Would They Do It Anyway?

I was at The Tranzac on Thursday for an early evening show. Jessica Stuart has been hosting this monthly showcase for 2 years. One stipulation: each performer must premiere a new song. Perhaps that new number will appear on the next album or even be a radio hit. I wonder what the hit-to-miss ratio was.

Sabine N'dalamba was a late replacement. The two had met a few weeks ago at a Burdock show. She played electric guitar instead of acoustic tonight and generally, I didn't think it added much. In fact, I often felt the fiddling around with effects and looping detracted from her songs. There were 2 numbers that did benefit: Just Because which had a radio-friendly, sing-a-long chorus and chords combo and Tidal Wave where the overlapping guitar loops enhanced the song's mood.

Jessica Stuart played differently as a guitarist than koto player. Price of My Love, Nobody's Business, and Lemonade had more straightforward melodies. Having to write a new song every month forces her to be less perfectionistic in her approach. While tonight's premiere of Dream Town was a work-in-progress, "Wobbly For Mayor" (about the travails of Doug Ford) from a few months back had promise even if Stuart felt it was a novelty tune.

She included Love Somebody from her new pop persona Jessa. She was frustrated that as an artist that straddles multiple genres, it's hard to get noticed. So this project was an attempt at radio play. A number of local artists have made forays into pop including Austra, Kashka, and Ivy Mairi. On the other hand, some like Charlotte Day Wilson found immediate success. It seems like a luck of the draw to me.