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Woodpigeon – La Sala Rossa – Thursday, February 18th, 2010

February 19, 2010 in Show Reviews

Let’s just say it was good thing that the Winter Olympics were going on as Woodpigeon came to town yesterday for their show at Sala Rossa. It was a cold and snowy night in Montreal and perhaps the Games going on in Vancouver gave our Montreal folk rock fans the bravado to venture outside into weather perfect for say, giant slalom, or for the less adventurous, snow angels. But although it was windy and snowy outside, it didn’t stop the warmth from being generated by some great performances inside.

First up on the bill was Jane Vain & The Dark Matter, playing the first hour of the show. Though I arrived somewhat late in their set, I noticed something about the little I saw of their performance. In comparison to the versions of her songs on her 2007 debut release Love Is Where The Smoke Is, on which you can’t help but feel that song after song, you are separated from the music by a glass wall, and a general restrain throughout, the songs came alive, and had more punch. Before the end of the set, Vain and her band busted out “C’mon Baby Say Bang Bang”, providing for one of the better vocal performances of the night.

Shortly after, and with not much notice, Betty Burke began performing. It seemed as though people kept walking on and off the stage, providing for some confusion as to exactly who was supposed to be on stage at that point. It was Betty Burke, as it turned out — a duo from Cornwall, Ontario that consists of Maggie MacDonald and Holly Andruchuk. Though they started off with a weaker, lighter number, they built up the energy with each song, even inviting members of Woodpigeon to help them out with some of their songs, which added more and more strength and versatility to the sometimes not-so-versatile vocal/guitar performance results earlier in the set. With MacDonald’s between-song banter, and light-hearted, adventurous song lyrics, Betty Burke’s performance proved to be one of the most entertaining of the night.

After a very long wait between sets, Woodpigeon, led by lead singer and guitarist Mark Andrew Hamilton and his band of friends/musicians, took to the stage all ready to get going. Luckily for Woodpigeon, the sitters and chatty folks of the first hour and half had found their place on the floor just in front of the stage, showing good support from the crowd. Opening the set with a very charismatic rendition of “Songbook” the band jumped into what turned out to be a pretty solid performance. One of the set highlights was a revamped version of “Woodpigeon vs. Eagleowl” which was even more enjoyable live than on the band’s latest album, Die Stadt Muzikanten. It is always appreciated, as an audience member, when a band discovers a middle ground between studio recordings and a live setting. It shows the true versatility of a band; showing that they can do more with the music they have created than their studio recordings sometimes suggest, which is exactly what Hamilton and his gang did last night. – Jordan Ghetler