It’s a reunion show of sorts planned this weekend for Brookswood native Daniel Wesley at the Commodore Ballroom in downtown Vancouver.
The musician, who has played in numerous bands through the past decades and released seven albums, first attended a show at the Commodore on his 19th birthday – when friends took him to see the Matthew Good Band.
He immediately fell in love with the landmark building, its layout and acoustics. And that night, he vowed he’d perform there one day.
Since then, Wesley has performed at the Commodore 15 times, and this Saturday he’ll be back for round 16.
He’s decided to celebrate 10 years of making music at the Commodore by recording a live album.
“It’s legendary. It’s such a magical place and it seems like home,” the 34-year-old South Surrey father of two told the Langley Advance. “I’ve always had some great memories there… for me, when I wanted to do a live album, I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”
He’s planning two sets that night, starting with a laid back 90-minute set with his acoustic guitar, then cranking it up with his electric guitar and some 20 party songs in the second set.
Going on stage at about 10 p.m., Wesley said “it’s going to be a long night, but it’s going to be a fun night.”
He jokes that it will be way too late for his three-year-old and nine-month-old children to attend, but he’s expecting to be surrounded by a lot of other family and friends who are coming from as far away as Hawaii and Idaho to attend the show (and his Aunt’s 50th birthday).
He’ll be recording both sets for two separate albums, the first he hopes to release the first one next spring. Originally, he was going to try to rush it out for summer, but opted against that.
“I’ve never done a live recording release,” Wesley said, noting he’s invited a music buddy, Jeremy Allingham, who he was in a band with in high school (the General Mayhem) to be part of the show.
They haven’t played together since high school, but have both gone on to enjoy a solo recording career. But Allingham will open for Wesley, and both will share the stage for one song – a ballad they wrote and sang together all those years ago, called Can’t Find A Way, which proved to be an “incredibly popular” back in 2000.
“We’re both very excited to do this,” Wesley said.
