Lay Lady Lay

Wednesday night was another night of female-fronted music. I headed down to the Dakota for the last show of Kelly McMichael's January residency. First up was Dr Ew and Kelsey McNulty. Their soft, delicate pop was perhaps not a good fit for the chatty bar but they soldiered on. Dr Ew's (Drew Smith) songs were similar to his contributions to The Bicycles: sweet pop tunes about small events like getting married at City Hall. McNulty claimed inspiration from Twin Peaks for one song, but all of her numbers had romantic yet ominous piano and lyrics.

Terra Lightfoot changed up the vibe. With her tight band from Hamilton, she played rocking music. In some ways, it was similar to their hometown compatriots Arkells, who are starting to play big venues: radio-friendly, arena-ready pop. Lightfoot made it more interesting by adding it a bit of country or a dash of soul. She brought 4 guitars "just because [she] can", and made good use of them. The solos she left to the swirling "60s organ" of her keyboardist, giving us instead dexterous chords and riffs throughout the songs.

Kelly McMichael and The Gloss returned us to a quieter mode. This was 90s-esque, Belinda Carlisle pop to bask in. The harmonies added to that retro feel, especially when the 2nd female voice came in. There was an underlying sadness such as the refrain from This City: They want different things in the city//I don't know if they want me. So it was entirely appropriate that they covered The Cranberries' Dreams.