David Francey at Hugh's Room

First off, congrats to our friends Andrew and Jenny, who are engaged to be married! This news made my day. And then we attended the David Francey concert, which capped off an already wonderful Monday...

Since Dave Clement introduced me to the music of David Francey several years ago, I've accumulated all his CDs and have gotten Jeff hooked as well. Last night, we attended a concert at Hugh's Room with Allison, Jodi, Walter, Sally, Sue and Tom; Sue organized the outing months ago.

For both Jeff and me, this concert ranked as one of our all-time favourites. The venue, for one thing, is wonderful. Allison and I had already attended a concert in Hugh's Room (Tom Paxton and Christine Lavin) a couple of years ago and had a similar experience. The sound system in Hugh's Room is excellent, the atmosphere intimate, the food delicious.

I found the audience, just like the one I attended before, was attentive and respectful of the performer as well as other members of the audience. No one chatted while David Francey was performing...we were all there to listen. Bravo! was there filming a documentary but was happily unobtrusive.


L to R: Walter, Jeff, Sue, Tom, Sally, Jodi and Allison.

Another reason we enjoyed the concert so much was the high level of performance. So many times, pro recording artists sound great on CD but noticeably sloppier in live performance where they can't rely on ProTools and other tech tools to tweak and cover up mistakes. David Francey, Shane Simpson and Geoff Somers, on the other hand, gave an impressively tight performance with just voices and acoustic instruments...no fancy effects or equipment.



One of the benefits of hearing David Francey live was being able to hear all the banter between songs, the background of each. David was a WONDERFUL storyteller with a wry sense of humour. His sincere and down-to-earth personality carries over into his songs.

Born in Scotland in 1954, David and his family immigrated to Toronto when he was twelve years old; they now live in Southern Ontario. He's won two Juno awards (he was still a construction worker when he won his first Juno) and has done workshops with artists like Garnet Rogers, the Ennis Sisters, Ray Bonneville, Kate Rusby, James Keelaghan, Sylvia Tyson, and Ashley MacIsaac. I have his four CDs (Torn Screen Door, Far End of Summer, Skating Rink, Waking Hour) and picked up his newest CD at the concert:



Just before dinner was served, we noticed that David Francey was standing near our table, chatting with someone. Jeff saw my expression and suggested that I go talk to him.

"But what would I say?" I asked, afraid I'd just go into drooling incoherent fangirl mode.

Allison suggested I ask him for a photo...brilliant idea! I was a bit nervous about approaching him, but he was SO nice about it. Didn't flinch at my enthusiasm, had an easygoing smile and acted as if he had all the time in the world. Thanks to Walter for taking the photo.

Huge thanks to Sue Posteraro for organizing this concert outing...both Jeff and I enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Great music, great food, and great company: it was a wonderful way to spend a Monday evening.

:-)



Above: Tom gave furry flowers to each member of Urban Tapestry. It was so great to see him again! He and Sue were pretty darned cute together, I have to say. And it looks as if Tom's going to be MOVING TO TORONTO BY THE END OF THE YEAR (!!!!!!!). He and Sue are going to be living downtown and within easy access of the subway, yay!

You can see more photos from the evening here.

If you ever have the chance, do go hear David Francey live. Here is his upcoming concert schedule, which includes appearances in New Hampshire, Newfoundland, British Columbia, Quebec, New York, Alberta and Ontario.

And I heartily recommend Hugh's Room as a concert venue. You can see their full concert schedule here, including concerts by Jane Siberry, Arrogant Worms, Christine Lavin, Tanglefoot and James Keelaghan.



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