On Thursday night, Montreal indie rockers Land of Talk took to the stage at the Danforth Music Hall for a rare stripped-back set opening for The Barr Brothers. And while the room was pretty sparsely populated at the start of their set with concertgoers still trickling in, the band put on an enjoyable and intimate set for those who managed to make it out early.
Opening with what frontperson Elizabeth Powell described as their “chillest song,” Land of Talk eased the crowd into the evening with a hushed, almost meditative start.
“Feels good to be heard,” Powell said as they thanked the audience for paying attention to such a mellow opening number before adding, “says the person on stage with the mic.” Powell also joked about the efficiency of an opening slot, noting that they probably played about the same number of songs as they would when headlining, just with way less banter.
On this evening, Land of Talk was made up of Powell and longtime friend and collaborator Michael Feuerstack, with Powell commenting that they’d known each other for about 28 years. Thinking back, that timeline matches up with around the first time I ever saw Powell play, as a teenager just starting out their music career with a slot as part of Guelph’s Hillside Festival. And hearing classic Land of Talk tunes like “Some Are Lakes” and “Quarry Hymns” performed in duo format, I couldn’t help but think back to that early set. Even then, Powell struck me as a talented performer, and in retrospect, those early, lo-fi, folk-inspired tunes did set the template for what would eventually emerge years later as the Land of Talk sound.
By the time Land of Talk ended their set, the crowd had filled in considerably as fans made their way to the front of the stage for The Barr Brothers. Touring behind their latest, Let It Hiss, Brad and Andrew Barr took to the stage alongside bassist Morgan Moore and harpist Eveline Gregoire-Rousseau and proceeded to put on an impressive display of musicianship. Of the new stuff, highlights included “Another Tangerine,” the driving “Run Right Into It” and the album’s mellow, piano-based opening track, “Take it From Me,” while the band dipped into their back catalogue for standouts like “Beggar in the Morning” and “Even the Darkness Has Arms.”
Singer/guitarist Brad Barr apologized to the Toronto crowd for staying away for so long, though he added that he hoped it wouldn’t be quite so long before the next visit. He also apologized later in the set to those sitting up in the balcony for not noticing until well into the set that there were, in fact, fans in the upper level. We’ll let that one slide, though, as the band’s soaring harmonies and intricate arrangements more than made up for it.
