Jeff Martin & The Toronto Tabla Ensemble: Live At The Enmore Theatre

Jeff Martin, Canadian rock's paragon of pretension, fulfills another part of his solo contract by donning a black velvet blazer (of course) and filming a DVD performance in Australia. It makes sense, given The Tea Party's biggest fanbase was always (inexplicably) Down Under. This probably also explains why more than half of Martin's set was made up of old Tea Party songs. Another natural, though slightly gimmicky move was to have Martin backed by the awesome Toronto Tabla Ensemble, who do more than a capable job pounding through "Sister Awake" and "The Bazaar." Given that the past chemistry between the three Tea members was always questionable, this solo venture makes it was clear who the star of the show was — the Captain Morgan lookalike bellowing at the microphone. Watching this DVD is kind of like watching any old Tea Party show if Burrows and Chatwood had called in sick for the night. It's good for the fans who haven't yet abandoned Martin for his ambitions of solo grandeur. It's the same old, same old for anyone who never liked him in the first place.