Persian Rugs (Random Order / Proof of Ghosts / Dr. Ew / Sing Leaf)
The Garrison. Tuesday, December 28, 2010.
Another boxing week show at The Garrison, filling in that post-xmas void. A Tuesday night with work in the morning isn't my favoured time to head out for a show, but I did want to get another look at the last band on the bill. I was hoping this might be an earlier night, but with five acts playing, it stretched out into the late hours, making for a tired next day at work. C'est la guerre.
After a holiday toast, rolled in with K. to find Sing Leaf already on stage. Though we ended up catching more of his set than I was expecting, I dunno if I can totally evaluate it. Especially as solo electronic acts are the sort of thing that I tend to be less well-disposed toward on stage, say, as opposed to in my headphones. What I caught of David Como's ambient-leaning bedroom soultronica was pleasant enough when it drifted along, if slightly generic. Occasional vocal forays were less-convincing in a live setting. There were a decent number of people on hand, even in the early going, though the floor in front of the stage was empty — not even the mildly dance-y parts got anyone up on their feet.
That situation didn't change much for Dr. Ew. There was increased chattiness around the perimeter of the room, and I had the floor pretty much to myself to consider the good doctor, playing solo on this night. The medical moniker is the current nom de rock for Drew Smith, late of beloved local rockers The Bicycles. With a helium voice and a gift for bubblegum hooks, Smith put out a gem of an album with last year's Gadzooks, but his penchant for goofiness (like that album's cover art) and the perceived slightness of his chosen genre mean that not everyone is looking a little closer to see what a first-class songwriter Smith is. Truth be told, Smith's work deserves to be considered in the context of another singer-songwriter Smith — first initial "E" — as much as next to the Monkees or a well-worn Goofy Greats compilation.
Opener "Oh, Human History" was suited to solo presentation, though the more rambunctious "The House of Many Mansions" was less so, presenting a sort of paradox for a musician in Smith's situation — is it better to play the quiet, delicate stuff that's suited for one man and a guitar, or crank it up to compensate for the missing bandmembers and try and cut through the surrounding chatter? Smith elected to go with the former route, with a gently wonderful take of Big Star's "Thirteen" that was sadly mostly lost in the room. Perhaps not wanting to get overwhelmed any more, Smith kept it short, matter-of-factly cranking out a half-dozen songs and departing in a quarter hour. Mildly too gentle for a semi-attentive crowd, but I dug it.1
Listen to a song from this set here.
Anyone who's been to The Garrison before might have noticed Steve "Shoe" Heyerdahl, one of the city's best sound techs, working behind the board. But bringing out his band Proof of Ghosts took him up on the stage. Listed as consisting of "a rotating cast of friends", the band was a trio on this night, with vocalist Heyerdahl on acoustic guitar and harmonica backed by Jeff Robertson on drums and keyboard player/backing vocalist Julia Baird. With a folky mien, that instrumental lineup and the frequent lyrical concern with memories of pre-citified youth and loves lost, there's some basic similarilty here to The Rural Alberta Advantage, though mediated through a different set of formative influences. That was on display as the set led off with "Man on the Silver Mountain", a Ronnie James Dio song (from his Rainbow days) introduced as a tribute to "a childhood hero".
Illuminated by footlights, this was mostly softer music, played just loud enough to drown out the roomchatter. There was some material from the band's self-titled 2008 Weewerk album,2 but also a smattering of new material, including the warm "Genevieve" and "Peace in the Valley". Those ones, as well as the fine "Undertaker's Blues", should fit in nicely on the band's next release, which I'm sure'll also be paying tribute to Heyerdahl's Oshawa roots (including "a little place where we went to smoke drugs"). Toward the end, there were some pleasing synth whoa-ohs during "Peace in the Valley" (not the old spiritual number) to send this out like a car fading out of sight as it recedes in the highway's distance.
Listen to a song from this set here.
A sharp shift in mood after that, with Random Order taking the stage. I'd never heard of this foursome, but they brought a roomful of friends along, most of whom started dancing as the band led off with a surf-y/spy movie instrumental with accents from John Jowett's trombone. That would be one of the more distinctive sounds on offer as the next one ripped right into a taut 2-tone rockin' ska groove. This would, in fact, be the band's stock-in-trade. But looking 'em up online, I note they're no fourth-wave partycrashers — they've been refining their sound through a couple waxings and wanings of the great ska tide, with a string of releases stretching back to 1990. Leading the charge was singer/guitarist S. Lynn Phillips, who brought brought the right rhythmic edge to her playing on the ska stuff.
Admittedly at the outset, I felt a bit of snobbish dismissal toward the band — there's nothing more perennially unfashionable than ska.3 But the band was so good at what they do, playing with such energy and fun, it was hard not to get pulled in with a smile. And it's hard not to listen to this and get the urge to dance around at least a little — which is probably why, screwface headshaking notwithstanding, that the style never totally goes away. I was having a pretty good time by the time the band finished with an admirably leering take on the Hendrix classic "Foxy Lady", with Phillips' guitar sliding on everything in sight, including her microphone stand, Oriana Barbato's bass and Jowett's trombone.
Listen to a song from this set here.
I was rather impressed with Persian Rugs the first time I'd caught 'em, showing a lot of potential right out of the gate. I'd been running late that night, arriving with the band already playing and had been meaning ever since to catch a full set. Three months later, the band looked increasingly relaxed onstage, and was certainly able to bring a few more friends out to cheer them on.
Keyboardist Kaye Hamilton's vox were a little shaky on the poppy opener "Stuck in a Revolving Door", but she was on her game by "Ba Ba (Underemployed)" which came with a harder-edged guitar sound, as well as the singalong ba-ba's promised by the title. That was followed by a jaunty instrumental number, with the genial Hamilton encouraging everyone to dance.
With the songs coming from different angles like that, there's still a sign that the band is working down several paths simultaneously, exploring for the place where they'll converge into the band's own sound. But while they work out exactly what band they want to be, there's room for some fun experiments, like the seasonal cover of Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" (from the Phil Spector-produced A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records). There was also a chance for drummer Matt Rubba to take lead vocals on "It's What You Think", leaving bassist Ali Sunderji the only non-vocalist in the group.
And when all the elements in play do come together, there's some outstanding results. On "Phone Call From the Lake" guitarist/vocalist Ian Jackson stepped into more of a rhythmic role behind Hamilton's atmospheric keyboards, rendering everything a little more spacious and dreamy. That's the same effect that the band's signature song "Always All" manages to conjure.
After that one, Jackson was already pulling off his guitar when the band decided they had time for one more, closing out with a cover of "Part Time Punks". There were a few wobbles here and there, perhaps more from having been hanging around all night waiting to play as much as anything. But there had been some big steps forward since I'd first seen 'em, and it looks like they've been moving forward steadily from there, with their EP now officially released. Definitely a band to watch out for.4
Listen to a song from this set here.
1 Smith will be playing NXNE tomorrow (June 16, 2011) at 918 Bathurst St — do check him out.
2 That album, plus an EP and a bundle of demos are available for free download over at their bandcamp. Meanwhile, Proof of Ghosts will be playing next week (Monday, June 20, 2011) at Not My Dog.
3 Unless it's now actually fashionable again — I can never keep track.
4 Persian Rugs are also playing NXNE, leading off a rock-packed night on Friday (June 17, 2011) at The Silver Dollar.
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