MEDIA

MEDIA

It was an eclectic and multi-talented ensemble of Canadian singer-songwriters who packed the pews at Saint Paul's in support of Greg Keelor's recent solo project. The venue was deliberately chosen for the final date of the Canadian tour, and proved to be a perfect setting for some very spiritual music. The crowd was predominantly young, unpretentious, and somewhat streetworn in appearance. Almost everyone was on the guest list, while the show itself went beyond intimate and interactive, almost to the point of communion. There was an overwhelming feeling of that people were seeking sanctity within the downtown building, and that they were calling on good buddies Greg, Johnny, Anne, Glen, Michelle, and Sam to set the mood.

There was to be no rocking, as Keelor early on announced: "this isn't going to be a dance party". Keelor, by far the heaviest element in Blue Rodeo, has suffered a fair degree of personal turmoil of late, finding out that he was adopted, and then contracting severe diabetes all within the past year. The musical consequence has been a solo album that is introspective and deeply personal. Spiritual themes ran through songs with titles like "Hari Krishna" and "Redemption", the later which Keelor defined as "beyond the reach of sin and damnation".

Johnny Borra from Change of Heart opened with some simple acoustic narratives about street children and busking in the subways, which apparently he still does. He was accompanied by a member of Toronto punk band Screaming Sam, Sam himself actually, who played a number of homemade percussion instruments like plastic bags, clothespins, and a cheesegrater/sandpaper combo. The soundman described him as a nightmare.

The strength of this show quickly proved to be the diverse assemblage of talent. While Sam took leave, Johnny remained with the band to fill in on bass, harmonica, and percussion. Glen from Blue Rodeo did double duty on drums and guitar, while Michelle from Crash Vegas (Keelor's former flame) filled in the background vocals. The standout, however was Anne Bourne, a former Jane Sibbery collaborator who sang, played cello, and piano, often during the course of the same song. It more than made up for the absence of Sarah McLaughlin, who filled that role on the album.

The show was characterized by long jams, improvisational solos, and a number spoken word interludes from various band members. Keelor even contributed a really funny rap sequence, something about "redneck cops and kids pumpin' hash on the corner". Each artist, then featured their respective contributions to the Keelor engineered Pineridges project, a Leonard Peltier benefit album. This showcase approach also lent itself to a number of covers. The most notable included the Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes" featuring Anne, Dylan's "She Belongs To Me" featuring Johnny, and a Talking Heads tune which I did not recognize. Fittingly enough, this was both the last song of the night and a true lullaby.

There was nary a hint of Blue Rodeo throughout the whole show, the one exception being "Song for Baz", an ode to stoning and singing on the tour bus with bassist Bazil Donovan.

The reviewers were later treated to a warm reception by the unassuming artists, to the extent that doing a formal interview became inappropriate. The after hours mirrored the show, with a lot of shop talk and a lot of music theory: booorrring. It was pretty damn cool however to hear musicians speak knowledgeably about Canadian student newspapers.