Let's Get Wrecked On Rolling Rock And Stroll Down To The Sea

Joel Plaskett has the physique of a base player—tall and super-lanky. That came as a surprise because I suppose I’ve only seen head shots of him, and even then not too often. But he rocks out all the same. He’s six feet and one hundred and eight pounds of straight up rock.

He played the Capital Music Theatre, a storied Ottawa venue that changed locations about a year ago. It was our first time there and probably only our sixth concert since moving to Ottawa. I think I’m more fashion-conscious when heading to a concert than for any other occasion. I’m of a certain age now, honestly just a little too old to fit into the hipster music scene, and I find it hard to strike a balance between trying too hard to look young (hoody, wallet chain, converse all-stars) and just saying fuck it and strapping on a fanny pack. But what’s good about Plaskett is that he’s been around for a while, so there’s actually a few fogies in attendance. Fogies older even than us.

Peter Elkas opened up. Good looking dude, but that just might be my affinity for beards talking. Elkas also happened to play keyboards for Plaskett’s set, and whether he’s a full time member of the band or he’s just doing it on this tour for shits and giggles, I’m not too sure (and too lazy to find out. I’m sure someone hipper than me knows and will fill me in.) Anyhow, really liked the song Paid Back, but sadly there’s no easy linkage for purposes of easy sharing.

Plaskett played pretty much everything I wanted to hear. A Million Dollars, Nowhere With You, Down at the Khyber, I Love This Town, Natural Disaster, as well as the bulk of his new disc, best of which was Fashionable People—successfully lodged in my head ever since. It’s funny, I’ve only been following the guy less than two years now, but for the first hour of the show I felt on par with the best of his fans. But then he broke out an old song I’d never heard (Extraordinary, I think), and everybody in the place (save the two of us) went apeshit. I half expected everyone to turn on us and say you’re no fan—get the fuck outta here.

Great show, though. Dude performs his ass off, and he’s really gracious. A good Canadian boy, that one. He’s also my age, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. There’s a strange part of me that comes out when I find out that someone successful is the same age as me. And it doesn’t seem to matter what they do or how far removed their abilities and experiences are, I’m still thinking, “Why don’t I have a successful indie band? Why isn’t my song being played in a Zellers commercial? Why aren’t I tall and lanky? Damn it, what’s wrong with me?”