Baby Eagle and Richard Laviolette perform new material
Silence hosted two singer-songwriters on Saturday, Nov. 8. Steve Lambke, singer and guitarist for the classic Guelph act The Constantines, played material under the name Baby Eagle and performed the first set. Richard Laviolette, another Guelph-based songsmith, performed afterwards. The Weather Station, a project of singer/songwriter Tamara Lindeman, was set to perform, but unfortunately cancelled due to illness. Nonetheless, a well-filled room was offered a close-knit, warmly inviting evening of acoustic music, which was perfect to escape into from the cold rain.
Baby Eagle took to the stage around 9pm to open the evening’s music. Lambke’s fairly unorthodox songs are characterized by a quiet, fragile voice, and even more fragile guitar work. With a tall and lumbering, but friendly and approachable stage presence, Lambke sang heartfelt songs with sparse, disparate poetic images, and brilliant lyricism. Baby Eagle’s performance was really a display of Lambke’s versatility as a songwriter. A far stretch from the electric folk sounds of his album Dog Weather, and an even farther stretch from the crusty, tough-as-nails music of the Constantines, Lambke’s music was, as mentioned, fragile, but with a reserved edge that is heard in his unorthodox chords, minimalist melodies, and sparsely sung vocals.
After a short break, Richard Laviolette sat down to set up the mikes and his guitar. With off-the-cuff humour and a goofy, friendly grin, he immediately made the audience feel at home, even gesturing them to help themselves to the beers in the fridge. Mostly performing new material, he also riffed on a few stripped-down versions of songs he had written and recorded with The Hollow Hooves and The Glitter Bombs.
Alternating between songs that were humourous, compelling, and vaguely political (one of the former being “My Grandma’s More Punk Than Most Punks I Know”), Laviolette’s lyrics and vocal delivery were where his set shined most. In the space of Silence, it’s particularly easy to pay attention to lyricism in its setting, so any listener could pick up on the intricacies of his wordsmithing. The music performed, a far cry from the grimy post-punk of his bands The Hollow Hooves or The Glitter Bombs, showcased Laviolette’s folk singing/songwriting abilities in the best way.
While the audience seemed initially kind of bummed that The Weather Station couldn’t make it, the space was filled with joy, laughter, and intimate music. There were clearly some old friends of the performers, and perhaps even some new ones, judging from the banter between Lambke, Laviolette, and some of the audience members. It’s concerts like this that make Guelph’s scene so invigorating – a relaxing break from the hectic Saturday night downtown scene is certainly welcomed around this time of year, and Silence and co. certainly provided that retreat.