Barbers, Theives & Players

Having begrudgingly pulled myself away from the Lorrie Matheson show at the Attic I arrived at the eBar in Guelph in time to catch most of Del Barber's opening set. Boy, am I glad I did as he was a treat. Without any prior knowledge of Del or his music I walked in to a young man seated on a chair with an acoustic guitar and a mature folk-singer's voice beyond the age on his face... Throughout his very enjoyable folk-bordering-on-country set Del proved that he is a very capable musician, picking and pounding his guitar while his excellent voice sailed throughout the quickly populating bar. Armed with an excellent cover of Neil Young's Harvest Moon and a handful of amusing anecdotes he thoroughly entertained.

I had heard the second band in the sense that the singer and man at the forefront is also the singer of the alt-country group Cuff the Duke, from Oshawa. Wayne Petti's voice immediately recalls Cuff the Duke classics for me and as much as they may try to differentiate from his primary project it was difficult for me to hear much difference. Granted Wayne Petti and the Thieves (oh I get it, Petty Theives.. ha) do their best at playing melodic rock, but with that voice it still brings up stetson-hat associations. They managed to steer clear of any strong country feel until the first half of a song near the end of the set, however they wiped that away with one of their many crashing instrumental breakdowns. With Wayne wailing on the electric guitar, and his two bandmates watching him (they haven't played together long - 3rd show in fact) they would bring a whole lot of noise and a touch of feedback to the endings of many tunes. Though it's not too markedly different than Cuff the Duke it can only be counted as a positive thing that Wayne is putting his excellent voice to good use wherever he can.

Finally it was time for the show that has become a fan favourite here in Guelph. In dapper dress the Sunparlour Players opened with recently released album Wave North opening track North. The manner in which this song is sung is earnestly, which most accurately describes the feeling put into the lyrics while singing this song both live and on album. From there the three-piece band continued their sit down set, though it was sit-down with energy! - beginning with mostly music from the CD for which this show was honouring the release. Included were tracks such as Nuclear, O'Captain, and Point Pelee is the Place to Be, some of which prominently featuring the banjo, and one even saw a xylophone being bowed. The lead single Battle of '77, which included the accordion, got a very strong reception though perhaps the biggest response was deservedly for the track If the Creeks Don't Rise. However I do have a bit of a grievance with a handful of folks in attendance. As much as I am glad that they were enjoying excellent music, I was twice as annoyed by their antics in order to show that enjoyment. Drunkenly spilling, loudly talking, carelessly bumping, disgustingly pashing, stupidly yelling - these people were detrimental to the entire crowd who wanted to see the band equally as much, but managed to enjoy the show in a way that also respected the other patrons. Nevertheless the show continued with the lead 'player', Andrew Penner, standing up from his chair midway through. He got the place jumping even higher by mixing in a handful of older songs including John Had a Bell and Whistle. By the time it came to the finale the crowd was putty in their hands and we stomped and sang along to the appropriately chosen Wave North closer Build It Up. Can't wait for the Hillside set! It was a solid closing to a solid night in which all five bands I saw delivered.