This will be a quick one because I’ve zero free time lately, but I also don’t want five days of concerts to pile up.
Sunday, we caught The Weakerthans play, which was officially the first complete set we’ve seen so far. They were out-friggin-standing. It’s always much harder to describe something you’ve enjoyed as opposed to something you didn’t. They played every single song we hoped they’d play… along with one we hoped they wouldn’t (which we’ll only refer to as “The song that makes Sarah cry and cry and cry.”) I think these guys have a universal appeal, which is remarkable when you dissect individual facts about the band. If I were to say to you “there’s this band from Manitoba, their lead singer used to be a member of the anarchist punk band ‘Propagandhi,’ and their lyrics are inspired by poetry, visual art, and philosophical works,” that sounds like a band that you don’t want to see. But I challenge you to listen to “Our Retired Explorer,” “Watermark,” or “Tournament of Hearts” and not enjoy the hell out of yourself.
Last night, we caught Matthew Good and James Taylor (as two separate acts, not one—which would have been weird). Sarah’s not a huge Matthew Good fan, and I’m not the superfan I used to be, but I still had a good time. Nice cross-section of his hits, and he sounds more or less identical to his records when you hear him live. Brother’s looking a little bloated, though. Check the Ottawa Citizen photo gallery if you don’t believe me (but do it soon because it’ll be buried in more recent pics as the festival grinds onward).
After this is what James Taylor. The place was rammed with people. I think we’d only ever seen it that busy for The White Stripes last year. He was great. I can’t help but compare it to Steely Dan. Lots of similarities: age, mellow(ish) set list, huge freaking band—but J.T. comes out easily on top in that contest. He’s got great presence. He’s a total gentleman, chatting casually with the crowd or introducing his band-mates. His song are just… better in general. And mellow, feel-good catalogue of songs notwithstanding, the band still rocked out from time to time (the kick-ass end of “Mexico” being the best example there). Sarah might chime in with a more complete song list, but I know he played “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Sweet Baby James,” “Carolina in My Mind,” all the classics, along with covers of “Everyday” (Buddy Holly) and “Hound Dog.” Big thumbs down to the version of “Steamroller” they played. J.T. spent the whole thing singing in this weird, lips-sown-together, fakey blues drawl. Entertaining for about eight seconds; after that it was like watching your dentureless grandfather try to rap after about twenty ounces of whisky.
Sunday, we caught The Weakerthans play, which was officially the first complete set we’ve seen so far. They were out-friggin-standing. It’s always much harder to describe something you’ve enjoyed as opposed to something you didn’t. They played every single song we hoped they’d play… along with one we hoped they wouldn’t (which we’ll only refer to as “The song that makes Sarah cry and cry and cry.”) I think these guys have a universal appeal, which is remarkable when you dissect individual facts about the band. If I were to say to you “there’s this band from Manitoba, their lead singer used to be a member of the anarchist punk band ‘Propagandhi,’ and their lyrics are inspired by poetry, visual art, and philosophical works,” that sounds like a band that you don’t want to see. But I challenge you to listen to “Our Retired Explorer,” “Watermark,” or “Tournament of Hearts” and not enjoy the hell out of yourself.
Last night, we caught Matthew Good and James Taylor (as two separate acts, not one—which would have been weird). Sarah’s not a huge Matthew Good fan, and I’m not the superfan I used to be, but I still had a good time. Nice cross-section of his hits, and he sounds more or less identical to his records when you hear him live. Brother’s looking a little bloated, though. Check the Ottawa Citizen photo gallery if you don’t believe me (but do it soon because it’ll be buried in more recent pics as the festival grinds onward).
After this is what James Taylor. The place was rammed with people. I think we’d only ever seen it that busy for The White Stripes last year. He was great. I can’t help but compare it to Steely Dan. Lots of similarities: age, mellow(ish) set list, huge freaking band—but J.T. comes out easily on top in that contest. He’s got great presence. He’s a total gentleman, chatting casually with the crowd or introducing his band-mates. His song are just… better in general. And mellow, feel-good catalogue of songs notwithstanding, the band still rocked out from time to time (the kick-ass end of “Mexico” being the best example there). Sarah might chime in with a more complete song list, but I know he played “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Sweet Baby James,” “Carolina in My Mind,” all the classics, along with covers of “Everyday” (Buddy Holly) and “Hound Dog.” Big thumbs down to the version of “Steamroller” they played. J.T. spent the whole thing singing in this weird, lips-sown-together, fakey blues drawl. Entertaining for about eight seconds; after that it was like watching your dentureless grandfather try to rap after about twenty ounces of whisky.
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He also played "Fire and Rain", "Shower the People", "Your Smiling Face", and a cover of the Dixie Chicks' "Some Days You Gotta Dance".
I must admit that this was not the first time I had seen JT; I saw him with Brady over a decade ago. He is looking a lot more like Robert Duvall these days, but sounds THE EXACT SAME.