Going country

There was a lot of good stuff to go and see on Friday night, but one can't be everywhere at once, so I traipsed through the biting cold to Mavericks to see Daniel Romano. I've enjoyed his work with Attack In Black, but have really been knocked out be his recent country albums; his Working For The Music Man was one of my favourites of 2010.

Opening was Brandon Allan, (aka Brandon Walsh) last seen on the blog playing guitar with Amalgamation.


Brandon Allan at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

He had three other folks with him, including a banjo player.


Brandon Allan at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

It's been a while since I've seen Rey Sabatin Jr. on stage Once upon a time I saw The John Henrys on a regular basis. Then Rey split for T.O. and I didn't see them again until a CD release show at Mavericks in April 2010. Now here he is again, trying his hand at the solo thing, and sounding pretty good.


Rey Sabatin Jr. at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

He was accompanied by musician-about-town Matt Ouimet on guitar and lap steel, but not drums (apparently he forgot his snare, if you trust the stage banter).


Rey Sabatin Jr. at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

Finally, Daniel Romano played a knockout set, accompanied by a trio named The Trilliums, including his brother Ian on drums. He's dressing fancy these days and sporting a bigger hat.


Daniel Romano at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

There was some fine steel accompaniment courtesy of Aaron Goldstein, who's also in Lee Harvey Osmond.


Daniel Romano at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

Good stuff from all hands.

Keep it quiet

Matt Ouimet finished the night off with some folky pop. On his just-released new CD Silently Matt evinces a melancholy streak; live everything sounded more robust, with enthusiasm making up for an admitted shortage of practice.

Matt explained he invested a considerable sum fixing up his dad's old guitar - the repairs were less than successful, which is why he's wielding Steve Durand's Takamine.



Philip Shaw Bova and Sarah Hallman got rhythm.



Wayne Eagles once tried to teach me to play guitar ... well, I got all the major chords down.



Silent action!



At this point I decided that what was really required was a bunch of really, really grainy low-light photos.





Okay back to colour ... big finish!





You can next see Matt on stage - or at least a select corner of the Elmdale House's floor when he plays bass for Eric Vieweg's CD release February 20. Philip Shaw Bova can also be seen drumming for The Hi Lo Trons, when the perform with The White Wires at Babylon February 13.

• Show reminder: Marabou and Band in a Bag play the Elmdale House.

Look busy

I've seen Matt Ouimet a few times playing drums for Sarah Hallman and once for Eric Vieweg, he's also got a resume boasting a dozen other names that should be familiar to anyone who follows the local music scene; he also plays bass and guitar and his dance card for the near future includes gigs with Jehan Khoorshed, Jack Pelletier, Inglewood Jack and of course Hallman. All that and he still finds time to do his own singer-songwriter thing.

First Steve Durand played a short but lovely set of acoustic folk-pop that put me in mind of Slowdive mainman Neil Halstead's solo work. The stage was a bit dark so this photo of him is extra-grainy.



I feel like I've seen Meredith Luce's name in show listings several times, although the first time she's shown up in my show listings was back in April 4, 2007 ... on a bill with hockey rockers The Zambonis, oddly enough. Her set reminded me a lot of Ron Sexsmith - something in her phrasing or her voice, I guess. She had Eric Vieweg on board playing some twangy guitar and fraternal rhythm section Dean and Tim Watson. There seem to be plenty of songs about snow and one parting shot at "OC Transpoo" ... "That may be the first time I've said 'poo' on stage," she noted.



Finally Matt did his thing. He was in a pretty good mood and there was obviously a lot of friendly faces in the crowd - he interrupted one song to say hi to one arrival. Sarah Hallman also plays bass in his band, while Phil Bova plays drums and noted local guitar teacher Wayne Eagles handles the six strings.



He started things off with a cover of The Beatles I Need You that he joked (well perhaps not) was the sound check. I'd classify his performance as rough but ready, cheerful and pretty entertaining.

• Show reminder: Politique, Relief Maps and Ennuie play Zaphod Beeblebrox; Sam Roberts and The Stills play the first of two sold-out shows at the Bronson Centre Theatre. Paul Fenton and Rattle Snakin' Daddy rattle the Rainbow. Luther Wright and The Wrongs and The Chislers play the Elmdale