GOLDEN COUNTRY CLASSICS at the Cameron House, Wednesday, December 30. Rating: NNN
The dullish days between Christmas and New Year’s are a great time for music fans to check in on the local scene, and for usually touring musicians to try out a side project or two. Golden Country Classics features Blue Rodeo’s Bazil Donovan on bass, the Sadies’ Mike Belitsky on drums (just ahead of the Sadies’ NYE blowout at the Horseshoe), singer/songwriter Doug Paisley on guitar and lead vocals, Chuck Erlichman on piano and backing vocals, and the Henrys’ Don Rooke on lap-style slide guitar.
It seemed that plenty of folks desired a dose of old country on Wednesday evening, flocking to the Cameron House to take in a pint and two sets of the supergroup’s pure renditions of twangy classics like Willie Nelson’s Funny How Time Slips Away, Harlan Howard’s Pick Me Up On Your Way Down, Merle Haggard’s Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down, Lefty Frizzell’s That’s The Way Love Goes and so forth.
Despite some sound issues, Paisley’s low, resonant voice brought the right amount of down-and-out melancholy to the tunes, and his fast-fingered acoustic guitar work impressed as usual. Erlichman’s ivory-tinkling drew smatterings of applause, as did Rooke’s heart-tugging solo turns. At the back of the small stage, the understated rhythm section unobtrusively pushed things along.
The group appears regularly in the Queen West venue’s front room, so Paisley was clearly surprised by the large turnout. “If you can’t find a seat,” he said, “try coming any other week because it’s usually very quiet.”
carlag@nowtoronto.com | @carlagillis
