As an exercise, I filled out my October calendar as if I was still in Toronto. From Marie Goudy's album release with new band Paloma Sky on the 2nd to The Warning (Mexican hard-rock) show at The Danforth on the 30th, my month would be chock-a-block with events. But in Ottawa, I only had a choice of 2 concerts on Thursday, both at the NAC. Although I appreciated Begonia's big voice, it has been a long time since I saw Kelly McMichael with a full band. Since she moved to the East Coast more than a decade ago, McMichael usually does solo shows in Ontario.
The first 4 numbers highlighted that she was fine on her own. With a deft hand on guitar and piano and an assured voice, McMichael delighted with songs about college crush (She Makes Men), connections (Good Friends), the typically male fantasy of "leaving it all" (Nature Man), and delusional thinking (You Got It Wrong). That last tune was a preview that, on the new album After The Sting Of It, she was revisiting her pop and indie-rock days.
Her band consisted of fellow East Coaster John Moran but also locals including Geordie Gordon (The Magic). The reality of touring as a small artist meant you need a Newfoundland band and an Ontario band. McMichael promised a "rock-and-roll" portion and they delivered with Bomb, Dreamer, Montreal and Tour From Hell.
Her last album was long-listed for the Polaris Prize and Bomb made it to number 6 on the indie charts. But it was still a small audience for the show: a respectable crowd at a small venue like The Dakota or Burdock in Toronto but seemed tiny inside the larger Fourth Stage studio at the NAC. On the other hand, McMichael got to encore on a baby grand ("I'm obsessed with this piano") with a wonderful cover of Bonnie Raitt's Nick Of Time.
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