Chantal Kreviazuk: A Modern Day Poet and Musical Powerhouse Gives Flawless, Intimate Performance at London Music Hall and Subsequent Tours 2016-2017

London Music Hall in Ontario Canada is one of the best kept secrets in terms of venue. Chantal Kreviazuk delivered a flawless performance and a  rare appearance in close quarters for a mere $50! I was weary that it would be standing room only, but the concert had seating for several hundred in an intimate setting. Chantal’s voice and talent proved to be inspiringly deep, with an incredible range of notes melodiously filling each heart in attendance. Go to http://www.chantalkreviazuk.com/tour.html to attend her concert and purchase her album, which is incredible. You can still catch her in Niagara falls Nov. 19th at 7pm, Thursday Nov. 17th in Chatham, On, and Toronto on Dec. 1, 2016.

Chantal’s singer, song writer, piano playing, audience-connecting lyrics were moving. She’s not afraid to belt out a tune at seemingly any range, from whisper to scream. Her art is a refreshing reprieve from “top 40” radio churnings. Yet you will find her here and there, and realize she has always been on quality radio stations that respect her contribution to music on a global scale. She is disarming, humble, real, funny, and a bonafide rock star.

Hard Sail the title track of her new cd,  makes it impossible to choose a favourite track. Every song draws you in, and my friend and I scramble to read the lyrics that trail off unapologetically for dramatic effect. And then we are so in awe of each brilliant lyric set to piano genius. Kevin Fox accompanied and complemented her with his voice and, was it a cello and guitar? What a glorious combination of strings and keys weaving a musical tale.

In light of poet and lyricist Leonard Cohen’s departure from this world, Chantal treated the audience to his oft covered song, Hallelujah…with heavenly piano playing and singing with crystal clear vocal chords. With references to her children, her singer husband Raine Maida (www.rainemaida.net) of Our Lady Peace, and visiting Peru to help provide hearing aids, it was much like visiting her in her living room. It was only a few short summers ago that Chantal Kreviazuk played the Burlington Sound of Music Festival (soundofmusic.ca ) with Raine Maida much to the delight of both their fans. If music has a heaven, they would be in it.

The difference is, Chantal Kreviazuk seeks to elevate the room with her oozy talent. I don’t know about you all out there, but we were so appreciative of these fresh and truthful words set to music after months of campaign over-coverage of the U.S. Elections. A Canadian flag from the audience made its appearance as the performance went into two encores.

I hope you get a chance to snap up some tickets for Chantal Kreviazuk on her 2016 tour. She reminds me a lot of singer, songwriter, piano player http://www.facebook/marijoelmusic who I thoroughly enjoyed musically during her tour in Canada for Culture days http://www.free-meditation.ca/archives/19833. Their authentic style and indisputable talent seem to be swaying the vote, long closed, towards truth, inner-beauty, talent, peace and the bonding of the like-minded and like-hearted that see the value of coming together as global guardians. Leave it to the artists to raise awareness of what really matters in this lifetime through their modern day poetry as guiding forces through times that are…a changing. Hope such live music concerts inspire you to strum, play and write to define your self, express your self, and share your self.

Taking a moment to compose her self.

 

 

 

 

Up Close and Personal at Burlington Sound of Music’s Grand Finale 2016

The Mohrs singer channeled Janis Joplin and the whole band was incredible. See and hear them here, they will knock you out of the park! http://themohrsband.com/home. Jackie Mohr fronts the band and has music running through her veins. Coolest chic EVER.http://www.newcanadianmusic.ca/releases/p/perfectly-sane-single/the-mohrs/2014-03-26

Unlike the local newspaper, I am not focused on the numbers that attended the free music festival. 200,000 fans is not too shabby over the course of 5 days. If you ask anyone how successful it was, just ask its fans! The atmosphere was so positive, so groovy, like minded music fans saw the Sound of Music Festival as a chance to celebrate Canadian music, show our appreciation for artists trying to change the world, one guitar strum at a time. Yes there was a heat warning. Did we find shade? Yes marvelous shade under the cherry trees, under canopies, at the city hall there were plenty of shady spots too.

The best part was getting up close and personal with the artists. Sean McCann formerly of Great Big Sea took fan photos after his set, and I was not more than 10 feet in front of the stage, sitting comfortably, with no one blocking my view.

Many of the acts were easily accessible, and for a few minutes here and there, you could approach the stage, take your awesome close up photos, get shooed out for not having a press pass, claim innocence, back out towards the gate and retreat victoriously to the shady trees at your leisure with smart phone photos galore. With the breeze coming off the lake, it was totally do-able.

The Mohrs offered original music, with lyrics reflecting modern poetry, like “nobody perfectly sane would want to be with you…” Super catchy, and we’ve all crossed paths with someone in our lives that fits just that bill. Which makes it so much fun to sing along and nod, yes, we love this song! We were very impressed with their energy and charisma and solid talent. Great to see you all perform in Burlington!

Jordan Haller performed on Brant street on Sunday and was very impressive. http://www.jordanhaller.com/#music-section (below, bottom, second from left). Definitely talented. Even a non-tween can appreciate his original music and pop-vibe. The Lighthouse (bottom center picture) may surprise you when you realize you grew up with their songs being played on your parents radio, their fan base was huge on the OLG stage and you can reminisce and enjoy their music here…http://www.lighthouserockson.com/history.html. They relive their glory days these days performing much to the delight of their appreciative fans.

Junkhouse https://www.facebook.com/JUNKHOUSEHAMILTON a band that has performed all over the world, showed that we were truly heart and soul, rock and roll. It was great to hear them praise Hamilton, just across the bridge, and tell their story about their humble beginnings. You see, Hamilton and Burlington are neighbors. We share the same air, the same Lake Ontario, we share the Royal Botanical Gardens, we share a love for music. Russ Wilson on bass below…

Not only is Junkhouse cool, interesting, and talented in an off the beaten track kind of way, lead singer Tom Wilson has that “smart kind of funny because it’s true”, story-telling personality. Unbelievably true! I laughed my head off at those inbetween song stories. Best part is, this is a cool guy with tons of presence, that actually cares not only about his fans, but about the world. Hamilton’s The Red Hill Valley http://theredhillvalleys.com/ fans below, attended the Junkhouse show which was fantastic. I happened to meet lead singer in a guitar shop in Oakville, then I see these fans sporting the t-shirt. That is a good enough reason to mention them in this Hamilton home grown section of talent. A victory for one Hamilton band can pave the way for more steel town talent to take on the world. http://theredhillvalleys.com/music

Tom Wilson of Junkhouse did not depart the stage without leaving a lasting impression by addressing the crowd to be proud of who they are, where they came from, about being nicer and more patient with the people we share this planet with, and that he had faith that this world can and will be a better place to live for all of us if we just start with that. Benevolence becomes Junkhouse, thank you for that.

The Burlington Sound of Music was a first hand experience of artistic musical expressions. As each artist took each fan into their confidence, they drew us closer. Many of the musicians understood that they had a medium to bring people together beyond language borders by entering through each and every one of our hearts.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0de2W97x_Yg, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-FuQ0h0zPo That you did, Junkhouse, keep shining.