A couple of Saturday's ago now my buddy Buzzard, my Cuz and I went to the Whitehorse concert at the Winspear Centre. I was lucky enough to have won two pairs of tickets to this show. The first pair I won through a website called Tunespeak and the second pair I won through the Six Shooter Records site, the label that Whitehorse is signed to.
The pair I won through Six Shooter Records was this.
We have also teamed up with our friends at Big Rock to bring you our special VIP Wheat & Greets. Guests who purchase this offer will be treated to to an intimate acoustic performance by Whitehorse, a signed CD and digital copy of Panther in the Dollhouse, and an exclusive VIP shirt.
So my buddy Buzzard and I were at the Winspear Centre at 5:15pm as per instructions. By 5:30 there were 13 of us ready for the meet and greet. We were taken to the second floor lobby of the Winspear, where we would get our acoustic set, free swag and a beer. Well the beer was a no go because of liquor license or something, that sucked as were both looking forward to having a beer or two. The two ladies that were looking after us handed out the t-shirts to us while we waited for Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland whom make up the band Whitehorse to make their appearance. They made their entrance with acoustic guitars in hand, made some small talk and then played us a song, the song being "Broken" from their first album. The two of them sounded amazing, no microphones or amps, just Luke and Melissa singing and playing. But that was it, one song. I thought this was going to be an acoustic set as per what the VIP Experience was supposed to be. To me a set is at least three songs, but to no avail this time. I would love to have heard them do a few more songs in such an intimate setting. Luke and Melissa did take the time to chat with everyone for about 15-20 minutes telling stories about their kids, road stories and such. Very personable couple and good with everyone, taking pictures and signing the CD's we all got, the new album "Panther In The Dollhouse". I brought along a gig poster and vinyl copy of their first album to get autographed, which they were both kind enough to sign. Luke made the remark "of course the guy in the C'mon shirt has vinyl" when I brought out the vinyl to be signed. After they had signed everything and took photos with all of us they left to get ready for that nights show. We were then all given a Big Rock/Whitehorse pint glass. Just too bad we didn't actually get to use it. All and all a cool contest to win, but if I had paid the hundred dollars they were asking on the site for the VIP Experience, I would have felt ripped off. But I didn't so I can't really complain. So now that the meet and greet was done, we had a few hours to kill before show time, so it was off to meet Cuz at the bar and have a few drinks before the concert.
Picture of Luke Doucet and Melissa McLelland playing the acoustic song.
Buzzard and I with Luke and Melissa.
Free swag.
Autographed vinyl and gig poster.
Opening the show was Terra Lightfoot. I knew very little about Terra other than she was from Hamilton, Ontario. I was expecting a lady to come out with an acoustic guitar and play some folk songs. Maybe it's the last name that made me think that way, but that wasn't the case at all. Terra came out on stage with an electric guitar and full band in tow. She is on tour promoting her album "New Mistakes" that came out the day before the show. She rocked the show, I was very impressed, she has a great voice and can play a pretty damn mean guitar. She reminded me of a local artist by the name of Kimberley MacGregor. Terra Lightfoot is an artist I will be looking into more.
Terra Lightfoot at the Winspear Centre.
Next up was Whitehorse which is the husband and wife team Melissa McLelland and Luke Doucet, but this time around they are touring with a full band for the first time. They are on tour promoting their fourth full length release Panther In The Dollhouse. This would be my third time seeing them in concert.
This time around Whitehorse had a little poppier sound to them, much like their latest album. Where as before Luke and Melissa had a real folksie Americana sound to them, but with the full band they have a more full sound, still a folk sound on their older music, but the new stuff
has a lot of bounce and seem to have expanded their sound. I really liked the new songs they did live, songs from Dollhouse like "Pink Kimono", "Kicking Down Your Door", "Trophy Wife" and "I Can't Take You With Me". They also did a Little Walter song "My Babe" from their blues cover EP The Northern South Vol. 1 that came out last year. And of course there were some songs from their first two albums.
It was fun to watch and listen to Melissa and Luke perform together. They feed off each other in energy. Melissa has an awesome voice and when they sing together the harmony is sweet sounding and seems so effortless, so much talent between the two of them. Melissa switched between bass and guitar through out the show. Luke's voice was sounding real good and guitar playing was top notch. Whitehorse closed out the show with a great rendition of Neil Young's "Ohio". Overall I thought this was a great show and would go see them again anytime. Good times!!!
Whitehorse at the Winspear Centre.
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