What a weird double-header of unexpected twists & turns on the concert front…..After my rant yesterday about the disappointments of the Docks (mainly the frigid climate, which I didn’t mention & the obnoxious fans, which I reveled in retelling…), I will go on record to say that last night @ Lee’s was equally off-putting.
Firstly, it was an opening-act-a-thon…I thought that we were being pretty reasonable sauntering in ‘round ten….but we endured Halifax-scene survivor Al Tuck, some Bic Runga clone from Scotland, & Paso Mino before hearing the smooth strains of Mr. Collette….
& not only was that a long-ass haul of open-mike times – {especially the blahs-ville set of Tuck & the spritely faux-Runga (who relied far too heavily on her echo box, a tool that has now become the gimmicky dead horse of one-man-indie-band scene, if Owen Pallett were dead, he would have reason to roll over in his grave)…PM wasn’t THAT bad, they had a Dire Straits cum The Band vibe with a bit of Television & Crazy Horse to boot, but it seems all a bit too….stilted & posturing & uncomfortable to really get into it…they remained on stage as JC’s backup band} - but the Collett opening banter threw down a napalm bomb of buzz killing remarks….
Thankfully I remained blissfully unaware for most of the show, when he said this I was elbowing my way through the sausage party (do chicks not like JC? I didn’t exactly help alleviate this problem – letting Robyn off the hook to work diligently on her schoolwork & posse-ing up with the Beau, Steve, Martin, Justin & Thomas – probably reduced the girl ratio by 10%)…But he apparently welcomed the audience with a short hello & then launched into an emotional dedication for the Canuck Iraq hostages…& then proceeded to get drunker than he was when he began…which is a tall order.
Not to dwell, there were some over and above great moments – the ‘Not a Pompador’ song – a somewhat preachy, but mercifully short anti-consumerist Xmas tune (“to cash in on the season”…we get it, irony….tres popular in the 90s) – a badass Mick Jagger strut when he wasn’t strumming on a guitar: full-out prancing & posturing & miming lyrics – a true delight…& a surprise Emily Hanes appearance (at least the sausage party had their alt-pin-up girl Xmas wish fulfilled…)…
Anyway, it must have been a rough night for JC if he had the hostage situation on his brain & a touch of reality at a show isn’t a bad thing, but an abrupt end & no hope of an encore was a bit of a downer…hopefully his next show will have better world news preceding it & less B-list opening acts….harsh, I know…
Back to workish on this grey Sunday afternoon – write-ups for work, reviews of the massive OPA report & maybe some headway on the pro-consumerist Xmas gifting front…
Peace
meegs
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