It's hard to go wrong with live music - I've always found that it's hard for a live show to be bad. But sometimes, you're in the midst of a venue and it becomes very clear that you are in the midst of a very special moment. That was exactly what happened this past weekend at the Rural Alberta Advantage show, with James Vincent McMorrow opening.
The very first act was In Tall Buildings, a relatively new group on the scene, hailing from Chicago. The trio of bass, guitar, and drums played a perfectly enjoyable first set. There was nothing remarkable and some of the songs did tend to drag on a bit, but both the opening and closing songs demonstrated that the group certainly has potential to be quite good, given time.
Then James Vincent McMorrow took to the stage, backed up with a complete band. Knowing that his album, Early in the Morning, was entirely self-recorded, I was concerned that it might sound different - and not quite as good - live. However, these concerns were quickly put to rest. Although James was certainly the stand out, the group works together as a cohesive unit. If you didn't know ahead of time, you would not have noticed that the group hasn't been together since the very beginning.
Stand out tracks included "If I Had a Boat," "Breaking Hearts," and "This Old Dark Machine." Although James mentioned in his interview (which you can read here) that is took him some time to adjust to playing live, he and the other musicians with him have certainly hit their groove. I imagine that by his next album and US tour, we'll be seeing these guys headline at First Avenue.
After James' set was over, the stage was prepared for Rural Alberta Advantage. It was perhaps the sparsest I have ever seen the stage - everything crowded towards the audience, while the back of the stage was relatively empty.
The entire set was completely heartwarming - from the moment they took the stage, the group was enthralled by the audience in front of them. They mentioned that it was the largest crowd they have ever had - and that if they sell out their CD release party in their hometown of Toronto, the show at First Avenue would still be the largest.
The audience was equally excited to be there - every single song had people singing along and there were huge smiles all around. Especially appreciated was the unexpected cover of "Eye of the Tiger" - I don't think that anyone who had listened to Rural Alberta Advantage before the show as expecting that, but it was smash hit.
And after the first encore, after they'd played all their songs, the crowd simply did not disperse when the lights came up and the music came on. So, out came Rural Alberta Advantage again - and this time they picked up their instruments and when to the large landing on the stairs, in the midst of the audience. They sang a lovely good night to the audience. You don't see that at First Avenue all that often - and it was a sight to behold, as well as a night that everyone was glad they hadn't missed.
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