SOUNDTRACK: DAVE BIDINI-The Upstairs, Sydney Nova Scotia July 26 2007 (2007).
Dave Bidini recorded three shows in 2007 in eastern Canada which are all available on the Rheostatics Live website. They were acoustic shows and featured a reading from his then new book called Around the World in 57½ Gigs.
On this particular venue, he gives two readings (and the readings are very good. His writing has grown even more engaging since this first book).
The songs he plays are a couple from the Rheostatics: “My First Rock Show” which sounds good in this format. “Me and Stupid” which is almost made for this format and “Horses.” Now “Horses” is a wild and raucous song, typically full of Martin Tielli’s amazing guitar pyrotechnics. The acoustic version is much more mellow, but no less affecting.
He’s got a number of what I assume are new songs (I haven’t heard any BidiniBand songs yet, so I don’t know from whence they come). “Song Ain’t Good” is a kind of jokey song about how the song itself isn’t any good. Lyrically, the song grows on you as it progresses. “The List” is indeed a list of people and things that are killing us now: Tim Hortons, Chad Kroeger, Stephen Harper etc. It’s a protest song and is kind of catchy.
“The Land is Wild” is a more interesting song, musically. Lyrically it’s about Bryan Fogarty, a dead hockey player. And the final track is “The Ballad of Zeke Roberts” the story of a Liberian singer.
The other shows feature essentially the same songs (one of them includes “Fat” instead of “Horses”).
The difference with these new songs as opposed to the Rheos songs is that these are more pointedly about something. They are quite message driven. And one needs to care about the message I suppose. Bidini does not have a great voice. Or, more to the point, he has a limited voice that works great for certain things, but it’s not always at its strongest in this acoustic setting. Nevertheless, he has great rapport with the audience, and is a very charming performer.
I’m rather interested in hearing what the BidiniBand have to offer. There’s an interesting interview with the Bidini here.
[READ: September 1, 2010] On a Cold Road
So Dave Bidini was in the Rheostatics. This book is a chronicle of their tour as the opening act for The Tragically Hip on their tour across Canada.
The book offers lots of insights into the ins and outs of touring–the frustration, the loneliness, the elation, the confusion, the shattering disappointments, everything. As a fan of the Rheos and the Hip, I found this to be a really interesting chronicle of a cross-country tour.
And what I found interesting about the book itself is that the main guys aren’t a small band struggling, nor are they a headlining megaband. They’re a reasonably small band but they are successful, and are certainly well looked after on this tour. So it gives the feeling of being the underdog without actually working too much about pathos.
The Rheos are simultaneously jealous of the Hip, but also very grateful to them. It makes for an interesting read. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 