Lawrence Arms @ Riot Fest, September 9, 2012

Loretta Lynn @ Massey Hall – September 15, 2012

Loretta Lynn is a country music legend. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. When she made her entrance onto the stage at Massey Hall, she was greeted by a standing ovation from an adoring audience. Earlier, Patsy Lynn, one of Loretta Lynn’s daughters, came onstage to thank the audience for coming to the show and announced that this year is Loretta’s 50^th year of making music. After 50 amazing years of being a country music icon and staying relevant in the music business, a standing ovation before you’ve sung a note seems perfectly appropriate and deserved.

Wearing her signature traditional “old country” style gown, Loretta Lynn glittered and sparkled in floor-length lavender like Glinda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz. If Glinda was a country music icon! At 80 years old, Lynn’s voice sounds incredibly powerful and well seasoned – with her confidence as performer, she almost sounds better now than she did in the early stages of her career.

With so many hits under her belt in her illustrious career, Lynn and her all-male backing band played through many crowd pleasers, including “Honky Tonk Girl,” the first song she ever wrote. Towards the beginning of the show, Lynn told the audience to shout out songs they wanted to hear – “After all,” she said, “this is your show!” And so they played hit after hit to the delight of the audience – “You’re Lookin’ At Country,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “Fist City” and “Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind).”

In between songs, Lynn told humourous stories and traded barbs with members of her backing band. Upon mentioning that her foot hurt (she broke a toe recently), one band member suggested if she felt like dancing, that maybe she could just tap her good foot instead. Mock-grumbling, Lynn retorted that she should give him a “tap” on the head instead.

Famously controversial songs “The Pill” (about the birth control pill) and “Dear Uncle Sam” (typically referred to as an anti-war song, written during the Vietnam War) were juxtaposed by “God Bless America Again” and several wholesome songs from Lynn’s gospel era (including “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven”). A setlist highlight was Lynn’s lovely cover of Patsy Cline’s “She’s Got You.”

Closing the show with “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” many audience members left their seats to gather at the stage. Before making her exit (with a visible slight limp), Loretta Lynn curtsied and blew kisses to another standing ovation. It was impossible not to feel awestruck – it’s not everyday you get to see a living legend perform.

Bloodshot Bill @ Horseshoe Taven – September 8, 2012

Bloodshot Bill is bonkers. If you happened to be at his show at the Horseshoe, you would wholeheartedly agree. Seeing Bloodshot live is akin to witnessing an exorcism. In 1950s-style silk pinstripe pajamas and a navy blue housecoat, hair expertly pomaded and slicked back to brilliantine perfection, Bloodshot Bill goes in for the kill. He is simply possessed: howling, crooning, screaming, grunting, yelping, snorting, moaning and groaning into the microphone. Vocal acrobatics like no other, going from shrill squeals to deep tones in seconds. His bare left foot keeps the cymbal crashing; his right is kept busy beating the bass drum. A hand-drawn crest of “BB” duct taped to his bass drum ups the primitive and raw ante. His hollow-body guitar (charmingly labeled with ‘Bloodsho Bill’ – the ‘t’ undoubtedly worn off during one of his rowdy sets) rounds out the one-man show mix, and with it he delivers a seemingly endless rockabilly spew. Offering not a moment’s rest between tunes, Bloodshot Bill powers through his set, shaking his head back and forth making a mess of his expert ‘do. It’s chaotic, raunchy, and undeniably satisfying.

Read more

Summerworks: Buck 65 @ The Theatre Centre – August 15, 2012

“I have a 9-to-5 job right now,” said Buck 65 to congratulatory applause three songs into his set at the Theatre Centre last night, apologizing in advance for any screw-ups. Despite his nerves and time constraints, the show turned into a pretty magical event, uniting nearly all of the artistic media at play during Summerworks to complement some of Buck’s rarest and rawest material. And if we were as busy as Buck 65 is (he’s also writing a book and putting together a new album), we’re not sure we’d be able to put on this entertaining of a show.

But the show was certainly a collaborative effort. With art direction by Ame Henderson, accompanying vocals by Francesca ‘Franny’ Anderson (apparently it was her first time singing into a mic!), and incredibly polished pop-choral arrangements by choir!choir!choir!, you could tell that a lot of work was put into making this an impressive and memorable moment for Buck 65.

Four people rode their bikes around in a circular formation, like a carousel, as Buck sang “Highway 101,” a song he’d written and recorded 10 years ago about the “cursed highway connecting Halifax and Nova Scotia.” Afterwards, he introduced a more personal song with, “I lived in France, and I loved a woman,” before beginning to rap and reading off a notepad to get the words right.

The show then turned into a premeditated dance party at the front while one of Buck’s bandmates played guitar from the top of the audience and the c!c!c! sang a catchy twee-poppy tune between Buck’s rap verses. For the next song, another man sat at the mic-stand and lip-synced/mimed along as Buck rapped while lying on the floor with the dancers, almost resembling a childhood game of Graveyard.

These were the kind of wistful moments that filled the night - sometimes leaving you somewhat unsure of what exactly was going on, but still in awe of the wildly entertaining performance art. Coalescing as the show continued, it eventually led up to a climax of balloons and paper airplanes being thrown through the air, momentarily turning the Theatre Centre into a fiesta for Buck 65’s music and the art of Summerworks.