It’s hard to believe it’s been nine whole years since Bedouin Soundclash has played in Vancouver, but a full house at the Imperial on Saturday (February 8), suggests that for many, it was well worth the wait. This was the second of eleven stops on their cross Canada tour that began in Victoria the night before.

The duo of Jay Malinowski and Eon Sinclair are touring with drummer Tony Rabalao and a horn section in support of their latest album Mass, which was released last fall. The album is a searing compilation of tracks that feature the infamous Preservation Hall Jazz Band of New Orleans, and the Saint James Music Academy Children’s choir right here in Vancouver.

Toronto-based artist and much-loved host of CBC Music’s afterdark program, Odario opened the show. Odario is probably best known as the lead vocalist for hip-hop group Grand Analog, but he has also been featured in tracks by A Tribe Called Red and Vancouver’s own world music trailblazers, Delhi to Dublin.

The video for his single “Low Light (In This Space)” premiered via Exclaim! just a day before his performance in Vancouver. The song, which features Vancouver’s soul queen Dawn Pemberton, is about “clicking delete on what we perceive as our differences and encouraging one another to embrace our similarities as humans. With that comes emotion, something we all embrace together.”

The Mass Tour marches on across the Great White North before wrapping up in Montreal on Feb 22. Check out their website for more info.