At one point during Onward Voyageur’s set at the Railway Club, a couple of band members brought their iPhones out and incorporated some kind of effects-laden piano application into their music. Unfortunately, you couldn’t really hear what they were doing due to a rather muddy sound mix, so it just looked as if a couple of musicians were busy texting as the rest of the group played around them. Novel, but kind of an odd moment in an otherwise decent set by this local band. Their jangly guitar playing offered some sweet melodies and bass player Joyita Rubin was quite proficient in her craft. They had kind of a music-to-make-cute-eyes-with-your-lover thing going on, making sense of the term given to them on their Facebook page: posi-pop.

Up next were Vancouver’s Hermetic, an impressive duo that played straight up energetic rock that veered towards chaotic and loud. I love a good two-piece that can pull off a full sound with little to work with, and six-stringer Eric Axen and percussionist Bart Newman did it up right. Sometimes all you need to rock out hard are drums, guitar and voice.

Now, I’m trying to remember clearly what the Falklands were like, but either the drink specials rendered me incapable at that moment, or they just weren’t all that memorable. My guess is the former, because I definitely enjoyed their recorded stuff in the past. However, I do remember some facial hair, checkered shirts, and a sound vaguely reminding me of Fugazi. Other than that, I’m at a loss. I’m sure they played good songs, though.

I was excited to see headliners Safety Show after listening to their latest album, Blackwater, on their Bandcamp page and loving every second of it. With cutely drawn shower curtains hanging in front of a couple of band members, vocalist Katie Lapi and friends laid into a set that got bodies moving through their boy/girl harmonizing vocals and happy sounding pop rock. Though their live output didn’t quite capture the feeling I got from the album, it was cool to see them live. Even though I was obscured by booze fumes for the last half of this night, it was still a pleasure to get out and see some of the local talent this city has to offer. I’ll definitely keep my eyes peeled for more lineups like this in the future.