BRUCE PENINSULA and JENNIFER CASTLE at Lower Ossington Theatre, Thursday, August 11. Rating: NNNN
It’s been a slow return to active duty for Toronto’s Bruce Peninsula since lead singer Neil Haverty was diagnosed with a rare (beatable) form of leukemia. Their Summerworks show was just their second back, but their live performance hasn’t missed a step.
If Haverty was feeling any weakness or fatigue it wasn’t obvious. His stage moves were as unhinged as ever and his gruff voice was still in tact. Then again, he had at least six other singers to bail him out, including Misha Bower, who seems to have shifted into a co-leader role, handling a lot of the lead vocals and the bulk of the banter.
The nine-piece used the width of the floor stage to its advantage by setting up all in a row and though they spent much of the time singing and screaming together as a barn-burning irreligious gospel choir, they also accommodated quieter, more atmospheric instrumental and vocal passages (it helps that nearly every member of the band is an accomplished musician in his or her own right).
Despite her showy sequined top, Jennifer Castle’s earlier solo set was a much quieter, more hushed affair, but it also used the venue to its full potential. Summerworks audiences don’t usually pay much heed to Lower Ossington Theatre’s seats, but here the crowd sat quietly and politely, transfixed by Castle’s vibrato vocals and adeptly finger-picked folk songs. It was the perfect intimate setting for Castle’s music.
