Moving On Up

With seasonal allergies brought on by the warmer weather, I haven't been in any mood to go to shows. But I decided to head out Friday night to the Drake for Emilie Mover's CD release party (Mighty Time). Though I had already grabbed my copy a few weeks ago when she opened for Nicki Bluhm, I was excited to hear her with a full band.

Tonight, the opening act was Callan Furlong. This baby-faced country crooner sang, in his words "songs that are the staple of country: bitterness". So whether it was his own composition ("Rose Or Olive Branch", "Don't Get Cute") or covers ("After You're Gone"), it was music rooted in heart-ache. But it wasn't necessarily all sad, as a couple of blue-grass numbers really got the toes tapping. What elevated this performance was the lead guitarist, Nichol Robertson. His furious finger picking, jazzy chords, pizzicato plucks, and everything in between made the numbers interesting and fun.

After a Townes Van Zandt duet ("No Place To Fall") with Furlong, Emilie Mover started her own set. After she sang alone on a few songs ("14C", "Alex", "Fishes"), her band joined her. The addition of 2 back-up singers, guitar, drums, and piano enriched the sonic palette though lyrically Mover stayed wistful and quiet ("Ride With The Tide", "Goodbye My Love"). She did let loose on two rocking numbers: the bluesy "Time In My Mind" and Harry Nilsson's "Gotta Get Up". Mover should consider doing more songs in this vein, they fitted well with her wacky, wise-cracking humour. There are many "underrated" acts in Toronto, given the depth and breadth of talent in this city. But this velvet-voiced singer deserves much wider recognition (although she did recently win a Juno for the children's CD "The Stella and Sam Album").