Son Of Dave Showcase

I dropped by Toronto's Rivoli at 6 p.m. on Tuesday to check out a music industry showcase for Son Of Dave, the stage name used by former Crash Test Dummies member Benjamin Darvill, to promote his new Sparks Music album, 03. Lots of former BMG Canada staffers were on hand, as well as quite a few other music biz people I hadn't seen in a while. The lure of free booze and food can make things like that happen. It reminded me of the '90s, when events like this (which are now rare) were a regular occurrence.

I liked some Crash Test Dummies songs (though I can make a strong argument that their best was a cover of Paul Westerberg's "Androgynous"), but Son Of Dave's material bears no resemblance to those '90s shooting stars. He's a blues-based, Tom Waits-influenced, one-man band and human beatbox who sings, plays harmonica and percussion instruments, and twiddles with effects. His between-song banter was humorous and he looked sharp while decked out in a fedora, shirt, tie and silk bath robe. Sorry to the folks at Sparks, but Son Of Dave's 50-minute set was much more entertaining than any of his records.

But it's a close race for entertainment value between Son Of Dave and when I ran into former Crash Test Dummies frontman Brad Roberts on a New York City street five years ago. Roberts had acquired a reputation for sloppily drunk performances as the group wound down, and he lived up that rep that night.

I had been flown to NYC by Universal Music Canada to see Fefe Dobson perform, but the great blackout struck moments after I left the airport. The gig was cancelled and I found myself wandering around in the dark with Universal's Tyson Parker, when I bumped into Roberts. Even though we had previously had a number of conversations, which I reminded him of, he had no idea who I was because he was so wasted.

Roberts soon walked away and, although I certainly didn't want to end up like him, I was inspired to walk around the blackened streets drinking beer until daylight broke.