Shearwater with Magnolia Electric Co.

Jesse caught a recent show by Shearwater and Magnolia Electric Co. at the Sala Rossa in Montreal. Here are his thoughts.

By the time I arrived at Sala Rossa in Montreal, Julie Doiron and her band had already finished their set and were milling around the merchandise table, beers in hand while Shearwater were busy readying the stage for their own performance.

Shearwater came on slow and warm, their quite confidence and affection for one another all became a compelling visual from which a set of very real, very earnest songs were played. Songs that, if nothing else, were played with heart and soul, like they meant something to the band, and as a result they resonated through the subdued audience. The short but touching set was enhanced by the bands’ skill; they played a wide variety of instruments from banjos to cellos – and they played all them well. As the set slowly wound down a sense of reality seemed to take hold again. I think that it was in the coming to that I realized how well these four unassuming musicians had done at giving the audience a place to escape to, if only for a short period.

After finishing their set, Shearwater quickly emptied the stage for Magnolia , , ripped in to a bawling set of bar-room country rock, Fender guitars in hand, thinning the crowd and generally underachieving for a band whose lead singer is a legend in the indie country scene; I left after seven or eight of my favorite songs had been sucked dry of the feeling and delivery that made them so personal to me on the records. As I left, it occurred to me that even though I had missed Julie and Shotgun and Jaybird and been disappointed by Magnolia Electric Company Shearwater’s performance had made the connection and in doing so had reminded me of why I love live music so much. That made the long walk back up to Rue Jean Talon, in the rain, a little bit easier.

http://www.shearwatermusic.com/

Jesse LeGallais