North by East West: Concert Review: Great Lake Swimmers @ Trinity-St.Paul's Centre, Toronto, ON

A -12 degree evening and a long lineup along Bloor Street. Great Lake Swimmers with opener Sharon Van Etten had sold out Trinity-St. Paul’s Church, the coveted Toronto concert venue. I was fortunate enough (though not while waiting in the cold) to be in that line. Here’s what followed:

Sharon Van Etten

There’s a haunting slowness and dejected woe to Sharon Van Etten’s sparse compositions. With her eyes pointed straight forward, her lip curled seemingly in time with the highest points of pain and sadness, remembered through her songs. The wrenching delivery, her hollow-bodied Gibson and vinyl voice cut, then reverberated, filling spaces both corporeal and ephemeral with simple notes and complex images of painted pictures, dried tears and the places where our hearts reside. Van Etten was genuinely grateful for the repeat experience of opening for Great Lake Swimmers, having done so in 2009, and cracked a small smile from the corner of her mouth every time the packed house at Trinity-St. Paul’s in Toronto applauded; our appreciation echoed and magnified by the church. “There’s nothing like the sound of applause in a church,” the Brooklyn songstress said. Though she paused at times to remember new songs, even calling a do-over on one, the crowd loved her. As she finished her set and the appreciation flowed, Van Etten seemed surprised. She shrugged her shoulders, and gave a small awkward smile. “It’s nice not to hear silence after you finish a song” she had said. Great Lake Swimmer’s were up next.

Great Lake Swimmers

In thinking about the rising and falling action of their sets, it occurred to me that Great Lake Swimmers performed in 5 parts that strangely mirrored the 5 act dramatic arc. So...

Part One: "Exposition"
As we sat in our pews, with their carefully carved ends, red velvet cushions, Tony Dekker and company took the stage. With full recording gear in place to capture the night for what will no doubt be a phenomenal live album, they began with “Everything Is Moving So Fast.” The Lost Channels track penetrated deeply in the 121 year old church, beckoning the crowd to follow the band; asking us to “fall in slow motion” with them… revealing the intention of the night.
Great Lake Swimmers have had a somewhat shifting group of musicians on tour over the years, and after a few songs, Dekker took time to introduce the lineup. It included Darcy Yates (The Beauties, Paul and Colleen) on bass, Miranda Mullholland (also a solo artist) on vocals and fiddle, Julie Fader (who’s debut solo album Outside in was released in 2009) on vocals and keys, Erik Arneson on guitar and banjo and Greg Milson on drums. Mid-set though, they dispersed, leaving Dekker and his guitars centre stage and solo.

Part Two: "Rising Action"
Now alone, Dekker’s voice was able to climb to the top of the arrangements. One imagines pebbled shorelines of the Great Lakes or the St. Lawrence, Dekker solitary and contemplative. The spiritual sense, perhaps imbued by the buildings vaulted ceilings, pillars and chandelier, was elevated.

Part Three: "Climax"
We were coming to the end of the night. The whole band had at this point returned and played through what might have been considered a ‘best-of’ set drawn from the full catalogue of 2003’s Great Lake Swimmers, 2005’s Bodies and Minds, 2007’s Ongiara and last year’s Polaris Prize nominated Lost Channels. Known for choosing recording locations for their unique characteristics and atmosphere, it’s clear why the Trinity-St. Paul’s show was being caught. There was an increasing energy to the crowd and to the band as they exchanged knowing looks and smiles to each other. In what has to be the most ironic turn of events, something occurred that has only happened once in all my years of concert going. As Great Lake Swimmers came to the end of “I Am Part of a Large Family,” their set closer, they actually blew a speaker. With only a few notes remaining, a brief clip ended the waves from the left side of the stage just prior to the band bidding the audience goodnight. The crowd stood, reveling in the music and awestruck and remained on their feet and applauding until the inevitable encore.

Part Four: "Falling Action"
Encores are always bittersweet. They satisfy our need for more, but at any minute may end, they hold us rapt and hopeful. The highlight of the encore set was undoubtedly the “fun to play” “See You On The Moon” from the Paperbag Record’s children’s album of the same name, which also includes contributions from Sufjan Stevens, Broken Social Scene, Apostle of Hustle and FemBots. Dekker and Fader almost laughed their way through the ‘what will I be when I grow up’ tune.

Part Five: "Denouement"
Dekker finished the night on his own. He unplugged his guitar, set aside the microphone and played to the space. It felt like our own special “off the record” moment. As if he was giving a gift to those who had been there first hand for a night which others might experience second hand. The sold out crowd stood again as with appreciation in his movement and expression, Dekker left the stage to a church rebounding and ringing with applause and gratitude for the slow-falling experience.

- Jay Blackwood*

*This show was Show #24 in Jay's Live Music Project to see one concert a week for an entire year. Follow the Live Music Project blog at http://livemusicproject.blogspot.com

Set List:
In no particular order, included but was not limited to...

Everything Is Moving So Fast
Palmistry
Still
Pulling on a Line
Your Rocky Spine
Put There By The Land
Changing Colours
There Is A Light
Various Stages
Bodies and Minds
Moving Pictures, Silent Films
Concrete Heart
New Light
Unison Falling into Harmony
Stealing Tomorrow
She Comes To Me In Dreams
I Am Part of a Large Family
See You On The Moon

See Great Lake Swimmers live in 2010 @:

Feb. 13 – Whistler Village Stage, Whistler, BC
Feb. 18 – Montreal High Lights Festival, Metropolis Theatre, Montreal, QC
Mar. 13 – “The Indies” (Part of Canadian Music Week), Royal York Hotel, Toronto, ON
Apr. 23 – In The Soil Festival, Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, St. Catharines, ON
May 30 – Meadowgrass Festival, Colorado Spings, CO
June 13 – Marquette Waterfront Festival, Madison, WI
June 19 – Sound of Music Festival, Spencer Smith Park, Burlington, ON
July 17 – Home County Festival, Victoria Park, London, ON

Links:
http://www.greatlakeswimmers.com
http://myspace.com/greatlakeswimmers
http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Great-Lake-Swimmers