Reviewed by Jason Schneider (from ID Magazine, June 25 to July 1, 1998)
Photo by Lester Hayes

It was almost déjà vu being at this show when only a few months ago, Jim Cuddy's songwriting partner Greg Keelor made a similar rare solo appearance at this humble little bar.  Is Cuddy literally following in Keelor's footsteps with this solo routine?  Clearly not, judging by the world of difference between their two performances.

Although still lovingly perceived as Canada's Lennon and McCartney (Keelor being the unpredictable rocker and Cuddy the sensitive balladeer), it was in fact the former who came out with a surprisingly sparse and introspective record last year (Gone) which proved equally challenging for a live audience to handle.  Backed by ever-loyal Blue Rodeo bassist Bazil Donovan, Keelor at times seemed deliberately struggling with his songs, especially after inviting up guests Oh Susanna and Paul MacLeod -- who barely knew the material -- for the bulk of the set.  Clearly he felt more comfortable amid impending disaster.
 
Not so with Cuddy.  This was his chance to take complete control of his performance and he definitely proved to be a worthy bandleader on his own.  More importantly, he rocked, although it wasn't too hard with help from Bazil (once again), guitarist Colin Cripps (Junkhouse, Crash Vegas), drummer Gavin Brown (Big Sugar) and Anne Lindsay on fiddle and mandolin.

It seemed the Blue Rodeo faithful were much more willing to accept his new direction rather than Keelor's, packing the place wall to wall and dancing for most of the night, which consisted of two tightly-packed 45 minute sets.  This response was the most surprising part of the show since much of the material had never been heard before.  However, there will probably be many people now eagerly awaiting Cuddy's solo album, not due until the fall when more touring is planned.

Cuddy clearly enjoyed the new arrangement, bantering with one punter in particular all night.  He also clearly cares about these songs, at one point scolding two ladies in front of him for talking in the middle of one of the few ballads.

Although there remained a strong traditional country element to some songs -- the great "She Reminds Me of You" in particular -- the rest gave Cuddy a chance to compensate for the absence of Keelor's brashness, especially on the twice-played "Out of My Mind," and a dead on cover of Elvis Costello's "Oliver's Army".

Of course, the Blue Rodeo catalogue wasn't ignored, but these songs actually were more of an icing on the cake.  The first set closed with "Til I am Myself Again," while the second finished with the one-two of "Bad Timing" and "Trust Yourself".  By far the highlight was "Five Days in May," where Cripps got a chance to step forward and display his more refined skills on the lengthy solo that Keelor usually uses for atonal experiments.  The lighthearted spirit of the evening was cemented by even Bazil taking the mic for Gram Parsons' "Streets of Baltimore."

As a long-time Blue Rodeo fan, I must admit I've always preferred Keelor's idiosyncratic output to Cuddy's, but this show proved to me that there's far more to Cuddy than the guy who keeps rewriting "Try."

I've been converted.