Kathleen Edwards is crazy pretty, let me just get that out there off the top. She also seems strangely approachable. Maybe it’s because she’s from Ottawa, or because she doesn’t take herself too seriously. I mean, if I found myself face to face with with James Taylor, I’d be so overcome by his New England charm and his shiny, bald dome that I wouldn’t be able to say a thing. But I feel like I could walk up to Kathleen Edwards on the street and just say, “Hey there, how’s it going! Can I buy you a shawarma or something?”
For her set, she wore a long, black dress that the emcee called ‘Oscar worthy’. (Rightly so.) A few songs in, she addressing the crowd: “This is the last day of my twenties. I wore this dress to sort of commemorate the occasion. I don’t usually wear dresses for a show because I’m afraid that a gust of wind will blow it up over my head, and then…” she gestured to the dozen or so photographers at the foot of the stage, “… and then the Ottawa Citizen will get the shot they’ve always wanted.” She played a lot of songs off her new album, but also threw in every song I was familiar with from the previous two. And she closed with “Back To Me,” which kicked my ever-loving ass it was so good. And it was drowned out only occasionally by my screaming “YEEEAAAAAAHHHH!” every thirty seconds. (CBC Radio 2 will have the recording available on demand, although it's up yet at the time of this post.)
Brian Wilson, on the other hand, was the lowlight. Probably the most depressing bit of live music I’ve ever seen in my life. He came out, sat on a stool, and let his band take the reins. When his turn came to sing, he croaked out some words, and occasionally he snapped his fingers to the beat (but awkwardly, like he'd never used his arms before), and there was just zero emotion on face the whole time. His band compensated with wild enthusiasm, and they were actually quite good; had Brian Wilson himself not appeared on stage, the show would have been so much better. And I know he has a history of severe mental illness, I understand that. I guess I just don’t understand why he’s touring when he so very clearly does not enjoy it. Neither did we, by the way. I could only take about three songs and then I had to walk away. And then the sound died completely for about ten minutes. Which, you know, made his set so much less depressing…
For her set, she wore a long, black dress that the emcee called ‘Oscar worthy’. (Rightly so.) A few songs in, she addressing the crowd: “This is the last day of my twenties. I wore this dress to sort of commemorate the occasion. I don’t usually wear dresses for a show because I’m afraid that a gust of wind will blow it up over my head, and then…” she gestured to the dozen or so photographers at the foot of the stage, “… and then the Ottawa Citizen will get the shot they’ve always wanted.” She played a lot of songs off her new album, but also threw in every song I was familiar with from the previous two. And she closed with “Back To Me,” which kicked my ever-loving ass it was so good. And it was drowned out only occasionally by my screaming “YEEEAAAAAAHHHH!” every thirty seconds. (CBC Radio 2 will have the recording available on demand, although it's up yet at the time of this post.)
Brian Wilson, on the other hand, was the lowlight. Probably the most depressing bit of live music I’ve ever seen in my life. He came out, sat on a stool, and let his band take the reins. When his turn came to sing, he croaked out some words, and occasionally he snapped his fingers to the beat (but awkwardly, like he'd never used his arms before), and there was just zero emotion on face the whole time. His band compensated with wild enthusiasm, and they were actually quite good; had Brian Wilson himself not appeared on stage, the show would have been so much better. And I know he has a history of severe mental illness, I understand that. I guess I just don’t understand why he’s touring when he so very clearly does not enjoy it. Neither did we, by the way. I could only take about three songs and then I had to walk away. And then the sound died completely for about ten minutes. Which, you know, made his set so much less depressing…
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