DAN MANGAN AND THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE: THE RADICALS TOUR STOPS IN MONTREAL
On Tuesday night, Dan Mangan and his band took the Corona Theatre by storm. The Rural Alberta Advantage opened the show. They played a very interesting set, which featured songs mostly about the province of Alberta. While the music that they played was absolutely fabulous, I could not get behind the voice of lead singer, Nils Edenloff. The band writes and plays lovely music; but his voice is just not for me. I would also like to mention that their drummer, Paul Banwatt, is the most insanely talented drummer that I have EVER seen perform. I think every musician should take some notes from this guy. He completely played his heart out. This can be a great thing and a not so great thing. It’s great because their drummer is an incredibly talented musician who can make any back beat very interesting. It’s not so great, because a drummer should not overshadow an entire band. All of this aside, the Rural Alberta Advantage played a tight set with lots of new songs, one of which was the first time it was performed live (the name eludes me at the moment). Of special note was the performance of their song ‘Frank’, written about a landslide that buried the town of Frank (yes, in Alberta) in the early 1900′s.
The Rural Alberta Advantage were followed by Dan Mangan and his band. Every time I see Dan Mangan live, it’s truly a special treat. There are few people who play (and write!) with as much heart as this man does. When he played at Osheaga earlier this year, he played a half hour set. When his time was up, you could see him asking for one more song, but there was no time left for him to play. Even when I saw him play in my hometown last year, it seems that a nearly two-and-a-half hour set was not enough time for him to share his gift with us! Needless to say, after the thirty minute teaser offered at Osheaga, I was incredibly excited for the show on Tuesday night.
After hearing that the full band had not been touring together for a couple of weeks, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this show; but was pleasantly surprised when a full band took the stage. What can I say? I am a sucker for violins and horns. The set started off beautifully, but the party really started when they played ‘Sold’ three songs in. I may be slightly biased, as ‘Nice, Nice, Very Nice’ is one of my favorite albums of all time. Dan Mangan and his band played an absolutely fabulous set, which was a pleasant mix of songs from the aforementioned album, as well as ‘Oh, Fortune’. I was slightly surprised to see that they did not choose to play much of anything from ‘Postcards and Daydreaming’, considering how well the other two albums were sampled.
I’m going to make a public admission – I have never sat through a Dan Mangan performance without crying. This is NOT because I am a big baby; but because this man knows his way around the heartstrings, and how to properly tug on them. Of particular note here are the songs ‘Basket’ and ‘If I am Dead’. Such sad, but beautiful pieces of music. The cathartic ending to ‘If I am Dead’ which bled into ‘Post-War Blues’ (instead of bleeding into ‘Daffodil’, like it does on the album) saved me from being the biggest blubbering idiot in the Corona. So, thanks for that, Dan.
He of course, played the fan anthem, ‘Robots’, which at the end, he asked everybody in the theatre to sing. Which, of course, they did, and surprisingly, very well. The show ended with ‘So Much For Everyone’, which he asked everyone to chime in with a chorus of “oooh”‘s to back up the singing. He told the crowd to add in harmonies where they saw fit. He also took a stool and a mic into the middle of the hall, where he stood on the stool, and asked everyone to put their phones away and to just be THERE. I always really love this, and think more artists should do this.
The show was a beautiful and amazing experience; however, I would like to take this time to speak of the audience, which was less than stellar. There were extremely quiet moments in music, or during a purely acoustic piece, where you could hear conversations taking place near the bar; but almost as if the speakers were trying to out-speak the performance. This was convoluted by people in the main floor turning around and trying to shush the speakers. This is not okay. While I realize that sound travels extremely well in a concert hall, this should also be noted on the other side of things – you’re in a concert hall, watching a beautiful performance. Your voice is already carrying without you speaking up. So fellow concert goers, please keep this in mind. You come to a concert to enjoy a gift that a musician wants to share with you, their fans. Not to challenge the artist in a battle of the vocals. You are always going to lose, and no one is going to like you at the end of the concert.
Audience aside, I had a marvelous evening with the Rural Alberta Advantage and Dan Mangan. I may be biased because I think Dan Mangan could crap on a guitar and it would still sound beautiful; but I think that every person feeling weighed down by life could use an evening with these two bands. What a beautiful and stellar performance. I anxiously await the next time I am graced by this man’s musical presence. What a treat.
Click below to find out more about the Rural Alberta Advantage!
Official Site
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Click below to find out more about Dan Mangan!
Official Site
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Category: Reviews
