Mr Pine CD Release Party - Live At Aqua Books

(This last one is my fav)

So I hit local folk-act Mr Pine’s CD release party earlier, and it was a pretty fun time.

I missed all but five songs of opening act Kerri Woelke’s set because this show was held on the second floor of Aqua Books, and I became seduced by the Siren-lure of the bookstore on the first floor, and hypnotically browsed through the stacks before heading on up. The five songs or so of Kerri’s set I did catch were enjoyable, thoughtful folksy numbers, all with a light melancholic tint, while Kerri herself proved to be a cute, confident and winsome singer-songwriter.

Now if you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that the two leaders of Mr Pine, Matt and Kevin, generously took part in my 11 Questions segment just over a month ago and were rather good sports about it. The long-awaited cd release party for their latest longplayer Rewilding - which topped the UMFM charts for a few weeks - was a pleasantly intimate affair held in a spacious room with decent acoustics. I thought it was the ideal setting for their alt-folk stylings.

Standing seven members tall, Mr Pine understandably leaned heavily on tunes from Rewilding, and the material sounded great performed live. The odd number from their debut The Gift of Wolves, though, slipped into the set, including my personal fav, the instrumental 'Field of Glass Houses' (which surprisingly the band dedicated to, well, uh, me).

Unanticipated-self-indulgent-moment aside, this talented septet not only proved they could artfully reproduce their varied chamber folk sound live, they also proved why they are one of Winnipeg’s most unique and impassioned folk acts.

The only downside: this was an alcohol-free event. Then again, this just helped me maintain my New Year’s rez.

Infinite Playlist: Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane