SHEEPDOGS at Toronto’s Festival of Beer, Sunday, August 7. Rating: NNNN
The CNE Bandshell during a boozy afternoon at Beer Fest isn’t usually the first stop for buzz bands coming through Toronto.
But that’s just part of the strange career trajectory these days for Saskatoon’s Sheepdogs, the hirsute foursome of 70s-loving rockers who have rocketed to fame thanks to winning the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and a major label deal to go with it.
As the Sheepdogs launched into opener Who?, its opening riff the prelude to an hour’s worth of CSNY, Zepplin and Allman Brothers-influenced groove rock, it was hard not recall Stillwater, the fictitious band from Almost Famous. They were a bearded bunch getting the cover of RS and on the cusp something big. But egos wreaked havoc.
Sheepdogs look far more grounded. Frontman Ewan Currie, flanked by bandana-wearing guitarist Leot Hanson and bassist Ryan Gullen, avoided classic rock stage antics even though you could feel the beer-festers practically begging for a “How the hell are ya, Toronto?”
The skies opened up midway through the set, but that didn’t dampen spirits. The wet gathering grew more vocal with each harmonic Sheepdogs concoction of blues, rock and boogie. Could this have been one of those “I was there” moments?
At a fairground stage, during a suds-soaked beer festival? As the Sheepdogs are proving, big things can happen when you least expect them.
