Happy March! On the last day of February 2011, I warmed up with Tony Scherr at fantastic little venue called the Living Room in Manhattan.
I got to the venue in a sweat, it's hidden at the back of a bar similarly to the way the Piston in Toronto stows away its stage. Funny, the Piston is where I last saw Tony Scherr play!
Have you met Tony Scherr yet? (pronounced "Cher")
If not, you've definitely heard his melodies in the lovely Feist tune "Lonely, Lonely" off of her effortless album Let It Die. She borrowed Scherr's tune of "Sacramento" and gave it facelift, lyric wise. I've never heard him play that song before of my three or four times watching him live.
Tony playing a spot at a Feist Toronto gig at the Rivoli.
Feist's take:
He plays a residency at the Living Room, Mondays at 9pm. You have to reason to miss him if you're in New York.
Seeing him in his native city, he seemed much more comfortable on stage. He had a full band, consisting of a drum and a bass player. Both gentlemen seemed really in tune with Tony, this was very obviously a comfortable ensemble. Tony is incredible on the guitar, he is as animated in his guitar playing as he is singing, if not more so. He has a very odd voice that I think many people would not enjoy listening to. He's also slightly older, late forties/fifties, which make him also a little less accessible to younger people. Note: I'm sorry to be ignorant, because I myself am young and into his music but I can tell you from introducing him to my friends, he isn't a huge hit with my lady friends. He raked in a decent crowd with the house only asking for a one drink minimum purchase per set and a suggested ten dollar donation in the pitch jar. I obliged.
It also seemed like a somewhat regular crowd, happy to see Tony play. Much older of course.
But more on Tony. I find myself not knowing many of his songs at his live show. In fact, I don't know many of his songs at all. I don't listen to him on repeat but I love what he does, he story tells and entices me through his ability to really play. I heard him comment to a friend that he wasn't on he felt really off at the show, he fooled me! He always looks like a really nervous guy through all his banter and his often rustling of sheet music on a stand, on stage. Even after the show in his brief exchange with his friend he was quickly and shakily drinking out of a water bottle with a thousand pounds of gear on his back. Oddly enough on stage, he performs with such effortlessness, definitely something that comes very fluidly to him.
The first time I saw Tony Scherr was at the Dakota, for a very impromptu Jason Collett show four years ago. He bitched a lot about the US at that gig, understandably. I then was reminded of him on the soundtrack to the Ethan Hawke film The Hottest State, not my favourite film as I anticipated, but one of the best soundtracks I have ever come across. He sang the very delicate "You, The Queen." He didn't pen it, Jesse Harris did. I just found this!!!! GOLD:
As you may have gathered, Tony is very loved by Toronto artists.
I had a pint of a beer called Peak Organic Spring Ale which comes from Portland, Maine. A very hoppy beer, too hoppy for my tastes.
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