Crain It Up

Thursday night, I went to the Dakota for an early show. It was unfortunate that it was so sparse for Samantha Crain, a singer-songwriter from Oklahoma. Sometimes the sheer amount of going-ons in Toronto can be unkind to indie musicians. On the upside, the few that were there were true fans.

Crain came to my attention via Facebook posts from First Aid Kit, having opened for them in the U.S. I was curious enough to check her out for myself tonight. Well, she is a fine writer of americana music, much better than many bigger acts out there including First Aid Kit. Whether it was older songs (Santa Fe, For The Miner, Devils In Boston) or new tunes from her just-released 4th album (Elk City, When You Come Back), these were sharply observant stories of every day life. But what made her set a wonderful hour of music was her playing and her resonant voice. Without a band, many singers turn into boring chord strummers. But Crain had a repertoire of guitar techniques to enhance each song. Any musician who can replicate the exciting, driving pace of Lions with just a guitar is a great one. Foreign musicians seemed compelled to cover a Canadian artist when touring here, though it's true there are some musical giants from the North. So Crain covered Neil Young's Tell Me Why. Though there were calls for an encore, Crain had already played plenty of music. In any case, she made a beeline for the washroom, probably due to all the free booze sent to the stage by numerous admirers.