Lost In Translation

Monday night, I headed over to CBC Studios for a performance from Hey Rosetta!, a sprawling band from St. John's, Newfoundland. Radio host Tom Power was quite excited to introduce them. Being also from that city, he described the pride that Newfoundlanders felt for a band that "made it" with original material and not old folk songs.

The 7 members took to the stage in a circular studio set-up, with the audience surrounding them. Some in the crowd were quite excited to be there, having even brought their own egg shaker. With most members playing multiple instruments, they needed more than 20 mics for the set up. Until they really hit it big, it is unlikely any club or bar venue will give them as good a staging as tonight.

The pristine sound mix highlighted their complex sound palette: layers of guitar, strings (violin/cello), horns (trumpet/french horn), and driving drums and bass. I wouldn't quite describe them as "orchestral" like Power, but they did possess a rich texture. Ironically, this made their set dragged in the middle. Every song stretched to 7-8 minutes but only a handful deserved the treatment. With 11 tunes all following the soft, loud, soft, build-up, fade-out, etc template, I was zoning out after awhile. Long-time fans, though, reveled in every change and transition. The bulk of the songs came from their new album Second Sight (Gold Teeth, Cathedral Bells, Harriet) but Hey Rosetta! also played some old favourites (Bandages).