Two nights of wonderful  music later and some pretty good shots, I have to say of all the possible choices, I made some good ones. These shows took place at the Ukrainian Federation, a beautiful little venue with brilliant acoustics and a moody lighting system that kept me on my toes a bit more than usual when shooting live music.

Working backwards, starting with last night and the headliner ...



Who else but the lovely and passionate Joanna Newsom? The way she plays, no, attacks that harp, and the heart she puts into her music ... wow. Her recordings don't move me, but live, I was mesmerized.



Denmark's under byen get compared a lot to Sigur Ros or Godspeed, but outside the word "collective" and the fact they don't sing in English, don't buy that hype. Live, there is so much going on, it was a great set to shoot.



Montrealer Joe Grass opened the night with some beautiful guitar and nearly Nick Drake-like vocals. I said, nearly. ;) Love that slide guitar ...

Wednesday night's headliner had not played Montreal since 1975 and will most likely not return again ...



Ramblin' Jack Elliott was touching, entertaining and funny. At 75 years old, we were lucky he travelled this far. He told us a story of how Bob Dylan publicly "relinquished" "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" to him after hearing Elliott's version, which he then played for us. He told stories about his dearly missed dog, travelling around Europe, and climbing a radio tower in a snowstorm. Yes, rambling. And he had a no photo rule in effect, even managed to scare of an official newspaper photographer.



Montrealer's Katie Moore had me wondering just how "on the verge" of breaking into the big leagues this bluegrass-country-folkster was. Like Joe Grass, this is the first time I saw Katie Moore perform. Lots of talent in this city ...



Al Tuck made me think of the real cowboy around the campfire deal, or as real as you can get after Jack Elliott.



Finally, opening act Jesse Jackson whose vocal phrasing sort of makes me think of Jack Elliott but in a more pop sound. Before the Joanna concert, I bumped into an acquaintance who described Jackson, who was over at my friend's place in the afternoon, as a "talented little freak". I had to laugh because, with my inside knowledge of Jackson, I couldn't agree more.

Taking a small break from shows until the Mojave 3 concert in a couple of weeks ...

Cheers.