Alvvays at The Truman, Kansas City MO (2024-04-25)

Easy on Your Own?
After the Earthquake
In Undertow
Many Mirrors
Very Online Guy
Adult Diversion
Not My Baby
Hey
Bored in Bristol
Tom Verlaine
Belinda Says
Tile by Tile
Velveteen
Pressed
Dreams Tonite
Fourth Figure
Archie, Marry Me
Pomeranian Spinster
Lottery Noises

Encore:
Pharmacist
Next of Kin

In Kansas City, being a fan of Canadian alternative band Alvvays, has been feast or famine-

They were last in the city in 2018, gifting us with a club show followed by a larger outdoor show that fall, but it’s been long six years since, and the loyal fans were hungry. A very sold-out show at The Truman in downtown Kansas City proved to not only whet but satisfy their musical appetites.

The evening opened with another internet-savvy band from the Baton Rouge/New Orleans area that knows you can’t call yourself a common word, and expect people to easily find you online, Spllit. The eclectic art punk duo is Ronni “Marance” Bourgeois and Matthew “Urq” Urquhart with a touring bassist and drummer and whose idea of a musical project grew from the initial challenge of the pair each taking half an album (“XX_Handle” and “Soar Throat” sides respectively) and writing and recording the material in one day’s time.

The resulting sounds of the two factions together is a free form cacophony of Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, The Flying Lizards, and maybe some Primus-influenced loose time signatures, found sounds, jagged guitar riffs and punching synths.

Last October’s sophomore full-length, “Infinite Hatch” better controls any seeming chaos and is more an invitation to come along on their musical journey; a feeling that also translated live as the band was very obviously thrilled to be openers on this tour, yet also sad that it would be their last night on the leg.

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For fans of the Toronto (via Prince Edward Isl) indie pop-rock band, Alvvays, it’s been a six-year long wait to see their favorite band again, following two 2018 KC appearances (at recordBar in the Spring, followed by Starlight in the fall).

Extended touring due to the success of their 2017 album, Antisocialites, followed by the unfortunate circumstances of a burglary of demos, a basement flood that hit their gear, and loss of their rhythm section (compounded by the pandemic and resulting border closures) were all working against them.

But singer-songwriter Molly Rankin and crew managed to come together and release their acclaimed third album, Blue Rev (via Polyvinyl Records) in the fall of 2022, which would go on to be Grammy and Polaris Prize-nominated and Juno winning, as Alternative Album of the Year. Their seventy-five-minute headlining set proved to be worth the wait for the loyal- with the band in prime form. and a setlist that reached into all three full-lengths from their decade-long career.

The touring lineup for the quintet is Rankin (rhythm guitar/vocals), Kerri MacLellan (keyboard/vocals), Alec O’Hanley (lead guitar), Sheridan Riley (drums/vocals), and new bassist Lukas Cheung, who surprised fans expecting Abbey Blackwell, opening with “Easy on Your Own?” from the newest record.

Rankin’s lilting vocals were compelling from the beginning, and we forgot her ability to reach and sustain a long high note before shredding on guitar, which was impressive, in and of itself. All but one track of the new album was worked into the set, much to fans’ delight, many of whom have spent the eighteen months since its release, to memorize every word.

Rankin may not say much between songs nor does the band stray too far from their initial spots on stage (is it a shoegaze thing?), but it’s preferred that their music do the talking, versus random stage banter or time-wasting noodling. The sound mix seemed crisp and clear inside this former car dealership and the visuals lent themselves to the dreamy and jangly music, with blurred pastel and primary color landscapes mixing with hazy band footage from mini cameras on their mic stands.

A highlight came mid-set with the song trio of “Tom Verlaine” (inspired by the recently passed Television member, who happened to have a song called “Always” so is a bit of a payback), the crescendo of the Grammy-nominated “Belinda Says” (yep, a nod to Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle) and the lush and melancholy “Tile by Tile” which also showcased O’Hanley’s deft guitar work and MacLellan’s underrated keyboards.

Fans swooned and moved to the lead single from their debut album, “Archie, Marry Me” (which we’d like to think is an ode to Archibald Leach aka Cary Grant, though that’s never been disclosed) and the main set would end with “Lottery Noises” from Blue Rev, with Rankin singing, “Now that you’re around, take another look”, which the fans did, and clapped and cheered for more, resulting in a two-song encore.

“Pharmacist” is the opening track from the newest album and began the encore which headed directly into the somewhat unsettling storytelling of “Next of Kin” from their 2014 debut. It didn’t leave the night on a low note; rather, ended things with a building music bang that left the sold-out crowd wanting even more, and who made a collective groan when house lights went up.

Kansas City hopes for another 2018, when Alvvays played the metro twice in six months, but to the lucky that got into this sold-out show, the band’s six-year absence seemed to fade away with those very first notes played.