A back-lit banjo and a blended banana made strange bedfellows in Brantford last night as USS and The Stables played this frontier town as part of their westward bound Highway to Health Canadian tour.
The too few Jackhammers' crowd had certainly come for the hyper-energetic, pop-infused scratching and strumming of Ubiquitous Synergy Seekers Ash and Human Kabob, but The Stables' shotgun 'blackgrass' set has made me a fan!
Hailing from the 'Shwa', the trio's hardened harmonies accompanied by hand-made instruments were the antithesis to the gadget assisted USS set. While USS ended the evening with a ritualistic smoothie, blended and drunk as a symbolic intake of energy generated from the show, The Stables spilled their souls on stage with poetic tunes about love, death, addiction - life in a post industrial city like Oshawa or Brantford.
The players - Darren 'Choo Choo' Clarke, Blind Billy Blasko and Poor Pelly - all masterful musicians, rotated freely (at the call of 'snowball') between instruments ranging from guitar, a suitcase drum kit, and a washtub bass built with what looked to be Bobby Orr's hockey stick from his days as an Oshawa General. I was particularly impressed by Poor Pelly's light-box banjo.
Poor Pelly writes about their songs and shows: "Sometimes we are happy.... sometimes sad.... sometimes we are pissed off... our songs reflect who we are at the moment we write them. But when we get on stage to perform them for people it's always a celebration."
The Stables perform tonight at the historic Red Dog Tavern in Peterborough, and Monday in Thunder Bay as they head west with USS. Check them out when they come through your town. And be sure to track down Poor Pelly at the merchandise table - I didn't and regret not picking up their CD, which appears to be available only through their shows or the iTunes store.
