The Palomino hosted a show, Tuesday August 22nd with local band, Georgia Sound opening and Vancouver based Old Man Canyon following. The bands looked a bit crammed in the upstairs corner but with the listeners also gathered in close, it helped to create an intimate feel in the space. With an added surprise of there being no cover charge, the show ended up feeling more like a house concert.
It was great to catch up with and hear Georgia Sound again after first hearing them at the Ears for Calgary flood relief fundraiser concert on June 30th. Georgia Sound is the duo of Ryan Roy and Shannon Magee. They both are very capable of taking the lead on vocals or supporting with spot-on harmonies. In addition to their “One Way Path” EP, they have a brand new, catchy single out on itunes called “Something New” that is an indicator of some more great things to come.
Old Man Canyon is a four man band just venturing out into the Canadian music scene, having played just a few shows in their hometown and now Edmonton, Saskatoon and Calgary. They may be a new band, however it is evident on first listen that they are not new to making music. Digging a little into their past, one can quickly discover that front man, Jett Pace, has been making music since childhood, including being in bands at various points with Wake Owl‘s Colyn Cameron.
The band released a five song EP in April but it would seem that a lot of songwriting has happened in the meantime, as they only did three of the EP songs for their Calgary show. They chose to open the night with an unrecorded song and also ended with an encore song the band had just learned that day, with many more new songs in between. Jett Pace’s distinctive voice and wide vocal range is noticeable on the songs from the EP but is probably showcased even more so in the newer songs.
The second song of the set, “Wiser” definitely makes a person sit up and pay attention. It was used in the soundcheck and elicited the response from Ryan of Georgia Sound that Old Man Canyon had the best soundcheck he’d ever heard. The drum-kick, vocal harmonies and anthemic chorus have a lot in common with many folk-rock songs that have landed in the pop charts in recent months. The icing on the cake is the extraordinary sincerity found in “Wiser”, especially in a live rendition.
All of the lyrics of the songs have a genuine quality to them, often to the point of feeling soul-baring. It is quite refreshing in this day and age of social media over-sharing that true vulnerability can still be found in the old and beautiful art form of musical storytelling. Even though there are personal stories behind Jett Pace’s lyrics, listeners can easily make connections to some of the general themes of dreaming, growing and journeying.
Old Man Canyon ended their set with the title song and first release from their debut EP, “Phantoms & Friends”. This is a very well produced EP and unbelievably, it is still available for free download on the band’s bandcamp page. The title song has a fantastic video and is a nice gateway into the music of Old Man Canyon for first time listeners. With it’s retro feel, the song also makes a perfect bridge to the style of many of the soon to be recorded songs. The new songs seem to have a 70’s folk influence but also in the mix is a modern sound similar to bands such as The Paper Kites and Atlas Genius.
Ryan said that he felt privileged to be playing with an awesome band he just discovered today. On the other side of the stage, it was a privilege to see both bands at such an early point in their career. They are exactly the type of bands that will have people telling their friends, “check out this awesome band I just discovered today”.