Hawksley Live At Massey

Massey Hall

Toronto, ON

on Nov 28 2008

Caitlin Hotchkiss (CHARTattack)

12/01/2008 3:53pm

Given the freezing Toronto temperature on Friday night — not to mention the lack of need to line up early, since Massey Hall is thankfully a seated venue — it was pretty heartening to see that the cavernous hall was more than half-full for opening band Hey Rosetta!. It's always a good sign for a band on the rise when they can pull in a crowd when they're acting as support. (Sure enough, the two guys sitting beside me only stayed for HR!'s set before leaving.)

As the evening's openers, Hey Rosetta! worked perfectly. Even though singer Tim Baker sounded remarkably Workman-like, Hey Rosetta!'s songs were just the right amount of impressive without overdoing it, complete with what music critics would probably term as "lush sonic landscapes." They may be a few members shy of a Social Scene of their own, but they had the requisite strings, keys and cute girl violinist Kinley Dowling, all of which are more or less guaranteed to get you at least 6.2 on Pitchfork these days. It's safe to say that the image of Canadian indie rock as twee, grandiose and collaborative is alive and well with this band.

Hawksley Workman couldn't have chosen a more appropriate opening song for this chilly night than the rustic folkie ballad "Almost A Full Moon." Aside from being on his Christmas-themed album of the same name, it made for the perfect introduction to an evening in which the singer/songwriter and his band succeeded in turning a giant concert hall into an intimate venue, as well as proving a sonic rollercoaster ride of seamless ups (the high-energy rock songs) and downs (the more laid-back ballads).

Workman's voice — which could probably carry even without a microphone — is malleable in its ability to switch from howling falsetto to a low, sensual croon. Combined with his natural ease onstage and ability to casually chat with the crowd, he had the room eating out of his hand.

As prolific as he may be (one needs only to look at his surname), the down side to Workman's genius is that his extensive discography must make it impossible to choose a set list. This is especially true given that, although he has the new Los Manlicious to promote, it was clear that most of the audience was there to see him perform his hits.

Workman's tendency to let his songs blow up into epic proportions — as well as his need to tell stories and banter with the audience — also made time constrictions a concern.

Yet a solid balance was made between the old and the new, and songs like Lover/Fighter's "Ilfracombe" mingled with "Is This What You Call Love?" from his most recent release. Right before two classic singles — "Jealous Of Your Cigarette" (which still never fails to get stuck in your head for days) and "Striptease" — were rocked out in succession, there was a pleasant Massey-wide singalong to "Safe And Sound," which even featured a special guest performer on drums: Workman's father, who got a standing ovation from half the room. Nothing like having family around for the holidays.

Then, many performers' ultimate nightmare struck: the PA vanished. Goodbye, amplified sound.

"That's alright, it's just Massey Hall," Workman quipped with a grin, as he proceeded to grab an acoustic guitar and make the most of it and performed the phenomenal "Anger As Beauty," unplugged with just his voice and guitar and the violin behind him.

Remember the part I said earlier about how his vocals could probably carry even without a microphone? Here was the proof. And it was something close to magical.

Once the PA came back in with a resounding thump, Workman and his violin player made a seamless transition right back to electric as the room roared its approval. That spectacle was followed up with the sentimental, aching double-punch of "Autumn's Here" and new song "When You Gonna Flower?" They made the place go nuts, at least as nuts as the audience could go while seated.

With his new release gaining steam and his stage show still remarkable, I feel comfortable enough to state that Workman might just be this generation's Leonard Cohen, with less gravitas and more playful cheek. And there's always room in the pantheon of Canadian singer/songwriters for ones who are true artists — not to mention romantics at heart.