Cover Me

Nowadays, even a local band would release a vinyl version of their album. So I found myself at Burdock on Saturday for the "vinyl release" of Blimp Rock's sophomore album. I've been to this new venue several times and I find it to be a wonderful music spot. Tonight, it has gained some typical downsides. So for opener Pink Moth, chatty bar-talk has invaded and you no longer get the respectful silence from previous shows. This band's spacey pop set didn't stand out for me. There were two highlights: the singer's sweet high voice and the old-school vibe of a Wurlitzer digital piano.

The impeccable sound-mix was still there though. So the multi-part vocal harmonies, as well as the other instruments, were crisp and clear for Blimp Rock's set starting with a bittersweet duet between Clair Whitehead and Peter Demakos on Monogamy Blues. They played from both albums including Band Breakup, Lake Ontario Lifeguards, and Vampires. Given the recent successes of the Blue Jays, their paean to the 1993 World Series Champ edition (Oh, Baseball) couldn't be more timely. A Cat Stevens' cover (Don't Be Shy) and Let's All Stay In Tonight finished off a fun set. It should be noted that, unlike a verse in the latter, they did not actually "finish before eleven."

Blimp Rock came back for an encore and did 2 covers. I applaud this approach: a band should play all the songs it means to in the main set, an encore is a bonus. So playing other people's music is a fine choice. In this case, Steely Dan's Peg allowed them to groove up a complex jazzy arrangement and let Whitehead break out some nimble guitar work. And Robyn's Dancing On My Own encouraged the audience to dance and whoop it up.