KULAS : TORONTO CLINTON'S 27.4.02
Setlist: Glasgow Rain, Anyone Else, Beautiful Day (Part Two), She's All The Rage, The Only One, Sleep, Pavement, Thanks To Fast Eddie / Sit Down, Burning Down Hollywood, Beginning Of The End,
Encores: Hallelujah (solo electric), Clever Mess (solo acoustic), Starland, Lust For Love
review by brd
Surgeon General's Warning: over indulging in Kulas music over a short period of time might become habit forming. Read on to find out why.
It struck me last night as I was getting ready to take a short subway ride to Clinton's, an old club smack dab in the middle of Toronto's Korea Town on Bloor Street West, that it had been about six weeks since I last had the pleasure of a Kulas live set. A few months earlier I had experienced the supreme over-indulgence in musical pleasure when I flew to the UK in early December to see the last three ever James shows with Tim Booth and Michael Kulas. A couple months later in February, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself sitting in a Toronto club listening to Michael doing a rather tentative, intimate solo acoustic set - quite a contrast and a charge after having sat with tens of thousands of Mancunians, Glaswegians and Londoners to see him playing with James. Since then, I've had the pleasure of listening to Kulas develop his live set at a total of five Toronto shows, the last three with a four piece backing band. This had become a very enjoyable habit. As it had been six weeks since my Last Kulas set I wondered, "What was tonight's session at Clinton's, which was being recorded for possible release, going to deliver?"
Arriving at Clinton's a short time later, it was curious to find that it was a rather small, intimate space, with a Korean karaoke bar over top it! And as we heard from Michael himself on the stage later that night, it was the first time since 1994 that he had played this venue. Though almost empty when we first came in, the space quickly filled up with what quickly became apparent to be Kulas friends and family, as well as common fans such as myself.
With anticipation in the air, opening act Rhonda Stakich started a short acoustic set at about 10pm - too bad a lot of the audience didn't take the time to listen to her great vocal range and broad taste in musical styles.
Shortly before 11pm, with some dub blaring through the sound system, Kulas, in a short sleeved red shirt & beer in hand, and band took one step onto the two foot tall stage. After a few minutes of stage prep, Michael broke into the solo introductory passage and verse of the unreleased "Glasgow Rain". This quiet, introspective song was taking a different journey tonight, which became evident in most of the songs which were to follow it. In previous shows, even the memorable March performance at the Rancho Relaxo, there was a tentative touch, perhaps a sense of experimentation in trying to find the best way to deliver the music. This was replaced tonight with a straight forward confidence in the presentation - everything gelled. It also didn't hurt to find a large portion of the audience singing along, even in the instances when the song being played has yet to be released. Through the set, Michael provided an insight as to why perhaps the unreleased songs "Glasgow Rain", "Pavement" and the encore take of "Starland" came across so smoothly and well defined - they were introduced as songs from his newly recorded but yet to be released cd!
This self-assuredness also came through on songs from Kulas' great new cd "Another Small Machine": the booming "Beautiful Day (Part 2)" on occasion almost crossed the line to a ska/reggae work out. I wondered what a deliberate dub-ska approach would do with the song. "She's All The Rage" sparkled with the backing vocals (puh-lease turn up the volume on the backing vocals in the live mix!) and new guitar bits (by Michael, who did most of the lead guitar work tonight). What can I say about the great love song "The Only One"? Hard to imagine but it just gets better and better each time its played. And the aptly titled "Beginning of the End" brought the regular set to a crescendoing close.
A huge, and pleasant surprise was the introduction into the set of that famed big hit English folksong "Sit Down" by former bandmates James. After breaking into an impromptu chorus of "Thank You Fast Eddie", as way of saying thanks to Fast Eddie, (must be a compadre of the band) Kulas asked over jangling guitars if there were any James fans present tonight. Reacting with mock shock to the responding cheers from around the room (my table included), Michael and band then turned the tables on us and segued into a fast tempo, jangly guitar take of "Sit Down" (oh right, and some of us remembered the words to this one).
Returning later for a solo encore with an acoustic guitar, Michael mused out loud that he wasn't really sure what he was going to play. Kulas' sister, who he had thanked earlier in the night for all her support, shouted out for "In Between Songs", an improvised five minute long song that he did at February's Rivoli cd release party in the midst of technical difficulties. Begging off this song as not right for an encore (as per Michael, its best to be done early in the set - I guess when things break), Kulas strapped on an electric guitar, and after retuning it, broke into an emotional reverb filled take of legendary Montreal songwriter Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". To say that Michael's octave raised close to "Hallelujah" was breathtaking is an understatement - it was riveting. Pray that tonight's recording gets released on cd and/or gets broadcast so you can hear it.
After a solo acoustic take of "A Clever Mess" off his first solo cd "Mosquito", the full band returned for an ear-bursting fuzz-guitar filled version of the (soon?) to be released "Starland". This song is going to be long time crowd favourite. With that, the night was brought to a satisfying end with Kulas' standard set closer: a guitar cover version of 80's Canadian synth-pop hit "Lust For Love".
This was a great show. Having seen Michael's powerful acoustic performances, I would have liked to see this more intimate approach prolonged with another acoustic tune (how about "Shine" on the piano?), but that would be a minor quibble. Tonights performance was taut, confident (that word again!) and loaded with energy.
And yeah, listening to Kulas is habit forming.