Sometimes an undiscovered venue can really set the stage for an evening of music. Tucked into what may be the most boring facade on Queen West is the Great Hall. A fantastic old concert hall that much like the Opera House and Massey Hall, has a rich history of performance within its old walls.
First, let me set the scene for this gig with an crap situation: the night was double booked. Months in advance I had seen that RJD2, my favourite DJ, was playing at the Mod Club. When I bought my ticket, I was in for a dilemma. Unbeknownst to me, my best friend had bought us tickets for Timber Timbre and Dan Mangan on the SAME NIGHT. Now that's a tough decision. Three bands that I have equal love for plus a friendship to maintain. Grumpily, I gave in and Ramble John would have to wait for another night*.
The night then became about small steps to improve the sense of loss. Just north of me, an amazing show was about to play out on College Street. I put it out of mind and surrendered to the Hall. Surprise number one: on looking at the merch table, I realized that the opener Sally Seltmann, once went by the moniker New Buffalo. Without a single chord played, things were already looking up.
Seltmann put on an extremely charming performance. From my perch overlooking her on the balcony I got the full effect of her lighthearted quips about love. My biggest disappointment with her set was the fact that she not only abandoned her old name, but her old material as well. I guess I can't blame her, the lyrics in her new songs are far removed from the heart-wrenching material on the Last Beautiful Day. That's not to say I didn't mind hearing the cheery stuff. After all, she is the songstress that provided Feist with 1-2-3-4.
Up next was the much buzzed about Dan Mangan. He had recently played an in-store concert at my record shop and the guys there could not stop talking about him. At the gig you could see why. The same crisp voice that comes out of your speakers while listening to Nice, Nice, Very Nice is the same voice you hear on stage. That means a lot to me when it comes to singers with voices like Mangan's.
Outside the vocals, was a high level of showmanship. In between songs, he has a touch of the same vulnerability that comes through in his lyrics. That shy smile disappears completely when he plays, as if nothing can touch him. Backing him up is a hell of a band – my favourite of which to watch was his bassist. All of them clearly draw on each other for energy and that came through when they played Sold. Wrap it all up with Mangan wandering through the audience while singing the chorus for Robots and you have a folk-rock act that can't be beat. When the set was done, the nicest guy** in Canadian music joined the crowd.
By this point, I had completely forgotten RJD2 and all was forgiven to the gig gods for putting two concerts on the same night. And the best was still to come.
I'll admit that the change in atmosphere after Dan Mangan's cheery and upbeat set was the equivalent of a being woken by cold bucket of water, but Timber Timbre gave me everything I had hoped they would. Illuminated by a steady stream of blood-red light, Taylor Kirk delivered the moodiest blues-folk I heard all year. Perched in front of a bass drum, he provided a steady beat to the ominous music he sang. Timber Timbre has a comforting way about it that is hard to describe.While the setting and music were both dark, when they played songs like Demon Host, that darkness is the furthest thing from your mind.
Chit-chat between songs was kept to a minimum, because let's face it, when you could be listening to them play there really isn't much to talk about. While I was fine with that approach, you could tell that some of the audience members who didn't quite get Timber Timbre were a little on edge. All of those murmurs that rose from the crowd were quickly silenced when they realized exactly what they were hearing.
One year before this concert, a friend told me why I should listen to Timber Timbre. He described the way that Kirk closed his show with this: “He made a forest in the room.” I was a little taken aback while he described a loop pedal, whistling, and a lot of reverb until the entire room became wild. It was that description that made me listen to Timber Timbre and what I was hoping for during this concert. I wasn't let down, because that night in the Great Hall, a forest grew.
* The things we do for love, right? Still, RJD2 had better come back.
** I've already talked about how much I think Dan is a good guy (see best albums of 2010), but tonight was the night when he proved it to me. Before his set he sat on the far balcony watching Sally Seltmann play. After he left the stage, he and his bassist joined the crowd to mingle and watch Timber Timbre. All smiles all the time, no ego whatsoever; just pure class.
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