LOCATION: West End Cultural Centre, Winnepeg, MB
LINEUP: Karin, Linford, Terri, Jack
REVIEW BY: Candace Elder
I've been a die hard fan since _Patience_ and FINALLY I got to *see* them, last night, West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg Manitoba Canada. And now, here I am to tell you all about it. This is a very extensive detailed review so if you're not up for it, I'm warning you now. West End is a really funky, artsy place and suited them very much. Unfortunately, it's not very big so there was limited seating. They usually have little lounge tables and chairs throughout, but last night they cleared everything out and only had tables and chairs along the sides, so most everyone sat on the floor (except those who got there an hour early and snagged a table...like me and my friends for example). We were there at 7:45pm, the doors opened at 9:00pm and the show didn't start until 9:30pm, so by then, we were pretty much pumped and ready to see them already. Out they come...Linford wearing the suit he wore on Letterman, Karin with a loose black skirt and sleeveless light blue top with a navy blue stripe in the middle, Terri with a long black dress (hair up for you jg), Jack wearing jeans and a hippie shirt with the top two buttons undone. Linford on keyboards (of course) at the far right, then Terri, then Karin a little left of centre stage (this is an insignificant point for most but when I did a little gig at West End 2yrs ago, I was standing in the exact spot Karin was...I now have an insignificantly imaginary connection with her...), and then Jack standing on her right. By now you're probably wondering, "what about Wade and Brian?", well, that's what I was thinking. After the first song, Karin informed us that Brian was still in the States because they didn't have enough money to bring him along (I'm pretty sure that was the reason she gave). She didn't mention anything about Wade but she did say that without any percussion, "we will be doing odd arrangements of what we normally do". Although there was some initial dissappointment, I think because of that, it was a very uniquely intimate concert and Karin was definitely in her prime. So...the set list - side note - thanks for the inspiration jg! I snagged my very own set list...in Linford's writing...unfortunately they just photocopied a bunch of them for themselves so it wasn't in ink or anything but it's an original none the less! Here it is: 1. Seahorse - WOW. They did amazing stuff with this one. Normally Karin would do a long "oohhh" in the middle, but instead, Terri joined her and they did this short "oh" and Jack & Linford filled in with this minor, ethereal quality sound. Very cool. 2. Bothered - always beautiful. Linford carried on with rolling piano at the end and Jack complemented the chording with some cool high end effects. 3. Needle and the Bruise - this was a new song Jack wrote that they had done for the first time the night before. It was in the jazz/blues category in 4/4 time with a walking, descending chord pattern on beats 1 and 3 (typical first three chords progressively descending and then up for the fourth - I apologize to those that don't want to or care to know this much). Good song if you like the typical old soothing jazz/blues arrangements (which I do). Karin's vocals were amazing as usual, nothing struck me lyrically wise but then again, I wasn't listening closely enough - still shocked in amazement that I was actually there. 4. Etc. Whatever - Beautiful, simply beautiful. It was at this point that I realized how quiet and attentive the audience was. I think they were all liking this band they had never heard of before. 5. Poughkeepsie - Karin introduced this song as one which is on one of the CD's they're selling at the back - "These CD's pay for the gas for the bus...and that's not a joke (at which time the statement then became kind of a joke and everyone laughed). Karin didn't tell the usual story, instead she said that the story "tells itself". Linford added some keyboard to this and Jack did some complementary high soothing effects. Terri did some low end harmonies. Karin sang *very* passionately. I could listen to her forever. 6. Orphan Girl - This song was pretty much the only one besides Seahorse that rocked a little. They brought Jeff Bird from the Junkies out for this one and he played Mandolin. The harmonies on this were amazing (nice and close) and Jack did a really short basic guitar solo (nothing special). 7. Go Down Easy - Karin told a cool story before this one. She said that she was walking in Winnipeg last night down Osborne St. (oh how I wish I would've gone for a walk last night) watching the Northern Lights. Then this guy drove buy and threw this rose at her feet and said "there you go". She didn't know "whether she should touch it or thank him" figuring that it was a "symbol of unrequited love". But she "picked up this rose which was a symbol of a strangers broken heart" and then she dedicated Go Down Easy to him. Jack did the bass line and Jeff Bird stuck around for this song to play harmonica. The harmony on the Bridge was absolutely incredible which created quite the climax. Karin was just givin' it on the "oh"s and Linford had this huge smile on his face. 8. Latter Days - this is what they closed with, and as I've heard, this is the usual closer. Jack was a little more outward (not as subtle) on this song than Ric was but it sounded pretty good. They drew it out at the end... thankfully. I think this may have been the first time OtR has performed in Canada (I could easily be wrong) so I wasn't expecting much of a following (especially since there was no advertising) however, even though we were cheering REALLY loud, I think I heard a few others (Derrick?). Karin said that they really liked it here and would like to come back. This was followed by quite a large applause which led me to believe they have gained some new fans (yeh!). I still miss Ric, but I know that the chapter is over and they've opened up a new book. Jack is good...yet, the right word to describe him in this concert was...complementary. I've got to get some Monk. As far as the Junkies are concerned, they put on a really good show. I haven't been a dedicated Junkies fan, but I think I may be now. If you want info on their show, email me personally because this is an *OtR* list and I've gone on long enough already. I will say that Linford only sat out for 3 songs out of the 17, and Karin and Terri joined in for about 75% of them (however they did very little harmony - mostly sang unison with Margo which I thought was a little odd) and Jack sat in for 2. There were times when 10 people on stage became a little much, but OtR fit in well with the Junkies. Linford played Hammond Organ on keyboard pretty much all the way through and did some really great work. Terri looked especially bored during the Junkies, however I think I only saw her smile twice throughout their own set and the Junkies combined. Is she normally like this? Maybe she had PMS or something. She definately had lots to smile about if she were to choose to smile. Karin and Margo seem to be getting along well. I think this has been a good experience for both bands.