Cuff The Duke Have Groupies

Horseshoe Tavern

Toronto, ON

on Aug 22 2008

Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

08/25/2008 1:48pm

Friday night's Cuff The Duke show at the 'Shoe — the first of two consecutive nights they played there — was entirely enjoyable and entertaining, despite a huge distraction.

Oshawa's The Stables got things going with their brand of country. Instead of a bass, they used a small tin washtub turned upside down with a hockey stick tied to it with rope. This makeshift "bass" works when a band member climbs on top of the tub, holds the hockey stick vertically, makes the string taut and plucks the rope like one would pluck the string on an upright bass. While they're a trio of very talented musicians, their lyrics ("I've got ADD and I don't know where to be") leave a little bit to be desired. I heard someone describe them as the "Gob of country" and I'd have to agree. Their songs all sound the same and things got old pretty quickly. They rejoined the headliners on stage later in the evening.

I'm not sure the crowd knew what to make of Bruce Peninsula's experimental rock at first, but some people were dancing and seemed to enjoy it by the end of their set. Although the Bruce Peninsula choir wasn't with them, the band's five-part harmonies (they have three female and two male singers), juxtaposed with what were almost math rock guitar parts, were interesting to watch and hear. It's no wonder their full-length album is eagerly anticipated by so many in the Toronto scene.

At the end of Bruce Peninsula's set, a lady next to me asked me what I thought of it. I said I enjoyed it, but she said she didn't. "I don't think those girls did anything up there," she said.

I didn't agree, since I think five-part harmony is pretty difficult, so I let it go. I then heard same lady say to her friend, "You know, I'm not into that groupie shit, but I love [Cuff The Duke frontman] Wayne Petti, I love him!" followed by "I'm gonna do it tonight. I'm gonna do it."

I wondered what she was talking about, but all would soon be revealed.

Cuff The Duke opened with "Remember The Good Times" from last year's Sidelines Of The City and "Belgium Or Peru" from their 2005 self-titled release. These were followed by more songs "Rossland Square" and "If I Live Or If I Die" from the former album. A few songs into their set, the lady who had been standing next to me jumped up on the side of the stage and started dancing around. She was only there for a second or two and jumped down, but when Petti came to her side of the stage soon after she'd got down, she tried to grab his crotch. She missed and he kind of jumped back a bit, but he avoided that side of the stage for the rest of the night.

But the antics weren't finished. During "The Future Hangs," the same lady got back up on stage, but this time she ran behind the band members, jumped all over the stage and even started grinding herself against them. This was hilarious, but Cuff The Duke understandably didn't seem to know what to make of it, not being the sort of band that generally evokes this type of reaction. Their faces showed a mixture of confusion and incredulity. It was surprising that no one screwed anything up (Petti was trying not to laugh) because that must have been one hell of a strange distraction. I looked over to the side of the stage to see Basia Bulat nearly dying of laughter. The dancing lady dismounted the stage at the end of the song and security came over to lecture her about her behaviour. But she wasn't ejected (partly because several band members told security not to kick her out) and she stayed pretty well-behaved for the rest of the night.

Bulat then joined Cuff The Duke for a very good version of "The Ballad Of Poor John Henry." Cuff The Duke later played a cover of The Rolling Stones' "She's A Rainbow," and while Petti's lyric cheat sheets taped to the P.A. weren't impressive, you really can never be too careful, since the night had already proven that distractions can take any form. Petti's guitar chops were on display throughout the night, and he and the rest of the band showed off their skills during the set-ending "By Winter's End," during which he played an extended guitar solo.

Cuff The Duke took the stage again for an encore which consisted of a cover of Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band's "Against The Wind" and their own "Ballad Of A Lonely Construction Worker," for which they were joined by Bulat and both opening bands.

This show was excellent, not only for sheer entertainment value and hilarity, but also for the quality of Cuff The Duke's performance. That they maintained their composure during one of the weirdest and strangest concert moments I've seen proves they're great performers. In the meantime, let it be known: You can still get chicks if you play in a country band.

Here's what Cuff The Duke played:
"Remember The Good Times"
"Belgium Or Peru"
"Rossland Square"
"If I Live Or If I Die"
"The Future Hangs"
"The Ballad Of Poor John Henry"
"Confessions From A Parkdale Basement"
"She's A Rainbow" (Rolling Stones cover)
"Surging Revival"
"Failure To Some"
"Take My Money And Run"
"By Winter's End"
"Against The Wind" (encore, Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band cover)
"Ballad Of A Lonely Construction Worker"