Basia Bulat @ Soundscapes (In-Store Performance)

Falling under the category of "sure thing" is the irresistible talents of Basia Bulat, a person that I've seen perform several times now, yet who still manages to leave me in awe every time. In promotion of her latest release entitled Heart Of My Own she's been playing a number of shows lately at slightly larger venues, but prior to this in-store at Soundscapes I would have to say that my favourite time seeing her was when she played another in-store at Criminal Records a couple of years ago. I just find that her brand of humble acoustic folk is well suited for the intimate setting of a local record store, and it doesn't get much more intimate than the slight surroundings of Soundscapes.

As anticipated, the crowds didn't take very long to build and, as usual, I was happy that I had the sense to get there a little bit earlier. It ended up being a packed house that certainly wasn't as uncomfortably full as I had seen the place before, but it was still a pretty healthy crowd indeed. There were a couple of other factors that contributed to the intimate vibe of the evening. First of all, we all sat on the floor, which is cozy and stuff yet once again the dreaded foot falling asleep situation that haunted me only a mere month ago at the An Horse in-store show reared its ugly head again (although it should be noted that this was way more comfortable than that one was.) Secondly, when Basia took her place she requested that only her autoharp be plugged in as she felt that audio enhancement wasn't really necessary for such a small venue. A gutsy move for sure, but one that paid off nicely as the whole set felt that it was only a fireplace away from being as warm and personal a show as it could be. She focused mainly on newer material, which I'll admit I haven't really taken the time to listen to yet, but the personal unfamiliarity to the songs had no effect on my overall enjoyment. If anything, hearing her voice in this natural setting only made me twice as eager to check it out as soon as possible. The unmic'd situation really drove home just how powerful her voice actually is, as there didn't seem to be a single person who remained unaffected by her entrancing vibrato. The highlight of the set for me was her closing number which was an acapella rendition of an old gospel number that she sang sans instrument, only using her handclaps and footstomps as percussion. It made for a humorous moment when her foot stomping made a small amount of merchandise fall to the floor, which had her remark "Neil Young is going to kill me", which was greeted by great laughter from all in attendance. It must've been one of his books or CD's that fell. Still, it's that unforced human quality that endears so many people to her both as an artist and as a person. As she heads stateside to continue touring the new material, she'll no doubt continue to make new fans and friends along the way, and it'll be interesting to watch her popularity continue to rise, as it no doubt will.

Photos: My pictures of Basia Bulat @ Soundscapes are on flickr.
Myspace: Basia Bulat
Download: Gold Rush mp3
Video: Highlights from the performance are at Now Magazine
Video: Basia Bulat was also interviewed in the basement at Soundscapes the day of the show on AuxTV.

Other stuff:

You've probably heard about this already, but Broken Social Scene have returned with an epic new song called World Sick which can be downloaded for free on their website. (You'll need to give them your email address). The song  is awesome, as expected, and it will be featured on their upcoming album which well be called Forgiveness Rock Record, as is scheduled to be out in May. [Myspace: Broken Social Scene]

Daniel Hales and the Frost Heaves have a new video out for the song Shepherd of Lost Shopping Carts. [Myspace: Daniel Hales and the Frost Heaves]

Dutch indie rock band Bettie Serveert is back with an excellent  new album called Pharmacy of Love and a track entitled Deny All is available for free download. [Myspace: Bettie Serveert]

[Via Chart Attack] It looks like Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon are going to be recording a "trio" album with Yoko Ono which, I can't believe I'm saying this, sounds like it could be pretty interesting. [Myspaces: Sonic Youth; Yoko Ono]

And lastly, it seems that this is the season for in-store events, with some pretty interesting ones coming up. Zeus will be playing Soundscapes on March 6th at 6pm. Kurt Vile is going to be at Criminal Records on February 26th at 6:30pm. And during CMW on March 13th, Criminal Records has got an awesome three-fer featuring Aidan Knight (5pm), Dan Mangan (6pm) and Hollerado (7pm). Yay free music!