Music Beat
Elliott Brood have always loved Lethbridge and Lethbridge loves them right back as a sold out Sunday crowd showed, Sunday, Aug. 13. I missed an opening set by Starpainter.
But Elliott Brood aka Mark Sasso, Casey Laforet and drummer Stephen Pitckin came in hot off a solid set at the Wapiti Music Festival in Fernie, to deliver an energetic, turbo charged, hot sweaty night full of uptempo folk rock, alt country and plain, foot tapping weirdness.
They were road testing some new songs from a pair of new CDs to be released in a few months.
I recognized a few older songs including a spooky gothic country instrumental that they opened with and a couple from their latest album, ˚Keeper.”
The second song, an uptempo rocker that may have been “Out Walkin’ from “Keeper” was a show highlight featuring Laforet bellowing out “Oh my God.”
They dance floor immediate filled with frantic feet and the air filled with cheers and requests for old favourites.
Laforet and Sasso have almost identical clenched jaw style vocals, so they effortlessly traded lead vocals.
Sasso switched between guitar, banjo and ukulele.
Laforet grinned, reeled and writhed in his seat, his feet keeping a furiously fleet footed rhythm on a set of bass pedals occasionally jumping up to play ukulele with Sasso before jumping back behind his bass pedals and effects rack. Pitckin was a blur behind his kit.
Laforet and Sasso took quick breaths in between songs and instrument changes to rave about how much they love playing Lethbridge and the South Country Fair and reminiscing about the beginning of their career when they were playing the Tongue n Groove.
Laforet slowed things down with a heartfelt number about the contrast of a musician who wants t be at tour while at the same time wanting to stay home with the kinds on“ Stay Out,” another highlight from the new album.
Home was a bit of a theme for the night as Sasso and Laforet brought out the ukuleles for “Home Sweet Home,” getting the audience to gleefully sing along with “ Home Sweet Home.”
Sasso’s banjo rocked in crowd favourite “ Oh Alberta.” and for another one “ Can’t be alone.”
After one more enthusiastic exhortation about their love for Lethbridge, wound up their show by laying down a sizzling, country version of the Cheers theme “ Where Everybody Knows Your Name” which Laforet dedicated to all of the venues like the Owl Acoustic lounge and the Slice, which have been home away from home for the trio.
—By Richard Amery, L.A Beat Editor
