I realised I didn't leave a note on Tony Scherr and Steamboat at the Fake Prom.
If you don't know, Tony Scherr is an under the radar heavy weight songwriter/guitarist. He wrote the core of Feist's pretty, bare tune "Lonely, Lonely". It originally was the tune "Sacramento" which was released on one of Tony's albums. If you haven't gathered already, Scherr is well-loved in the Toronto scene.
I doubled booked myself this evening with Fake Prom and Tony Scherr. Scherr was supposed to be an early gig, while I figured I'd hustle my way over to Fake Prom at around 10pm. Tony rather took the stage at 10, leaving me hustling over an hour and a half later than I anticipated.
Scherr played a magnificent set. He is about as charismatic as the bottom of your shoe, but he has a good humour to him that made me think what a good conversationalist he must be. Between songs he chomps as if he was chewing gum, I couldn't help but laugh at his nonchalant ways.
I got the OK by a musician friend who said that he was a brilliant guitarist. The words "He's so good" left his mouth and at that moment I knew all my speculations of Scherr's talent were solidified. As much as I love music, I will not lie to anyone and tell them that I am a musician. I don't have the ease and flow that musician encompass, I get shocked when faced with a large crowd and I feel incredibly insecure. Which is quite the opposite of how I feel when I am watching music performed. There's something really great about Scherr's presence, he's very stiff but he definitely feels the music. His lax but well-calculated guitar work serves as a glowing example of how talented he is. He toys with the guitar with the ease that most people flex with their voices. He however is album to do both at the same time. Similarly to the way Dan Auerbach can. Few artists can really grab this.
A part of me sympathises with Scherr as he is not in his prime anymore. He's aged and experienced, which he wasn't shy to articulate in his set. He made a shout out to Kate and Chris, the headliners of the evening claiming that when Kate was six, he was one million years old. He's funny and not shy to point out the obvious. With that being said, his less than perfect vocals combined with his aged appearance will make it hard for him to jump out to many people. I however have no problem getting beyond this. He has a real charm to his music that works with my likings.
Scherr is an indiviudal I will see everytime.
Fake Prom was fun. It was everything I wish my prom was. Steamboat were flawless - playing beautiful familiar hits of the past. Including a fierce and true cover of Brandy and Monica's hit "The Boy is Mine".
It was after this song that my friend was convinced that Scherr was a great artist:
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