User:THeIR THeRE

The voice of Harley Small can fill a room. In person, he’s quiet, reserved, but on an auspicious Thursday evening in Crescent Beach, sound is spilling out of the warmly lit Wired Monk and pooling in the street. He and Adam de Souza, one half of Their There, play sets in pairs, playing for friends and strangers alike. The small venue doesn’t afford enough space for the full band – Small on vocals, keyboard and guitar; Jess Desrochers on drums, de Souza on guitar and bass and Ross Jenkins on guitar, bass and vocals – but they don’t mind playing in pairs when they can. It gives an opportunity to try out new songs in a low-pressure live setting.

They play both covers and original songs live. In a set you might hear some Coldplay, maybe your favourite Oasis song. You might hear a cover of underground favourite ‘The Trapeze Swinger’ from Miami folkie Sam Beam. Maybe some Beatles. Probably Radiohead. In fact, the question asked most often of the band, says Small laughing, is “Are you a Radiohead cover band?”

And it’s true – the fake plastic trees are growing thick tonight. But in between Karma Police and Hey Jude, you’ll hear something else, something you can’t quite place; too Lennon to be Yorke, too folk to be the Gallagher Bros. and company. A Their There original can be difficult to spot; ‘Open Your Eyes’ sounds just as polished as anything penned by Chris Martin.

Ross Jenkins, guitarist and vocalist, plays at the Wired Monk’s open mic nights every Wednesday, bringing his unique brand of folk and alt country to the little stool at the front (he wouldn’t sound out of place on the Saddle Creek roster). “I think some young people are born with old souls, and that’s what I think Ross here has, an old soul,” says host Mike Villeneuve by way of introduction as Jenkins launches into a frail and unabashedly lovely Bright Eyes cover.

It’s hard to catch the band live; the White Rock/South Surrey area lacks in venues. They play at the Monk when they can and play gigs for functions like Surrey’s YouthFest. A recent band night at the South Surrey Rec Centre had them playing a seven-song set in between Marriott alumni Coldwater Caravan and Vancouver pop-punk band Sweetheart. Some there had never seen Jenkins plugged in (literally) or drummer Jess Desrochers at work (you try and fit that kit into the Monk – behind the baristas, maybe), and even those who had were wowed.

Several months before they were given a hypothetical situation – Their There is the house band aboard the Titanic, and the ship is going down. What song do they play? Unanimously, they agreed that their last song would be a cover of Coldplay’s ‘Politik’ that merges into ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ by the Arcade Fire. When they finish their set on band night with ‘Rebellion (Lies)’, it does indeed sound epic enough to be the score to The End. This is the sound of Their There; the warm glow of a coffeehouse, a dark gym with their silhouettes on the wall, and just maybe the end of the world