Caught in the Spell: Black Mountain and Heavy Trip in Powell River, BC
Black Mountain. Photo by: Kirsten Aubrey (@curtains4certain)
We were lucky. Our small crew of music lovers were in Powell River seeking the types of hazy dreams invoked by long winters… hopes of sunshine, salt air and adventure. What found us though was a feeling that you can’t really wish for, either it catches you or you miss it.
Rolling into the small coastal city feels demure. A place where fun is DIY. We roamed the main strip, where incremental changes to the town were evident. New pizza shops, vintage stores and movie screenings had entered the rotation of things to do and see. A show poster jumped out at us… Black Mountain was scheduled to play the next night at the local community centre, with Vancouver’s Heavy Trip opening the show. Stories of un-expected small town shows and summer synchronicities bubbled out of us and it was quickly decided to pop into Full Bug Records to pick up tickets. We got the dregs, cash only.
Show night, pulling up to Carlson Community Club, the sun was setting behind the smoke doors and the vibe was abuzz. Folks had travelled from nearby islands and local hideyholes to see bands normally reserved for big cities and festival circuits. Hopes were high.
Entering the darkly lit space people were connecting, chatting, and sharing. The power of the collective seemed ripe and un-predictable. Two kind faced women sat at the doors handing out earplugs and reminding everyone to have fun.
Heavy Trip opened the night with a muscular set. The music was beefy, contagious and riff heavy. The crowd pumped to groovy bass lines and hollered after each song. The requested fun was clearly underway.
The audience was primed when Black Mountain took the stage, and the band silently took position as though ready to perform an incantation. The hopes of summer seemed to float above the willing crowd, as a request for the band to deliver on.
And then the sounds began. Psychedelic, 70’s influenced heavy rock, stoner friendly and sun soaked. The music was saturated with color, and highlighted with sparkling riffs. Immediately the crowd was united in a trip, driving through the 70’s and 80’s down memory lane and veering into new terrain with the band steadfastly steering the crowd through a seamless set.
The songs edges blurred in more ways than one. The easy hand off of vocal parts between Stephen McBean and Amber Webber felt like a story told by old friends, overlapping and cutting in and around eachother. Stephen’s guitar routinely emerged and hid alongside the other instrumentation, creating a feeling of push and pull. Jeremy Schmidt perpetuated the role of synth as storyteller, evoking feelings of narrative and 70’s era film. Subtle and powerful it wove through the songs like a snake performing a figure 8.
The crowd swayed and partied in waves, some folks clearly dedicated fans and others discovering Black Mountain for the first time. A strong hold of the audience stayed near the front with Amber’s nearly stoic presence at centre stage anchoring the experience for people to let themselves go into.
With the show wrapping up, the hungry Powell River crowd weren’t ready for the lights to go out, and demanded an encore. They were rewarded with a searing finale that seemed to satisfy band and crowd alike.
Wandering outside I was lucky to encounter the band's current drummer Adam Bulgasen, and chat about music, drumming, touring and playing in the band. He’d never been to Powell River before, never heard of it. But it was a good night, the last night of their tour. Pressing on I needed to know what makes a good night for them. Apparently it isn’t just a spell cast on the crowd by a talented band. It’s the convergence of the crowd and the band together, creating the energy, elevating the experience for them as performers which they can feed back to the crowd. This synergy is what makes each night different and special. And leaving that night, we knew that it was.
Black Mountain. Photos by: Kirsten Aubrey (@curtains4certain)