Morcheebian” (a word I just created while writing this). If you listen to their music, you would call yourself one as well! So go get hooked on them and follow the band here:
https://morcheeba.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/MorcheebaBand
https://www.instagram.com/morcheebaband/
https://www.youtube.com/user/realmorcheeba
If you are in the Vancouver area, you can still get your tickets here:
A shout out to the roadie (Conrad I believe his name was), who gave me the set list taped to the stage. What a sweet guy!
Set List
The Sea
Friction
Otherwise
Never An Easy Way Out
Part Of The Process
Enjoy The Ride
Oh Oh Yeah
Trigger Hippie
Get Along
Blood Like Lemonade
The Moon
Let Me See
Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day
Encore
Say It’s Over
Don’t Let It Bring Me Down (Neil Young cover)
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones cover)
Blindefold – Big Calm
Members
Skye Edwards (vocals)
Ross Godfrey (guitar)
Steve Gordon (bass)
Jaega Mckenna-Gordon (drums)
Dom Pipkin (keys)
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