Josh Reichmann & The Oracle Band / Valery Gore / Laura Barrett
Laura Barrett, sensibly dressed for the commute to tonight's Horseshoe gig (though the lady does need some mittens)
Old Man Winter is dumping on Toronto at the moment. For some people, the weather will guarantee they’re staying in and watching American Idol’s karaoke warblers. If you’ve access to the TTC, though, or live in the downtown core, and actually care to see some true musical talent, there’s a triple bill of great Toronto musical artists at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern this evening.
First on the bill, and starting at 9pm, is Laura Barrett. Consistently mentioned by Canadian music critics as an emerging and idiosyncratic national treasure, Barrett possesses the rare ability to lull a rock club into revered quiet with her glimmering soprano, and her dazzlingly complex compositions. Accompanied by members of The Bicycles for this show, Barrett will be playing her signature instrument, the “thumb piano”, or kalimba. But she’ll also be breaking out some of the keyboard-composed songs from her full length debut album “Victory Garden” (released by Paper Bag Records last fall) , like the carnival-esque, whirling tune “Chidiya“.
This will be Barrett’s last Toronto show in some time, as this weekend, she leaves our warm environs to go somewhere REALLY cold. She’ll be spending a month in the Yukon, at an artist’s residency in Dawson City, working on material for a new album.
(More about songstress Valery Gore, and Toronto’s “Jewish Legend” Josh Reichmann, including a terrific summer tune to blast away the winter blues, after the jump.) Read more…