Toronto Unplugged

Concert Review: Colin Meloy at the Phoenix

by Mike on April 20th, 2008

Decemberists front man Colin Meloy played a solo acoustic performance at the Phoenix last night. The stage consisted of Meloy, 4 acoustic guitars, a glass of wine and a bottle of wine. Simple and honest. Meloy is an extremely talented and intelligent singer songwriter and with the recent buzzing success of the Decemberists, he has been hitting the road touring with his own material as well as playing some songs from the band. A great musician entertaining a Toronto crowd at solid venue, how can one go wrong?

Colin Meloy is touring in support of his solo album aptly titled Colin Meloy Sings Live! Released just a little more than a week ago, this gig was an early chance for fans to hear some of the new tracks live. The end contrast was that the new album consists of 17 tracks there is a good size list of older material and yet the concert seemed very short. Perhaps in reality it wasn’t short, but with Meloy engaging the crowd it just seemed to have a short list of tracks played.

Meloy’s stage presence and storytelling was pleasant, frequent and welcoming - adding to the intimacy of the venue and to the short set as well. In between songs, Meloy’s banter with the crowd provoked laughter, cheers, requests and more laughter. His ability to carry a song with nothing more than his guitar backing his voice is phenomenal entertainment and the songs that you know well are astonishing to watch live. A few times Meloy would stop mid-song to remember a lyric and correct a chord progression - it further distanced the show from anything manufactured. Meloy reminds you why solo acoustic shows are a much needed change of pace. Simple and honest.

Highlights included tracks O Valencia, Everyday is Like Sunday, a cover of Sam Cook’s Cupid and Meloy’s knack for storytelling.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

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POSTED IN: Concert Reviews, Music in Toronto, Toronto Concerts