(Daniel Wesley reading for a part in Boogie Nights, circa 1995. © 2009 Shandra Stephenson.)
It was a typical cold and wet Vancouver night outside. But inside The Commodore, it was hot and steamy, a full crowd on a Friday night, and they were all there for Mr. Daniel Wesley. Looking around the room, Daniel's audience appeared to be made up mostly of drunk (read: slutty) girls with their badass pot-smoking boyfriends, and old biker couples making out in the corners.
Daniel eased his way onstage at 11 without a word to the crowd and started the show off with his hit "It'll Be You" from his new self-titled album. As the crowd warmed up, Daniel got more into the reggae swing of things by asking them to sing along to "Something That You Do". For once, no one is sitting at the bar. Everyone's on the dance floor.
Daniel is sitting down now and the band is playing "Sing & Dance". The audience sways and claps to the beat. This show is different from the last time Daniel played in Vancouver. It's a lot softer. He's more reserved and even has backup singers now. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves; as much as new Daniel Wesley sounds like Jack Johnson, he still has the good ol' rough boy in him. "This song is called 'Drunk + Stoned'. Anyone feel this way?" he says before beginning the song.
Moving to sit at the edge of the stage, Daniel throws us a bone and plays us a new song he wrote while traveling in Costa Rica. It's called "Pirates" and it's a bit heavier than the rest of his set. Apparently, this song was pretty serious. People felt the need to bust out glowsticks.
After a few more songs and God knows how many more drinks, the show came to an end and Daniel left the stage, leaving us drunk, stoned, singing and dancing. Daniel seemed quieter during his set though. I can't help wondering if he got a little drunk and stoned himself to get into the right state of mind.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Daniel eased his way onstage at 11 without a word to the crowd and started the show off with his hit "It'll Be You" from his new self-titled album. As the crowd warmed up, Daniel got more into the reggae swing of things by asking them to sing along to "Something That You Do". For once, no one is sitting at the bar. Everyone's on the dance floor.
Daniel is sitting down now and the band is playing "Sing & Dance". The audience sways and claps to the beat. This show is different from the last time Daniel played in Vancouver. It's a lot softer. He's more reserved and even has backup singers now. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves; as much as new Daniel Wesley sounds like Jack Johnson, he still has the good ol' rough boy in him. "This song is called 'Drunk + Stoned'. Anyone feel this way?" he says before beginning the song.
Moving to sit at the edge of the stage, Daniel throws us a bone and plays us a new song he wrote while traveling in Costa Rica. It's called "Pirates" and it's a bit heavier than the rest of his set. Apparently, this song was pretty serious. People felt the need to bust out glowsticks.
After a few more songs and God knows how many more drinks, the show came to an end and Daniel left the stage, leaving us drunk, stoned, singing and dancing. Daniel seemed quieter during his set though. I can't help wondering if he got a little drunk and stoned himself to get into the right state of mind.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
* * * * *
Daniel Wesley played The Commodore Ballroom on November 27 - 28, 2009. Special thanks to Live Nation.
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