Sarah Slean
Date: April 13, 2005 This Night and Any Night While Sarah Slean's latest trip to Ottawa did not stray far from the concert that she offered five months previously, the familiarity took away none of her charms. Once again she leaned heavily on her latest and best album, while allowing her theatrical demeanour to drive the affair, to fine effect. Opening duties were handled by Justin Rutledge, who laid down a solo set on acoustic guitar and occasional harmonica. In spite of a largely inattentive crowd, Rutledge did a solid job with his brief, five-song outing. Rutledge's voice contained enough of a rough edge to be the proper complement to his nimble picking. After a lengthy pause, Sarah Slean made her appearance, opening with the older favourite "Eliot," with her three-piece band joining her as the song progressed. By the second song of the night, "Lucky Me," it was evident that the drums would be a focal point, as they were very clear and prominent in the mix. Fortunately, Blake Manning was ready to lead the way; and the pounding treatment that he gave the chorus of "Lucky Me" typified the extra punch that he was to add to many of Slean's songs. Peter Fusco's bass work was also a strong presence, supplying the foundation of songs such as "Mary" and "When Another Midnight." Surprisingly, Andrew Aldridge's guitar was often dampened so far as to be a colouring influence, rather than a dominant element, although that restraint only served to emphasize his louder lead work, as on the stellar "Vertigo." Of course, as well as her band played, Sarah Slean cannot be outshone in performance or stage presence. Her soaring voice was flawless throughout the concert; and her command of the crowd was total, whether she was seated at her keyboard, with or without accompaniment, or standing at the forefront to unleash her vocals. If the audience comments sometimes reached into cringe-worthy territory, it failed to hurt the flow of the concert, as Sarah was almost as crazed in her own bearing and banter. While the set included "Sweet Ones" and a cover of Radiohead's "Climbing Up the Walls," the vast majority of the song selection was taken from Day One. In fact, the few songs from that album that were not covered by the time that the set concluded with "Vertigo" found their way into the encore. "Day One" and "The Score" offered the last bounce of the night, before the quiet two-guitar drone of "Wake Up" closed the curtain with a gentle note. Sarah Slean did not need to deviate far from the approach of her last concert, as she and her band were once again in impeccable form. <--Prev (Neko Case) | Next (. . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead)-->Return to Concert ListReturn to Main Page |