Wil w/ Shaun Verreault @ Media Club -- 11/19/10

I am no stranger to seeing either Wil or Shaun Verreault live, and they're definitely no strangers to each other. I first discovered (and fell in love with, musically) Wil when he opened for Wide Mouth Mason, and I saw a pair of shows at UBC's Pit Pub with the two of them playing acoustically. So when I found out Shaun would be opening for Wil at his show at the Media Club, I was more than a little excited. Like those two previous shows, the two each came out to play acoustic sets. Or as Shaun put it: "Thanks for coming to see two men, naked on stage... holding wood."

Shaun Verreault, who you may know from Wide Mouth Mason, kicked off the night playing a set of his own material. Opening with "Too Much for Too Little", he covered material from both of his solo albums, as well as a brand new one written that day (as per a bet with Wil) and what I think was a new Wide Mouth Mason tune -- he prefaced it by saying the band will be recording, with Gordie Johnson on bass, soon. Verreault is a great storyteller in his songs, and that translates really well to his stage banter. He wove a few tales between songs, including the hilarious story of when he opened for the Beach Boys and had a bit of a verbal altercation with one of the members, who wasn't quite a fan of Shaun's set. He brought the set to an close with "Catch My Death", which was essentially a five minute guitar clinic. I always seem to forget just how incredible a musician Verreault is until I see him live, and he never fails to amaze me. I really hope I get the chance to see him perform again soon, and I really hope that the new Wide Mouth Mason incarnation, with Johnson, plays here soon as well.

And then there was Wil, who lived up to his reputation by breaking at least one, of not two, strings during the set. I've mentioned before how much I absolutely love watching Wil play live, and he was as good as ever. Like Shaun, his set was rather loose and intimate with a good amount of stories and joking between the songs. The size of the Media Club helped for sure, but a couple times he even played a song that was randomly yelled out from the crowd -- both older songs from his first album -- adding to the intimacy. Aside from those, he held up his end of the bet by playing a brand new song called "Angry Dog" and joked (I hope!) that it was so new it would never get played again. "Cooder Mountain" grew to an amazing intensity and "Honey Pie" -- one of my favourite songs -- was just mindblowing, as usual. After closing the set with the tender "Big Life" he came back out for one more, despite the mounting snow. The song was one that he has had for a while, but remains unreleased; I hope that changes soon, as it was quite good.

My only disappointment from the show was that they didn't jam together for the encore. The shows they played together both featured that, but not so much this time. Even if it were just for a song or two, it would have been cool to see. But despite that, both men put on amazing sets, and anyone who has the opportunity to see either one live would be a fool not to take it.

setlist:
Long Kiss Goodnight, Wedding Dress, Mama, Angry Dog, Both Hands, Cooder Mountain, The Deal, Honey Pie, Big Life.
[encore] Shipwreck.

In This Together by Wil

From the moment I first saw Wil hit the stage, years ago, I was drawn in. His live show was just so incredible and energetic that I was an instant fan. But while I enjoyed his first album, Both Hands, it seemed to be missing a little piece of what made him so special live. His next album, By December, was a huge step forward, both in his writing and music, and seemed to capture that live quality. So needless to say, I was more than a little excited for his third album, In This Together, hoping it would be as big a leap as Both Hands was from By December.

"Long Kiss Goodnight" opens the album heartbreakingly, lamenting on a ruined relationship with the music matching the emotions that swing between angry and melancholy. The album picks up from there, though, with "Why Ask Why?" slowly building to an explosive climax and the infectiously catchy & roots-driven "Baby Baby" both taking a more positive (or at least less bleak) look at relationships. "The River" -- a song he's been playing live for years now, so it's great to finally have recorded -- has an upbeat tune that belies the dark lyrics. "Cooder Mountain" is another track that just builds and builds; starting somewhat ominously and then piles on the intensity until the end leaves you breathless.
"If You Want Me Too" brings the mood down slightly, as it sounds like it should be a gloomy song, but is actually quite touching, lyrically. The worst least good song on the album is probably "Way Too Long", which isn't really all that bad, just a little... forgettable, not sticking with you like the rest. That is quickly remedied as "Uh Oh!" bursts forth with energy and enthusiasm, though "The Deal" brings the dark intensity back, with another building song, this time about sacrifice.
The moody and longing "Hold Me Tonight" seems has an optimism to it, when Wil begs "hold me tonight / and everything's going to be all right", a sentiment that leads perfectly into "Together", an aptly named song which gives closure both musically and lyrically, assuring you that "the days ahead get better". The combination of the two songs is an excellent way to bring the album to a close, and is a great counter to the opener.

The first thing I noticed about the album is that it does not have that one song on it that was head and shoulders above the rest, like both previous albums had ("Spitfire" and "Honey Pie"), but it is more evenly good. And while I may have been a little unenthusiastic towards the album, at first, the more I have played it, the more intricacies and nuances I find, to the point where I think it might be his best yet.


Download Baby Baby

Download Cooder Mountain

Download Together

Clicky to exchange monies for music

Wil @ The Biltmore -- 11/14/09

Sometimes when you haven't seen a performer in a while, you build them up in your memory, remember them as being more awesome as they actually are. I was really hoping that was not the case with Wil. There was a two year span, after discovering him when he opened for Wide Mouth Mason, where I saw him at least seven or eight times, with the last time, sadly, being a little over two years ago. He's been back a few times since, less frequently, but I always seemed to have terrible luck when he was here, never able to go or just missing him. Back then, I was adamant about Wil being one of the best live acts going, so I was very excited, if a little trepidatious, to see him again.

First out, though, was The British Columbians, who I had seen earlier this year when opening for the double bill of Arkells & The Waking Eyes. My opinion of them hasn't really changed much since then. They were Perfectly Acceptable Music; nothing all that great, but nothing terrible by any means. Their sound is kind of a.... country-metal, if that makes sense, heavy on the blues riffs. There wasn't much variety, though. The whole set sounded like one long song. They still had limited stage presence as well, with the stage falling silent a few times between songs while they set up for the next.

Then not too long after, it was time for Wil. As many times as I've seen him now, I am still amazed how his guitar does not burst into flames mid-show. The guy plays with an unparallelled intensity that, on many occasions, leads to broken strings -- which his wife then turns into jewelry. He was pretty much as amazing as I remembered, hitting the stage with just himself and drummer Jason Cook. They were minimal in numbers but absolutely enormous in sound. There've been a lot of places calling him "Canada's best kept secret" and I completely agree with that, as well as him being one of Canada's best live musicians. The only reason more people don't adore this man is simply because they haven't seen him live.
The set focused mostly on his last album, though he threw in a few new songs, including The River, which is a song that he's played live for years and is finally going to be on the upcoming album (January). The new songs were pretty good and made me all the more excited for the upcoming album. They even handed out a card which directed people to a website to download three demo's from the new album.
The new songs seemed a bit slower, but with most of the older songs, especially Big Life, Both Hands and Always With Love were played with pure energy and with his hand strumming the guitar so fast that most times it was a blur.
The highlight of the set, as hard as it would be to pick, would have to be near the end when he did Honey Pie. He goes absolutely insane in the song, and it had everyone clapping along, and doing a call-and-answer chorus of ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh's. Few times before have I seen the crowd at the Biltmore going as crazy. The one thing that disappointed me, though, is that he was light on songs from his first album, Both Hands -- by which I mean he didn't play Spitfire. In some of his early shows he would start and end the set with that song, so maybe it's just run its course.

By the end, all of my pre-show fears about me remembering him more legendary than he actually was were horseapples. If ever you have the opportunity to see this man live, I couldn't recommend it more.

setlist:
Don't Let me Down, Big Life, Wedding Dress, The River, Baby Baby (?), Long Kiss Goodnight, Both Hands, If You Want Me To Know, Always With Love, Dance With The Devil, Tell You Twice, Honey Pie, By December.