Did You See The Moon Tonight

concert review: Keren Ann and A Girl Called Eddy @ Horseshoe Tavern(Toronto, Ontario), March 6, 2005

Winding down 3 nights worth of CMW shows, I took in the appropriately relaxed performances of two current chanteuses-du-jour, A Girl Called Eddy and Keren Ann, over at the Horseshoe on Sunday night. A co-headlining tour as it was being billed, us lucky music fans were treated to two satisfying sets of exquisite songs. I've been looking forward to this ever since this show was announced and I was not disappointed. Preceding the evening, A Girl Called Eddy played an instore performance over at Soundscapes that afternoon, playing intimate versions of "Somebody Hurt You", "People Used To Dream About The Future", and "Golden". My first time experiencing a Soundscapes instore performance, it was quite extraordinary. Given the cramped dimensions, the carpeted floor and dim lighting, it felt like A Girl Called Eddy(aka Erin Moran) and her two bandmates were performing in someone's living room. It was very warm sounding and for three songs I just wallowed in the beauty of it all. Afterwards, I stuck around and got Erin to autograph my CD insert. I also mentioned to her that I had e-mailed her last year asking her(well more like inviting her) to come to Toronto to play live, at the time suggesting that maybe she could play The Mod Club. She responded that it was really the booker who chose the Horseshoe. It would have not been my first choice, but blame the booker. The nicest thing about meeting her was that when I mentioned that I had e-mailed her last year she said she remembered getting an e-mail from a 'Torontonian'. Wow, she remembers me. ;-) [although, for the record, I'm really a Mississaugan, posing as a Torontonian :-) ] [photos during instore]

Standing alongside chromewaves at the front of the stage, I had a perfect unobstructed view. I waited in anticipation with a giddy sort of restlessness for A Girl Called Eddy to take the stage, no doubt a result of being quite taken with her music since August 2004. A Girl Called Eddy's evening performance setup was pretty much the same as their afternoon instore setup: Erin on vocals/keyboards and her two bandmates on guitar(both slide and acoustic) and bass guitar. To substitute for a live drummer, they used some pre-programmed beats which were adequate for the casualness of the night. Erin began the performance playing guitar but later moved to keyboards for a majority of the songs. Her music's not so much songs for the broken hearted as songs of the broken-hearted. Lyrically, her songs spoke of heartache and love and I'm reminded of The Smithereens' song title "Beauty and Sadness". I think's it that concept which really defines A Girl Called Eddy's music, in particular her lyrical themes of love. Not so much a dichotomy as two sides of the same coin. Musically, everything dripped melancholy. The raw emotive quality of Erin's vocals were sublime and blended quite nicely with the Burt Bacharach-ish melodies which lingered through the club. Some nice slide guitar and banjo were added to the fold while the bass guitar arrangements were modest but warm sounding. Although, most of the songs followed a melancholic route, it was funny to hear Erin introduce her song "Life Thru The Same Lens" as her 'happy song', as it featured a series of "ba da da" vocal arrangements and a nice bouncy pop melody. As chromewaves mentioned, the added dimension of a live drummer would have made songs like "Tears All Over Town" that much better, but otherwise the intimate stripped down versions of the songs performed by A Girl Called Eddy were near perfection. [photos]

Down to performing as a duo, Keren Ann and her keyboardist took the stage in front of an enthusiastic audience. Initially I was disappointed that she wasn't performing with the same band setup as her Toronto debut performance at The Drake Hotel from late last year. At The Drake Hotel, she had a guitarist, trumpet player and her keyboard played a real piano. For her performance at the Horseshoe, the band setup was down to Keren Ann on vocals and electric-acoustic guitar and her keyboardist on electric keyboards and some percussive instruments. Surprisingly though, I managed to enjoy this performance even more than her show at The Drake Hotel. I'd have to attribute my enjoyment to actually recognizing songs this time around. Considering how quiet and hush Keren Ann would perform, I think I also made a conscious effort to really listen to every vocal tone, every gentle strum or finger pluck of her guitar and every keyboard note. Keren Ann's vocals lingered mostly in whispered tones and was particulary beguiling when she sang in French. Keren Ann added quite a variety to her guitar sound as her electric-acoustic guitar was hooked up to a series of guitar pedals, ranging from wah-wah effects to a twangy-rootsy sound. Although when she stayed with a simple warm acoustic guitar tone to feature her exquisite guitar arrangements, it was pure heaven. Her keyboardist was quite versatile, playing a variety of styles, from cabaret, jazz and pop. Most of the songs were quite intimate but her 'happy murder song' as she introduced it was a nice change of pace, which featured a nice rhythmic vocal pattern and a sunny melodic bounce to it. A thoroughly charming performance. [photos]