Bosveld, David Newberry, and Jenny Berkel @ Sierra house show, Mar. 19
What better way to get over a mean St. Paddy’s hangover than a laid back house show? One of our favourite acts in Ottawa right now, Bosveld, invited me out to a small gathering of friends on Sierra Pvt. last Wednesday night.
Starting out the night as I walked in the door was a last-minute addition to the bill, Jenny Berkel. Reigning from Winnipeg, MB, Berkel played a beautiful quiet acoustic set that really fit with the dimly-lit candles and chandelier hanging in the living room above her. With just an amp and and her acoustic guitar, it was obvious that she had captured the small audience of about twenty people. Between songs she made jokes about Winnipeg and kept people smiling, and the crowd gave her a large round of applause after each song she finished. At one point she discussed her long term relationship with a heritage building in Winnipeg, and although it is an inanimate object, she had affection for it. She then transitioned into “Green Coat,” which she said was sort of a love/nostalgic song. Before she started playing “All That You Do,” I chuckled to myself when she said “The best time to write a love song is when you’re not in love.” It makes sense if you think about it! I was really impressed with her music and was glad that she was able to fit into the bill.
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David Newberry was the next artist to play, and I was really impressed with his music. He came all the way from British Columbia, and he was very comfortable in front of our small crowd of people sprawled out on blankets. He began his set by talking about a bar in BC that Jack Kerouac used to hang out at, and speaking about learning a lot when you travel with a partner. I could definitely relate with this, and it brought back some memories of when I traveled through New Zealand four years ago. He also spoke of some guy running into this bar that Jack Kerouac used to frequent and frantically asking him if he could sell the coat off his back for $7 to buy a pack of cigarettes. He then sang “So It Goes,” where he describes the ordeal in his lyrics a little further. Sounds like a pretty interesting place, I’ll have to ask him the name of the joint so I can order a little sip of whiskey next time I’m out west.
He played most of the songs off of his new EP Desire Lines, which was just this past February. His sound is solid and his songs are all really well formed. He combines really good guitar work with intelligent lyrics, which really kept us listening throughout the performance. My favourite song was his last, called “Slow.” He got the crowd involved singing a pretty easy “oh oh oh” part. It worked really well and we were all very happy he played for us.
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Finishing off the night were Bosveld, the duo of Thean Slabbert (Velodrones) and Jeremy Mulder that have really impressed me over the past few months. Coming off their recent cassette release of the Catalyst Mixtape (HAVN Recs.), Bosveld are turning a lot of heads around town with their technical instrumentation and unique, eerie effects along with beautiful songwriting. Thean’s voice is deep and powerful, but restrained. He reminds me a lot of Alexi Murdoch, an artist I’ve liked for a long time. He allows the instruments to have an equally important role in the music, as Jeremy’s saxophone is especially pervasive with various reverb and atmospheric effects going along with it. These guys are technical masterminds in the Ottawa scene, and their music is unlike anything I have heard anywhere. They truly paint a dreamscape, taking the listener to another place. Their sound is somewhere between Sigur Rós, Sufjan Stevens, and Iron & Wine, but to really understand you just need to listen yourself. As I stood there watching many people losing themselves in Bosveld’s music, they ended with their R. Kelly dream song. You’ll have to ask them about that one.
Overall it was a great night. Dim candles, cheap beer, nice people, and beautiful music are all things that can make house shows the best kind of concert to go to. House shows are really important for a music scene and they are great for learning about new artists.
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