Two For Two

On Saturday, I went to another new collaboration ($20 + $.6.85 fees) at The Rainbow Bistro. This venue in The Byward Market has been on my radar for a while. With shows every day, it seemed more like a Toronto spot. Recently, a cousin attended her brother-in-law's wedding there complete with Death from Bill and Ted's as the officiant.

The narrow stairs going up reminded me of The Silver Dollar or Sneaky Dee's but it was cleaner inside and small, too: take The Monarch Tavern, chop off the last third, and move it up into a small balcony overlooking the stage. The bar chatter was equally loud but unlike The Monarch, fell silent during the performances. Opened in 1984, The Rainbow wasn't quite as venerable as The Horseshoe but had a similar well-loved vibe.

Ada Lea started her solo set at 9 pm. This was unfortunate – more on that – because unlike the late Toronto crowds, Ottawans are on-time. When I entered 10 minutes after doors at 8, it was already bustling. The space was fully-packed by the listed 8:30 start time. I had seen Lea twice before and was impressed with her latest 2 releases. I was a bit disappointed with the chintzy drum track and synth selection (a Nord was usually quite good). She fared best with just herself and guitar. Lea closed with "bob dylan's 115th haircut", about how she couldn't write his songs but he couldn't write hers. This ode to self-esteem, complete with harmonica segue, ended a well-received set.

So Faint was the project – so new that their debut album officially came out 10 days ago – of Hannah Georgas and Lyn Heinemann (Drawn Ship). According to Georgas, the two met at a production studio in 2009 when she lived in Vancouver. They stayed as pen-pals over the years, exchanged musical ideas in 2023, and finally So Faint was born. Backed by a 3 piece, including the still mustachioed but no longer pomaded Feurd from The Elwins, they played a mid-tempo but lively set. Half-way through, the head-liners also did solo turns. Heinemann played a wistful version of Georgas' early synth-pop Shortie (with crowd sing-along) and a new song ironically named Winning (spoiler: she did not win her love). Georgias' covered Heineman's Glass Eye (a Gorey-esque folk-pop) and one of her older tunes called Robotics.

The crowd clearly knew about Georgas'  (including her recent stint with Broken Social Scene) even if I had mostly missed out on her career. I would have loved to hear more but I did not stay for the rest of her mini-solo set (she had one more song) nor So Faint closing out the night. With Ottawa transit only running every half-hour in the evening, I had to catch my 11 pm commute home. If Lea had started on-time, things could have worked out better. I liked The Rainbow's vibe, but if they usually run late like some notorious Toronto venues, I won't attend too many events here.