A couple of weeks ago my buddy Buzzard and I went to the Dan Bern concert at Station On Jasper. I was happy to see Dan Bern play a bigger venue then the last two times I saw him which was at The Almanac which is a good room for an intimate show but it was always so crowded it was hard to get a good seat where you could actually enjoy the show. So to see Bern play a bigger room and stage was going to be great.
Opening the show was Calgary folk artist Orit Shimoni she use to go by the name Little Birdie. She just recently released her tenth album and has been on tour with Dan Bern across Canada. Her opening set was pretty good, her music in her own words are kind of dark and depressing, she is a good writer but her music isn't exactly uplifting. Dan Bern joined her on stage for one song playing the harmonica. I thought she was alright, nothing I would rush out to buy though.
Orit Shimoni.
Next up was Iowa born but now based in Santa Cruz singer/songwriter Dan Bern. This would be my third time seeing Dan in concert. Dan is currently on the road touring for his latest release Regent Street.
As always Dan was very engaging with the audience, telling some great stories and playing songs such as "Regent Street" which what he opened the show with and having Orit Shimoni join him on stage playing the squeeze box, "Not Perfect", "Ridin On A Train" and "Dear Tiger Woods" from his new album. Also in the setlist were classics such as "Chelsea Hotel", "Black Tornado" the great and very funny song "Talkin' Canadian Blues". I thought it was great Orit joining him on stage as it added a little extra to Dan's music, but she actually ended up playing about half the show with him, which in the end took away from his performance. Dan played one of his most popular songs "Jerusalem" with Shimoni, but she messed up the words which kind of fucked up the song and it seemed he never really recovered the song, it was a bit of a mess. I would have to say I believe there is something going on between the two, more then just performing together.
The highlight of the show to me was finally hearing Dan play "Tiger Woods" from his 1998 album Fifty Eggs. The song is fucking hilarious and of the two previous times of seeing Dan in concert he had never played it. He actually has a second song about Tiger on his new album, a song called "Dear Tiger Woods". He played both songs back to back which was pretty damn cool. Another very funny song he played was "I Dreamed I Saw Donald Trump's Head Go Past My Window". The last song of the evening saw Dan walk through the crowd playing, if only I could remember which damn song it was. I guess if I actually write a review in a timely matter I might recall what it was. All in all it was a pretty good show. Good times!!!
Dan Bern.
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