Recommended Listening:
The Rural Alberta Advantage - In The Summertime
Julianna Riolino - Lone Ranger
The immediate preface, for anyone who knows me and decides to listen to what I've labeled as recommended listening above, is that Julianna Riolino is quite country in her recorded works. This wasn't my experience with her, as it was an acoustic-ish show, featuring just her and a bassist. The vibe and tone in concert was different from her recorded works.
I arrived around 8pm on a cool and rainy Saturday evening. Just in the nick of time to catch the full set of the opener after grabbing a drink at the bar. I'm really fond of the layout of the Bronson Centre. It slopes down about the length of a football field before flattening out towards the bottom. It's similar to the Danforth Music Hall in size and shape with the difference being in the centre. It has a large flat section that cuts away from the sloping on the sides, giving a nice ample area for a pit to form, or bands to engage with the audience.
No sooner than I found my place near the front left of the stage, Julianna Riolino began her set. She was a lot of fun to watch. By repeating her name many, many times, in a joking effort to ensure we wouldn't forget it, I'm confident she found herself a lot of new fans and well wishers. With a powerful singing voice, beautiful songwriting, and a real talent for engaging with the audience, she was a great start to the evening*. I'd happily see her again if given the opportunity. While she skews a bit closer to country than I typically enjoy, without the full backing of her band it didn't come across that way, being a very enjoyable singer-songwriter folk vibe. She played a pretty standard 40ish minutes opener set that never felt like it was dragging on too long for enjoyment.
Shortly after 9 the lights dimmed and the crowd quieted.
I don't actually recall how I first became aware of The Rural Alberta Advantage, but I know it was a while ago -- likely somewhere in the ballpark of 15 years ago around the time of their debut album Hometowns release. At the time, it wasn't quite what I'd say my musical tastes fully aligned with, being a bit more folk-y than I'd given much time for, but what I'd call the amplitude of the folk rock sound really struck a chord with me. Although, contradicting that statement, my favourite song on the album is a calm, quiet love song featuring more keyboard than guitar.
They took the stage to a really warm welcome from a pretty filled Bronson Centre and got to work.
This was the third time I'd had the opportunity to see them in concert, the second at this venue, and as usual there was no disappointment to be found*. The energy that you feel from their albums comes through vibrantly and with obvious enthusiasm in person. Among the members of the band you feel a real sense of their passion for their music, regardless of who you're watching at the time. What always strikes me most about seeing them live is the level of talent that each member possesses. I often fixate on drummers, having a bit of a deep down desire to learn to play myself, and the drummer Paul (WHO I LITERALLY JUST LEARNED IS A LAWYER) is truly something to behold. Nils (guitar, keyboard, and lead vocals) and Amy (keyboard and vocals) each deserve their own significant mentions, bringing an equal level of enthusiasm and talent to the stage. What always strikes me when I see them perform is how much talent each of them clearly have. They've come together to create a fantastic experience both on and off stage.
To my regret, I didn't keep a great mental listing of what they played throughout the night, but it was a setlist that wove in some great tracks from each of their albums, favouring, naturally, some of their newest songs from their most recent album. The highlight of the performance was most certainly the end of it. Following a couple of encore songs, during a large ongoing applause, they wandered down the stairs off the stage and into the crowd with an acoustic guitar, tambourine, and a floor tom drum in hand. They made their way to the flattened area of the pit as the crowd noise dimmed. Nils silenced the murmurs and proceeded to explain how they used to end the night at smaller shows, of which Ottawa was kind of on the cusp of, given the size of the venue. Requesting that no one bother taking pictures or video they ended the night with an unplugged rendition of the song Goodnight. The crowd did a decent job of keeping quiet enough for everyone to be able to hear, making it an experience that everyone can remember fondly. Unexpectedly, I wound up being right beside Paul during this finale, with nothing between me and the rest of the band closing out the night. A creative and unique way to end an exceptional show.
* Ok Ottawa, let's talk about this shit as it's not the first time I've had this almost scuttle a night, despite the fact that I'm a big fan of the bands I'm there to see. Please just shut the fuck up while a band is playing music, regardless of where you are in the venue. This venue specifically has a design that people talking at the back of the venue while a song is on can be heard clearly all the way at the front of the stage. It's entirely worse for acoustic acts or songs with quiet moments and has the capacity to derail the vibe entirely. If you're excited to chat with your friends about a song, do it after the song. If you're just looking to hang out and drink while some music plays fuck off to the bar or club. Be better concert goers. This is something I've observed in Ottawa so much worse than any other city I've seen a show in, and I've seen a few. Do better. Sing along, dance and enjoy, but while the music is playing keep the rest of that shit quiet.
<3 flurp
I coloured this one for some reason. Drawing is hard. Spotlights are hell.
