Live Review: Luke Doucet | Spider Dogs – the Starlight
The Starlight in Waterloo is a great little venue. The acoustics are good, especially on the nights when the crowds are up – it soaks in the vastness of the space. As of late, their lineups have included: Jason Collett, Joel Plaskett, The Dears not too long ago and last night Luke Doucet and The White Falcon. Doucet was playing his second last show last night before he heads to SXSW. His only show between now and Austin is with Blue Rodeo at Massey Hall. Not bad.
From the opening track Long Haul Driver it was evident that the band was playing at a very high level – they’ve played 26 shows since December 27th – they sounded great.
The band is roughly 2/3rds through their 3 month Canada/Austin tour promoting their new album Blood’s Too Rich.
Doucet was accompanied by The White Falcon, which includes Doucet’s wife: guitarist and successful solo musician Melissa McClelland
During the riffed up Take You Home, Doucet maintained his praise as a great guitarist with a juicy little solo. Local Juno nominee and well known multi-instrumentalist Danny Michel joined the band on stage playing the piano. He added some very unique sounds and solos to tracks and you could tell it was a real kick for the band.
“I know it’s not a big deal for you guys because he lives around the corner, but I don’t see Danny often, so I’m a bit starstruck.” Doucet commented with a nod.
The band played through It’s Only Tuesday and Michel added some very cool variety to the track, which has such a great Neil Young vibe to it. Just as Michel thought his duty was done Doucet (speaking to both the band and the crowd) said, “this should be interesting because I don’t think he knows any of these songs”
Danny Michel played another 2-3 songs adding improvised piano sounds and solos that made the gig a very unique experience.
The encore included a great cover of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues that blended into an even more impressive Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire.
The encore was one of the high points of the show, but it might not have outdone the version of The Comandante from the new album…
The opening act, the Spider Dogs had some familiar faces – they’re a spin off project involving members from three reputable local bands: The Stars Here, The Droops, and The Lucas Stagg Band…
The Spider Dogs started with Good Love and played through a handful of songs that they are testing before releasing their debut album. The band pulls off the early Rolling Stones sound and even the vibe reminiscent of The Band, but their Pop/Punk numbers don’t quite fit.
The band has a great sound and I look forward to their upcoming album.
For the rest of Luke Doucet’s and the White Falcon, visit their Myspace page.
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