Brett Caswell and the Marquee Rose @ The Horseshoe

I'm not going to lie: I've been rather enjoying my concert going hibernation over the last month or so. The brief spurts of time off have been refreshing as they've allowed me to indulge my other passion for classic foreign films, not to mention trying to find a decent recent movie to enjoy also, which was extremely difficult to do. "Not impressed 'cinema of 2009', not impressed at all!" (I'm talking to you Mr. Cameron! Give me my money back or I'll continue to hold these 3D glasses for ransom!)

Still, a concert goer has to hit the venues again at some time, and there was no better way to ease back into the show goings then with a brief and free (and not to mention early) show at The Horseshoe featuring a man whom I'd heard tons about, yet had never really taken the time to properly acquaint myself with: Mr. Brett Caswell. In preparation for the show, I had spent some time with his debut release Love Waiting, which came out almost two years ago. It's a very easy-to-digest collection of piano and guitar based pop rock tunes that bring to mind guys like Ben Folds or Elliott Smith. Although the material is far from earth shattering, the melodies in particular, are exceptional and there was no doubt in my mind that the man had the talent and capabilities to expand that sound even more. Well the performance that night proved that my assumptions were correct.

First of all, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his band consisted of some backing vocals by my favourite little Barrie-ite Carleigh Aikins of Fox Jaws, as well as some amazing fiddle accompaniment by the incredibly talented Sarah Morano. Still, the biggest surprise was the fact that the songs that were presented that evening went far above and beyond the standard singer- songwriter fare of the aforementioned album. His new album, entitled A New Balance, is coming out this spring and, judging by the songs that he played that evening, he's boasting a heavier, rockier edge that places greater emphasis on playing and musicianship while still keeping that gift for melody fully in tact. One would assume that a set so short (he only played six songs) would mean that it ended just as he was starting to find his groove, but the fact is that Caswell is obviously such a seasoned performer that he was able to hit the stage on a high and keep that going throughout. The evening's highlight was an explosive performance of a song called Show On The Road, which boasted a slightly country-ish vibe that built into a full-on country rock assault that was reminiscent of some of the impressive jams you would hear performed by The Allman Brothers or My Morning Jacket. There are few things more impressive than watching Caswell attack the keys the way that he does. I think it's safe to say that Caswell is one charismatic and electrifying performer and I'm looking forward to catching a full set before the year is through.

Brett Caswell and the Marquee Rose are back in town tomorrow night opening for Clothes Make The Man at The Garrison (Ossington & Dundas). They'll be hitting the stage around 10pm.

Photos: My shots of Brett Caswell and the Marquee Rose @ The Horseshoe are on flickr
Myspace: Brett Caswell

Other stuff:
My email box hath runneth over with stuff and info so let me quickly share some with you before I run off to work today.

Whale Tooth has a new video for Hibernation Song which was shot and directed by The Cobourg Boys, who have also worked with The Bicycles. [Myspace: Whale Tooth]

Lucky Soul has posted a new video as well for the song White Russian Doll, which will be featured on their upcoming album A Coming of Age, which is due out this spring. [Myspace: Lucky Soul]

And Forest City Lovers also have a new video for their song If I Were A Tree, directed by Colin Medley and Jared Raab. [Myspace: Forest City Lovers]

While preparing to unleash their heavily anticipated full length, Dinosaur Bones are releasing a limited edition 7-inch white vinyl copy of Royalty/Ice Hotels on the upstart Toronto/New York vinyl label Hi-Scores Recording Library. Fans can pre-order the record at the Hi-Scores site now. [Myspace: Dinosaur Bones]

By now I'm sure that everyone has heard about the big Pavement reunion which will affect Torontonians at the Toronto Island Festival on June 19th when they hit the stage with Broken Social Scene and Band of Horses. Despite the fact that it hits me on the weekend of NXNE, I'm pretty sure that I'll be picking up some tix for this one. In the meantime, if you desire to see Pavement perform somewhere more exotic (like New York), Matador is holding a contest in connection with the tour and their upcoming greatest hits release. [Myspace: Pavement]

And finally, it looks like the Thrush Hermit reunion is on and the tickets to their two shows at Lee's Palace (March 26th, 27th) go on sale today. Say what you will, but the solo works of Joel Plaskett haven't come even close to impacting me the way that his former band did. To be honest, despite the amount of love and praise Three has received by just about everyone I know, I still haven't been able to listen to the whole thing all the way through. Some excellent songs buried in there, but still way too much meh if you ask me, which continues to be my personal beef with Plaskett's solo output. But when it comes to the sounds of the thrush, to my ears they are virtually meh-less, which means that I will certainly be attending one of the shows in March. [Myspace: Thrush Hermit]