There's Something About Serena Ryder

The second of my Winter Olympics concert series was Serena Ryder on Valentine's Day. Apropos? Not really. Killer concert? Absolutely. Serena writes great songs, sings incredibly well, has a captivating stage presence, is really funny, and she's damn cute too.

My favourite album of 2008 was Serena Ryder's Is It OK?. I played the thing to death, so having the opportunity to see her live for free was not to be passed up. Playing most of the songs from Is It OK? along with her cover of "Good Morning Starshine" and the poignant "Weak In the Knees" from her first album, she carried the show like a veteran, belying her sophomore status. Halfway through the concert an errant fire alarm provided some annoyance by disrupting the show. She cleverly and amusingly began vocalizing along with the incessant beeping of the alarm, turning what could have been an uncomfortable few minutes into a hugely entertaining vocal improv with the alarm providing weird counterpoint. And as quickly as it started, it was over. "I am psychic and feel it has stopped," she said. "But if it doesn't, fuck it." To which the adoring crowd went crazy.

In the days of vinyl LPs, a band or solo artist could release three albums before "the big one." Promotion would be ramped up with each album as the consumer field was tended for the big third album payoff. Sometimes the strategy worked, sometimes not. After all, not every artists' third album is a gem. Serena has released two albums, both containing excellent songs and production, yet there seems to be zero effort by Capitol Records Canada, her label, to promote her beyond what is the normal cursory "working" that does nothing more than help fulfill the label's part of the contract. Seriously. If Capitol were to push Serena the way they push Nickelback, she would be a bigger star than she is. Maybe they are saving themselves for her next album. One can hope. 

Serena is one of those "under the radar" singer/songwriters. She isn't as quirky as Martha Wainwright or as ironic as Alanis Morrisette, but listen to "Sweeping the Ashes" and tell me if she's not skewering an ex- or soon-to-be-ex-lover. She has a knack for picking cover songs that suit her original style too. Both "Good Morning Starshine" from Hair and Leonard Cohen's "Sisters of Mercy" do not seem out of place when juxtaposed against her original material. In fact, if you didn't know better (and many out there don't) you would think she wrote them. She could be the next Sarah McLaughlin without all the weepiness and sick pets.

Previous to Serena, we were entertained by Jim Byrne and the Sojourners. Jim Byrne is a "that guy" actor and blues/gospel singer of some reknown. The Sojourners are four black gospel singers that could pass for The Blind Boys of Alabama without the seeing-eye dogs. Along with a smoking backup trio, Byrne delivered swampy, bluesy, rocking gospel music that featured some serious guitar playing by a guitarist whose name I couldn't hear when it was introduced. Boy could he play.

All in all, it was a great night with some great music. And for free. Gotta love that.

Here's some video of "Good Morning Starshine"