.jpg)
As someone who has spent a bit of time in Canada – let me tell you – this was a special experience indeed. Playing on a rooftop to a crowd of no more than 50, Canadian sensations The Trews provided industry guests with a short but sweet acoustic showcase that gave us all a pretty good taste of what this band is about.
They opened the occasion with “Poor Ol’ Broken Hearted Me”, a wonderful little number, which was followed by “Paranoid Freak” – in which they used a tic tac box as a shaker. Classy! “I Am Tired of Waiting”, third, brought on a bit of the vibe evidenced by Train on “Calling All Angels” – a band they are often compared to.
My favourite track of the set, “Ishmael & Maggie” was fourth on the setlist, and showed how impressive the band could be when they jumped into Barbershop mode and all sang at once. It’s here that you really see the presence of a band talented beyond just writing catchy and appealing tracks
“Highway of Heroes”, next, was the more emotionally driven track of the night: inspired by the Ontario Freeway dedicated to fallen soldiers, this song is dedicated to one fallen soldier in particular. The six track set (fairly standard for this sort of thing) ended with their Australian single “Hold Me In Your Arms”.
Despite being an acoustic session, this was still very much the sound of an ultra polished band. So ridiculously tight they can make themselves sound like you’re listening to the album regardless of what context they’re playing in. This is definitely the sign of a talented group. For some, it may seem too staged – and indeed, this is the sort of music that breeds such criticism (Nickelback, Train et al anyone?) – but for The Trews it works without any hesitation or argument against. They’ve got a great sound, a standout LP, and while I’m not sure how quickly Australian audiences will warm to them – I definitely think they will.
Don’t miss The Trews – who are on the road around the country now!
