Time Served: Joey Landreth with Trish Robb & Jacob Henley Live in Oshawa
Everyone has their own reasons for loving long weekends, this May 2-4 our reason was live music on a Sunday night.
Joey Landreth, the Juno Award winning singer/songwriter/guitar player stopped in Oshawa to play songs from The Bros. Landreth and his own solo album, Whiskey, to an intimate club crowd, all gathered for a good time.
But before Landreth took the stage, we saw local favourite Trish Robb and up-and-coming singer/songwriter Jacob Henley, telling their stories and singing their songs.
Both acts owned their time on stage… Jacob, showing chops as a singer, songwriter, and storyteller, entertained the Oshawa audience first, and with local and overseas experience playing his songs, it’s easy to see that this young artist out of Newcastle, Ontario has bright times ahead of him.
Next, joined on stage by Tracy Stella and Tim Watson, Trish Robb grabbed her guitar and rolled through a selection of stories, jokes, and songs that captured the attention of the gathered listeners, and provided laughs, applause, and adoration. The harmonies layered over the top of Robb’s lyrics provided an extra punch to the sound, bringing sweet, sad, and soul together. And the addition of Watson’s trumpet to Robb’s acoustic guitar was a welcome treat.
As Joey Landreth made his way from the merch table to the stage, the anticipation of hearing his guitar sing, and his voice join in became identifiably stronger. This is a dude whose reputation precedes him as a guitar player above the standard, and to see him in a small club, standing alone on stage with just a microphone, his voice, and his six string skills, was something that we’d been waiting for.
Joey’s set at The Moustache Club included tracks from The Bros. Landreth record, Let It Lie, as well as his January 2017 solo debut album, Whiskey. Starting with acoustic renditions of tracks including I Am The Fool, Made Up Mind, Let It Lie, Time Served, and Gone Girl, we all witnessed the combination of softness and soul that a stripped down and vulnerable performance can provide. Even solo, the songs that we know from The Bros. Landreth hit home, and without the ringing electric guitar, the music still felt strong.
Related: Whiskey: Joey Landreth Album Review
As the younger of the Landreth brothers moved to his electric guitar we heard the proof of his guitar hero reputation. With and without a slide on this finger, Joey rolled through solos and verses, making his guitar sing and filling the small venue with sound. The fog and lights seemed to hang motionless behind him as the music moved in waves, and tracks including Still Feel Gone and Whiskey came through the strings and microphone.
Each song ended with applause, and some included spontaneous eruptions for guitar solos in the middle. And has the last notes of Whiskey rang out, there was a clear wish for more from the stage.
Joey returned to the stage for a brief one song encore, doing justice to Leonard Cohen’s Bird On The Wire in memory of his late grandfather. It was strong and sweet and it connected with me in a way that I didn’t know I was going to feel that night. I’m thankful for that moment.
Canadian music fans should be listening to Joey Landreth, whether solo or as part of The Bros. Landreth. His songwriting, singing, and guitar playing are all worthy of the praise they receive, and on Sunday night in Oshawa at The Moustache Club we were fortunate enough to see it all first hand.
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