Hey Rosetta Wins Fans (Hillside '09)

What can I say about Hey Rosetta that I haven't before (or before that)? Most of the crowd in the Island Tent on Saturday evening however were looking forward to their first glimpse of this St.John's band with recent Polaris shorlist buzz. In a little over half an hour I'm confident that Tim Baker and co. managed to win over these new onlookers. As a pompous seasoned vet (jokes!) I noticed the following:

- That noisy, building feedback intro to Asleep (actually outro to New Goodbye on the album) always borders on excess live but just as it is about to send you bonkers that familiar guitar drops and the relief it brings feels like the day after your final exam.

- Having a second opportunity to see Seeds performed live it works as a perfect intro to the band's live show. First Tim gets to show off his vocals over a simple uke (not featured anywhere else though) before switching to his mastery of the piano as the band kicks in (cello swaps for acoustic guitar) and the momentum builds and closes with as rousing a finish as any - culminating with all six band-members banging something against something for massive percussion. All elements present!

- The tight timing meant that the natural closer, New Goodbye, didn't fit. Nevertheless Red Heart filled in quite nicely as a finale, leaving Tim standing atop his piano bench, with his guitar raised with one hand above his head like a torch held high, and a beaming smile of genuine appreciation on his face. The booming crowd touched him as much as his songs had touched us.

Hey Rosetta said through their set list:
There's An Arc and so we'll bring out the Lions for Scottie with whom We Made a Pact. After all he's been Asleep For a Long, Long Time. We'll continue to plant Seeds with new songs to avoid Tired Eyes and touch as many Red Hearts as possible.