Last night, when I finally arrived at a crammed Horseshoe Tavern, I had already missed both openers (Steven McKay and Little Scream) and Julie was well into her set, so fighting my way to the front of the stage took some time and serious strategizing, but eventually I got close enough to get a decent shot.

Julie Doiron is one of the only musicians for whom I would trek across town on a cold winter’s night after a long day at work. Seeing her play for the first time back in ’06 changed my life, and in all the times I’ve seen her play since then she’s only gotten better. The addition last year of ex-Constantines member Will Kidman has done wonders for her concerts. He brings a nice calm balance to Julie’s somewhat nervous stage presence, and wether he’s drumming or playing along on guitar he always knows just when to rip a mean solo or just fade softly into the background. It was a super fun show, a nice long set as always, with a few choice covers thrown in, including Neil Young’s “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” with Julie on drums, which you can watch below.

Last Thursday I went and saw Daniel, Fred & Julie play at the Horseshoe, the perfect venue to hear them play their gentle folk songs. Last fall when I first caught wind of this project, I immediately knew I’d love the record. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the music these three people make, so to have them team up for a record had me pulling out my wallet faster than you can say “Sackville.” Truthfully, it made sense for them to join forces: Julie played in Fred’s old band “Shotgun & Jaybird,” and when that band broke up, ex-member Shotgun Jimmie recruited Daniel’s band Attack in Black to be his backing band. Attack in Black’s album Years featured guest vocals from Julie Doiron, who in turn covered two of Fred’s songs on her last album.

Are you with me still? If so, please enjoy their song “Runner” from their self-titled debut record, out now on You’ve Changed Records.

Opening the show was Baby Eagle. What’s there to say about little ol’ Baby Eagle, other than it’s the project of the Constantines’ Steve Lambke, and that he’s great? I guess the first peep I ever heard from him was the last track on the third Cons album (Tournament of Hearts), a ditty called “Windy Road.” It had Steve singing, but instead of the usual scrappy punk song we got a pleasant acoustic number. It was an album highlight for me, so I was happy when he started playing solo shows later that year. Two quick albums in 2006 and 2007 followed by a split with Attack in Black late last year brings us to today. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from him soon – his setlist was all new songs, and it looks like he’s going electric.

Gather ’round children, it’s storytime! Back when I was 19 years old, at the height of my salad days, I was going to a few shows a week. This was long before I made the big move to Toronto; I was still living with my parents in Oshawa. We had this great venue in town called the Velvet Elvis, which was really the only place around where you could see interesting bands from Oshawa and abroad. It’s where I met a lot of my friends and saw some great bands for the first time (Evening Hymns, The Rural Alberta Advantage, and Ohbijou to name a few). When I found out that Julie Doiron was coming to town I definitely knew that it was a big deal, though I wasn’t too familiar with her music at the time.

Arriving at the Velvet Elvis that night I can still clearly remember the scene. I showed up for the show way too early, so that it was pretty much just me, the staff, and the bands. The Elvis was a small room; I don’t think the place was supposed to hold more than 40 people (though it often held much much more). So there I was, awkwardly clutching my camera, probably leaning against the bar trying my hardest not to look like a complete nerd. Soon the room filled with friends and strangers, far past capacity. Julie played a very casual set, playing songs off her new album, taking requests, and even throwing in some choice covers. There was even a memorable moment where an inebriated man asked if he could sing a duet with Julie, which she handled like a pro, humouring the guy until he wandered upstairs to pass out on the couch. I really enjoyed Julie’s set, and even got to speak with her briefly after the show.

The scene at the Cobourg a few weeks back was like a mirror image of that night at the Velvet Elvis. Once again I found myself in a very small room overflowing with people, while Julie played a nice selection of new songs, requests, and covers. Once again, I was way to early for the show, however instead of mumbling a few words to Julie after her set like I did the first time I saw her, when I arrived she invited me over to chat. Understand, after seeing her in Oshawa, I quickly became a huge fan, buying all her albums and seeing her every chance I could; I even got the opportunity to interview her on several occasions, so it’s gotten to the point where we’ll always have a friendly chat. Concerning the show, thankfully there wasn’t a drunk man demanding a duet, but Julie did surprise a member of the audience by requesting help on one song. The audience member happened to be Gentleman Reg, and the song happened to be one of Julie’s most well known tunes “Will You Still Love Me in December.” I’m really glad I was filming when this happened because it was definitely one of the highlights of the night, and it probably won’t ever happen again, so enjoy!

Opening for her was Will Kidman, who usually plays in the Constantines but on this night was playing solo. I’ve seen Will play a lot over the years, which is strange since it doesn’t happen that often. I guess I’m just always at the right place at the right time. He hasn’t had an album out since 2006’s Quiet Waters, but with the amount of new songs he was playing hopefully we’ll be getting a new one soon. I think this song is called “Crime Dog.”

Here’s a video of an impromptu performance of Nei Young’s song “Look Out for My Love” done by Rick White and Julie Doiron at the Horsehoe Tavern back in March. There are some missing lyrics in the chorus sure, but it’s still a damn fine cover. Julie’s voice is really beautiful here…