Jaimoe Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Cuff the Duke @ The Mod Club 11/30/07Review by David “Jaimoe†Ball[blurb]Oshawa alt-country rockers Cuff the Duke put on one hell of a show Friday to the delight of a capacity crowd at The Mod Club in Toronto's chic Little Italy district. The gig was one of the last stops on their cross Canada tour and was my first taste of material from Cuff’s just released third studio album, Sidelines in the City. It also gave me a chance to check out their pared-down line-up featuring geeky glasses-wearing singer-guitarist Wayne Petti and fellow founding member Paul Lowman (on bass), plus key new additions Dale Murray (replacing original guitarist Jeff Peers) and drummer Corey Woods. No more strings, horns and other ambitions that had Cuff rivaling the on-stage chaos of an Arcade Fire concert.[/blurb]Understandably, new songs dominated the 90-minute set, but I gotta say I liked every freaking one of them - admittedly my Sidelines in the City initiation was tainted because Cuff the Duke is a great live band and could make even a Tea Party song sound good. Regardless, I'm doing what Conan O'Brien said after My Morning Jacket thoroughly killed "One Big Holiday" on his program a number of years ago: "I am buying that record!" The new songs aren't necessarily better than the stuff from their 2005 self-titled minor masterpiece, but there's an exciting edge and music diversion taking place that finds the band ever-so-slightly exploring other branches stretched above their country-rock roots. Of course blending catchy instrumental arrangements with beautiful vocal harmonies remain at the core of Cuff's success, but this 4-piece incarnation (and sometimes adding a fifth member on piano/organ) puts a big bright spotlight on Petti and Murray's guitars and their love of jamming. Older favourites like "Take My Money and Run", "The Ballad of Poor John Henryâ€, "Belgium of Peru" and "The Future Hangs" were obvious crowd pleasers and had their usual guitar interplay, but they also had more oomph this time out thanks to Murray's heavy Gibson SG guitar tone replacing Peers' country-punk Fender twang. Amiable front man Petti grinned a lot during the night, no doubt pleased with the enthusiastic fan reaction to excellent new cuts like gritty country blues "If I Live or If I Die" and Tom Pettyesque "Remember the Good Times", but a couple of other Sidelines guitar showcases topped everything else. Opener "Surging Revival" mixes Ben Folds power-pop with searching Crazy Horse solos and the dream-poppy “Failure to Some" rocked the house in a big reverb-drenched guitar jam way, taking a page or two out of My Morning Jacket's rulebook. Winging it through a cover of the Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle with Care†highlighted a rowdy encore complete with Petti and company orchestrating a dueling audience chant and at the same time being fully engulfed by a stage full of gyrating fans. It felt just like old times. I’m not sure if they’ll still be able to pull off those antics in a few years, because Cuff the Duke can’t remain one of Canada’s best kept secrets for very much longer. *** 1/2 (out of 5) Here's a link to Mercy Southam's exclusive photos of the Cuff the Duke show , including pics from the good opening act from Montreal, Land of Talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted December 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 (edited) Pictures are pending. I emailed MKS (who took lots of great shots) and asked if I could add some pictures from the show. I think I'll add the link instead (pending approval). Edited December 3, 2007 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewRider Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Great review! I loved the way the new songs sounded when I caught them in Brantford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted December 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Thanks. I also loved how Wayne's guitaring has evolved. The last time I saw Cuff back in 2005, Petti was more of a melodic lead player. He still is, but I found him going for broke more on the jams. It may have a lot to do with Murray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 I love your reviews Jaimoe. The only problem with them is that I feel like I am missing too much good music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted December 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Hopefully the review will point you towards the new CD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 I feel like I am missing too much good music.I know you're missing a lot of good music, but whether that's "too much" or not is subjective. (On the plus side, though, you're missing an absolute ton of bad music...)Aloha,Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 The show is up on dime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted December 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 What's "dime"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 What's "dime"?It's a tracker of bit-torrents:http://www.dimeadozen.org/Aloha,Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finer1 Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Jaimo,Nice review! When are these guys playing in Toronto?Finer1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted December 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 They just played Toronto, hence my review. And it's "Jaimoe". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finer1 Posted December 7, 2007 Report Share Posted December 7, 2007 I meant, dyou know when they might playToronto again...JaimoE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bONES Posted December 7, 2007 Report Share Posted December 7, 2007 I know...they are opening for Blue Rodeo two nights in a row at Massey Hall!!February 28th & 29th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted December 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2007 Thanks Ebbot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted January 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Here's a complete live "Failure to Some" video from the Mod Club show I reviewed - via youtube. It's an audience shot camera-video with poor audio and "direction", but it still captures some of the magic (especially in the end jams) of that great rendition: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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