Live And In The Flesh
Buck 65 - November 23, 2014
Buck 65 in Burnstown, Ontario at the Neat Café, where do I even begin? I had never been to a show out in Burnstown, but I had heard about this old, little schoolhouse turned into a restaurant/venue in rural Ontario. Buck was making his rounds with his latest album Neverlove, released in September, and had a stop at the NAC in Ottawa the Saturday night, followed up with the Burnstown show. I couldn’t pass up the chance to see Buck 65 in such a small, intimate venue (which could probably only hold about one hundred people), and the show ended up turning into one for the books for sure.
This was the only show I had planned for a nine month stretch, which was pretty rare after an extremely busy summer with Ottawa's Bluesfest and the Nine Inch Nails/Soundgarden tour mid-summer. I was pretty eager to get back out and see some live music and this was the perfect remedy. I couldn't believe that it had been ten years since my first Buck 65 show that I attended while going to college in London, ON in 2004. A decade of listening to Buck had flown by, I was feeling old! I had a good month to get listening to his latest album while digging back through his incredible career's worth of music. I've always loved Vertex and Talkin' Honky Blues throughout the years myself, and was glad to see Buck 65 still slugging it out in the studio and out on the road.
That Sunday in November seemed to creep up pretty quickly and we were on the road heading to Burnstown before we knew it! With about an hour's worth of a drive ahead of us to somewhere neither of us had been, we had a bit of an adventure ahead of us. The nights came early, and the snow had already begun to fall, just our luck! We finally ended up at this little hamlet on the other side of Calabogie and were pretty surprised with how great of a setup they had way out there in the middle of nowhere. We had made sure to make reservations at the restaurant before the show, which gave us early access to the venue. We were able to reserve our seats in the small one hundred person capacity room in the back by placing little yellow sticky notes at the table we wanted to sit. We settled in at our table in the restaurant and were continued to be impressed with what they had going on out in this little schoolhouse. There was a stone pizza oven that was in constant use in the back, and everything on the menu was fresh and full of taste, it was hard to go wrong!
We took our time and enjoyed a nice long dinner and then made our way into the venue as the staff began to call us to our seats. Other than small club shows, this was by far the most intimate show I've ever been in attendance for. I couldn't believe how small the hall was, and how close everyone was to the stage, there wasn't a bad seat in the house! Buck 65 had a trio touring with him at the time called Jon & Roy, a Canadian folk rock outfit from British Columbia. They were actually pretty good, and it didn't take long for them to get the small crowd warmed up and ready for Buck's set. They finished up and thanked everyone for making their way out as they exited the stage.
There wasn't much of a break between sets, and Buck 65 made his way up on stage before we knew it. Right away he was talking about how lovely the venue was, and how many great Canadian acts had been through the area throughout the years, pointing out their pictures covering the walls. After exchanging a few more words with the crowd, Buck decided to dive into his set for the evening. The lighting had dimmed and it was just him and a laptop up on stage. He started the show out with some of his latest material from Neverlove; Gates of Hell and Je T’aime Mon Amour before being joined on stage by Tiger Rosa from Sweden who joined in on a few tracks to help out with some female vocals. It was such an intimate and unique performance, and it seemed like everyone felt so lucky to be there experiencing it firsthand. Buck worked through at least three-quarters of his latest album, while sprinkling in a few classics here and there like Laundromat Boogie and Paper Airplane. I was a bit surprised that we didn't hear much of his earlier tracks from Vertex or even Talkin' Honky Blues. Buck did however treat us to Wicked and Weird before wrapping his incredible setlist up with Super Pretty Naughty.
It's hard to pick a favourite song of the night. Everything seemed to go over so well live, and despite being a little under the weather, Buck was on point all throughout the night. Having Tiger Rosa there for a few of the songs definitely took things to a whole other level. The chemistry that Buck 65 and Tiger Rosa shared flowed perfectly back and forth between the two of them as they fed off of one another's energy. Buck even offered to stick around for a short while to chat it up with those who were interested before heading back out onto the road into the wintery night. I was pretty thankful to have him sign a copy of his latest lp for me, share a few words and wish him well with a handshake. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Buck 65 a decade after my first encounter, but he definitely won me over again that night in the little hamlet of Burnstown. The fact that he took the time to make his way through for those lucky enough in attendance, and the unreal atmosphere that we had all experienced that night was something to remember. Unfortunately, as with all good things, the Neat Café has since come to an end and have sadly closed their doors. Just as we were beginning to discover what a gem it really was, we end up losing it to financial hardships. I won't ever forget the experience they provided us with that night, as they were definitely memories that will last a lifetime.