Patrick Watson
Maggie Mae’s, Thursday, March 15
This Montreal quartet’s late-night showcase was an exercise in awe and frustration. On one hand, their sheer physicality and how fully they embodied their music was amazing. Particularly charming were drummer Robbie Kuster’s facial expressions while drumming, evoking memories of Animal the drumming Muppet as he chomped his jaws and puffed out his cheeks. When Watson came out from behind the piano to sing “Shelter From the Storm,” which he dedicated to the South in honor of all the “sweeties” and “sugars” he’d heard over the past week, the singer held his effects pedal in hand and twisted the knobs to make his voice sound like the wind. On the other hand, it was disconcerting that the musician responsible for the aptly titled Close to Paradise is rather obnoxious in person, peppering the set with a bleating laugh that undermined the beauty of his songs. Maybe it was nerves, but Watson would have been better served using his 30-minute set to let the music speak for itself.
This article appears in March 23 • 2007.