Lunch at Allen’s a musical feast
Canadian singer/songwriter Ian Thomas had basically retired from performing when his old friend Murray McLauchlan came calling.
His pitch: Four friends. A songwriter’s circle. Eight shows. And it would be named after the Toronto restaurant where three of them often met for lunch.
And so was born Lunch at Allen’s in 2004. Comprising Thomas, McLauchlan, Cindy Church and Marc Jordan, the group took a band approach instead of one person performing and the others “picking their nose,” says Thomas. Everyone supported each other.
“It’s really more like a kitchen get-together, this thing. It’s just fun. It was put together for those eight shows, and 15 years later we’re still doing it.”
Theatre managers across Canada caught wind of those initial eight shows and asked them to do it again. And again.
Before long, Lunch at Allen’s became its own institution — a gathering of some of Canada’s greatest songwriters who genuinely liked each other.
Niagara has been a frequent stop for them over the years, and they’ll be back Dec. 13 at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines.
“Pretty much every year we cross the country,” says Thomas, whose hits include “Painted Ladies” and “Hold On.” “And it’s a joy. Most of them are theatres and not sleazy bars, thank you very much, where you’re sharing dressing rooms with the strippers.”
With five albums to their name, including last year’s “If It Feels Right,” the band stopped feeling like a songwriter’s circle long ago. Though they still play each other’s hits, it always feels like a full band effort, says Thomas. And now they have plenty of their own material to go with it.
“The dynamic of this has lasted so long because it’s a totally egalitarian thing. We all pull for each other, we all want to make each other sound good.
“Any of the insecure posturing that might have existed early on — and very briefly, I might add — is totally gone when we work on an album. We trust each others’ criticism instinctively.”
The fact all had successful solo careers relieves plenty of pressure as well, he adds. No one is reliant on Lunch at Allen’s — they all come back to it when they’re ready.
“Exactly. I could probably do as well or better on my own financially, but it’s not the camaraderie that this is. Not only is this fun, but it’s a significant concert draw.
“Not only are you having a blast, but there’s a cheque at the end of it.”
While the band has had a profound effect on all members, it seemed to rejuvenate McLauchlan and Thomas especially. Both rediscovered their love of live performing through the group, with 68-year-old Thomas’s schedule busier than ever.
Which seems odd, because Thomas and his style of folk pop have zero presence on modern radio. Not that he minds — he watched his brother Dave lose all privacy after The Mackenzie Brothers became a phenomenon in the early ’80s — but he does
miss the days radio was a melting pot where all artists had a chance to be heard, often on the same station.
“All of Canadian radio is basically programmed by three guys,” he says. “When I was growing up you’d hear The Rolling Stones followed by Dave Brubek followed by Frank Sinatra followed by The Beatles followed by Roger Miller. It was such a crosssection of music coming out of one station.
“It was really inspiring for me as a writer. I got the writing bug at 15, so I was being exposed to all of these musical elements, all valid in their own way.”