Great Lake Swimmers, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Kate Maki
Hailey's Club, Denton
April 8, 2009
Better Than: Checking out the Lost recap on AV Club right after the show is over.
When Tony Dekker and his fellow Great Lake Swimmers came out on stage at Hailey's last night, there wasn't a "Hello"
or even a "We're Great Lake Swimmers." Instead, it was all business as Dekker and
his band came on stage and launched into their set.
Actually, after a raucous middle support set from the hometown heroes in Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, it would have been easy to miss the start Great Lake Swimmers had
even started its show, if it wasn't for the fact they band had started
playing music.
But those who did notice the band's start were rewarded, as the set was pretty fantastic--well, except for when the banjo player put down his
banjo and picked up the electric guitar. Songs like "She Comes To Me
In Dreams" seemed to be a little bit muddy; fully acoustic efforts
like "Concrete Heart" and "Pulling On A Line" were perfectly fine.
And Dekker also acted kinda odd at the start of the show; he
didn't seem to be quite comfortable being in front of a crowd. But after
the band played "She Comes To Me In Dreams" he did seem to crack a
smile and then loosen up for the rest of the show.
I came to this show pretty excited to see the band play, despite having only heard their records,
seen their videos and live clips on YouTube. And a Denton
crowd, I though, would be the best place to see the band--I thoguht they'd be a little more respectful than a Dallas crowd, cutting out the loud chitchat while the band was playing.
Unfortunately, I was wrong.
At
one point in the show, while the band was tuning between songs, the
guy in front of me turned around and yelled "You people in back shut
the fuck up! I paid to see a show not listen to you talk all night!"
All I could think? Better him saying it than me.
Still, Dekker looked
at the guy, laughed, smiled and said he needed to take him on the
road with them for the rest of the tour. And the guy seemed to get
his message across: The people in the back either went to a
different room or took heed and stopped talking.
Critic's Notebook
Random Note: In a totally random sighting, one of my cousins was at the
show. She and her husband drove all the way down from Norman, Oklahoma, to
catch the Great Lake Swimmers. It was weird to see a random family
member right in front of the stage.
By The Way: The night started off on a strong note with Canadian chanteuse Kate
Maki opening up the show for fellow countrymen Great Lake Swimmers. Her set of "Canadiana" (like Americana, only Canadian) tunes was
what you could possibly call sultry and maybe a little deep--but
definitely fit quite nicely with the music she plays.
