The Rural Alberta Advantage | Radius & Helena -- REVIEW

Wavelength 338 began the booking era of Trevor Coleman. For those of you who don't know Trevor Coleman, he was responsible for the majority, if not all, of the bookings and promotions at The Boat for a year between 2005 and 2006. After taking a short break, he is now back in the booking scene and will be putting together some solid shows for the next three months. The first show on his list took place on Sunday night involving Radius & Helena and The Rural Alberta Advantage.

Radius & Helena began the night under the cosmic lighting fed from the back of the room. The opening song kicked into gear with some good substance and I liked what I was hearing. However, it didn't take long for the substance to wear out. Lots of movement from centre-stage was fun to look at, and the drumming was more fun to follow than the songs themselves, but otherwise the set didn't end up ending the way it had started. Indie-Experimental can be tough to talk about, but sometimes it actually works out and sounds interesting. Radius & Helena did have an experimental wave, but nothing enticing.

The Rural Alberta Advantage are getting better and better. The first time I saw them, it was at a party (somewhere). I didn't think much of them then, but opening up to Nils Edenloff's songs about the Prairies and his hometown back in Alberta, with high-speed drumming and lots of rock, I'd like to think they're something different and fantastic. The band opened with a new song which immediately got people dancing. The RAA continued to play fast-paced and, at times, take-it-down-a-knotch songs to give people more of a chance to listen to the heartfelt sounds of Alberta. To the end the set, the band invited friends on stage to play along with them and then move into the middle of the crowd to sing "Goodnight" to everyone. A rad band with a rad sound, The Rural Alberta Advantage are fun AND lovable. Yes, they can be two things.

Wavelength 339 goes down this Sunday, November 12th when Bellevue and One Heart Many Hands perform. Remember, it's at Sneaky Dee's and it's ALWAYS Pay What You Can!

Photos:
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