Viva la Steam: The Steamers’ Final Show
The Steamers went back to where it all began in Gatineau to play their final show as a band. Many of you may not know that the band was originally called the Gatineau Steamers.
In the intimate setting of the Propulsion Scène, an accessible, ecological and open space within an old market place, was a perfect venue for this anti-climactic show. Their set fittingly opened with guitarist Quin Gibson’s solo song “Take Nothing for Granted.” I am sure most in the crowd and at Steamers’ Bluesfest show earlier this year, took for granted that this local act would be around for much longer.
The band quickly showed us all how much they had grown and improved over the years by playing their older songs in new ways or simply just sounding so darn tight as a six-piece. This was very evident in “Year” and “Blue Skies.” But the band also showed their fun and improvisational side as they changed up “Stay Here to Bleed” ending it in a ska version.
Quin showed a ton of resolve powering through even though he cut off the tip of left pointer finger earlier that week. It was all bandaged up, but you could tell that he was in a lot of pain on certain tracks where that finger played an important role in his chord progressions.
The band split the night into two sets, the first featured the above mentioned tracks as well as a shining light on bass player and vocalist Sara Fitzpatrick. Sara took lead vocals on The White Stripes’ “Hotel Yorba,” which she delivered with some twang and then played “Destination” a song I always thought was about some dark times in her life. Sarah finally shed some light that the track was actually about being on the phone with administration at the University of Ottawa and how painful that can be. They closed out that first set with possibly one of the most fun songs ever written, the Robots! Everywhere!! song about dinosaurs drummer Phil Castiglione wrote for his partner’s little nephew.
With the first set done, the reality that there were only so many Steamers songs left to ever be heard live started to sink in. The band played an amazing second set full of their originals, a Shaky Graves cover and another Robots! Everywhere!! song. One thing that I think might have been overlooked in the Steamers was their bilingualism. They showed the crowd a sample of it during the first set with “Passer Une Nuite,” but really showcased during the second set as they opened with “Wolfpack Presley” and played “Bateau” about halfway through. Julien’s vocals and song writing brought a whole other dimension to the band.
As the show progressed and as we knew time was running the band announced that they had two songs left and invited everyone on stage. Phil started to play “All My Friends Are Here” a Robots! Everywhere!! song that the band has adopted, only to have the sound man rush and get all of us off the stage. At the time it was kind of a bummer, but as I looked at the stage, I don’t think it was structurally sound enough to support the lot of us. Instead we all took to the front or the side of the stage to sing at the top of our lungs. They then concluded with “Head North.” The band shared a big group hug and a private conversation on stage and that was it. A band I once saw four times in one month, are now no more.
Now now, hold back your tears. You’ll be happy to know that many of the members are working on other very exciting projects. Garrett is in Slack Bridges – a local soul and R&B group, Sarah is in Sleepy and the Noise – a local alternative rock/power pop trio, Quin will focus more on his solo music and possibly get a few musicians together to back that and I hear rumours of Phil, Greg and Julien forming a punk band that I will surely love.
Raise your glass. Here is to you Steamers. Thank you for entertaining me and many others for countless shows with so many sing alongs, and more importantly for the opportunity to now call all of you my friends.