Background/Composition:
Molly Rankin is late original Rankin family member John Morris Rankin’s daughter. Unlike the well known musical family, she doesn’t play Irish folk tunes, and her tunes are more along the lines of Two Hours Traffic-esque east coast indie pop. That’s appropriate, since she had THT’s Alec O’Hanley on stage with her.
Grade: 73
Comment:
In addition to O’Hanley, Rankin was joined by Boxer The Horse’s Jeremy Gaudet and The Stills’ Greg Paquet and Olivier Corbeil. The latter two band members may have been an attempt to inject some Montreal cool into her set. (Kidding!)
Achievement of Rock ‘n’ Roll Expectations
80-100: Exceeds skill and knowledge expectations, i.e. rocked us so hard we peed our pants.
70-79: Achieves required skills and knowledge. Meets rock ‘n’ roll standard.
60-69: Demonstrates some skills. Approaches rock ‘n’ roll standard.
50-59: Demonstrates some required skills and knowledge in a limited way.
00-50: Has not demonstrated required skills or knowledge.
Learning Skills: E=Excellent, G=Good, S=Satisfactory, N=Sad Really
Oral And Visual Communication
Eye Contact: G
Pronunciation: E
Stage Presence: G
Stage Banter: G
Image: G
Appearance: G
Use Of Stage: S
Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Rankin’s banter was probably the most interesting part of her set. There’s something to be said for deadpan, dry humour, which seems to have withered up in comedy these days. She kept the audience entertained throughout her performance. “Who’s going to Janet Jackson?” she asked, with a cheeky smile on her face, before saying, “Not me.”
Her only flaw, presence-wise, was she stood almost completely still for her entire set.
Musical Analysis
Level Of Participation: E
Problem Solving: N/A
Teamwork: G
Work Habits: G
Organization: G
Audience Participation: S
Sound: G
Composition: G
Songs: G
Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Rankin’s tunes are pretty catchy, and if she keeps at it, she’s got the makings to be a star. That might actually be inevitable, however, considering her family and the fact that she also seemed to have tons of fans out for her set (even if they were Rankin Family obsessives, that doesn’t hurt).
Other Skills And Areas Of Interest
Charisma: G
Problem Solving: N/A
Teamwork: G
Sexiness: G
Haircut: G
Indie Rock Footwear: G
Nods To Disposable Fashion: E
Cool Equipment: G
Level Of Inebriation: G
Actual Ability: G
Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Rankin’s sassy banter was accompanied by a dress shirt tucked into black jeans with rocker boots. Her image appropriately suited her swagger. If she keeps honing her sound and live image, she’ll be huge pretty quickly.
At one point, O’Hanley pulled out a kinda square but rounded at the ends Danelectro guitar. It may just have been the coolest guitar anyone had all night.
- Modern Superstitions @ CMW 2011
- Jimmy Rankin Gives The West A Taste Of The East
- Jimmy Rankin@Horseshoe Tavern
- Jimmy Rankin: Call Me Alt.Country
- Jimmy Rankin — Song Dog
