Van Damsel – May 19, 2016: Zaphods Beeblebrox
Van Damsel (Photo by K.NE)
Four friends, one van, one coast-to-coast tour, and only one speeding ticket.
“We were driving through, I think it was Saskatchewan, and there was nothing but road…”
Indie electro-pop band Van Damsel have been touring across Canada in support of their debut, self-titled full-length released back in April, and the Kamloops-based quartet have since dipped their toes in the Atlantic Ocean and are on their way back west. Making sure to spend some time in the nation’s capital, Van Damsel brought their energetic live performance to Zaphods Beeblebrox on Thursday night.
Van Damsel (Photo by K.NE)
“It’s always great when we can go out there and have an awesome time”, Van Damsel frontman Sebastien Ste Marie explained, as he, the rest of the band, and I toured around Ottawa’s downtown area. “I feel like people make a better connection with us when we put on a really great live show”.
And great shows are what they do.
Now on their third major Canadian tour, Van Damsel have performed in support of Tokyo Police Club and Mother Mother and were excited to make a return to Ottawa. “It’s a great city. It’s not always easy touring across the more sparsely populated parts of Canada just because it’s pretty barren between cities. But coming to places like Ottawa, Montreal, or Quebec City makes the long drives worth it”.
Even after seven years as a band, and hours and hours of driving, the band feels closer than ever, “[they] still get along and have a lot of fun along the way”. And with their friendship and band dynamics at a high, they look towards the future with optimism and greater expectations. “Songs like ‘Sophia’ and ‘Best of Everything’ are about always wanting to be better. We were really happy with this record, but we want and know the next one will be better”.
Regardless of how they compare to their future selves, Van Damsel brought their new record and all its energy to the crowd at Zaphods on Thursday night. Running through almost the entire album, they kept the excitement levels up. Playing all their hits, including “Domino”, “Sophia”, and “Best of Everything”, Van Damsel made sure to keep one last trick up their sleeve, closing the night off with a high-powered cover of Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out”.
Catch all the action from the show in the latest Concert Gallery from K.NE, and read our review of Van Damsel in an edition of #INPO. Head to their website to order your copy of Van Damsel and for more information.
Van Damsel
