Good Girls Front Rock Bands: Chvrches at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Review and Photos – Chvrches at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, Sep 28 2022

Sparkling on stage in a glittering silver dress, Lauren Mayberry, lead singer of the Scottish band Chvrches, held her arms up to the crowd at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Wednesday night. As her impressive voice filled the theatre, lights swept into the audience as if Mayberry was sharing her light with the captivated crowd. 

Mayberry was joined on stage by bandmates and multi-instrumentalists Iain Cook and Martin Doherty and drummer Jonny Scott. On tour to support their latest album, Screen Violence, the Glasgow-based group was thankful for the stop in Vancouver. A city, Mayberry notes, that has familiar weather and proximity to water that reminds them of home. 

The group captivated the crowd with tandem guitar solos from Cook and Doherty, while Scott’s impeccable drum beats kept time for the energetic pop songs. When Mayberry wasn’t centre stage belting out vocals, she twirled from one side of the stage to the other, often encouraging the crowd to sing or clap along. Then with rockstar swagger, the petite singer raised her mic stand overhead, showing her “good girl” strength. 

Their show was a well-thought event, with dramatic light shows to accompany each song, fortifying the strength of the music with customized colours that expressed the mood. The energy of the performance was further conveyed through the wind in Mayberry’s hair as the sound of the music soared off the stage and filled the auditorium, washing over the crowd. 

While everything glistened on stage, Mayberry also brought a touch of reality to the evening with her quirky banter and comments between songs. “I eat shit 60% of the time, but then I write songs about it,” she noted to the cheers of the crowd.

Mayberry’s third outfit of the night was a pair of cut-off jean shorts and a simple white t-shirt spelling out “FINAL GIRL”. As the group returned to the stage for their final scene, her arms were coloured red and her bright white t-shirt dripped with “blood”. Their three-song encore began with the first track from Screen Violence, “Asking for a Friend.” The familiar intro of “Mother We Share” soon followed to build the energy for the final crescendo, 2015’s “Clearest Blue.” 

American indie pop group Cafuné joined Chvrches as the opener of the night. They performed songs from their debut album, Running, including the viral single “Tek It.”

More Chvrches at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre photos:

Contributors

Julie Rankin

Julie Rankin is a writer and a designer and developer of digital experiences. She currently operates her own holistic creative studio that aims to push the boundaries of what we can build together on the web. Julie is passionate about digital sustainability, accessibility and user experience. In addition to serving as editor and writer at Bright Noise, Julie also writes fiction. She can often be found cycling, walking along the Vancouver seawall, or enjoying some live music.

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Kirk Chantraine

Kirk Chantraine is a Canadian photographer and software developer currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He graduated from Vancouver Film School for 3D Animation in 2004 and has been working in the Visual Effects industry ever since with companies such as Electronic Arts and Disney. Over the last few years Kirk has exhibited his photographic works in San Francisco and Vancouver. A music aficionado and vinyl junkie, Kirk shoots live music and performance at an inhuman pace across North America for Bright Noise , along with landscape and portraiture. If you're buying: gin-and-tonics. He is @kchantraine on socials.

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