Beware! The Leopard

Ron Sexsmith at the Roundhouse

Wow. What a show! Last night, I was blown away by one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Ron Sexsmith. We managed to score tickets to a very intimate gig (less than 400 people for sure), at a fantastic venue at the Roundhouse near Chalk Farm. Ron was preceded on stage by a British songwriter, whose name I forget, something Weston, who had a decent voice and some funny stage banter, but whose lyrics paled in comparison to the master from St. Catharines.

Ron was obviously nervous which just served to add to his charm. He comes across as quite a shy performer, but who knows his niche as a songwriter. He was self-deprecating at exactly the right moments, and was even good when the London crowd started making puns out of his song titles. He admitted from the start that he didn't have a set list, so it wasn't long before the crowd started shouting out titles for him to play. His voice soared over his rhythmic guitar playing, and I was surprised that his voice is just as powerful, melodic, and moving, live as it is on his records. In fact I would even go so far as to say that the live versions of his songs are more powerful when stripped bare of the drums, bass, and other accompaniement.

Ron has a new album coming out entitled "Exit Strategy of the Soul" and I urge all of you to go out and get it. If the spattering of tunes that we heard last night from it are any indication of the album as a whole, it will be a treat indeed.

Employed!

Well, the title pretty much says it all.  This week I have found gainful employment.

The music business is really about who you know (much like all businesses I suppose, even the government business).  When it became clear that there was little possibility of me staying with Roland without moving to Birmingham or something, I knew that I had to start getting my feet wet in other ponds.  Using some contacts at Roland I secured a trial "shift" at a retail outlet on London's most well known music strip, Denmark St. Monday I successfully completed that shift and have been offered the full-time position.

I'm still selling keyboards, but now I get to sell all makes and models, and also do a bit of brass instrument work as well.  It's funny how things work because I prefer the environment of this shop, even if the pay is a bit less than I'm used to. 

Anyways, so that's a brief update from me.  Tomorrow we're going to see Ron Sexsmith at the Roundhouse, very cool, expect a review on Friday!

Lamentations

Today is the anniversary of what I will remember for the foreseeable future as one of the better gigs I have played.  The fact that it was with the best band I've played with to date helped, but the reason for the downer of a title, is because this band was so short-lived.

Rockets Fall, the experiment in mathy, indie, loud and obnoxious rock that I joined in the Spring of 2007 was eerily like its name.  There were a few months of preparation as we were found our target, and set about dropping ourselves out of the plane.  Then it was just a huge rush, like free fall.  We played a load of gigs, got our names and faces in the paper, had fights over getting our names in the paper, drove hours to play gigs in disused Portugese retaurants, and broke at least one cymbal.  Finally, like our name, we exploded for our last show at the Rainbow in Ottawa and then faded into the obscurity we came from as 2/3 of us decided to move to London.

The reason I will remember our July 1st 2007 gig though, was because it was in the midst of our free fall.  We'd collected a set of great energy packed songs; we had become tight friends despite the fact that I'd only known my musical partners for a short few months; and although we had inklings of what would come in the autumn, it was still hazy enough to believe that the ride could last forever.  It's funny to think that a gig at a seedy joint in Ottawa in the middle of the afternoon on Canada Day can rank as a high note to our short-lived career, but we really jelled as a band, and had a lot of fun.  Kevin wore his Canada themed hat, we had a plentiful supply of baby duck, and our most furious fans in the front row.  It was a great afternoon.

The small tinge of regret when I think about it, is that the fun couldn't last longer than it did. 

So here's to Rockets Fall, Canada Day, 2007.