Jeremy Fisher with Nathan Wiley at the Mod Club, May 27. Attendance: 400. Tickets: $12. Rating: NNN
Rating: NNN
Nathan Wiley really likes his home. The East Coaster who opened for Jeremy Fisher (apparently not the Jeremy Fisher of Beatrix Potter’s tale) made this very plain as he strummed and sang his mellow, folksy tunes. There were quite a few fellow Maritimers in the room, and I suspect I might’ve felt more of an affinity with Wiley and his displaced soul had I been one of them. You gotta wonder why the little dude ever ventured away in the first place.
His lovely tunes were all very low-key, spacious, atmospheric and, of course, alarmingly Canadian. But Wiley doesn’t exactly ooze charisma, and I wondered if he might be more at ease in a smaller venue – coffee shop, blues bar, something. The large room seemed to make him nervous he certainly wasn’t sweating from exertion.
Slightly more energetic, uplifting, roots-rocky, acoustic and disturbingly in love with Paul Simon, Fisher was accompanied by the band he’s shedding after this show to tour on his own.
It was a touching last show together, a bonding of sensitive, manly, musical males. Aw.
I’m told Fisher will open for Wiley when he gets out east. Fisher’s the guy who biked across the country with his guitar on his back. “Nobody came to see me then,” he admonished the room, “and look at you now.”
So what life-changing lesson did we learn on that trip? “Success isn’t instantaneous.” Imagine that. Fisher showcased his chops by playing requests for songs by Stevie Wonder and the Jackson Five. The crowd loved him, singing along to all the songs. He responded in kind with mildly witty banter and lively performing. A good time was had by all.
I went home and put on the Jackson Five.
