Barr Bros - Lee's Palace: July 4, 2013

[lucasdavidsamuels]

The Barr Brothers came to Toronto yesterday to play TURF. I opted to check out their late night set at Lee's Palace instead of the early evening outdoor show.

They came on at 11:15 to a virtually empty venue, but the place got packed, quickly.

Opened with a new spacey, folky tune, and then launched into the re-worked version of 'Love Ain't Enough' which they've been playing (and is presumably on their new record). Really solid rocker, Brad replacing some of the higher register parts with easier-to-hit-notes.

The night was spotted with new tunes, most notably a bluesy number with Brad playing slide that will surely be their new 'Just Can't Keep From Cryin'

Best part of the show was they had a 3 piece horn section with them (alto, trumpet, trombone) which really shined during 'Please Let Me Let It Go', 'Ooh, Belle' and 'Devi'ls Harp' which went seriously spanish during the solo. The crowd was quiet, receptive, and really tuned in, especially during the slower numbers.

They closed things out with 'Cloud' (also featuring horns) before coming back and playing 'Don't Let It Bring You Down' as their encore. A fitting tune for Toronto no doubt!

I feel like I say this every time pretty much, but this was the best show I've seen from them to date.