photos by Jess Baumung
Tim Chaisson and
Poor Young Things are in the midst of a cross-Canada tour. During the
tour they frequently add a local act to the nightly bill. On November 2nd at the Seahorse Tavern in Halifax, Nova Scotia's
Matthew Pickup & The Movement was the opener. The bands provided over 3 hours of high energy and incredible music.
Matthew Pickup & The Movement
Hailing from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Matthew Pickup & The Movement have two albums under their belt - 'Pursuit of Symmetry' (2009) and 'Learing To Lose Control' (2011). They are currently working on a new EP.
The band consists of Matthew Pickup on vocals and guitar, Nick Michaud on drums, Matt Wight on bass, and newest member Andy MacLean on lead guitar.
Matthew Pickup & The Movement started the night at The Seahorse with a couple of songs from 'Learning to Lose Control' and from the opening notes served notice that they were ready to rock. The Movement, who sound like a cross between The Trews and Pearl Jam, play loud and they play hard.
Matthew Pickup & The Movement is a fun band to watch. Pickup is a natural front man bringing humour and energy to the stage. His vocals range from Chris Cornell to Eddie Vedder, depending on the song. His Vedder styling showed most on the songs "Out of My Control" (from the upcoming EP) and "Light Protection" (from Learning To Lose Control).
The band finished off the night with a cover of The Beatles 'Don't Let Me Down' and "Trouble City" from their debut album, 'Pursuit of Symmetry'. They were a great addition to the Tim Chaisson/Poor Young Things show.
Set List (Matthew Pickup & The Movement):
1. Lose Control (from 'Learning to Lose Control')
2. Scatter (from 'Learning to Lose Control')
3. Still Taking Pieces (from upcoming EP) - CHECK
4. Out of My Control - from upcoming EP) - CHECK NAME
5. Bring Me Sunshine (from 'Learning to Lose Control')
6. Light Protection (from 'Learning to Lose Control')
7. My Name Is featuring Tommy MacGillivray (from upcoming EP) - CHECK
8. Don't Let Me Down (Beatles)
9. Trouble City (from 'Pursuit of Symmetry')
Tim Chaisson
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| photo by C Cameron |
Prince Edward Island is home to some of Atlantic Canada's most beautiful voices (see
Rose Cousins and
Catherine MacLellan). Tim Chaisson is another Islander blessed with an angelic voice. As a member of PEI's "Chaisson Family", he has been involved in the PEI music scene for most of his life.
Chaisson, a multi-instrumentalist, has released five albums - Timothy Chaisson (2002), Something Acoustic (2004), Even (2006), Broken Hearted Beat, as Tim Chaisson and Morning Fold (2009) and The Other Side (2012). He has been nominated for four East Coast Music Awards and is a multiple Music Prince Edward Island Award winner.
'The Other Side', one of the best albums of 2012, has received
great reviews and its catchy lead single,
'Beat This Heart' featuring Serena Ryder, is currently in the
Radio 2 Top 20.
Chaisson, who is described by Australia's
May The Rock Be With You as a "golden-voiced Canadian singer-songwriter" whose "star is on the rise", performed the Seahorse show with The Morning Fold. The band played flawlessly and looked genuinely happy to be on the stage together. All of Chaisson's talents shone through on this night.
The moment Chaisson took the stage, the floor at The Seahorse filled with energetic young women. Dancing and singing along to every song, these happy fans did not stop until the show was over.
Chaisson opened his show with 'Bail You Out' from 'The Other Side'. As the lyrics "You’re high now, but wait till you come back down; You want me to take you in, when you are a mess again" floated over the crowd, it was clear that this night belonged to him. This song was followed by 'Speak Easier' and the aforementioned single 'Beat This Heart'. By this time everyone in the crowd was singing along.
Chaisson then took the audience back to some of his older material ("Wasn't for You" from 'Even' and "Broken Hearted Beat" from the album of the same name) before playing 'Wherever You Are" a song written with Nova Scotia songwriter Gordie Samson. Chaisson then got the crowd foot stompin' for the song "The Other Side" and singing along for "Slippin' Away".
Chaisson entertained the audience with an exceptional fiddle performance on 'Lapones' (an instrumental fiddle medley), before ending with the heart wrenching 'Come Clean'. The crowd could not have asked for a better show from Chaisson.
Set List (Tim Chaisson):
1. Bail You Out (from 'The Other Side')
2. Speak Easier (from 'The Other Side')
3. Beat This Heart (from 'The Other Side')
4 Wasn't For You (from 'Even')
5. Broken Hearted Beat (from 'Broken Hearted Beat')
6. Wherever You Are (from 'The Other Side')
7. The Other Side (from 'The Other Side')
8. Slippin Away (from 'Broken Hearted Beat')
9. Lapones (an instrumental fiddle medley)
10. Come Clean (from 'The Other Side')
Poor Young Things
Poor Young Things hail from Thunder Bay, Ontario. The band consists of Matt Fratpietro (lead vocals/guitar), Michael Kondakow (guitar), Dave Grant (guitar), Scottt Burke (bass) and Konrad Commisso (drums).
The Movember mustachioed Poor Young Things released their 6-song debut EP 'Let It Sleep' in January and are soon releasing a new album. The show at The Seahorse was their fourth in Halifax this year.
Poor Young Things have a chemistry that can only be formed before leaving high school. They play music that is perfectly suited to their talents and Fratpietro's vocal style. On "Let It Sleep", they sing, "we fight the war on the weekend" and fortunately for Halifax, this show was on a Friday night. Starting well after midnight the band, who always put on an excellent live rock show, did not disappoint.
Poor Young Things began their show with a mix of songs from "Let It Sleep" and some from their soon to be released album. Maintaining the positive energy from the earlier acts, the band had the audience dancing and singing along to songs like 'Dress It Up', 'The Low Road', Let It Sleep' and their new single
'Hearts and Minds'. Towards the end of the evening, guitarist Grant even forayed into the crowd while playing before the band played their hugely popular song "Blame It On The Good Times", a song about Toronto’s Dakota Tavern.
For the final song, Poor Young Things were joined onstage by Chaisson and Morning Fold's Tian Wigmore for a spirited
cover of The Travelling Wilburys "Handle With Care". Taking turns with the vocals, it was a perfect ending to the evening.
The Tim Chaisson/Poor Young Things tour continues until December 4th (see dates below). This is one show you will not want to miss.
Nov 6 – Kingston, ON – The Mansion
Nov 7 – Montreal, QC – Quai De Brunes
Nov 8 – Hamilton, ON – Mohawk College
Nov 9 – Sarnia, ON – Paddy Flaherty’s
Nov 10 – Perth, ON – O’Reilly’s
Nov 13 –Oakville, ON – Sheridan College Student Union
Nov 14 – Windsor, ON – The Dominion House
Nov 15 – Waterloo, ON – Wilfrid Laurier U Student Union
Nov 16 – London, ON – Out Back Shack
Nov 17 – Toronto, ON – The Horseshoe Tavern
Nov 19 – Ottawa, ON – Algonquin College – Student Commons
Nov 20 – Peterborough, ON – Red Dog Tavern
Nov 22 – Sudbury, ON – Cambrian College
Nov 23 – Sault Ste Marie, ON – Loplops
Nov 24 – Thunder Bay, ON – The Outpost – Lakehead University
Nov 26 – Dauphin, MB – Watson Arts Centre
Nov 27 – Regina, SK – Artful Dodger
Nov 28 – Calgary, AB – Gateway
Nov 29 – Vancouver, BC – Pit Pub – UBC
Nov 30 – Victoria, BC – Felicitas Pub (University of Victoria)
Dec 1 – Kelowna, BC – Doc Willoughby’s
Dec 2 – Nelson, BC – The Royal
Dec 4 – Edmonton, AB – Myer Horowitz Theatre – University of Alberta
