Freedom 20

I stopped streaming online concerts because the quality was frustrating. But artists have begun broadcasting from live venues though without an actual crowd. It should be an improvement with proper sound and video equipment. So on Friday afternoon, I tuned in to see Kathleen Edwards and a full band play her new album from her café Quitters.

It seemed a wasted effort at first. The video was excellent but there was no sound for the first song Glenfern. After bouncing between Facebook, Twitch, and Youtube, I finally settled on Youtube after the sound was fixed. I saw her in 2012 as a guest singer with Sarah Harmer and haven't really heard from her since. It turns out that after a decade of slogging, she was burnt out from touring for the album Voyageur in 2011 and suffered from clinical depression. She decided to abandon her music career, returned to Ottawa, and opened a coffee-shop with the tongue-in-cheek name suggested by band-mate Jim Bryson.

Edwards is a wonderful songwriter. The lyrics were honed sharp: everything in this house breaks (Hard on Everyone), you know how to spend my money (Fools Ride), I could teach you five words to close a door I don't love you anymore (Feelings Fade). The sad verses were accompanied by a rich, complex sound that grew driving and muscular during the extended jams. After the new songs, Edwards showed that she always had this talent on older numbers such as Goodnight California, Six O'Clock News, and Sweet Little Duck. It was a nice surprise that they covered another great Canadian songwriter, Neil Young's Comes A Time.

This album had several roots. But one of its genesis was a gaslighting, toxic partner she dated during her time away from music. It seemed like this relationship was rosier back in 2018 when she played a one-off at Massey Hall. Edwards is now engaged to someone else. In that way, she reminded me of Basia Bulat. The latter also suffered from a devastating break-up that lead to the album Good Advice after a crazy cross-country drive. Bulat is now happily married in Montréal and has another album (Are You In Love?) to prove it.

A live stream has several advantages. First, the mix came straight from the soundboard with no echos or muddiness from bad acoustic. Second, from the chat posts, you know in real-time how much fans, from all over the world, were moved or enjoying certain songs or passages. Finally, any questions were immediately answered. I didn't need to wait for the introductions at the end. By then, I already knew that in addition to Bryson, Edwards' band comprised of her ex-husband Colin Cripps on guitar, Jon Hynes on bass, Aaron Goldstein in pedal-steel, and Peter Von Althen on drums.