The Sadies
Date: August 17, 2006 All Bones No Lies This year's incarnation of the Folk Festival kicked off with a Thursday night club show, displaying four artists who would be playing in the coming weekend. While I was excited for the pairing of The Sadies and Amy Millan, I didn't realize that this was going to be a night where every band on the bill was thoroughly enjoyable. With Ridley Bent and the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir proving to be captivating performers, Millan breezing through a comfortable set, and The Sadies living up to their sterling reputation, this was one of the best concerts of the year. Ridley Bent opened the evening with a solo acoustic set. That format is often a challenge for an artist unfamiliar to the audience, with the songs tending to blur together and the singer tending to lose the crowd's attention. Bent had no such difficulties, for two notable reasons. Firstly, he projected a lot of personality into his rich vocals, with his strong voice setting a classic country mood and his demeanour projecting a sense of fun. Secondly, his songs tended to be amusing narratives, encouraging the concert-goers to pay attention and hear how the stories would end. In fact, the reaction from those at the front of the club was so strong that Bent added an impromptu one-song encore, which surprised by living up to his introduction of it as a reggae number. Next up was the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir, who interested me before they even played a note, by virtue of their unconventional drum kit. Their wild set would live up to the promise of something different, with the pots-and-bells drumming bumping up against frenzied banjo playing, nimble guitar work, smooth upright bass, and colourful harmonica. The vocals matched the shambling push of the instrumentation, often breaking from conventional singing to a desperate howl. The Choir's varied set was a treat from start to finish. If the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir performance was a stew of blues, gospel, mountain music, and folk, Amy Millan's set was an exercise on a single theme. As she told the audience, "I just want to play some country songs." Although Millan was backed by the talented Paso Mino, who provided a very full sound, the songs were still delivered in an unassuming style. Guitarist Afie Jurvanen battled a scratchy amp for most of the set (several times making the battle literal, delivering some solid smacks), while the instrumental mix occasionally overpowered Millan's voice. Nonetheless, she was fun to see, employing a different vocal sound than she often uses when playing with Stars and proving herself to be a confident and charismatic performer, even without her usual band. The thirty-five minute set flew by, feeling much like her debut solo album, Honey from the Tombs: not mind-blowing but still quite enjoyable. While Millan kept things mellow, The Sadies were as fiery as ever. Although I had only seen the band twice previously, those experiences testified that their rock-solid live reputation is fully justified. The group once again burned through a lengthy set, usually pausing only long enough for Dallas Good to introduce the coming song in his methodical manner. ("This is the first song from our second album," he'd announce before roaring through "16 Mile Creek.") His brother Travis elevated the night with his ragged vocal turn on "Loved-on Look," followed by the rapid fiddling of "Higher Power." He would later go on to dazzle with the ever-quickening guitar work of "Ridge Runner Reel." The Sadies are a selfless live act, with Dallas and Travis sharing lead vocals, while Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky act as a flawless rhythm section. With the band sounding so great and setting such a quick pace, the set roared by quickly, wrapping up with guest spots from Amy Millan and AMGC's Judd Palmer. The ten-song encore included a strong cover of "Big River" before wrapping up on what was clearly the peak performance of the entire concert, a shriekingly loud "Astronomy Domine." With four bands on the bill at the Capital Music Hall, it was certainly a long night. However, with every band sounding excellent, there was never a reason for impatience. The two bands unfamiliar to me made a great impression, while the two known artists lived up to my expectations, making for one of the best start-to-finish concerts of the year. Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir setlist 
Amy Millan setlist 
The Sadies setlist 
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