Corb Lund
- At the Horseshoe Tavern
- in Toronto on Thursday
The boy Corb Lund grew up to be a Canadian cowboy, and now he is a saddle-tramping troubadour. His new album is Losin' Lately Gambler , the successor to the historically informed Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! Both albums were represented during his agreeable show at Horseshoe Tavern, where fans were in high spirits and hip to his game.
He dressed sharply all in black, from his pointed boots all the way up to his Stetson - a hat which did not prevent his unruly brown hair from getting in his eyes like a highland steer. His and three-piece band's first song was Hair in My Eyes Like a Highland Steer .
Lund does not croon. His vocals are often delivered in a prairie-born sort of rap. He yodelled twice. He did but one song that wasn't his own: An authentic version of Dr. Hook's The Cover of the Rolling Stone .
Women, many fine and blonde, were not disappointed by Lund. He's a long, tall, 6-foot-5 glass of rye whisky. When he sang, as he did on the twangy party-song Rye Whiskey/ Time to Switch to Whiskey , dimples emerged in his cheeks. He looks like Jim Carrey in a remake of Midnight Cowboy . In the looks department, the Albertan is not hurtin'.
His excellent band is called the Hurtin' Albertans, whose members go by the names of Kurt Ciesla (upright bass), Brady Valgardson (drums) and the Winnipeg native Grant Siemens (banjo, lap steel and Telecaster guitar).
His riled-up audience at the first of two nights at the Horseshoe was not unruly, although a pitcher of drinking water was tipped over back at the bar, making a bit of a mess. The fans knew the words to (Gonna) Shine Up My Boots , a get-along ditty that wouldn't be out of place on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
The charismatic singer is at home on stage, but you get the feeling he'd be just as happy playing cards. One of his upbeat numbers was called All I Wanna Do Is Play Cards .
As the all-business bartender cleaned up that water spill, she muttered under her breath, "amateurs."
The night's sounds and rhythms ranged from chick-a-boom beats, to clippity-clopping trail music, to Tex-Mex border vibes, to robust roadhouse. Songs - there must have been 25 of them - rarely exceeded three minutes in length.
When the bartender eyed me accusingly and asked if it was I who tipped over the water jug, all I could do was nod and sheepishly say "yes."
Lund is an Albertan who sings topical songs about Saskatchewan, the place where ranchers from his home province are streaming to, pushed out by oil money. He is a national treasure who rides proudly in the cowboy-music tradition of Ian Tyson and Marty Robbins. He is the saving cavalry of country music.
And that is why little cowboys wish to grow up to be a Corb Lund, and not to be a clumsy rock critic.
Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans play six more dates in Ontario before riding west, finishing an extensive Canadian tour on Nov. 14, at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom.
Brad Wheeler