Went to club Soda in Montréal last night... My wife was not interested in going, so I brought a buddy (Shawn) that I use to go to a lot of shows with back in the day. The opening act was a guy called C R Avery, who I thought would be some Stan Rodgers type guy (his album is called Magic Hour Sailor Songs), He comes on stage looking like a jazz version of Elvis Costello, and starts reciting poetry (with a voice like Tom Waits) mixed with Beat box and keyboards and harmonica...It was definitely original and by the end of the set, he actually had the crowd singing with him. Shawn and I ran into him between the sets and had a good conversation about Seattle/Jimmy/ and Dylan. He is a really nice guy who was a bit nervous about playing to a "folk" crowd. He did a song called "Folk Singer" that actually made fun of the genre; his introduction to the crowd was "Now here is a song that may not be your cup of tea"
, Good Canadian kid I should have bought his album (Crap).C R Avery Definitely thinks outside the box.
The main attraction was classic Bragg, he was really on top of his game, although he did claim to be suffering vocally, he did just fine. My buddy is now one of the converted
(Big Time). After the show Shawn just keeps going on and on...it was awesome. I really think that Braggy is one of a kind with his banter, rants and ability to really fill up space with his voice and a guitar.
Songs played:
1. This Guitar Says Sorry
2. The Warmest Room
3. Farm Boy
4. The Myth of Trust
5. Greetings to the New Brunette
6. I Almost Killed You
7. The Space Race is Over (which I seem to like better live)
8. Sexuality
9. Superstar (The Carpenters/one verse)/ Don't Think Twice, its All Right (Dylan)
10. Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key
11. I Ain't Got No Home in This World Anymore (unreleased Guthrie song)
12. O Freedom
13. Old Clash Fan Fight Song (which I actually enjoyed/ first time I have heard it))
14. I Keep Faith
15. There Is Power in a Union (really brought down the house)
ENCORE:
16. The Price I Pay (fan request)
17. Waiting For the Great Leap Forwards
18. A New England
18 songs does not seem like much but the show lasted about 2 hours...next time I will push my wife to come along, anybody that sees him live will easily be converted.
Montreal Gazette review
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/artslife/pg/largetemplate.html?topic=June18BillyBragg&g=9 C R Avery link
http://www.cravery.comWent to club Soda in Montréal last night... My wife was not interested in going, so I brought a buddy (Shawn) that I use to go to a lot of shows with back in the day. The opening act was a guy called C R Avery, who I thought would be some Stan Rodgers type guy (his album is called Magic Hour Sailor Songs), He comes on stage looking like a jazz version of Elvis Costello, and starts reciting poetry (with a voice like Tom Waits) mixed with Beat box and keyboards and harmonica...It was definitely original and by the end of the set, he actually had the crowd singing with him. Shawn and I ran into him between the sets and had a good conversation about Seattle/Jimmy/ and Dylan. He is a really nice guy who was a bit nervous about playing to a "folk" crowd. He did a song called "Folk Singer" that actually made fun of the genre; his introduction to the crowd was "Now here is a song that may not be your cup of tea" :D, Good Canadian kid I should have bought his album (Crap).C R Avery Definitely thinks outside the box.
The main attraction was classic Bragg, he was really on top of his game, although he did claim to be suffering vocally, he did just fine. My buddy is now one of the converted :D (Big Time). After the show Shawn just keeps going on and on...it was awesome. I really think that Braggy is one of a kind with his banter, rants and ability to really fill up space with his voice and a guitar.
Songs played:
1. This Guitar Says Sorry
2. The Warmest Room
3. Farm Boy
4. The Myth of Trust
5. Greetings to the New Brunette
6. I Almost Killed You
7. The Space Race is Over (which I seem to like better live)
8. Sexuality
9. Superstar (The Carpenters/one verse)/ Don't Think Twice, its All Right (Dylan)
10. Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key
11. I Ain't Got No Home in This World Anymore (unreleased Guthrie song)
12. O Freedom
13. Old Clash Fan Fight Song (which I actually enjoyed/ first time I have heard it))
14. I Keep Faith
15. There Is Power in a Union (really brought down the house)
ENCORE:
16. The Price I Pay (fan request)
17. Waiting For the Great Leap Forwards
18. A New England
18 songs does not seem like much but the show lasted about 2 hours...next time I will push my wife to come along, anybody that sees him live will easily be converted. :wink:
Montreal Gazette review [url]http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/artslife/pg/largetemplate.html?topic=June18BillyBragg&g=9[/url] C R Avery link [url]http://www.cravery.com[/url]
