I’ve come to a consensus that for university students, the week before reading week – this week – is amongst the most stressful. The perfect musical remedy? Definitely a Tuesday night at Lee’s, listening to a trio of talented musicians play beautiful folk tunes. That, or actual rest and sleep but come on, who does that.

Arriving at the venue early, we were treated to a short opening set by Pete Roe, keyboardist for main act of the night Laura Marling. Roe, an acoustic folk – the common thread throughout the night – singer songwriter was very much your typical guitar-wielding, bearded introvert. Though charming, there weren’t many memorable moments in his set. In fact, most of his songs felt repetitive and long – and his set was only roughly twenty minutes.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/peteroe

Following Roe was Colorado’s Nathaniel Rateliff and the Wheel, a surprisingly delightful five-piece, indie folk band. Enlisting Roe in his first performance with the band as Rateliff jokingly but seriously said was due to the band’s van “blew up,” Pete Roe filled in on the keyboard. The band’s songs gradually grew stronger throughout the set, at times building grandeur melodies and harmonies through a full sound completed with double bass and drums and other times more intimate with just Rateliff, his acoustic guitar and the double bassist just on vocals. On the latter, an example would be the simplistic yet mesmerizing “Early Spring Till”. Many times, opening acts suffer through the chattering crowds crawling beneath the music but the moment the chorus of that song kicked in, there was a flash of silence that waved through the audience. Whether that was because of sheer awe or just a reaction to the sudden peak in volume, everyone’s attention turned to the stage. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Wheel’s simple yet beautifully written melodies are reminiscent of those of Dan Mangan’s; Rateliff even sounds a tad like Mangan, except Rateliff lacks the raspiness of Mangan’s signature voice. Regardless though, very comparable and if you enjoy Dan Mangan’s tunes, you should definitely give Rateliff a listen.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thewheel

Just past 10PM (yes, this was quite the early show; it is a school night after all), British folk princess Laura Marling took the stage. Playing mostly off her new album I Speak Because I Can, Marling played a set split between performing with a full band, again with double bass in tow and Roe back on stage again on keys, and performing solo. Almost unrecognizable without her signature short bleach-blonde hair, the newly Brunette Marling’s music was still very much identifiable, thankfully.

With the band, Marling’s songs felt fuller and more true to the songs on her album, especially the gradual build-up of “Ghosts” and the strong instrumentation of new single “Devil’s Spoke”. Alone onstage, Marling was just equally as compelling. Her delicate vocals were soft-spoken yet unexpectedly strong and demanding at the same time.

Though some tuning silences were long and awkward to watch as Marling took her time perfectly tuning each string of her guitars, we were treated to a cute intermission where Marling threw banter duties to keyboardist Roe who in turn played “The Entertainer” for us instead of telling jokes or making small talk. Cute.

Marling also treated us to a “newer than the new album new” song of which she said was written for a movie but was rejected (she never mentioned what movie though, although an audience member was nice enough to guess Twilight) and a cover of Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done”. After playing, Marling noted her nervousness playing that song in front of a Canadian audience.

Marling seemed to carry a blank face throughout her set, rarely cracking a smile unless she was making a cute remark here and there but that composure was all lost of her “encore” (Marling doesn’t grasp the concept of running off stage and back on for an encore so she informed the audience instead and stayed onstage as the audience applauded) when she stopped mid-way through “Alas I Cannot Swim” bursting out in laughter. Finishing off the set, she was all smiles – and so was I as I left the show. Stress – temporarily lifted; thanks Laura Marling! Now back to the reality and stress of school in the morning…

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lauramarling

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