A girl eating blackberries out of an Amsterdam glass with chopsticks, a tambourine player reading the lyrics off a piece of paper and throwing sparkles on audience members, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Superman being projected on stage and finally, a trumpet and kick ass drums that you can clap along to. To say that Rich Aucoins’ music gives me goose bumps is an understatement. For the thin crowd at Clintons for the evenings opening 9:00 slot, Rich definitely pleased those of us who came out.
Rich is a multi-instrumentalist pop artist from Halifax. Last summer he biked across Canada, playing shows along the way. On his current tour, he is running half marathons in each city to raise money for the Heart & Stroke Foundation. For those who don’t know, a half marathon is 22km.
Me: Hey Rich, use Panic Manual in a sentence.
Rich: Ummm…When things get tough, consult your panic manual?
Yah, I know. It was a stupid question. I’m no rock journalist.
He is currently making his way out west. You can catch Rich in Vancouver at the Railway Club on June 19th and at the Peanut Gallery on June 20th. Ohhhh…and at the Marquee in Halifax with DEERHOOF, July 19th. Nice.
I stuck around for some of The Superfantastic set. The two of them rushed in 10 minutes before their set and got right down to business. Their set wasn’t nearly as cute and personal as their set at CMW, but they kicked out Tonight Tonight which made me smile.
4.5/5
