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Port Alberni Times - Concert ReviewSound Advice inaugurated its modest new performance space this past
Saturday with a pretty full house showing up to hear Jon Brooks, a
singer/songwriter/guitarist from King City, Ontario. The space itself, while
unprepossessing, was entirely appropriate for a small gathering, and the
intimacy of the surroundings meant that the sound system was almost
unnecessary, though in the end the electronics allowed for projection
without strain. The management also made refreshments available.
The cozy room also led to an easy communication between Brooks and his
audience, an audience that seemed predisposed to empathy and which was not
at all disappointed by either the music or the patter that anticipated or
clarified the musical material. Brooks is an eminently competent guitarist
who resorts to some reasonably novel approaches at times (using slaps at
various locations on an open-tuned scale as well as the lower bout of the
guitar, lots of different open tunings and a capo that rose to dizzying
heights at times) and who employed electronic enhancements in subtle and
judicious ways to enrich his sound without ever becoming anything of a
focus. He has a convincing voice with about the right amount of rasp to give
an edge to his delivery, and managed throughout his two sets to vary pace
and mood in such a way as to avoid the tedium than can sometimes set in with
limited instrumentation. There was much interaction with the gathered
listeners including some dialogue about the content of some of the songs as
well as references to various people and places in a way that elicited
mostly appreciative laughter.
The music harkened back to some classic folk repertory from the era of
protest, though Brooks penned most of the material himself: he performed
Buffy Ste.-Marie’s Universal Soldier, but in his own material, there were
echoes of Phil Ochs, Tim Hardin, and bits of Dylanesque rhyme smithing woven
through the songs. Brooks was pretty up front about being a story teller and
leaving the interpretation to the listener, though it was pretty clear where
he stands on issues ranging from the militarization of Canadian society to
the debasement of language. There was a song early in the first set about
the many people who are miscast in their work roles, including a bit of a
shot at Don Cherry (though the sportscasters with political opinions could
just as well be Dave Zirin or Keith Olberman), all of which elicited
considerable comment and not a little hilarity. At no time did it really
seem as though Brooks was preaching, but rather laying out a situation and
calling on the listener to process the lyrics in his or her own fashion.
So it was also with the considerable Canadian content woven throughout the
performance, references to people, places and events uniquely Canadian that
somehow carry hints of a more general and universal meaning to those wanting
to make the connection. Brooks’ evocative and somewhat self-deprecating
sense of humour paced both the songs and the accompanying discourse in a way
that gave a social unity to the whole performance. At the end of the
performance, he was quite willing to play an encore, but put the gathering
on notice with a comment that he was ready because everyone gets an encore
in Toronto, accompanied by what might have passed for a wink and a nod.
The whole show had a relaxed, jolly and folksy character to it and was well
worth the reasonably modest price of admission. Thanks to Sound Advice for
putting the event on and to Jon Brooks for a fine show. Jon’s music is
available through is web site (http://www.jonbrooks.ca/) and through iTunes
Canada. Expect another show in February.
-Dan Schubart
December 08, 2009
