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Caroline Keating & The Hoof and The Heel – Casa Del Popolo – 08.11.11

November 9, 2011 in Music, Show Reviews

Last night at Casa Del Popolo, Passovah presented two solid Montreal-based acts: Caroline Keating and The Hoof & The Heel. Although I’d been feeling somewhat under the weather, I would not have missed that show for the world. It became very apparent that I was not the only one who had eagerly awaited the chance to see these performances. The Casa Del Popolo venue went from full, to packed very quickly. Smiling faces listened, sang, and danced along together with Caroline Keating and The Hoof & The Heel ’til the very end of the night.

Caroline began her set with “Silver Heart” – an elegant and intimate song. As always, with her hands at the piano, her beautiful voice and her quirky grace charmed the audience. She was then joined by Sebastian Chow on violin and Matt Perrin on the double bass for “Old Faithful”. I had long awaited to see Caroline Keating, who has performed as a solo act for many years, play with other musicians; I was impressed and delighted to say the least. Throughout the set, Caroline’s songs brought different characters to life. Her interactions with her band members and the audience added a friendly intimacy to the night. The highlight of Caroline’s set was “Lusty Dusty”, a song I have often seen her perform. The addition of a violin and double bass was breathtaking. I am glad that her well-known and loved songs have not lost their essence with the addition of more instruments, but have rather been complemented by it; they’ve taken on an added dimension, bringing a refinement to her sound. The release of her upcoming full-length album cannot come soon enough.

It had been a while since I’d seen The Hoof & The Heel play a show, and I was quite excited to hear them play again. The band has now grown to be a five-piece. Frontmen Harris and Christine are now joined by Miles, Gab, and Parker. As they were preparing to start their set, I spied an organ and a trumpet on stage and my level of excitement spiked. I had no idea what to expect of their new material, nor of the addition of quite a few new sounds to their well-loved tracks. The set began with some new songs and the sound was quite different from their And All the Tigers EP. It was much fuller, denser, and somewhat darker. As always, Harris’ performance was energetic and his intensity, contagious. The audience responded very well to the changed sound and new songs. It was clear that there was a lot of love for their older songs “The King Finds Out” and “And All the Tigers”. A definite highlight of their set was the encore, “Let Me Rest”, when Christine took the lead on the vocals and sang what I can only qualify as an indie-lullaby. The Hoof & The Heel is also releasing a full-length album in the near future and I look forward to hearing what they’ll come up with next.

-Pamela Fillion