Dec 20th, 2008
On a cold blustery night in Vancouver, I rigged up the dog sled and mushed over to Cafe Deux Soleils, in hopes that my rough translation to 'Cafe of the Two Suns' was correct, and thus this venue might offer some summertime warmth. Well, I didn't find two actual suns, but I did find 2 musical acts that put a smile on my face. It's true: having fun keeps you warm!
First up was the striking and sweet-sounding songbird Wanting. Her simple, but catchy tunes were a nice way to start off the evening. The sound system was a little shaky though. At times the piano was barely distinguishable, and then all of a sudden it was too loud (1st act = soundcheck?). I heard from Wanting that she couldn't hear herself through the monitors, which affected her vocal performance. I guess as a singer/songwriter, you have to hear yourself, but in my opinion, you're gonna have to get used to playing with less-than-ideal sound conditions if you're going to tour. A little vocal training will ween any artist off monitor-dependence and give that boost of confidence.Photo credit: Steve MC
Performing songs in 2 languages is always impressive to me, even if I can't understand a word. Mandarin-Chinese sounds really nice atop a slow, poppy melody on piano or acoustic guitar. I enjoyed imagining what the lyrics could be about... My version of the song was about lying on the Beach!
In a thrilling finale', keyboardist-extraordinaire Michael Ayotte took the stage to accompany on piano.
With the addition of Ayotte, Wanting's voice took on a driving, more powerful sound. As a solo artist, she is normally splitting her attention between vocals & focusing on hitting the right notes on her instrument (guitar or piano). Now unencumbered, free to roam both physically and vocally, she ended the set with an exclamation point! The song, called Everything in the World, will be featured on her debut album to be released very soon. Wanting is performing a string of local dates in January, February & March. Check out www.myspace.com/wanting for more info!
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Next up were the throw-back psychedelic-southern-boogie-rockers Harma White. The quartet-now-trio journeyed all the way from Abbotsford for this show, which presented a bit of a challenge this night. Glancing out the window, I noticed a huge dumping of the White Stuff descending. Snow in Vancouver? Yeah. Believe it. I'm staying put though. If the band can get home, so can I.
The set was chock-full of tastefully-chosen covers, mostly from 1976 or earlier. There's something about paying homage to your musical roots that I gotta respect. My favourite cover of the night was Arlo Guthrie's Coming Into Los Angeles.
The set was sprinkled with original material as well, with no clear pre-determined set-list in place. The band would usually leave it up to their loyal fans to call the shots. I heard someone shout "Skynard!" and I was hoping they'd whip out Free Bird. Alas, no it wasn't in the cards. I did, however enjoy the steady positive energy of "So Come On". The song is featured on the band's Myspace page currently. Check out www.myspace.com/harmawhite for a listen to this, and my other fave: "Hey Skinny".
Now about the band. As a trio, these lads fill the void pretty damn well. Rhythm & Lead guitar (on an acoustic no less) is no small feat to pull off, but Kyler Pierce did so seamlessly, while handling most of the vocal duties this evening. The rhythm section contains the self-professed "Jesus Christ on drums & Santa Claus on bass." aka the brothers Clark. Brandon on bass is a virtuoso with the electric 4-string and upright, throwing in some gutsy, bluesy vocals for good measure. Shane on drums, rocking an exceptionally small kit tonight (apparently the show was billed as an acoustic set), really drove the set home. His fills are fast, yet smooth as silk. Steady-timing, good interaction and a beverage-delivery service from the crowd kept him steady-rockin' all night.
My only gripe was the band's lack of visual stimulation this evening. Normally, you'd see an Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test going on in the background. They often bring a projector screen along to every show, but my guess is tonight the food colouring froze.
I wanted Harma to keep playing forever, and I felt pretty confident they very well could. These 3 fellas draw material from a seemingly-endless playlist of some long-gone era they discovered in their Dad's record collection. If you're into the classics, these guys are a class-act. Harma White plays the Station Square Pub Feb 28th.
Check out www.myspace.com/harmawhite.
Check out these gig shots I snapped!
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