Inside Inspecteur Epingle on the evening of May 29th, a folk-eclectic musical sandwich was found. Psychedelic/progressive/pop Montreal locals, The Jon Cohen Experimental, joined folk singers Justin Rutledge (Toronto) and Amelia Curran (Halifax). Justin Rutledge began the evening. Best known for his songwriting, he sings about love and makes many references to nature and places throughout his lyrics. He sings about rivers, pine trees, olive trees, California, the sun and Alaska. After his first song, he addresses the audience, “Some of you might know that I don’t play Saturday night music, but I’ll see what I can do”. The day of the week was of little concern to the audience; it was clear that his performance was the most anticipated amongst the crowd. Although not often seen, he plays his folk music with an electric guitar. He does it beautifully. Many songs from his new album The Early Widows were played, including those co-written with Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. His song "Mrs. Montgomery" was written for a character in one of Ondaatje’s theatre projects. Promoting his new album, Justin drew the attention of the audience over to the mech table announcing, “There’s some stuff for sale if you’d like to throw your money away,” (laughs) “I should get a spokesperson”. He closed his set with a slow song about a girl, serenading the songs' character with the names “jellybean” and “Boston-cream”. I think he might be the only person who can get away with using these as terms of endearment. Also included in his set were songs "Heart Of A River", "Greenwich Time", and his old classic "Too Sober To Sleep", which has recently been covered by Canadian country/folk artists Carolyn Mark & N.Q. Arbuckle.
The second band to perform, The Jon Cohen Experimental, brought an eclectic sound of music I can best classify as ‘instant foot tapping music’! While their melodies and their instrumentation felt to me like a meeting of Modest Mouse and Of Montreal; they certainly have a distinct sound of their own, with each song differing from the next. One minute electric sounds fill the air, the next, whistling. With only the instrumentation of electric guitar, bass, and drums, it sounded like more than three musicians occupying a stage. Jon Cohen sings lead vocals that blend softly over the music. He is accompanied with some 'oooh ooooh, ahhhh ahhhh's' by the fellow musicians. Included in their set list was, "Stroke (Of The Night)", "Behold", the title track of their album and "Don’t Be The Cloud". Local folk /alternative/pop artist Charlotte Cornfield, who is credited with providing additional vocals on their album, was invited on stage to accompany Jon for their last song, "Don’t Be The Cloud". It was a delight!
Amelia Curran gave the last performance of the evening. After her lastest visit to Montreal on February 10th (her first visit), folk music lovers of Montreal were left eager for more. Singing songs off her new album Hunter-Hunter, including "Bye Bye Montreal", "All Hands On A Grain Of Sand", "Tiny Glass Houses", "Last Call", "The Wreckage", and the crowds’ favourite, "The Mistress", Amelia overlays her gentle strums with the lyrics of a true songsmith. Describing her songwriting, Amelia says, “I write a lot of songs about generally being ashamed of myself”. Amelia jokes near the end of her set, “I have no censor”. Many addresses to her father and her Catholic schooling were made between each song, each gaining laughs from the audience. The crowd appreciated her sense of humour and her knack for songwriting alike. Her best-received song was, "The Mistress", from which she earned a standing ovation. It gave me chills. Given the song’s theme, she did promise her audience that she is “actually a really nice person”. This is true. Amelia is a 2010 Juno winner and an East-coast gem. If you aren’t left in complete awe of her songwriting, you will certainly share many laughs.
Justin Rutledge: http://www.myspace.com/justinrutledge
Carolyn Mark: http://www.myspace.com/carolynmark
The Jon Cohen Experimental: http://www.myspace.com/thejoncohenexperience
Charlotte Cornfield: http://www.myspace.com/charlottecornfield
Amelia Curran: http://www.myspace.com/ameliacurran
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete