Sad songs have never sounded so cheerful with Calgary folk/ roots musician Carter Felker at the helm.
Felker and his trio, steel guitarist JJ Mayo and bassist Curtis Glas played a superb show at the Slice, June 16.
Joel Stretch of Starpainter opened the show for an appreciative audience. “ I’m used to having the band behind me,” he said, welcoming Bailey Kate to add a few harmonies to a couple of songs.
The set was mostly original, though he said “I’m going to try a John Prine song,” which sounded beautiful.
Fekler quipped “we have people from almost t every cool band in town here tonight,” before playing solid set of sighing steel guitar and floor fingered fingerpicking and off course, Felker’s self deprecating humour.
He told a few stories and mostly focused on songs from his new CD “ Even the Happy Ones are Sad.”
“Living free” and the new single “Nothing but net” was a highlight, as was “ Ski Mask” which he said was about robbing the Credit union to pay for my march.”
His picking on “Francine” was stellar.
He channelled a bit of Ridley Bent on “Aint Got Time for That,” another highlight of the show and definitely of the new CD.
His song about losing touch with old friends at a party, “Party Pooper” hit home.
He went intohis back catalogue for a couple songs before returning to the new CD.
He talked a lot about his parter Amy Nelson as he introduced “ the Bad Guy.”
Most of Felker’s set was originals, but added a cover of Jim Ford’s “Big Mouth U.S.A.”
Felker’s songs have been covered by other artists too, so he played his original, more rootsy version of “Good Woman,” which Shaela Miller recorded for her new CD “Big Hair Small City.”
Del Barber also covered Felker’s song “ Every Day Life,” so he played that as well, joking, “ Del Barber stole it and won a Juno with it.”
He ended his show with “The Legend,” which is also the last song on the new album, prefacing it by saying when he moved to Calgary he went to an open mic and was so humbled by the talent that he didn’t pick up a guitar for two years.
— By Richard Amery, L.A.Beat editor
