Two shades of the same blues
If we get another week of polar vortex-induced freezing temperatures I think I will cry. I’m usually the guy who has no issue with winter temperatures (cue “the cold never bothered me anyway” from Let It Go in Disney’s Frozen) but this is absolutely mind-numbing — no pun intended. It’s times like this that I am grateful that in a city as cold as Saskatoon we have so many good venues for music and shows.
Got to see Matt Dusk the other day and that was worth going out in the cold. Shows give us all somewhere to go and something to do besides play hockey or toboggan or everything else we Canadians do when it’s cold.
SUZIE VINNICK
When: Sunday, Feb. 24
Where: The Bassment
What: You say Saskatoon blues, I say Suzie Vinnick. The local singer-songwriter is a bluesfolk mastermind with a lower-pitched vocal virtuosity to match. I would argue that her sound has much more of a blues bent than a folk one, and her newest album (Shake the Love Around) really dives into the depths of the roots and blues sound on which she’s built her career. Regardless of where we arbitrarily pigeonhole Vinnick as an artist, her talent has not gone unnoticed: She’s won 10 Maple Blues Awards and been nominated for a Juno Award three times. Not too shabby at all.
ROSS NEILSEN
When: Thursday, Feb. 21
Where: The Capitol Music Club What: Neilsen is the second blues artist on this list this week, but he and Suzie Vinnick have very, very different styles. Ross Neilsen will melt your face with his songs. He is the embodiment of the true grit and rawness of the old-fashioned blues with new-age instrumentation and more than a little hint of rock ’n’ roll sprinkled in. But he’s got the tender side of the blues in his repertoire as well. The well-travelled Canadian currently makes his home in Saskatoon, but he’s played hundreds (if not thousands) of concerts across the country. Come for the top-notch musical style, stay because Neilsen’s music has hit you so hard you don’t want to leave.
CARMANAH
When: Thursday, Feb. 21 Where: Amigos Cantina What: With the self-titled musical style of “west coast soul,” you know you’re in something different with Carmanah. And that something different is really good. Think the melodic and vocal qualities of some of Metric’s old songs without the rock ’n’ roll beat — Carmanah’s music has a smooth and lyrical quality to it that’s pretty much unmatched. This is not the kind of band that’s going to melt your face with gritty vocals or instrumental riffs (see above), but they don’t want to be. It’s not often I’d call a touring band’s music beautiful — but Carmanah gets pretty close.