Far be it from me to almost ignore the headliners in any given show, but I will say right now, most of this review is going to be about Wil. I missed the first band of the night, Will Bernard, but got there in time to catch the middle act of the evening, which was Calgary native Wil. Fellow CordMag founder Rob Anand had been telling me about this guy for ages. Being a Calgary-dweller himself, Rob's been fortunate enough to see Wil a number of times around smaller bars in that city. I'm aware that I've missed a few shows, and I can tell you all now, never again. I respect the musical opinions of many people who suggest artists to me, and of course was watching with anticipation to see what Wil had to offer, but there was no way I could be prepared for what I was about to be a part of in the legendary Commodore Ballroom.

One man walked onto the stage, in a black t-shirt displaying his website's name, and carrying an acoustic guitar. And he launched headlong into a song that sounded like he was absolutely murdering his guitar. Just kicking the thing's ass and bringing out of it the strongest, most intense sounds I believe I have ever heard from such an instrument. Oh sure, the pop-slap thing I had heard before by way of Sean Stephens and the Chaos System a couple summers ago in Toronto, but this was leaps and bounds beyond even that. I didn't think it was possible... Sorry, Sean Stephens. While specific song titles eluded me through the set, it was mesmerizing. It was not long before beads of sweat sprung out along his brow, as he hunched over the guitar, slaying it, stomping his feet and jerking his entire body to the strums.

After the first song, he brought out and introduced his drummer, Michael Bresanutti. Now with a drumbeat adding to the performance, it was even more powerful, more so than many three- or four-piece electric rock bands. He has a low, sort of gravelly voice, which I spent the better part of the set trying to place the familiarity of. At times, it reminded me a bit of David Gray having a nervous breakdown, but I now realize that it was akin to Gomez singer Ben Ottewell (thanks in no small part to a very accurate press release that mentioned just that... I'd been wracking my brain trying to come up with what the voice reminded me of). But the voice, while blending with and enhancing the whole vibe, was overshadowed (in a good way) by that unreal guitar wrangling. So intense was this plucking, smacking, strumming and yanking, that Wil managed to injure one hand, drawing blood, which he proudly displayed to a camera man who had been filming the entire performance from various spots on the stage.

Throughout the set, between songs, he would thank the crowd over and over and bow graciously. He proclaimed his nervousness at playing such a show, and his gratitude for being on the tour with Wide Mouth Mason. He continued to fling sweat about as he stomped and cavorted, and his guitar, somehow with all strings still intact, was streaked as well with rivulets of sweat. He looked happy and worn out as he left the stage, and I was just simply blown away.

After that, the room was treated to a Wide Mouth Mason show. It's been years since I've seen this band play live, despite them having been one of my mainstays early while photographing bands. I had so many odd experiences with them, and so it was a bit of a nostalgic night for me. This is one of the few bands from Ye Mid-90's CanRock Explosion that continue to play and record with success. It's nice to see.

They had the room jumping in no time with their feel-good blues-rock. Drinks were flowing, dancing feet were shuffling, voices were screaming and singing along. They played both new songs from their material recently recorded in Vancouver, and fan favourites from albums gone by. "Breathe" and "Burn For You", among others were played, and a massive sing-a-long like nothing I've seen in a while ensued for "Sugarcane". Throughout their show, the guys would peal into impromptu jam sessions, extending their tunes well beyond the five minute mark. These interludes only encouraged the crowd to get their collective groove on even more.

For some reason, while I was near the back of the room at one point, I suddenly noticed that the mob towards stagefront had begun pumping a couple dozen giant foam fingers into the air, silhouetted by the brightly-coloured lights illuminating the band. A closer inspection later on (particularly when I was grabbed up and had one of the huge, squishy appendages dumped onto my hand by a happy and moderately inebriated label rep who shall remain nameless... you know who you are) proved that they were actually themed after the local NHL team, the Vancouver Canucks. How or why so many of these things suddenly appeared was never fully explained to me, but they were frequently seen being tossed about back and forth over the audience, and certainly added a strange, but exuberant, element to the show.

The band itself was, as always, very lively and full of expression on stage. Lead singer Sean Verrault has always been very interactive with his crowd, and while he plays, he bounds back and forth around the stage, tossing his legs high in the air and throwing his head back, eyes closed, playing his guitar intently. Bassist Earl Pereira goose-necks about with a massive grin slapped across his face, sticking his tongue out, pointing at people in the crowd, initiating stage-edge clap-alongs, and jumping into the air. And tucked into the back, Safwan Javed drums away intently, making the faces that he's known for. Bless the drummer faces.

It was an amazingly intense show (what I saw of it, as it were), but what I came away with from it the strongest was Wil's performance. Unreal. Be on the lookout for that one. And here's to Wide Mouth Mason continuing their long-standing tradition for even longer.

Elsewhere

By Andy Scheffler
Photos : Andy Scheffler
Published : April 22, 2004.