J. P. Cormier

Theatre, the new live duo of Cormier with Dingwall stopped in for a performance on their fall Maritime tour in support of this new release.

With a sold- out house, Cormier and Dingwall entered to massive applause and without a word, dove into the first quickly- chugging tune — as Cormier belted out a refrain of, “like a stranger far from home,” and the crowd soon flew into spontaneous loud applause with the first wild stream of high ripping solo notes from Cormier’s acoustic guitar.

The overall sound of the duo was striking from the get- go. It definitely seems the combo provides that ample sonic room to be able to enjoy and appreciate Cormier’s ever- astounding guitar picking, with a solid rhythmic bass groove underneath. And the female vocal harmonies from Dingwall are a brilliant touch to these songs.

“I love playin’ here, it’s a great spot,” said Cormier in between tunes.

“I really did call Kris and Melanie at the last second, and look at the job they did,” he said, pointing to the jam- packed room. ( The show was indeed organized and advertised within a very short window of time.)

Throughout the show, we were treated to 15 songs — many of them from the new album — along with some older greats as well, like Molly May, The Messenger and Kelly’s Mountain ( the encore).

There were naturally several mind- blowing instrumentals that showcased that miraculous recipe of speed, precision and soul that only Cormier’s picking contains ( which were, of course, received with a huge applause reception). And he even brought out the fiddle to close the first half of the show with some of what I would call Cormier- style “reels of rapidity.”

All in all, I would recommend this: now that J. P. Cormier is thankfully back in live action — perhaps better than ever before — you will now have to catch this new duo yourself next time they return to the Island.

Bad Habits CD Launch tonight at Fishbones in Charlottetown.

Next week: