There was something awe-inspiring about listening to musicians bear their naked souls in front of a warm crowd inside an former bank building.
Armed with nothing but her beautifully raw voice and acoustic guitar, accompanied by local musician Lane Easton, Carlyle-based singer/songwriter Lorri Solomon christened her future coffeehouse venue in Oxbow with an intimate show this past Saturday, Feb. 19.
An audience of about 25 people sat in old chairs and on worn couches in a cozy main floor room, giving their undivided attention to Solomon as she shared a sampling of music from her decades long career.
Her performance was remarkably candid, as if she knew every single person in the room on a personal level. She wandered through songs on her sophomore release, "Two Days in June," while sharing a couple oldies from her 1998 album, "Behind the Eyes of Dreamer," in addition to exploring a few pieces from her next project.
Her rendition of an oil wife's trials and tribulations in "Oil Wife" - working title - rang surprisingly true. Though not an oil wife herself, Solomon wrote the song after appealing to oil wives to share their thoughts and experiences on a social networking site.
"When I Was Your Princess," is quickly becoming an audience favourite, as it tells the story of two childhood friends growing up and the changes they embrace along the way. As always, Solomon delivered it with emotion and intensity.
Leading into "Dearly Beloved," Solomon provided insight into the song's inspiration: close friends who use beloved as a term of endearment and the realization that classic love letters have appeared to fail the test of time.
As Solomon kindly thanked her audience for their time, she reminded people to take a marker upstairs and write a message on the walls of her new building.
She recently purchased the aged Bank Block Greer Building in Oxbow and has big plans of restoring it as close to its original state as possible. The show was held as a sort of house warming before she starts any renovations, therefore the messages were meant to inspire.
Her plan is to create three apartments upstairs and a coffeehouse venue on the main floor.
Following a brief intermission, the ever-talented Jay Semko took his spot in front of the crowd.
Semko played a selection of tunes spanning his six-album solo career, with a focus on his most recent self-titled release.
His songs were punctuated with compelling stories of life, love, and loss, leaving the audience wanting more.
One of Canada's most significant songwriters, Semko has spent many years of his career as the vocalist/bassist of the Northern Pikes. But his focus for now is his diverse solo career.
Semko boasts a strong mastery of several genres, including folk, jazz, country, and rock, though his 2010 self-titled release emphasizes his country roots.
Acoustically, in his one-man show, Semko delivered his music with unbridled passion. Each song conveyed intense emotion that the audience could not resist.
"Drop You in the Water" was reminiscent of the early days of blues, while "Girl Who Can Whistle" had obvious country roots.
"Before You Leave Canada" was pure brilliance. A cross-border break-up song, it left the audience smiling at lines "You never liked hockey and you never liked bacon/ You always said it was way too cold, I agreed, but you still kept complaining," but feeling sad when softly singing "You put on your make-up and you're wearing new clothes/A taxi is waiting and you're ready to go."
Semko wrapped up his performance and with a genuine smile thanked everyone for listening.
Solomon, accompanied by Lane Easton, and Semko played the Cornerstone Theatre in Carlyle the previous night to an audience of about 50 music enthusiasts.
After the shows, Solomon said she hopes to make these performances a common occurrence in the communities, so if you missed the chance to see her this time around, watch for future dates with various singer/songwriters.
