Last Saturday night I got to hit The Sandbar to take in New Waterford psychedelic pop/folk/rock band Rebecca’s Room. With the bar sparsely populated, the attentive audience was made up mostly of friends of the band and it sounded great with a very show-friendly layout. After a modest sound check, the band started the set with a song I had been familiar with from their Upstairs Club performances. Then, without any hint of what was to come, the band ripped through nearly an hour of open jamming driven by fantastic bass lines and drum beats and accented by tastefully mind blowing delay-laden guitar, broken up only a handful of times for their standard material. I was in the midst of witnessing a set of perfection the likes of which I had not seen in a good many years (Weakerthans at Steelworkers is the only time that comes to mind).
I also took in a great show at Wentworth Perk on Tuesday. Moncton’s The Motorleague rolled in town fashionably late, allowing opening act Sean MacGillivray to roll through a set that featured some great original material alongside more than a handful of acoustic Bad Religion covers. When The Motorleague began their performance, choosing to forego the PA system and make it a little more intimate, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands. With such endearing personalities making up the band, they ran through a lot of favorites and new songs while having their biggest fans sing along from the crowd. Supplementing the songs with “shitty bingo”, where all the prizes are ridiculous dollar store pick ups, they kept everyone in the audience enthralled for the entire night.
Getting back to the future, this Sunday at the Capri has show of the year potential as Nick Beaton pulls out all the stops for his final show in Canada for a number of years. Beaton, an accomplished stand up comedian that has appeared in a Comedy Network special as well as Much Music’s Video on Trial, will be heading to London, England to further hone his craft and raise his profile.
When I spoke with Nick about it recently, he was very focused on continuing in stand up without having desire to branch more into acting roles. With that on his mind, he decided that London was his best chance at having his craft taken seriously with a supportive scene already in place. With his hard-work ethic already proven, I am sure we will be hearing great things from him in the future.
On the music side, Saturday night sees The Upstairs Club hosting a fundraiser for the Caper Radio-led initiative to revive Gobblefest. The show, which features multiple DJs spinning tunes, is the first step in bringing back the festival, which has been dormant for a number of years. Over at Governors Pub, Antigonish County’s The Odd Bit are coming to town for the first time alongside Sydney rockers Misty Thicket and half of my band The High Tide.
Track of the Week: “Cherry” by Rebecca’s Room. I recorded a live bootleg of this track on the weekend, capturing some of the brilliance on display while I could. The track, which has been released on cd-r as well as a lathe (homemade plastic LP playable on a record player, is a brilliant example of their blend of sixties pop influences while still maintaining experimental features.
