Fredhead = One Watches Lots of Fred Eaglesmith
I went and saw Fred Eaglesmith for the fourth time last night. The show was once again excellent. Fred is the rare musician whose set list is completely different every time he comes through town. This time around he only played 3 or 4 of the songs he played the last time, and of course his trademark banter was on display.
The most times I've seen a single band is nine times for Freebass/Freakbass. Fred is definitely one who can break that record. Why do I like Fred so much? I think it boils down to a combination of musical style, lyrics and stage show.
Let's start with musical style. Fred's Americana/Country act is not really any different from similar artists. While he is certainly a competent guitar player, nobody is going to confuse him with Kaki King. His drummer and bassist aren't anything special. Only his mandolin player, Willie Bennett, is obviously more talented than average. The thing that Fred's band does particularly well is that they make the music serve the lyrics. Even with music turned up loud you never need to strain your ears to hear Fred sing over the bass line, and this is a good thing because the lyrics are the true strength of his songs.
Fred's songs can be profound ("The White Rose"), funny ("I Shot Your Dog"), poignant ("The Old John Deere") and sometimes all at once. One song last night whose title I don't know started off sounding like a typical "man lost woman" song, until one of the lyrics subtly reveals that the narrator lost his girl because the girl and her sister were both bridesmaids at the same wedding, and "you all looked the same in that dress", which turned a mournful song into black comedy.
Fred has enough good songs that even though I only recognized about a 1/3 of the songs in his two hour set I enjoyed every single one. He played new stuff, old stuff that isn't on his live CDs and songs that many people wouldn't even consider b-sides. His combination of lyrics and understated music leads to an enjoyable listening experience on CD, but on stage it is bolstered by a Fred's incredibly charismatic banter.
If Fred wasn't a musician, he could probably be a decent stand up comedian. Almost every song was preceded by a long rambling monologue. These were uniformly hilarious. He made fun of customs, American gun culture, Canadian music fans, the audience, Toby Keith fans, and just about everything else you can imagine. He told a dirty joke about the Vice President. During the bridge of "49 Tons" he made the best drug joke I've heard at a concert ever, with "The band would like me to remind you that they are not high on drugs. We just went though customs and we had to leave all our drugs in Canada, so we are in fact low on drugs. If you'd like to help us with this, please meet the band out back by the bus after the concert." To the stereotypical country music fan, Fred's drummer (and niece) Kori probably looked like a drug user, given that she was in a very tight Star Trek uniform and had gorgeous purple hair.
Of course it helped that Fred's fans, although few in number, were loud in praise, even as Fred mocked them mercifully. Many had traveled for quite some distance to see him. Fredheads, as they are called, are a loyal bunch, to the point that many of them will pay $1,898.00 each to ride the Fred train across the American West this year. I wish I had the money and the time to go.
A lot of people out there don't like country music, not even traditional country. But those who are brave enough to go out of their comfort zone, Fred is absolutely the best. Next time he comes to town I'll renew my money-back guarantee offer - come to the show and if you don't like it, I'll reimburse you for the ticket. And once again, nobody will take me up on it. Too bad.
The most times I've seen a single band is nine times for Freebass/Freakbass. Fred is definitely one who can break that record. Why do I like Fred so much? I think it boils down to a combination of musical style, lyrics and stage show.
Let's start with musical style. Fred's Americana/Country act is not really any different from similar artists. While he is certainly a competent guitar player, nobody is going to confuse him with Kaki King. His drummer and bassist aren't anything special. Only his mandolin player, Willie Bennett, is obviously more talented than average. The thing that Fred's band does particularly well is that they make the music serve the lyrics. Even with music turned up loud you never need to strain your ears to hear Fred sing over the bass line, and this is a good thing because the lyrics are the true strength of his songs.
Fred's songs can be profound ("The White Rose"), funny ("I Shot Your Dog"), poignant ("The Old John Deere") and sometimes all at once. One song last night whose title I don't know started off sounding like a typical "man lost woman" song, until one of the lyrics subtly reveals that the narrator lost his girl because the girl and her sister were both bridesmaids at the same wedding, and "you all looked the same in that dress", which turned a mournful song into black comedy.
Fred has enough good songs that even though I only recognized about a 1/3 of the songs in his two hour set I enjoyed every single one. He played new stuff, old stuff that isn't on his live CDs and songs that many people wouldn't even consider b-sides. His combination of lyrics and understated music leads to an enjoyable listening experience on CD, but on stage it is bolstered by a Fred's incredibly charismatic banter.
If Fred wasn't a musician, he could probably be a decent stand up comedian. Almost every song was preceded by a long rambling monologue. These were uniformly hilarious. He made fun of customs, American gun culture, Canadian music fans, the audience, Toby Keith fans, and just about everything else you can imagine. He told a dirty joke about the Vice President. During the bridge of "49 Tons" he made the best drug joke I've heard at a concert ever, with "The band would like me to remind you that they are not high on drugs. We just went though customs and we had to leave all our drugs in Canada, so we are in fact low on drugs. If you'd like to help us with this, please meet the band out back by the bus after the concert." To the stereotypical country music fan, Fred's drummer (and niece) Kori probably looked like a drug user, given that she was in a very tight Star Trek uniform and had gorgeous purple hair.
Of course it helped that Fred's fans, although few in number, were loud in praise, even as Fred mocked them mercifully. Many had traveled for quite some distance to see him. Fredheads, as they are called, are a loyal bunch, to the point that many of them will pay $1,898.00 each to ride the Fred train across the American West this year. I wish I had the money and the time to go.
A lot of people out there don't like country music, not even traditional country. But those who are brave enough to go out of their comfort zone, Fred is absolutely the best. Next time he comes to town I'll renew my money-back guarantee offer - come to the show and if you don't like it, I'll reimburse you for the ticket. And once again, nobody will take me up on it. Too bad.