Considering all the times I've mentioned singer-songwriter Halifax-by-way-of-PEI's Jenn Grant(as far back as September 2005), I'd be totally remiss if I didn't mention Jenn Grant's recent CD release party(for her debut album "Orchestra For The Moon") at the Horseshoe Tavern last Friday night. I won't let blind admiration affect my judgement of the actual show - it wasn't perfect. Comparing Jenn's 11 pm set to A Northern Chorus' headling set(and how subsequently the crowd thinned) it was obvious most people were there to see Jenn that night - it helped that she had a lot of press last week including in Eye Weekly, JAM, and The Globe and Mail. Not at capacity but decent enough, and only to draw larger crowds in the future. I was disappointed in the sound mix which I thought was unnecessarily loud, all the more peculiar since during Jenn's banter she mentioned this was the first time she actually had a sound guy work the set, with bandmate Sean MacGIllivray going so far as to have the audience applaud the sound guy. However, that aside her set showcased songs off her debut album showing why she is one of Canada's up-and-comers. A little help from some friends brought the songs to life. Her band included The Heavy Blinkers' Dave Christensen's twinkling keyboards/glockenspiel, Jason Burns on drums, Sean MacGIllivray on bass guitar/background vox, and surprise guest Toronto's violin extraordinaire Julie Penner adding her own flavourable arrangements. Also Jenn had a few friends help out on background vox at times including fellow east coaster Tanya Davis who had performed her own set earlier on in the night. I missed her set but one of the highlights of the evening was Tanya's sublime spoken word interlude during the performance of Jenn's "Dreamer". Dressed in a white summery skirt-top, black leggings, strawberry-blond and rosey-cheeked, Jenn exuded her wonderful east-coast charm. Obviously surprised by the turnout, she was refreshingly modest and appreciative about her rising star. Thankfully, Jenn and her band The Night Painters had what it took to deliver the musical goods. Excursions into pop, folk, and country, with Jenn's jazz-inflected vocals combined for a thoroughly enjoyable set.
While I've only ever been casually familiar with Hamilton, ON's A Northern Chorus, I must say that they really impressed me last Friday night. Plaintive vocals(Stu Livingstone & Pete Hall, with added background vox from their cellist), guitars that alternately shimmered then crashed, and generous amounts of cello combined into intricate, spacious indie-post-rock. The one welcome facet to their music is the fact that their recent material are more song-based, concise(even up-tempo at times) yet still maintaining an atmospheric quality in their overall sound(check out songs off this year's "The Millions Too Many" over at their MySpace). It's a shame the crowd thinned out just before the beginning of their set. A band this good that's practically in Toronto's backyard(Hamilton, ON) definitely deserve more local recognition.
MySpace: Jenn Grant
MySpace: A Northern Chorus
No comments:
Post a Comment