ALVVAYS / DISQ 3.4.2023

Photos and Words By Tyler Jafelice

On March 4th, Alvvays returned to London, Ontario after six years with the advent of their latest record Blue Rev. Supporting them was Disq – an abrasive yet quirky indie outfit from Madison, Wisconsin. The show was sold out and London Music Hall was as lively as ever.

Disq walked onto a stage full of cables and stacked amps and still found a way to not stay in one place. The physical energy in their set rivaled a lot of the heavier acts that have played that stage. Their three guitar players created a wall of sound and whenever they abruptly changed key, it felt like standing in a faulty elevator in the best way. Disq is a band that cares about melody, but in some way does not care at all. Any moments in their set that were sonically softer, or tender were sarcastically interrupted with feedback and distortion. They’re a band that learns the rules to break them.  

One of the highlights of the Disq set was during “Hitting a Nail with a BB Gun” where vocalist Shannon Connor uttered the lines “I don’t wanna be alive, I wanna be AI… I don’t wanna die, I wanna be AI” underneath an arrangement of dreary, haunted synths. Another impactful moment was during their song “Gentle” where vocalist Logan Severson ended the song laying on his back and screaming “I could ask you, I could ask you”. Their set closed with a barrage of drums and two guitarists grinding their strings against the others’.

DISQ

Alvvays walked on stage with a green light behind them just bright enough to recognize the members’ silhouettes. They opened their set with “Pharmacist”—the first single they released after their long silence. As the crowd sang the lines back to the band, it felt more as though the crowd wanted to scream “Thank you for coming back”, but only had the lyrics at their disposal. Alec O’Hanley’s guitar solo in “Pharmacist” was more gripping than ever in person, especially the noisy, distorted tremolo play near the end of the song. After the first few songs, Molly Rankin joked that it’d been so long since they played London, that the last time they came through, they had to tell the bartender to turn the hockey game off.

Alvvays’ studio recordings are mixed to sound like an old record that had been loved for years, and Rankin’s vocals are often embedded in the song like another instrument. While their live mix stayed true to the vintage sound they’re love for, it was refreshing to hear Rankin’s voice as clear. It felt like hearing the songs for the first time again.

 For their stage display, they had two large transparent curtains on each side of the stage that spanned its height. Projected onto the stage were vibrant moving images that varied in subject matter; some were photographs of houses or cars, some were abstract animations, and some were a mix of both. The projections were intense but soothing and there was a gentleness to them even with their rapid transitions. It felt like the perfect companion to their discography—energetic, vibrant, distorted, but endearing. A water-like blue akin to the Blue Rev artwork reoccurred throughout the night, tying all the visuals together.

The best use of their projection was during “Very Online Guy” where Rankin had a camcorder pointed down at her pedal board and she knelt over it and sang. As she turned the knobs, a pixelated image of her hands projected back onto the stage, but not clear enough for everyone to realize what it was until the very end. Rankin sings “He’s a very online guy” for the final time and looks straight into the camcorder as the crowd cheered.

“Adult Diversion” was the first song they played from their 2014 debut record. Unmistakable from it’s opening guitar line, fans applauded and bobbed their heads to what was likely one of their very first impressions of the band. Rankin’s voice changes slightly with every release, but as she leaned into some of her older vocal stylings, you could hear which parts fans cherished the most as they emphasized those inflections themselves.

The band’s performance of “Belinda Says” felt like the centrepiece of the night. All the intruments quieted as Rankin’s voice echoed in a hushed room: “Moving to the country, gonna have this baby, see how it goes”. The audience knew the words to the song, but it seemed as though a lot of the crowd just wanted to hear Rankin sing those lines herself. During the song “Fourth Figure”, all the lights cut out except for a row of white sparkling lights overtop the stage. They seamlessly transitioned into the opening chords of “Archie, Marry Me” and the audience erupted.

Alvvays closed their set with “Saved By A Waif” but returned to the stage to play “Next of Kin”, “Velveteen”, and “Lottery Noises” as an encore. Multiple audience members air-drummed Sheridan Riley’s parts during “Next of Kin”. The band ended “Lottery Noises” with Rankin letting out a yell and distortion ensued from the guitars. They waved goodbye to the crowd as O’Hanley threw a guitar pick out to it.

ALVVAYS