Toronto Unplugged

I was lucky enough to catch Matt Costa live on November 29th at Cowboys in London.

Costa is currently supporting Bedouin Soundclash on their cross Canada tour and he adds a great acoustic feel to the bill, which also features Burlington, Ontario punk rockers The St. Alvia Cartel.

After St. Alvia finished their short set, Costa took to the stage with bandmates Mitchell Townsend (guitar), Jacob Sahagen (keyboards), Harris Pittman (bass) and James Fletcher (drums) to provide a folksy vibe with songs from his 2006 release Songs We Sing and to crank out a few tracks from his recent Oct 2007 release Unfamiliar Faces.

Songs We Sing are of the Jack Johnson zen-like vibe – simple-ish guitar, soft vocals and catchy melodies that make you feel as though you are at a backyard campfire singing songs over some beers. With Cowboys being a small, intimate venue, there were definitely moments of Costa leading a sing-a-long among fans and new friends.

Songs like Cold December, Yellow Taxi, Astair and Sunshine (below) make you appreciate the art and simplicity of writing happy, feel good songs and performing them in front of an appreciative audience.

Unfamiliar Faces moves Costa from an individual performer to leading a 4-piece band – a bit more folk-rock (bass and an electric for picked notes) and a little more upbeat. It is a great balance in concert. The second song of Costa’s set was the new Mr. Pitiful, which combines upbeat keyboard and some funky base. For those unfamiliar with Costa, this reeled them in.

Costa still seems a bit green when it comes to performing, but his performances are truly genuine and compliment his laid back art of passive entertainment. The night ended up with someone tossing a joint on stage (in true Canadian fashion) which Costa picked up and ticked behind his ear. He then held up a small Canadian flag while the crowd roared and thanked everyone for their warm welcome on latest Canadian stop.

Great gig in an intimate venue. Matt Costa will be at the Kool Haus in Toronto on December 1st and then heads up North to Kilroy’s in Thunder Bay on December 3rd. Check out the rest of the tour here.

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