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Concert Reviews

Review: The Dead South and Elliot Brood at TD Place

 

 

A few months ago my bud Matt got me into this bluegrass band called The Dead South who hail from Saskatchewan.  They had this incredible video:

Anyhow, when I heard they were coming to town a bunch of picked up some tickets for a Tuesday night in Ottawa at the TD Place.

Elliot Brood in full Hallowe’en garb

Thanks to Vero for letting me head out on a Tuesday night to check out this band!  Going to a concert is a game day call when there are two kids in the house.

I missed the first couple of songs of Elliot Brood which is a crying shame because the first song they played was C’est L’Halloween which I had been talking about the week prior at work.  Supposedly this song is super popular around the world but no one has heard about it.  But out of nowhere, Elliot Brood opens their set with it!  My friends were freaking out.  Here‘s an interesting article about this song.

Great stage setup by The Dead South!

I found Chanelle, Matt and Matt’s mom a few rows from centre stage.  The TD Place floor was packed but they had shut down the stands for the event…probably due to lack of ticket sales?

Elliot Brood was a great rollicking time and I will definitely be checking some of their music again as I was not familiar with them.

The Dead South put on a great show as well.  I’m not entirely familiar with their catalogue of tunes but the crowd seemed to know every word!  You can tell the band is embarking on a larger production type of show where they choreograph some moves (like the swaying of their instruments at the same time) as well as some extended jams to fill in some time between songs.  I was wondering if the lack of a drummer would be an issue but with a bluegrass band, there are no worries!

Also, can I put a shout out to Danny Kenyon who handles the cello strapped to his back like a champ?  He is crazy good.  Let’s be honest, the entire band is great.

Two thumbs up for this show.  Catch them if you can!

Can I just say I think it’s really interesting how they are huge in Germany but this will be the first tour that brings them to the Maritimes?  I can’t wrap my head around that considering they are a Canadian band!

Now…onto my one gripe.  It’s a large one so hold on the for the ride.

Who the heck charges $20 a CD to ticketholders?!

I was walking in there thinking I would plunk down my cash to pick up their three albums.  I have listened to them on Google Play Music but it was time to support this band with some dollars.

Now, I’ve been to a few concerts over my lifetime.  As I type this, it shows that I have been to 610 of them.

In my experience, I have never seen a cd priced higher than 15 bucks.  Generally you’ll see CDs hanging around the ten buck mark.

Now, on one hand, you would think that maybe the price of CDs have gone up over time and that’s how they can justify their price.  I do agree that the price for CDs are slowly creeping into the 20 dollar range.  In fact, The Dead South albums are all hovering around 22 bucks on Amazon.

But the other hand is the following: you’ve already got fans coming in the door.  You also are hoping to win new fans with your awesome tunes and your show.  You want to melt their brains and have them wanting more when they leave.  What better way to do so than to have a cd at a bargain?

Case in point: I walked out there with nothing other than a poster.  I didn’t even bother picking up one CD.  But I was ready to buy all three CDs if they were priced at $15 or less.  My friend Chanelle was thinking of picking up a CD to support the band but balked at the $20 price point.

I went to see Skye Wallace a few weeks after this Dead South show and she blew me away much like Dead South blew me away.  I went and picked up all her albums for ten bucks each.

In today’s market, buying tour merchandise has become even more of a showing of support for a band.  We already have your music via streaming services.  Why do we need a CD?

To show our support.  So please don’t gouge us.

Hey, what do I know?  Maybe you end up selling enough $20 cds to a smaller group of people but still make more money?  I’m trying to wrap my head around what the ultimate goal of selling tour merchandise is. Is it to make the most profit, or is it to get something in the hands of fans to show their support, or is there a middle road somewhere?  I have a feeling the middle road is what most bands take.

Rant over!  Still a great show and I encourage everyone to check out The Dead South!

Setlist (Elliot Brood)

C’est L’Halloween [Matt Maxwell]
@Unknown[Lyrics: …I could hear them coming over that hill…]
’til the Sun Comes Up Again
Jigsaw Heart
Dig a Little Hole
Woodward Avenue
@Unknown[Lyrics: …come out with your hands held high…]
2 4 6 8
The Valley Town
Without Again
Write It All Down for You

Setlist (The Dead South)

Diamond Ring
Time for Crawlin’
Boots
Miss Mary
The Recap
Honey You
That Bastard Son
Blue Trash
Fat Little Killer Boy
Snake Man
Black Lung
Heaven In A Wheelbarrow
Spaghetti
In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company

 

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