Jenn Grant, Dustin Bentall, Daniel Ledwell - Horseshoe (Apr 13/13)

Daniel Ledwell
Daniel Ledwell had the unenviable early opening slot in a large, mostly empty, drinking hole on a Saturday night. Now his music isn't completely quiet but with just his vocals and an electric guitar there wasn't too much there to overpower so it was fortunate that the seated Horseshoe crowd did pipe down and pay attention. For this they were rewarded with some decent electric tunes and self-deprecating banter, all of which amounted to a reasonably entertaining set. Sure he messed up not just the 80s, sad version, cover song's lyrics but also his own once or twice, but he played it off and it didn't really matter. A sample-free version of I Have Made You a Mixtape rounded out the evening and was met with more than. Polite applause, especially the whistle solo from the freshly arrived crew standing to the side.

Dustin Bentall & The Smokes
A surprise for the evening came in the form of Dustin Bentall & The Smokes. The three-piece rocked hard with listenable rock n roll fused with some country feel, some songs especially more country than others. Word is they are regulars at the Dakota which seems a perfect match for their dusty tunes. In fact, I'd seen one of their songs performed in that space, however not by them but another local band, The Strumbellas, who also love getting high and talk when they're drunk. A particular standout which made one want to guzzle booze sang 'I like to drink whiskey and I like girls who do too.' Midway through the singer stood alone for a solo rendition of a recently written song made all the more poignant when dedicated to the recently passed Jay Smith. In further tribute upon the band's return they covered a Jay Smith song. All in all they were solid musicians performing a fun, energetic rock set and have convinced me to down half a bottle of bourbon for their next Dakota set.

Jenn Grant
Ms. Grant appeared in her sparkling blouse against a sparkling Horseshoe Tavern backdrop to an enamoured crowd of fans and friends, many of whom are respected in their own right in the Canadian music scene. Everyone had come out for the likeable leading lady who did did her thing, backed by her husband on guitar and keys, a drummer and bassist. They played a variety of her songs throughout the night to the appreciation of the room, including Oh My Heart and Dreamer. Jenn did not seem to have quite as loose a tongue as she has been known to have but was endearing nonetheless. Her husband, Mr. Ledwell, played a mean slide guitar on a tune, while on another Jenn stood alone and quietly played an electric guitar. Parliament of Owls was upbeat and got people going again near the end of the set, as did In the Belly of a Dragon, and I've Got Your Fire.
In encore she dueted with Daniel on a soft version of Eye of the Tiger to open before inviting the full band back up for the next song and adding Justin Rutledge and Julie Fader for the finale of toe-tapper Getcha Good.

Canada Day Roundup (Ottawa, July 1, 2011)

What more fitting place to begin the day than on Parliament Hill. Unfortunately this is where absolutely everyone else wanted to be too - something to do with a couple that are famous for being born and marrying someone who was born. But I digress..

Jenn Grant was upbeat and perky as always early in the show with Getchya Good. The best part of her shows is usually the awkward yet amusing banter however under the circumstances she didn't have much of a chance for this.

Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans stayed patriotic (and likely sweltering in their black long sleeved cowboy get up) with a fun rendition of Long Gone to Saskatchewan.

Dan Mangan in all his bearded glory looked tickled to be playing this show. Dropping a percussion section altogether he went big brass alongside his acoustic guitar for a mighty fine take on Sold. Upright bass plucking and a strong clapalong rounded out the tune, bringing us to the next act - Harper and the Economics.

Ohbijou have come a long way from Casey's solo beginnings as not only was she joined by her violin playing sister but also had a bodyless, seated, standup bass player, plus bass, drum and guitar. The songs are primarily pretty and lush with a focus on her soft voice but at times during this show they pulled out some stronger instrumentation (even an effect pedal on the up and down new closer). Black Ice and St. Francis remain favourites and were taken in by members of The Acorn as well. Another highlight was the Nathan Lawr cover mixed into this pleasant, sunny afternoon set. 

Coeur de Pirate was on the Jazz festival's mainstage and had a captive audience seated in the grass. He set was remarkably similar to last Friday's FrancoFete show in Toronto, right down to the half Armistice song during the encore. Beatrice may have spoken even less English but still managed to get us all on our feet for the Commes Des Enfants finale. 

The second Parliament Hill show of the day had a much looser vibe than the first and saw Dan Mangan climb out into the crowd to encourage the "very serious, for Canada" singalong to the chorus of Robots (while backed by a few lovely female violinists). This time around I also caught Mr. Sam Roberts though with the muffled sound from my vantage point I only recognized Brother Down despite this not seeming like the place to pull out two new songs from the very recently released new album. 

All in all it was a splendid day topped off with the dependably awe inspiring fireworks display. Logistic of moving around, and being trapped on the wrong side of the road for a couple hours in order to wait for some nobodies to wave out the window of a Suburban at us prevented more musical intake (two hours traffic, grumble*) but altogether it was still pretty great. And topped off in a patriotic fashion with beers at Sir John A's place.