06-09-2003, 12:48 PM
Things wound up that night at Lee's Palace, where Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles headlined before starting a North American tour in support of their new album, Battle Of The Nudes.
P.E.I.'s Nathan Wiley opened with a set of appealing alt-country before Alun Piggins won over the packed house of hosers and Hip yobs with a high-energy show full of great and funny songs from his new disc, to be released on Fred Eaglesmith's label later this summer. One soon-to-be-classic is about falling in love in Sudbury at quarter to two in the morning. He sings it with Oh Susanna on the album, but the Lowest Of The Low's Steve Stanley filled in admirably at Lee's.
It was questionable whether the impatiently chanting Hipsters would be satisfied with Downie's very un-Hip-like solo songs, especially when played by the likes of the Dinner is Ruined's Dale Morningstar, Dave Clark and Dr. Pee (plus Julie Doiron). But the Miracles wisely performed harder-rocking versions of the new material, and Downie's elastic voice provided the link for the fans, who lapped it up like it was just another, if unusually quirky, Hip album. In the end, everyone went home happy.
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P.E.I.'s Nathan Wiley opened with a set of appealing alt-country before Alun Piggins won over the packed house of hosers and Hip yobs with a high-energy show full of great and funny songs from his new disc, to be released on Fred Eaglesmith's label later this summer. One soon-to-be-classic is about falling in love in Sudbury at quarter to two in the morning. He sings it with Oh Susanna on the album, but the Lowest Of The Low's Steve Stanley filled in admirably at Lee's.
It was questionable whether the impatiently chanting Hipsters would be satisfied with Downie's very un-Hip-like solo songs, especially when played by the likes of the Dinner is Ruined's Dale Morningstar, Dave Clark and Dr. Pee (plus Julie Doiron). But the Miracles wisely performed harder-rocking versions of the new material, and Downie's elastic voice provided the link for the fans, who lapped it up like it was just another, if unusually quirky, Hip album. In the end, everyone went home happy.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://jam.canoe.ca/JamMusic/jun9_nxne-sun.html">http://jam.canoe.ca/JamMusic/jun9_nxne-sun.html</a><!-- m -->