January seemed like a never ending month, filled with that Pacific Northwest gloom that comes from never-ending rains, grey skies, damp cold, wind that cuts to the bone, and even a little snow.
It is a time for reflection and reconnection… all while staying warm inside. This is why we were very excited to hear from The.Victoria.House about their Side Door Access house concert featuring Brooklyn’s Hayfitz and Victoria’s Alex Maunders.
It’s not always huge sports arenas, concert theatres, and nightclubs for us at Rocktographers. Big moments and exciting lighting is something we are always excited to take pictures of but sometimes the smallest shows have the biggest impact. The intimate coziness of a house concert really solidifies the connection of why we love live music.
There was a warmth and sense of community as roughly twenty people took shelter from the elements in the The.Victoria.House, an unsuspecting home in the heart of Victoria, BC. As coffee was brewing and tea was steeping, we all got snug in the living room where the concert was happening. Some cuddled up on the sofa while others grabbed a folding chair near the front. Mingling with the friends and strangers around them it was clear we were all excited to see some new music.
The night commenced with local musician, Alex Maunders. Better known for his work with the groovy and psychedelic indie rock band Cartoon Lizard.
Before Alex’s set, he confessed to a few of us that he’d be opening his set that evening by debuting two new songs about leaving a long term relationship. Both were obviously deeply personal, and it made him slightly nervous to play them, but moments in he’d clearly shaken those apprehensive jitters by playing to an adoring audience.
Amid Alex Maunder’s set, he played several reworked songs from his band, Cartoon Lizard. Stripped down to their essentials — with just Alex’s voice and guitar — the band’s music took on new meaning. A notable standout was Cartoon Lizard’s new single, Bus Stop World.
Throughout the set, it was hard to not make comparisons to bands like The Boxer Rebellion. Having just seen Cartoon Lizard open for Wolf Parade days earlier, it was great to see the duality of Alex Maunder’s skills as a musician.
After a quick intermission, Hayfitz took to the stage. Well…the corner of the living room made up to be a stage with an informal string of faerie lights to separate the audience from the artist (a cute and quirky flourish that added to the space).
The Los Angeles-turned-Brooklyn based multi-instrumentalist Brandon Hafetz aka Hayfitz is a bit of an enigmatic figure. With a very limited online presence — only his debut single, Pinpoint, is available on Spotify — he’s a bit of a mystery to those of us who’d not heard his music before.
A t-shirt that stated “I ❤️ Quiet Songs” gave us a better idea of what to expect. His songs, while quiet, were also filled with swelling ambiance and emotion.
Apart from being a proficient singer-songwriter, Brandon is a fantastic storyteller. Peppering his set with comedic stories of recording an album in the Seattle area overlooking the Puget Sound, a friendly Canadian Border Agent named Gill, riding the ferry, and not being able to perform any of his new music in Tacoma because it was about someone he was staying with.
After an intimate performance that made us all forget about the pouring rains outside, a roar of applause from the nearly two dozen people in the living room saw Brandon Hafetz take a bow and vow to be back in Victoria soon.
