By Melissa Spady (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: May 8, 2013
When The Zola’s single “Knot in my Heart” first came out on the radio I immediately pegged them as a Vancouver-based band. I heard a rain-soaked, soulful kind of thing in their music and a sound like that could only come from my backyard. When I was on my way downtown to the Vogue Theatre, it was with very high hopes. Ever since my first exposure I’ve been wondering in earnest what they’d be like on stage. Would they be rigged and intense? Or maybe enthusiastic with a dash of pep-squad?
I waited patiently for their April 19 show.
It ended up being a sold out show and my first at the Vogue. I was delighted to find they removed the first two rows of obnoxiously-placed chairs to make room for a dance floor. Usually we’re expected to all cram into the 10 feet between the stage and the first row. This spring evening, however, there was breathing room.
“This is really overwhelming,” guitarist/vocalist Zachary Gray said after noticing the sold out crowd hanging on his every word.
I sang along to “Ancient Mars” and when the live show deviated from the studio version I heard the whole crowd was singing along with me. An anecdotal story about sifting through the stuff Prince had left backstage from the previous evening led Gray off the stage to find us a box of Lucky Charms. He opened the box and poured them over the audience, declaring that we were now covered in fairy dust. There was a sigh of adoration from the crowd in near unison.
Meanwhile you notice you’ve been acutely aware of pianist, Tom Dobrzanski, playing with a quiet intensity in the corner. You don’t always see him, but his presence enhances Gray’s performance in the same way that Gray’s voice complements his deliciously catchy tunes. The cherry on top was when Gray crawled out in to the crowd to play their final song, “Cold Moon,” a sorrow drenched little ditty with a keyboard
There are aspects in their 2012 release, Ancient Mars, that give the album a distinctly concept feeling. All of the tracks sound like they were written under a rainy Vancouver moon. The cool moisture in the air has been breathed right in to the lyrics. I hear the story of a profoundly broken heart and a 20-something-year-old guy attempting to fix all his problems by crooning into a microphone for 39 minutes. The space-age allusions tell me he’s thinking only of the future, and he’s hoping that it’ll be different than the past. His voice isn’t miserably lamenting the aches and pains of yesterdays; our hero has a soft romantic way of letting the words bounce out of his mouth. His partner behind the keys adds his own funkiness that allows the pair to create an emotionally-charged picture without depressing the listener.
I’m never overwhelmed with the overall sound; in fact it leaves me feeling like I want a little more. It touches just light enough for it to be intriguing, but it’s exquisitely vulnerable – like I’m overhearing a private confession. Their sound is enamouring, but it feels a little like breaking the rules; like when I unabashedly crushed on my high school geography teacher.
I will admit that I was already developing a music crush on The Zolas prior to their show a few weeks ago, but there is an intangible physical presence to their stage performance that I can’t seem to put my finger on. I listened to “Knot in My Heart” on repeat for weeks when it came out but the song indisputably held more weight live. I always have at least one complaint about every show I go to (which I do often), but I have nothing but praise for The Zolas.
If you’ve heard their music and like it, I urge you to not pass up the opportunity to see them live. It was intense, emotional and hauntingly beautiful. I left feeling like I had experienced something really special.
