“Thank you all for being here tonight. You could literally be anywhere else in Toronto.”
So said Kalyn Fay as she took the stage at Sound Garage, opening for Samantha Crain. A statement of gratitude on the surface, sure, but quite possibly also a nod to the fact that “anywhere else” also meant “anywhere with air conditioning.” Yes, I once again chose to spend my evening sweating through an evening at an AC-free venue in the name of live music. It was a bit stifling, but worth it. And the beer from Blood Brothers certainly helped make things a little more bearable.
Following a warm and engaging set by Fay, Samantha Crain followed, easing into her set with the kind of affable, low-key charm that makes you forget the heat, or at least stop caring about it too much. Again, the beer helped in that regard too. The Choctaw indie folk singer noted that it had been quite a while since she’d last played Toronto, but she was happy to be back and there was a fair-sized contingent of fans in attendance who were clearly happy to see her back in town too. Touring behind her latest, Gumshoe, Crain’s set focused mostly on tunes off the album, with the title track standing out as a definite highlight.
Noting that the initial inspiration for the track came from her childhood love of Carmen Sandiego, Crain explained that she always loved the word ‘gumshoe’ after first hearing the old-timey slang on the show back in the day and would consistently write it down in notebooks, hoping she’d get the chance to use it in a song someday.
“Did you ever get the chance?” asked her bassist.
“We’re playing it right now,” she replied.
“G for Gumshoe,” he added, wryly explaining it was an inside joke because the song is in the key of G. “It’s a music thing.” It was a pretty dorky but endearing moment.
“Neptune Baby,” another standout moment, came with a great backstory. Originally a raw, unfinished demo recorded on her phone and sent to her friend Sterlin Harjo (of Reservation Dogs fame), the track was not yet meant for public consumption. Naturally, he used it in the show anyway.
“Did you ever finish it?” the bassist chimed in again.
“He has a lot of questions about songs we’re actively going to play,” Crain quipped.
“It’s all part of the show,” he deadpanned.
And it was indeed quite the show. Between the easy banter, great stories, and strong songwriting that leaned heavily into lyrical storytelling, Crain’s set didn’t need too much flash to make its mark – just personality, talent, and some solid tunes.
