Jann born to host TV
REVIEW Alberta singer has the patter down She’s playful between sad songs
If CBC- TV executives were casting around for a way to get back into the good graces of Canadians, they could do worse than to create a daytime variety show hosted by Jann Arden.
For starters, the Alberta singer comes with her own band. And, as she demonstrated at Massey Hall on Tuesday night, the musicians are as practised as foils for her barbs as David Letterman sidekick Paul Shaffer. Arden was barely a half- dozen songs into her set, the first of five this week at the Shuter St. hall, before she started needling guitarist and co-writer Russell Broom, who has been with her for more than 11 years. “The reason we’ve been together that long is that we’ve never been nude” was her offered rationale.
Later, she turned her attention to the band’s other guitarist, Graham Powell, identified as a relative newcomer to the backing four- piece. Invited to give a demonstration of his talents, Powell offered up a passable Joe Jackson cover that had the audience cheering.
“ If my mother was here,” Arden quipped, shifting into her best church- lady voice, “ she’d say, ‘ The people in Toronto seemed to enjoy Graham more than they enjoyed you. Dad and I keep telling you you’ve got to have a beat.’ ” The obligatory TV monologue would also be a snap. Anyone who has seen Arden perform — and her visits here seem to get longer each time around — can testify that she appears to relish the opportunities for betweensong banter as much as she does belting out the tunes.
True, some of her material might be a bit blue for midday viewing, but the lengthy anecdote about the hour-long car trip home after consuming too much popcorn and diet soda at the movie probably would have survived the Mother Corp.’s currently relaxed standards. Not to forget the music, of course. Between dishing the dirt with guests, Arden could bring a heavy dose of heartbreak to the proceedings by plumbing a catalogue that has produced six studio albums in the past dozen years. The current tour leans toward a typical balance of songs from her eponymous album of this year, including “ All of This” and “ I’ll be Glad” and older favourites “ I Would Die for You,” “ Will You Remember Me” and “ Unloved.” The ever resourceful performer even managed to slip in an impromptu parody of Leonard Cohen, as well as delivering a song from a children’s ditty she’s working on: “ I got a bunny. My bunny’s name is Ed. I put him in the toilet. And now my bunny’s dead.”
Okay, so maybe Viewer Discretion Advised.