Concert Review: Wreckless Eric, April 11, The Baby G

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Near the beginning of his set at The Baby G, Eric Goulden, better known as Wreckless Eric, announced that while he had every intention of planning things out a bit better, he would be working without a setlist. “I’m just finding my way,” he admitted, later wondering aloud about which songs to play – old songs to please the old guys, new songs to confuse everyone, or stuff from the middle of his “illustrious career.” Unsurprisingly, he settled on a mix of songs from throughout his career, making sure to include enough of the new stuff since he is touring behind his new album Construction Time & Demolition.

And while new songs like “They Don’t Mean No Harm” and classics like “A Pop Song” and his best known song “The Whole Wide World” sounded great and went over well, his stage banter ended up being just as important a part of the show. Working without a setlist or a band, Goulden was free to go off in whatever direction he wanted, which often included digressions into talking about whatever topic he felt like, be it touring life, crossing the border, or American politics (he combined the latter two topics when assuming that Canadian border guards must just expect that anyone crossing over from the US are looking to take a break from Trumpland). Goulden often seemed to be amusing himself with his own banter, which was admittedly kind of funny, the oddest and funniest being a bit on whether one could have a career as a professional sleeper – commenting how he would want new pyjamas for every job like how a mechanic changes his rubber gloves for each new job. “My pyjamas would be cotton though, not rubber … that might send the wrong message. I’m not sure why I’m telling you all this. I’m just trying to figure out my life.”

Wreckless Eric may have claimed to be just finding his way early on in the night, but while he may have been working without a map, so to speak, he definitely found his way – and the audience was happy enough to follow along on the trip.

Posted on by Paul in Concerts