Local band debuts new album Something Got Lost Between Here and the Orbit

Krysten Karwacki, CONTRIBUTOR
Giant glowing orbs lit up the room and played spacey sounds when the band tapped them. THE PROJECTOR/ Laurie Brand

Giant glowing orbs lit up the room and played spacey sounds when the band tapped them. THE PROJECTOR/ Laurie Brand

The room was dark, the stage was covered with instruments and the crowd was buzzing with anxious energy. Royal Canoe, a Winnipeg-based band, took the stage at The Burton Cummings Theatre Sept. 15 and the crowd’s energy and excitement were heard through cheering and applause.

Royal Canoe incorporates elements of jazz, R&B, and synthesizers to create their indie-pop sound. The band per- formed their sophomore album Something Got Lost Between Here and the Orbit, and they opened with “Somersault,” the first single from their record. Their new album title describes a longing for home.

“We’re constantly on the road, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t communicate absolutely everything the same way without person to person communication. It’s kind of like the analogy of a fuzzy television, you’re not quite getting the whole picture,” said Brendan Berg, Royal Canoe’s bassist.

“We don’t get to play very often in Winnipeg, so it’s an opportunity to show [our friends and family] how far we’ve come with their help, and to say thank you.”

Matt Peters, the lead vocalist, created an intimate setting when he invited the crowd closer to the stage to dance. Giant glowing orbs, which were from Earls restaurant, lit up the room, and played spacey sounds when the band tapped them. They were creatively incorporated into the song “Walk Out on the Water.” The Dirty Catfish Brass Band, who collaborated with Royal Canoe on the new album, joined the stage to play the orchestral “Holidays.”

Royal Canoe ended the 90-minute show with two encores. The first was “BB Gun,” a mellow track featuring beluga whale recordings from Churchill. The other was the exact opposite. “Nightcrawlin’” saw Peters create creepy vocals using a double microphone. The audience looked mesmerized by the performance.

“I think the main thing is how weird and innovative they are,” said Jazzmine Coulombe, a Red River College business administration student. “I saw them at Union Sound Hall three years ago, and [they] blew my mind. You have to hear them.”

Royal Canoe is touring North America the rest of this year, but Berg made it clear Winnipeg is their home. “Often we’re playing in other cities more frequently, and to get to put on a show and have all these people in the same room and feel their support right there, it’s really special for us.”