Wonderfully Weird

GEOFF BERNER

Thursday 28

Free Flow Dance Studio

Vancouver’s Geoff Berner has made a pretty damn successful career out of, to put it bluntly, weirdness — and that’s not an insult, it’s a compliment.

Armed with his accordion, Berner combines traditional klezmer and hip-hop — producing one of the strangest genre mash-ups you’ll ever hear. It doesn’t sound like the kind of thing that would allow a musician to pay the bills — but with the release of his fifth album, Victory Party, it’s becoming increasingly clear Berner has cemented a solid place in Canada’s indie rock hierarchy.

“I’m making a living, not a killing,” he says. “These days the music industry isn’t about the hit-makers — it’s about niche audiences, and finding those people who will dig your stuff. And there are a lot more people making money out there playing weird stuff than there are people making the boring stuff.

“I’ve had to build my career brick by brick,” he continues. “This will be basically the 9000^th time I’ve played in Saskatoon — and maybe about halfway through that, people started showing up. It’s a matter of getting in front of people and finding those who are shocked enough into liking it, and hopefully the next time they’ll bring a few friends.”

On Victory Party, Berner combines lively instrumentation — his accordion playing clearly has roots in radical Jewish culture — with lyrics that manage to come across as hypnotic and rhythmic without sacrificing the storytelling side of things.

He’s been klezmer for a long time, but Berner is especially excited to be touring on the strength of Victory Party, which he says is his most fully realized album to date.

“It’s all about creating this feel of bloody-minded celebration and a desperate search for release,” says Berner, “and this time around I actually hired a producer, instead of just [recording] the sound of a little band in a room — so it sounds like a real record. The producer is literally a studio wizard and a total expert on klezmer, so he’s the ultimate producer for me and my sound. This record has lots of samples and beats and clarinet sounds, so it’s a record and not just a document of a live recording.”

Creating the new album was an experience he definitely enjoyed, says Berner, but he’s also anxious to get back on the road and get to work — because it’s the live stage where he and his accordion truly get to shine.

“I’m playing with Jason Webley,” says Berner. “He’s opened for The Dresden Dolls, and he does a duo with Amanda Palmer where they pretend to be Siamese twins. He’s got this weird cult following — I think a lot of people know about him without actually knowing about him.

“It will be two solo accordions,” he continues. “We might do a duel, but he would totally win because he’s way better. We’ve toured together before with two other solo accordion players. It was like the monsters of the accordion.”

And really — how does that not sound like one of the coolest shows you’re going to see this year?