I am not usually one for sitting down and collectively thinking about what to write for a review. Most of the time, it generally starts and ends with "These guys rocked! Can't wait to see them again!". But for this one, I figured to shed a little more of a spotlight on what was one heck of a genre ride last night. I was invited by my good buddy Tim to finally see him perform live. He informed me he was filling bass for a band called CANARY MINE. Like most local acts throughout the city, I had little to know idea what I was getting into. Anyways, I made my way down to local bar C'est What (Front & Church), grabbed a couple of Sawdust Mill pints and was introduced to about 6 people in a matter of minutes. Haha, I'll even admit I was a little stone faced at first (being in a new bar, looking to get a pint and meeting lots of new faces). Nonetheless, I got my spot at the bar and found myself planted there for the next 2+ hours.
Lead vocalist James Labro (aka Jimi Maze), alongside bassist Vera Thomsen and drummer Carl Welch took the stage for the first 30 minutes or so to kick off the evening with some great renditions of classic artists such as The Cure, June Carter, The Beatles and many other great tracks. I have to admit that the trio was very much in sync and knew how to read each other if they decided to improv a bit on stage. Overall, it was a great start up for the night and I got a feel of what kind of music to expect.
Did I mention that the theme for the evening was old school hip-hop? So how did June Carter and The Cure mix in with old school hip-hop? The only answer I could think of was 'quite easy'. Jimi's vocal ability, along with Vera and Carl's impromptu abilities allowed the songs to flow quite easily and with a great twist on classic artists.
This eventually just led into Canary Mine jumping on stage no more than 10-15 minutes later. With a new pint being ordered and the amps turned on, I was set for the funk/hip-hop/folk/country mash up that was to follow. The addition of Tim on bass, as well as Mim on the keyboards proved to fill the whole bar with amazing vocal synchronization (Jimi, Mim and Carl), while Tim was off in the corner just funkin away! Even though I remained quiet for most of the evening, even shy if you will, I was very much impressed with the versatility that the group brought forth. The timing was spot on, the tracks flowed right into each other and above all, they had fun playing!
I think that's one thing that caught my attention more than anything else. The bar was not sold out by any means. Aside from myself, there were a good handful of family, friends and regular bar attendees that totaled to maybe 30 or so. But the sound, energy and fun they were having could have easily suited a larger venue with a much larger crowd. Overall, I had a great time and was very fortunate enough to be invited to the bar on a shitty weather Tuesday night in the big city. The band(s) easily made me forget about getting my ass up the next morning for work. Well played folks...well played.
(Canary Mine performing at The Horseshoe Tavern)
For more information on Canary Mine, be sure to follow them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CanaryMine) and check out their material over at their official site (www.canarymine.com) and pick up an album.
- http://www.myspace.com/canarymine
- https://twitter.com/canarymineband
- http://www.youtube.com/canaryminevideos
- http://soundcloud.com/canary-mine
- http://www.reverbnation.com/canarymine
- http://music.cbc.ca/#/bands/Canary-Mine
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