Last week we finally got to our first Toronto concert. Stacey Earle and her husband, Mark Stuart, were performing at a small club on the west side. She is the younger sister of Steve Earle and has been releasing her own CDs since the late 90s. I have been dealing directly with her through Village Records from the beginning.
It was a Thursday show but it was an early show, advertised to start at 7:00. We took the King Street street car and transferred to the Ossington bus which literally dropped us off right at the front door of The Dakota. We got there early enough to get dinner there which turned out to be one of the better meals we have had out. For a bonus we were treated to Stacey’s sound check.
Between sets they took a short break and I was able to speak to Stacey for a while. We haven’t been in touch for a few years as her recording output had slowed considerably and I wasn’t sure she would remember me. She answered that with her big friendly bear hug and we quickly caught up until it was time to get back on the stage. We loved the show, they mixed the familiar with several surprises and great vocals and guitar work throughout. They also took advantage of the house piano by finishing the show with a quick instrumental “Heart And Soul”.
I encountered something new at their merchandise table after the show. In addition to the usual collection of their CDs they were also selling USB drives that contained their entire recorded output, all of their albums plus 60-something unreleased tracks. I think she said there were 241 songs total. The drives were selling well and Mark and Stacey managed to squeeze their autographs on them as well.
I didn’t mention how I found out about this show. My friend, John Matterface, alerted me to it a couple of weeks ago. He lives on the southeast coast of England. From six time zones away John manages to make sure that I don't miss these great shows in my own back yard. Thanks John. The small world keeps getting smaller.
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