I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: June 21, 2026] The Sadies

I was vaguely aware of The Sadies. I was mostly aware of them because their singer Dallas Good died suddenly and the entire Canadian music scene was upset about it.  I assumed The Sadies were done, but, as Dallas’ brother and the band’s new singer and guitarist said, this show and every show that we play for the rest of our lives is dedicated to my younger brother.

That’s pretty devastating.  But it was clear that The Sadies put everything into their shows.

So The Sadies’ songs fall into two categories–a kind of country & western (as opposed to country) song with a heavy dose of surf rock sprinkled all over the song.  And hugely enjoyable instrumentals that showcase Travis Good’s fantastic guitar playing.

What that means is that most of their songs sound basically the same.  And yet, they played for almost 50 minutes and I not only was I never bored, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Which is pretty impressive given that they are a three-piece with a simple drum kit (played expertly by Mike Belitsky) and an upright bass (played by Sean Dean).  An upright bass doesn’t lend for a lot of fast improv.

So most of the embellishments came from Travis.  Dallas’ voice was a bit softer, while Travis’ has a darker edge to it, which makes some of these dark songs sound even darker. In a song like Oak Ridges his voice also goes deeper.

But it was his guitar playing that was really wonderful.  He opened on an acoustic guitar for the traditional Little Sadie and then switched to electric for the rest of the set.  And right away it was pretty clear that The Sadies take a tone from punk music in their Surf/Western style because most of their songs are rather short.  After a couple of songs with lyrics, they played Cheat (from their debut), a ripping instrumental that, as my wife said, certainly sounds like The Ventures.

Their songs with words all tended to sound similar–a fast one-two beat (the kind that makes you want to whoop and holler).  They played a few songs from their most recent album (I’m not sure if they’re going to release any new music), like the dark Letter to Belial (which definitely sounds darker sung by Travis).

10 More Songs is an instrumental which may indeed be ten short songs compressed into 4 minutes and really showcases the different styles the band can play in.  And Lay Down Your Arms could have come from a classic Western movie (albeit a little faster than most movies).  A song like Northumberland West really showcased some fun guitar soloing (the whole song was pretty much a guitar solo). A few songs slowed things down, like My Heart of Wood, but for the most part, the songs were fast and fun.

And then they played Ridge Runner Reel a simple dance which gets faster and faster.  And faster!  And even faster!  By the end everyone–band and audience were sweating.  I have honestly never heard so much applause and shouting for an opening band before.  I think they blew everyone away.

They ended with Stop and Start, one last song from their latest album.  I really liked this one a lot–the vibe was similar to another band, although I can’t place them at the moment.  But whatever the case, it was great.

As I said, 50 minutes went by and I couldn’t believe they played for that long, it felt like nothing.  They’re not exactly my thing, and I don’t know how often I would listen to them, but I would see them live again in a second.

Little Sadie (traditional)
Oak Ridges €
Cut Up High and Dry ≅
Cheat ♦
Through Strange Eyes ⇑
Message to Belial ≅
10 More Songs ⊗
So Far for So Few ≅
Lay Down Your Arms €
No One’s Listening ≅
All the Good ≅
Northumberland West ∇
My Heart of Wood ♣
Another Season Again ⇑
Ridge Runner Reel ©
Stop and Start ≅