Old Man Leudecke took his place, seated on the eBar stage, donning his cap, eye-glasses, suit and a banjo. From this position, with his left leg tapping out the songs the entire night he entertained a capacity crowd for a solid set. His quick strum/picking of the banjo proved quite effective in keeping people entertained, especially with such a simple one-man band (though he did swap to acoustic guitar for a two-track interlude mid-set).
Not being particularly familiar with his deeper catalogue, I still enjoyed it all in spite of the annoying drunk-talkers obstructing my view for much of the show. To plug his most recent release he got the song The Rear Guard out of the way early, which incidentally includes the basis lyrics for the album's title My Hands are on Fire. Another fan-favourite was I Quit My Job, while his song that first attracted my attention Proof of Love closed down the set. An enthusiastic crowd, even after a full hour show and nearing 1am cheered him on until Vish invited him back for another go round that ended with the joyful Joy of Cooking. A delightful closing from a lovely entertainer with charming stories, both spoken and in song form.
Solo Guelph female. Impressive bluesy voice. Sparse electric guitar. All of these three word sentences are quite basic first impressions that I find synonymous with the following three words. Patty Bell Smith. That voice of hers is tremendously powerful though the music itself is not a style that really captivates me. (I found myself listening while studying the nearly 300 separate graphic-novel-esque drawings on the eBar wall.)
Opening up the night was a diamond in the rough (not saying the rest were rough, just an unanticipated find). Pat Lepoidevin, the young man from N.B., composed songs for us with his looping pedals and a mix of violin, ukulele and guitar (often on the same song). His voice was dynamic; the backing percussion was subtle; the looping was not-so-subtle but well done indeed. I won't make the obvious reference to the other fiddle-looping dynamo because this was somewhat different, and not yet as polished but still plenty of promise. Case and point - for the final song Pat laid down the first loop and left it running, then bolted through the crowd and down the stairs. We were left murmuring, only to have him reappear a minute later to cheers, carrying an instrument he'd forgotten in the car. He then proceeded with the final track, George the Polar Bear, "a children's song performed for adults", during which he entered the crowd to walk around for a chorus singalong that left everyone smiling. This having been his first visit to Guelph, he remarked on his enjoyment of the city and I sincerely hope that will be enough to bring him back. I know I'll be back to see him again if he does!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Young & Old Man, Bell(e) Voice
Brooding Over It
Twas a strong but small crowd amassed for the concert at Vinyl (March 25). Local songstress, Patty Bell Smith was unfortunately lost in the din of the dank club, and her excellent vocals were practically drown out by the time they reached me hanging out near the band at the back. Once the fringe-rock trio of Elliott Brood took to the tiny stage everyone clamoured forward, perhaps in anticipation of hand-outs to come. It was a customary Brood set with the drummer pounding away, seated guitarist and those unlikely vocals emanating from that unassuming looking fellow - not to knock their live performance in any way since it is notoriously stellar. Having seen them just recently at a riled up Olympic show in Vancouver there weren't many surprises throughout the night. As per usual they built up their songs, whipping the crowd into a frenzy, so much so that some members decided to join the performers on-stage, much to their chagrin (as they explained later that a past experience of audience participation had resulted in busted instruments). To make up for it they handed out instruments that were meant to be banged about, in the form of dollar store pots and pans, for the final few songs. All songs were equally well done, with the only stand-outs being due to my personal preference. However I was pleasantly pleased by the one surprise of the night, which was when they went beyond their 10pm curfew to play an encore rendition of Miss You Now.
