Fields of Old

Thursday night at the Dakota, I went to an early show featuring 2 songwriters. The bar staff was easy-going with outside food. So I had brought in a Neapolitan pizza ($16) with Ontario prosciutto from Pizzeria Libretto. It was a bit messy to eat but a tasty dinner before the show.

Charlotte Cornfield opened the evening with wry songs about small town (Gananoque), session players (Side Man), and a disappointing love affair (Big Volcano, Small Town). I thought she had interesting observations and a joking wistfulness to her lyrics. But she should experiment more with either non-rhymes or unusual rhythm, because many of her verses ended a bit too on the nose. As such, to my ears there wasn't much to separate her from all the other indie acts.

Olivia Chaney is touring to promote her debut album The Longest River, though oddly she had no merchandise to sell. This record from the young folk singer is getting great reviews. Mediocre lyrics was not her problem as she drew from old classics such as Purcell's There's Not a Swain or the more modern False Bride. Her own verses such as King's Horses didn't quite reach those heights. Her guitar playing reflected her classical training with complex arrangements. Yet it can also be a weakness, at least for the casual modern ear, as the unusual structures lacked the simple cadence and beat of typical pop songs. Her training also meant that she couldn't abide out-of-tune instruments. So I wondered how she felt when she sat down at the bar's piano for a couple of tunes. Well, she fondly but exasperatingly decided to call it "The Henry Herbert".

There was a bit of serendipity to the evening. Chaney had wandered the neighbourhood earlier and passed by a clothes shop called Jonathan & Olivia. She didn't know any Jonathan. When she remarked how quiet the crowd was, a man shouted out from the back that we were all enjoying her music. When she asked for his name, it turned out to be Jonathan. Perhaps this little coincidence will make its way into a future song.