Great Lake Swimmers/Sharon Van Etten

Great Lake Swimmers/Sharon Van Etten
Trinity-St. Paul’s, Toronto
Cost: $31.00
Hand Stamp: No hand stamps in church
February 07, 2010

As CBC3’s most requested band, it was no surprise that Great Lake Swimmers had no difficulty selling out Trinity St. Paul’s Church for their Toronto performance. Expressing his excitement to be back in his home town of Toronto, Tony Dekker definitely had that weary traveler tone to his voice after being on the road for so long. On stage Dekker was accompanied by a handful of other talented musicians, but after opening with Everything is Moving so Fast from the new album Lost Chanels, he then introduced the multi-talented Julie Fader who added additional vocals. On New Light, Fader even provided a beautiful flute accompaniment. Yet as one by one his accompaniment exited the stage, it was clear Dekker had no troubles entertaining the crowd on his own with only a guitar. At one point, someone from the audience yelled out a request which Dekker quickly dismissed. Presumably his parents didn’t teach him to be quiet in a church. The low-key style of Great Lake Swimmers’ performing in a church certainly seemed like a perfect date night as the majority of the audience appeared to be couples, many of which would rest their heads on each other’s shoulders while taking in the music.

After having a chance to connect with the audience solo, the rest of the ensemble promptly returned, this time inviting opener, Sharon Van Eten to the stage. Much like her solo performance prior, she appeared shy and reserved on stage, often staring towards the floor, and unfortunately her voice did not carry very well. She did joke many times about the odd location, joking: “I’m happy I’m not bursting into flames right now.” Dekker explained to the crowd that one of his neighbours had told him that he listened to his music online, but questioned him about what the song, Stealing Tomorrow meant, you know, on a philosophical level; to which Dekker replied, “I have no idea.” While Dekker has only recently acquired his musical abilities, he certainly has a knack for writing simple, yet beautiful folk melodies and prose. I Am Part of a Large Family, brought the evening to a close, but also brought people to their feet and out of the pews (which was nice as they were not the most comfortable form of seating for just over an hour)

The encore included, See You on the Moon which was written for the Paperbag Record’s children’s album, but is likely more recognized from this Honda Insight commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJmHplnGi0E.