Jesse Rivest's Blog
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Monday, January 10, 2005
Sillan & Young at the Ironwood Stage
Last night I took in a jazzy performance by Sillan & Young, at the Ironwood Stage and Grill in Calgary. I saw the group play before, over a year ago and before their album was released, at the Beat Niq - the material (from the album Better Thing) was great then and is even better now. Many fun and upbeat songs have been added to the repertoire to allow two full sets of tunes over a couple hours of playing time. All material played had an excellent feel and sound.
I didn't take notes, but a couple of highlight covers were played that I should mention. First, Aaron and Johanna did a jazz-fusioned medley of Jimi Hendrix tunes, including Little Wing. Second, Aaron, Rob and Kodi did a very jazzy cover of a Nirvana tune... I think it was Come as You Are. Very cool! The three of them also broke into some old style blues/jazz playing that gave Aaron an opportunity to dazzle the crowd with his masterment of the guitar and fretboard - virtuosic yet highly tasteful.
I've been fortunate to receive some guitar lessons from Aaron in the past year; I was glad he notified me of this gig because it is highly inspiring to watch him play. The whole crew is excellent; Johanna's singing and voice are romantically smooth and strong, while it appears that Rob and Kodi have been doing tight rhythm together for a long time.
Aaron invited some folks to his house/studio after the show, so I brought my guitar along and stayed for a couple Grasshoppers (beer). His wife, Roxanne, has acquired a beautiful 250-year-old violin, and before long she was playing celtic and jazzy melodies over Aaron's rhythm while I tried to keep up with the changes. I was out of my league and I handed my guitar to Al (roommate and friend of Aaron) who had a better time following along. That violin sounded incredible! 4:00 am came quick and I left for bed, but I think those guys probably stayed up all night, jamming and listening to tunes. Good time!
Links:
http://sillanyoung.com/
http://www.ironwoodstage.ca/
http://www.beatniq.com/
I didn't take notes, but a couple of highlight covers were played that I should mention. First, Aaron and Johanna did a jazz-fusioned medley of Jimi Hendrix tunes, including Little Wing. Second, Aaron, Rob and Kodi did a very jazzy cover of a Nirvana tune... I think it was Come as You Are. Very cool! The three of them also broke into some old style blues/jazz playing that gave Aaron an opportunity to dazzle the crowd with his masterment of the guitar and fretboard - virtuosic yet highly tasteful.
I've been fortunate to receive some guitar lessons from Aaron in the past year; I was glad he notified me of this gig because it is highly inspiring to watch him play. The whole crew is excellent; Johanna's singing and voice are romantically smooth and strong, while it appears that Rob and Kodi have been doing tight rhythm together for a long time.
Aaron invited some folks to his house/studio after the show, so I brought my guitar along and stayed for a couple Grasshoppers (beer). His wife, Roxanne, has acquired a beautiful 250-year-old violin, and before long she was playing celtic and jazzy melodies over Aaron's rhythm while I tried to keep up with the changes. I was out of my league and I handed my guitar to Al (roommate and friend of Aaron) who had a better time following along. That violin sounded incredible! 4:00 am came quick and I left for bed, but I think those guys probably stayed up all night, jamming and listening to tunes. Good time!
Links:
http://sillanyoung.com/
http://www.ironwoodstage.ca/
http://www.beatniq.com/
