LiVE: Joel Plaskett, Brock University, St. Catharines ON

QBiM has been out of commission for a few days, but certainly not long enough to rust out my posting gears.  Still, this post has been a bit of a struggle, going through revision after revision.  I think the reason is not that I haven’t been writing posts for a week, but that I haven’t written a concert review post is like, forever.  The last one was probably Rufus Wainwright in 2007, seeing as I haven’t really been to any shows in a long, long, time.

I couldn’t have picked a better welcome back to the world of live music than going to see Joel Plaskett in an intimate, acoustic solo show at the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre at Brock University’s Centre for the Arts in St. Catharines, ON.  The Sean O’Sullivan’s thrust stage regularly hosts dramatic works and dance performances, but Plaskett was very much at home there, ever the consummate showman.  there is no denying that he is one of Canada’s finest songwriters, and one of our most interesting storytellers.  Lyrically, he’s open and honest, sincere about the Canadian experience:  small town upbringing, dreaming of something greater, something bigger, but still wanting to hold onto the comfort of familiarity and home.  Plaskett isn’t about poking fun at himself, never taking things too seriously.  He gives us permission to laugh at ourselves while still being sentimentalists at heart.  How much more Canadian can you get?

It’s been a roller coaster ride of a year for Plaskett for sure:  triple album Three just turned 6 months old, and in its wake he’s shared a stage with Sir Paul McCartney, been nominated for a national music award of great prestige (I’m keeping my promise!), and collected accolades and awards from all corners of the country.  If nothing else, Three has cemented Plaskett as a national treasure, thanks in part to his epic three-disc journey of departure, longing, and return.  It’s those songs, man, you just can’t get them out of your head.

And the audience in St. Catharines on Friday, October 17 certainly had their heads full of Plaskett even before the show started.  Free of The emergency for the night, and joined by Peter Elkas on guitar, keyboards and backing vocals, Plaskett pleased fans new and old alike with a performance that spanned his entire career.  He wasn’t above taking audience requests, going so far as to indulge one long-time fan with a performance of “The News of Your Son” from 1999’s In Need of Medical Attention, and treating the audience to an absolutely gorgeous reading of Thrush Hermit’s “Before You Leave” (from Clayton Park, the band’s swansong album of the same year).

If Plaskett was playing at anything less than 100% after having driven up to St. Catharines from a gig in Brooklyn, NYC the night before, it wasn’t obvious to me.  Even a snapped guitar string one song into the first set wasn’t enough to slow him down.  Thanks to one willing and clearly chuffed audience member, the guitar was re-strung as Plaskett played on.  It almost felt like you had Plaskett in your living room all to yourself, the way he eased the audience into a warm, comfortable intimacy with him and his songs.  It may sound clichéd and corny, but it really is hard not to be happy in the presence of Plaskett.  Even when he’s singing about sorrow and sadness, his bright-eyed optimism and sense of humour aren’t too far off in the distance.  From St. Catharines it was off to a double show in Hamilton, before a road trip with Elkas to see a pair of Bruce Springsteen  shows in Philadelphia–Plaskett’s first time seeing The Boss.  Plaskett’s fan boy excitement was as endearing as it was indicative of the crowd that night:  we were all fans of great singer songwriters, and we were all pumped and excited about seeing an artist do what they do best.

How much more Canadian can you get, eh?

MP3: Joel Plaskett “Deny, Deny, Deny”
Mysapce: Joel Plaskett
Twitter: Joel Plaskett

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