Doug Paisley and Bry Webb close out Summerworks Festival in Toronto

By: Chiara DiAngelo – 

The Great Hall had a stage-less set-up for the night, with the two acts playing directly on the floor. It created a wonderfully intimate setting perfect for the mellow night of incredible musicianship to close out the Summerworks festival.

Toronto-native and alt-country crooner Doug Paisley opened the show, backed simply by keys provided by Chuck Erlichman. Playing songs that were often heavily sorrowful, it was easy to get lost in Paisley’s expert skill and masterful guitar interludes – which Bry Webb jealously termed “hot-dogging” later on.

No stranger to the stage, Paisley’s between-song banter was almost just as entertaining. He likened the theatre set-up to that of a 1970s Saturday Night Live set or to an infomercial – an infomercial for Bry Webb. Seeing as it was a theatre performance, he also requested that the lighting tech lower the lights to make him and Erlichman darker and “Simpsons Yellow” as this was his favourite tone for “Always Say Goodbye” from 2010’s Constant Companion.

My personal favourite of Paisley’s repertoire, “Broken in Two” from his 2008 self-titled release, was played early on in the set, but another highlight was his set closer, “Come Here My Love.” With its enchanting and lulling lyric “Go to sleep my love, beside me” and the theatre in darkness, it was almost conceivable to gently drift off to sleep – which is said as a compliment to Paisley’s soft crooning.

“Can rockers be mellow?” Ex-frontman of the much-loved band The Constantines and now a family man, Bry Webb answered this question with a definite yes – yes they can. Mike Brooks (pedal steel), Rich Burnett (lap steel), and Tyler Belluz (upright bass) backed him throughout the night, bringing in Nathan Lawr on drums and even a horn section courtesy of members of DelBel intermittently.

Always humble, Webb started his set with the caveat “In full disclosure, I’m not a very good guitar player” in reference to Paisley’s supreme skills. Much of his humorous banter throughout the set continued to poke fun at himself and his abilities, giving the entire set a homey and comfortable feel to it. In between making the crowd howl with laughter, he played songs off of his Polaris longlisted album, Provider. With his gruff vocals toned down for the folk sound of his solo project, he held the entire venue in rapturous reverie for the length of his set.

Musical highlights of the night included “Asa,” which was dedicated to his son “who wakes [him] up at 5am, new song “Holler,” and “Zebra.” This was the first song featuring the horn section, and the music just swelled around Webb. After sending songs out to his in-laws, the Ewalds, and to all those involved in Summerworks, Webb closed out his set with the loudest song on his album (and of the set), “Ex-punks.” This song – and Webb’s entire solo venture – proves that while we may “never be again, what we were when we were younger,” this doesn’t mean that growing up and maturing has to be a bad thing.

Responding to the uproarious cheers, Webb returned to the stage for an encore, first solo, and then joined by the rest of the band. They sent us off into the crisp air with an unrehearsed cover – the first time performed without a cheat sheet – of Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze.” Urging the crowd to “please sing along,” maybe some of the lyrics were forgotten, but did anyone care? No, not at all. It was a great end to the night.

The only letdown was that the post-show two-man production of Cats starring Webb and Paisley promised to the crowd never did transpire.

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Bry Webb, former frontman of the Constantines. Having made the move from shouted soul-punk to hushed folk-rock, Webb has made one of the best Canadian albums of 2012 so far with Provider, released by Toronto label Idée Fixe.

Doug Paisley is a songwriter and performer from Toronto, Canada. His songs are influenced by many years spent performing bluegrass and American traditional music.