Date:  Nov. 13, 2007
Venue:  Soundscapes

Pulling double duty to promote the release of his latest album, Ottawa, Andy Swan made in-store appearances yesterday in both Canada’s capital and Toronto, with the latter being held at venerable Hogtown institution, Soundscapes.

Accompanied by drums (à la Kelp Records founder, Jon Bartlett), bass, electric guitar and occasionally harmonica and saw (yep, saw—played by bow—which sounded fantastic on “The Sound of Snowflakes Falling”), it was smiles all around from both the band and the 30 odd people in attendance for the free show. In fact, the entire set was lit in an amicable light from the outset, as, upon opening with the upbeat country-optimism of “Can I Pay You With Sunshine?”, Swan immediately broke a string on his guitar, causing him to repeatedly ask the audience “Does anyone have an extra G-string? (to which I’m surprised no underwear was hurled his way)“

Thankfully, and in truly un-pretentious fashion, the missing string didn’t hamper the performance (nor did band members being unfamiliar with some of the songs, for that matter). In fact, it allowed for some hilarious stage moments, as Swan, unable to play certain key riffs without the mighty G, was spurned by Bartlett-the-merrymaker, who filled-in the missing notes a cappella—getting a few laughs from audience members and musicians alike. Of course, Swan got his revenge by not telling the mischievous drummer what songs he was to supposed be beating along to—all’s well that ends well.

All told, while Swan is likely to have become even more humble from the hitch-filled event, it would not surprise me in the least if he gained a few fans in the process—and deservedly so.

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Here are a few shots taken at the show:

Also, take a listen to a track from Ottawa below:

Andy Swan - Brian Jones

In the spirit of the digital age, the entire show was streamed live and captured by Zunior (an artist-friendly independent online music store). However, being a first attempt and in keeping with the haphazard show, the audio came out horrible, but you get the idea: take a look here.

Catch Andy Swan on his next trip to Toronto at The Dakota Tavern on Dec. 6.