Kevin Drew's Basement Revue at the Dakota Tavern; Tuesday November 9, 2008

Kevin Drew's Basement Revue at the Dakota Tavern; Tuesday November 9, 2008.

The Dakota Tavern is slowing growing, it's always been huge but i feel as though it's doing super well. Little things like the sign behind the stage that says “The Dakota Tavern,” or getting rid of the soup can style lanterns they once had on the ground for lighting. Perhaps it's just because they're hosting huge bands like Broken Social Scene... I'm not really sure.This is the second set of Basement Revue gigs that Jason Collett has hosted at the Dakota. Kevin Drew said tonight was his night because Collett was in BC playing a show, so he had asked Kevin to host this particular date. I arrived there in perfect time—around ten, the show started around that time. Drew took the stage along with Charles Spearin and Ohad Benetrit (Do Make Say Think) and the drummer from the Dakota residents the Beauties. Drew introduced each guy saying where and when he met them. He said that they were going to play a jam session and that this is what they usually do. He explained that they pick a key and they simply jam. They started in C, then D and I can't remember the last one!! Drew sung throughout most of the songs which was kind of fun. He claimed that Benetrit was his favourite guitarists in the whole world.Shortly after Gentleman Reg went on. I'd seen him once before, i really wasn't big on his sound. This time round I found it fun and as always super gay (as in homosexual). His tunes don't hide that and that's kind of cool. Learn more about him at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Vermue. He seems to be hot shit in the gay circuit. Being at this show was like having all the musicians on your ipod in one room. In plain site was Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell of Stars. K-OS. James Shaw and another guy from Metric. Brendan Canning. Just to name a few...Drew invited Shaw on stage, claiming that the song he was going to play was something he often played late nights. He played a Pink Floyd song on the piano alone, it was really nice. Kevin Drew and Amy Millan offered some back up singings very jokingly on the sidelines. Following Shaw was a tune by Torquil and Shaw, he said “Torquil is from 'the' Stars,” Torquil shot back “The??” and Drew apologized and took back the “the,” that fully bothers me when people at the “the”. They said they'd known each other for twenty years and had been in a band together before. Whether or not that was true the song came out real well... and the entire show Torquil seemed quite shy about everything he did, especially things alone. Amy Millan went on afterwards, she apparently met Drew at a summer camp when he was thirteen! Between Drew and Millan's banter she kept asking the crowd for the rest of the guys of her former band 16 Tons to come out. They weren't around so she played a new solo tune, it was nice and significantly less rootsy than her solo album 'Honey From the Tombs'. The rest of the guys eventually came on and they played a tune called “Bury Me,” this song was used in the soundtrack for the movie Drowning Mona back in 2000. At the beginning of the song she asked for horns and a piano player. Three guys eventually piled onto the tiny stage and played. I love this sense of musical pick up these guys have, it's a lot of fun. I felt extremely jealous that they were good enough musically to just 'pick up' and play. After Amy Drew called poet Mark Goldstein up to the stage. I remember him from last year, it was a little boring because last year he went on too long. This year however it was perfect, short and sweet. I think that was it and then Broken went on! I figured Broken Social Scene would do something...! They played a new, new song that they hadn't even played two weeks ago at the Docks. I didn't really like it, it was really aggressive, but not angry. The second song they played was called “...Basements”. They played it at the gig two weeks ago, it's a horn charged song that teases the audience when it will end, Drew even had to cue the musicians to keep going. Third they played “7/4 Shoreline,” Amy Millan and Lisa Lobsinger sang the girl parts. They played a Brendan Canning song afterwards, it's his most disco sounding song on the album (at the BSS show at the Docks he had backup dancers and he was wearing a flashy outfit...........................too much...). Finally they played “Fucked Up Kid,” a solo Kevin Drew song. Pretty good show, a lot happened in just two hours. It's crazy to think i paid twice the price to see them at a crappy venue like the Docks cramped and uncomfortable. This gig i had enough room i could flail in circles!! Now to that ten page essay!

December 10, 2008