Recording: Laura Barrett

Artist: Laura Barrett

Song: Where I'm From

Recorded at Junction City Music Hall (Pickles Aid), January 17, 2017.

Laura Barrett - Where I'm From

Faced with an xmas eve layoff, Duncan "Doc Pickles" MacDonell was facing some financial and existential roadblocks — so in a "get by with a little help from my friends" gesture, Young Doctors in Love's Clay Puddester got the ball rolling for this benefit show. With the General Chaos lights swirling behind the stage, there was a strong old-school Wavelength vibe in the room. Laura Barrett came prepared for that, with a Year 2000 shirt and kalimba at hand to remind everyone in the room how awesome Deception Island Optimists Club is. Most of the set was dedicated to her slowly-building stockpile of new tunes though, including this song about a sort of nostalgia that is somewhat specific to Toronto: feeling the persistence of self through time as the city around you is torn down and rebuilt with condos and chain stores.

[Rolling with the psychic vibes from this show, Doc Pickles is reviving his Crosswires series, which will be moving to the Baby G with shows on Mondays once the sun crosses the vernal equinox. Information on the first couple shows is already posted on the Crosswires facebook page.]