It's safe to say Joel Plaskett's first visit to Prince George played out better than expected, after a transcendent night of catchy folk rock, clever lyrics, and tales from the road sent fans home buzzing.
More importantly, Plaskett avoided repeating the history that played out in a visit to the province a dozen years ago.
"You treat me wrong, I'll get back at you in a song," grinned the amiable Plaskett before a rendition of "Love This Town," a song written after a disastrous 1997 performance in Kelowna by Plaskett's previous band, Thrush Hermit.
The Nova Scotian singer-songwriter left an impression during his Sunday night performance at the Prince George Playhouse Theatre, securing fans' undying love with sing-along performances of hit songs "Through and Through and Through", "Deny, Deny, Deny", and "You Let Me Down."
Taking the stage in a black cowboy shirt along with his father and touring companion, Bill Plaskett, the night opened with "Happen Now," described by Plaskett as "a love song for you, from my neck of the woods to yours."
The show was one of several sold-out performances during the Coldsnap Festival, which is taking place throughout the city until Jan. 30, and part of a truncated tour for Plaskett in support of "Three," his critically acclaimed 2009 triple-disc.
The album was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize, was named the best Canadian album of 2009 by Metro newspapers across Canada, and completely sold out from the merchandise table after Plaskett's performance in support of Steve Earle in Vancouver the previous night.
A kinetic showman, at one point Plaskett checked his own pulse and slapped himself in the face to emphasize the lyrics. Equally at ease playing solo or with backup, Plaskett's between-song banter shed light onto the genesis of his songs. A fond recollection of the final days of his Chevy Suburban touring van, taken down to Mesa, Arizona to record "La De Da" in 2004, gave way to a brilliant rendition of "Natural Disaster."
Without his band The Emergency in tow, Plaskett took full advantage of performing solo, quipping with the crowd and making powerful use of his vocal range and open-tuned acoustic guitars. He revealed his hit song "True Patriot Love" drew inspiration from Billy Joel, but cautioned the crowd: "If I ever get to 'We Didn't Start the Fire', send me a letter, and I'll retire."
A Casio keyboard and the airport security stories it spawned gave way to "Rewind, Rewind, Rewind", then a stripped-down version of "Fashionable People" meant voices in the crowd filling in on falsetto vocals.
Stepping back onstage for an encore, Plaskett laughed off a request for his 12-minute epic "On, On, On", yet couldn't resist playing the verse about his cat, White Fang. He rocked out the radio-rejection frustration of "Radio Fly" before going back to the archives to pull out an acoustic cover of Thrush Hermit's "Before You Leave".
Plaskett wrapped up the night with "Wishful Thinking", buying time during a verse to ad-lib an ode to Prince George: "It's rated P.G. /It's sometimes adult /When I got off the plane /I said 'it smells a lot like pulp'.
Opener Hannah Georgas made a few new fans with her heartfelt and poignant acoustic pop. The singer-songwriter won 2009's CBC Radio 3 award for Best New Artists, and captivated the crowd with songs like "The National" and "Shine". Her first full-length album is due out in April.
