Sunset Rubdown at Sala Rossa

Last week had it’s share of good music out here in Montreal - I didn’t quite have time to wrap my head around one night’s show before I was charging my camera’s battery and running back out the door.

Monday night, nearly all of Montreal was at Sala Rossa to share an evening with Sunset Rubdown. Elfin Saddle’s Emi Honda, sawed her way to our hearts (ugh, bad pun, she plays the saw, amongst many other things) and Jordin Mckenzie opened for our local indie favourites, and as always, they were quite the treat. Did you know Elfin Saddle was a wild mushroom? Well I didn’t… Moving on? I’m continuously charmed by their music because it is in many ways unlike anything else and makes me wish to be in a forest, surrounded by friendly forest creatures and wearing plaid. I don’t know what that means about me, but in any case, it should be taken as a compliment.

Katie Eastburn followed with quirky but serene piano songs and no apparent set list, opening and closing a book to a random page before choosing on what song to play.

Then came Sunset Rubdown, opening with ”For the Pier”. The band was in a good mood and relaxed and played some new material from their upcoming fall release, Random Spirit Lover, like ”Up on Your Leopard”, ”Winged/Wicked Things”, and ”Stallions (Get Away From Me)”. I’d say the evening’s highlight was the softer version of ”Snake’s Got a Leg” and the encore, which left a solo Spencer Krug singing a song as an apology to a mistreated friend. Time more than flew by and after slowly drifting in a bit of a daze towards the exit doors, I finally looked at the time and realised I’d more than missed the last bus to the south shore. Oops!