Arief MuhayatsyahLeif Vollebekk’s passionate and painfully heartfelt set at McDougall Church is the closest I’ll ever come to a religious experience without bursting into flames.
Leif Vollebekk. Canadian. Indie folk singer-songwriter. Multi-instrumentalist. A beautiful man with an even more beautiful discography performed at this year’s UP+DT music festival at the mystifying downtown McDougall Church.
The venue was unsurprisingly humbling. Its backdrop of towering organ pipes, well-worn wooden pews and high ceilings gave the show a level calm not often found at most venues. The crowd was one of the most intent and focused I’ve seen in a while. It was the perfect place to admire the fluid synth landscapes, piercingly passionate piano melodies, shifty drumming, and sparse but incredible flows of guitar of Vollebekk and his three-man ensemble.
Nearly all of the set-list was Twin Solitude (2017), Vollebekk’s newest record, where his unwavering voice cuts through every track’s minimalistic instrumentation to deliver musings of heartbreak, loss, change, and acceptance.
The set opened with the expansive piano melodies and poetic west coast references of “Vancouver Time,” then closed out with the hypnotic guitar riffs (using his disgustingly beautiful white Stratocaster) of “East of Eden.” The rest of Twin Solitude was nestled in between, coupled with a few covers and even a new song — which even his guitarist didn’t know and had to improvise to.
But makes Leif Vollebekk shows so memorable are the changes made to his recorded tracks. He fleshes out and brings an original vibrancy to everything by drawing out synth tones, delving into cascading piano interludes, changing tempo, instrumentals, and emotion. The droning vocals of “All Night Sedans” had a more impactful punch, giving the chorus and verse a new nervier feel. The electrifying piano and devastatingly beautiful words in “Elegy” were given an unpolished and fervent sound with the tweaks in Vollebekk’s singing cadence and playing style. Even the aforementioned “East of Eden” was meticulously drawn out to a cascading furrow of guitar riffs which made the song feel like it was going to go on forever.
Twin Solitude is an amazing record full of vivid imagery and I’m glad he played so much of it. But nearly everything in his first records, Inland (2010) and North Americana (2013) — both full of fresh tones of soulful acoustic indie-folk — was left out, maybe my slight disappointment in this otherwise perfect show is misplaced nostalgia. Maybe his first two records clash with the carefully crafted tones and flow of Twin Solitude. Or maybe playing twangy and simplistic acoustic classics like “Off the Main Drag” and “Northern Most Eva Maria” didn’t fit with the massiveness of McDougall Church. After all, when I saw Vollebekk in a dingy Vancouver club last March he played an amazing cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Untitled 05,” a cover of Joni Mitchel’s “Case of You”, and an amazing electric guitar version of “Off The Main Drag.”
From making lighthearted jokes, to modifying tracks, to giving a Prince cover on a grand piano, the way Vollebekk’s energy shines through in the way he plays also made the live experience unforgettable. You can see the passion in every note he plays. His body twisting and his head bobbing in every direction. It’s mesmerizing to see this man put everything he has into every track.
This was by far by far my favourite show and venue of the UP+DT Music Festival. Vollebekk’s minimalistic set brought life to the open space of McDougall Church. By now, Vollebekk and his band are on their way to tour Europe and the U.S.. But I’m just happy this burgeoning Canadian folk artist made the stop to Edmonton.
