Date: Jan. 11, 2008
Venue: The Dakota Tavern

Oh baby, what a night this was. Not only did I get to catch two fantastic acts that I had missed multiple times last year, but the show was held at a venue where the atmosphere was high and the drinks were cheap! Up first was seasoned Toronto musician Sandro Perri, whose latest release, Tiny Mirrors, graced many a bloggers’ best of lists last month (not to mention my own).

Standing serenely behind the largest of the three bass drums littering the stage (a sign of bombastic things to come), Perri commanded what looked to be a worn and well traveled ’50s Sherwood hollow-body while eliciting a steady beat from the drum below. Of course, keeping the attention of a bar full of booze-saddled patrons awaiting the main act is an unenviable task for a lone musician, but one that Perri was obviously up to. With standout songs like “Family Tree” and “Double Suicide” coming out early in the performance and some awe inspiring guitar work dominating the second half (including the use of a loop pedal), Perri’s set demonstrated the well thought-out pacing of a veteran.

All told, Perri’s performance was laden with a humble confidence that makes him a treat to watch. For instance, with two songs left I shouted for the obvious choice, “City of Museums,” to which he nodded, but apologized immediately after the song was finished, as it didn’t sound like the record. Indeed it didn’t, but the versatility of a well-written tune is such that it’s malleable to a bevy of situations—and I was far from disappointed, something that I did my best to make sure that he knew.

Of course, no one was disappointed when he closed his performance with an inspired and haunting rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” which drew gasps of “Is he playing…? No way…” from the audience.

Here are some photos from the set:

Sandro Perri - City of Museums

Next up were The Sunparlour Players and if you’re looking for a quick indication of how much energy these guys packed into their set try this on for size: their Myspace page has just reported that drummer Michael “Rosie” Rosenthal broke his foot during Friday’s show!

Seriously, these guys were nuts. Of course, I mean that in the most complementary way possible, as a lesser band would have needed at least twice the amount of people to accomplish the sound created by these three highly talented multi-instrumentalists.

At any given point each band member was successfully juggling up to 3 different tasks at once, be it the aforementioned Rosie playing drums with his feet, hammering on a bass guitar with one hand and playing glockenspiel with the other, or the equally awe-inspiring Dennis Van Dine taking up similar bass duties while thumping a kick drum and playing keyboard (not to mention occasionally blowing a whistle)!

Of course, one only needs to hear Andrew Penner’s commanding vocals to understand his intensity—now imagine that wail being delivered while playing guitar, bass drum and an organ pedal! It’s a wonder that these guys didn’t pass out of exhaustion, let alone break a few bones. That said, this wasn’t a band out to impress with their virtuosity, as it was clear that the three men on stage were enjoying themselves as much, if not more so, than the awe-struck concert goers who were wondering how they managed to get away with only paying $5.

Add to that the occasional appearances by both a choir and a brass section, not to mention an inspired and invigorating cover of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” and I’ll say it again: Oh baby, what a night it was!

The Sunparlour Players - The Detroit River is Alive!

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Needless to say, I highly recommend that you check out both of these fantastic acts whenever you get the chance. In fact, Sandro Perri will be playing The Tranzac on Jan. 23 and The Drake on Feb. 6, and The Sunparlour Players are playing a benefit show to ban styrofoam at The Drake on Jan. 31.

There, you can’t use the excuse that I didn’t tell you. Now do yourself a favour and go see them!