It is always a fun time when Shotgun Jimmie comes to town.
He had Winnipeg’s Human Music backing him for his June 27 visit to the Owl Acoustic Lounge.
I caught the last few songs of scrappy indie rock from local band Open Channels. They had a lot of their fans up in front of the stage. They ended with crowd favourite “metal box.”
Winnipeg based trio Human Music played an immediately appealing set of jangling indie rock and pop reminiscent of The Dandy Warhols, a little bit of the Stokes, a touch of The Refreshments. They were also reminiscent of the Pursuit of Happiness and a touch of Joel Plaskett. Human Music included drums, guitar and another guitar tuned to baritone guitar as it was being used to play groovy bass riffs. They sang catch melodies and addictive harmonies.
The same band, but with their drummer taking up the bass, added more depth to Shotgun Jimmie’s sound.
I’ve seen Shotgun Jimmie aka Jim Kilpatrick many times and in many incarnations, but haven’t seen him with a full band.
The last time he played Lethbridge he was also playing drums simultaneously. This time, being backed by the band left him free to jump into the audience and perch on the edge of the stage and interact with his enthusiastic fans.
He began his
set with a popular older song then played “Join the Band,” the new single from his brand new Joel Plaskett produced CD “Field of Trampolines.”
The set included many of the new songs.
In between songs, he told a few stories and introduced another song ,“Georgia OK” about being in art school. He wound down his show with the introspective “Walkman Battery Bleed,” from the new CD then brought local musician Robin Hepher up on stage to play drums on a Guided By Voices cover.
