“Holy heck, Toronto, how the heck you been?” said Cat Clyde near the outset of her Saturday night set at the Horseshoe Tavern, as she and her band closed out their current run of dates across Canada and the U.S.
“We’re so stoked to be here,” she added. “It’s been a long road. Longer than I have words for.”
One audience member shouted back, “We’ve got time!” And while I’m glad she focused on playing some tunes rather than giving us a complete rundown of how the tour went, he was right in one regard: this crowd definitely had time for Cat Clyde.
Following a brief instrumental intro from her band (a crew of mostly heavily moustachioed gentlemen), Cat Clyde took to the stage and ran through an entertaining set that focused largely on her latest release, Mud Blood Bone. Of the new stuff, tracks like “Where Is My Love,” the hard driving “Wanna Ride,” and her cover of the old Marty Robbins tune “My Love” stood out. Other highlights included “The Gloom” from 2023’s Down Rounder and her duet with opener Joe Abbott (whose appearance onstage upped the moustache quotient even further) on “You’ll Never Know My Heart,” a duet off of his new album.
Another big highlight? That voice.
Yes, Cat Clyde has a remarkably strong and impressive singing voice and she showed off her range throughout the set, going from a warm, soulful, bluesy bellow to a full-on Wanda Jackson-esque rockabilly growl, sometimes within the same song. On her cover of The Beatles’ “Yer Blues” later in the set, she even approached Live Through This-era Courtney Love levels of ferocity near the end. Musically, Clyde takes inspiration from folk, country and blues, resulting in a sound that seems somehow timeless.
While Cat Clyde remarked early in the evening about what a long road it had been, nothing about the performance suggested a band running on fumes at the end of a lengthy tour. Quite the opposite. This was a band that seemed energized by the road, putting on a tight and compelling performance before a packed room at the Horseshoe and ending their tour on a high note.
