OK, the live recording is in the bag and come next fall we'll be spinning it on a cd player near you. Hopefully we get some film teasers throughout the summer to keep the buzz alive.
Too tired to make it to The Cameron on Thursday night and the work-day on Friday caused me to take a pass on The Pearl Company in Hamilton. That leaves a Saturday cafe show in Guelph as the last chance to see this combination of artists...maybe forever!
It was a white-knuckle ride along the 401 westbound, then north on Hwy 6. Many thanks to the impatient drivers who wiped out on the ramps or ended up in the ditch after making a lane change. You made it abundantly clear to me that I should adjust my driving to suit the conditions. Arriving at our destination ahead of time (as I am wont to do) we waited for the doors to open as the wind was howling and the snow was outrageous. Didn't bode well for the ride home...we took it slow.
The Magnolia Cafe in Guelph is hidden on a diagonal side street just off Norfolk and Quebec. Check your maps carefully. We have about 40 chairs in this cozy, eclectic cafe and eatery. We also have about 70 people, so it's tight.
While the weather outside was frightful, the wine was so delightful,and the audience (except for the three nitwits to my right) were quiet and respectful.
No band with Corin tonight, the first set has Corin and Jonathan doing 3 songs each, solo. Raghu did 4 because he kept his stories shorter. The stories are a big part of the live show, funny stuff about the trials and tribulations of being an indie-rock god. You'd be hard-pressed to find three more disparate characters in one gathering but they all speak the universal language of song.
Corin opens with Old Fort Mac, which will likely lead off the live album. A bombastic, raucous song that will get you a rib-crunching bear hug from the burly dudes who work the rigs up in north Alberta.
Veronica is a newer Corin Raymond song, and if you liked his early stuff wait until you catch some of the songs he's penning this year. Heart-wrenching breakup tune that evokes ghost of Roy Orbison.
Don't Spend It Honey has found it's spot as closer for the 2012 shows.
Jonathan Byrd opens with I Was An Oak. The rustling about in the audience is a shame as this is a story that captivates you from the outset. While it's melodically pleasing, it's lyrically jarring; exposing humans as less-than-worthy life-forms on this rock. The Oak as judge, a single tree standing for the life of a dynasty. Jonathan paints pictures with words, The Law and the Lonesome a pastiche of snowy backroads on the winding road to redemption, and the bitter sweet song of loving and leaving, Prairie Girl.
Corin Raymond
Jonathan Byrd
Raghu Lokanathan
The Magnolia Cafe
Guelph ON
2012-01-28
Solo Sets
Corin
Old Fort Mac
Veronica
Don't Spend It Honey
Jonathan
I Was An Oak
The Law and the Lonesome
Prairie Girl
Raghu
What Does It All Mean
Get Drunk Like Them
Ramona
Sugar Candy Mountain
Shared Set
Jonathan lead
May the River Run Dry
Raghu lead
Tobacco
Corin lead
3000 Miles
Jonathan lead
Amelia
Raghu lead
Glory Halleloo
Corin lead
Blue Mermaid Dress
Jonathan lead
Big Truck Brought It
Raghu lead
I Think I Wanna Kill Some One
Corin lead
There Will Always Be A Small Time
Corin lead
Wild and Blue
Jonathan lead
You Can't Outrun the Radio
Raghu lead
Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams
