Saturday, May 25, 2024
still living so young 
Before last year, Bry Webb's last recorded material was released in 2014, the same year the Cons got together for a brief reunion tour, and honestly as the years went by since then, I just kinda figured he'd moved on to other things. Apparently, about 5-years ago, he'd not just quit playing music, but went as far as selling most of his instruments. And then in the Fall of 2023, a couple weeks after Shine a Light's 20th birthday, "Thunder Bay" quietly showed up on streaming services.
still living so young
It was like he never left.
The Constantines are one of my all time favourite bands and I've seen them or Bry solo more times than I can remember, but I still wasn't sure what to expect. It'd been almost an entire decade since I last saw him. And while the Biltmore--where he played back in 2014--is pretty cozy, LanaLou's is like a really big living room.
I often--and this isn't on purpose--see shows now and think about how things feel now and how things felt "then." I'm not sure where the dividing line for "then" is, but this is the first show in a long time that felt like it did back then.
I love his solo records, and the set featured highlights from all three, but I'd be lying if I said that "Young Lions" and "Time Can Be Overcome" weren't the songs that made the evening feel really special.
The former is one of my favourite songs, but the latter hit hard. Sonically, it was the only song where we got to hear Bry get really get loud with is voice. But after ten years, quitting music, and what sounds like a pretty tumultuous time that eventually pushed him to get back to writing songs again, the refrain really hit home.
Tomorrow's no burden. Time can be overcome.
now playing: The Constantines - Soon Enough
