The Lawn's CMW Reunion: A Gig For The Ages

Last week during CMW 2010, I had a chance to feel young again and it didn't involve trying to slide into tight straight-legged jeans, attempt the embarrassing comb-over or even settle for a DIET-PEPSI instead.

The Lawn played for the first time in 16 years and the first time with this line-up since drummer, Mike Duggan's departure two decades ago. And their 40 minute-long set proved Thom Wolfe wrong, in some instances, you can go home.

Through my personal grapevine, I knew that some band members were a bit nervous playing again, but it soon became apparent that The Lawn hasn't become riddled with crabgrass, iron weed and fading dandelions. The band's ability to make twenty years disappear in a single note had the same effect on the aged audience feel the musical rejuvenation of Scott's Turfbuilder on a overrun patch of grass.

Outside of a ending cover and a inclusion of "1" from the band's weaker sophomore release, Debussy Fields, the majority of the material came from the quartet's brilliant debut, Peace In The Valley. Each time we heard either Patrick Gregory's familiar guitar intro or singer-slide guitarist Gord Cumming's slide riff for "Shady Street" "As Yet," "Catwalk Slip" and "Reconsider Baby" its like we all back at the Spadina Hotel's Cabana Room (on the northwest corner of King and Spadina) grooving away and getting drunk on stubbies served by our favourite bartender, Jimmy.

Gord Cumming's mid-song quips were both typical of the man's skewed since of humour. He even had the chance to gloat about the Leafs, his favourite hockey team, in the midst of an unusual winning streak.

By the time we got to "Beluger" introduced as a song about a whale...duh! and "Peace In The Valley" every one in the crowd was fully satisfied. We even got the band to come back for a one-song encore, a cove of Pere Ubu's "Heaven." While it's no "Newton Told Me" (the obscure b-side from Gord's favourite band, The Go-Betweens), it still perfectly capped off a magical evening.

Let's hope we don't have to wait another twenty years for their next show!