Justin Rutledge- For Ryan and the Cardinals Fans

[Northern Wish]

I had the good fortune of seeing Justin Rutledge perform on Saturday night at the NAC with his band The Early Widows (also the name of the new album).

While Justin has been around since 2006 on the Six Shooter label, his most recent album and tour would indicate that he has hit his stride as a songwriter and a member of what can only be described as a 'kick ass' band. Burke Carroll on pedal steel complemented every tune perfectly especially during the duo portion of the show with only he and Justin sharing the stage near mid set for a few tunes; guitarist David Baxter drew comparisons to Nels Cline not only in his approach by punctuating each song with angular ragged notes, but also because he stood at about 6'2" in a slender suit. While the sweet songs rang out, the rhythym section of bassist Bazil Donovan (Blue Rodeo)held down the bottom end with significant flare and the drummer (?) grinned and laughed while handling most of the harmony vocals- I couldn't help but think of our beloved Band and how many artists of today were influenced by Richard, Rick, Robbie, Levon and Garth.

For anyone who likes what Six Shooter presents on a regular basis, or for fans of Ryan Adams especially his work with The Cardinals- this is an act not to be missed.

The show was taped for an upcoming CBC Radio 3 broadcast, so keep your ears open for these sweet sounds!

http://justinrutledge.com/earlywidows/

http://www.myspace.com/justinrutledge

[zero]

David Baxter seems to be anyone in that genre's go to guy - he plays with tonnes of people - I think Kathleen Edwards is his main money gig and what he's associated with most or has been. Haven't seen that band play yet but would like to, I think I saw Rutledge pouring a few nights at the Dakota not to long ago which tends to happen when someone's recording or touring or needs a buck from that crowd.

[Northern Wish]

Baxter broke a string on his Les Paul about 6 songs in and did the "no big deal, I'm just going to tune down my other strings and solo open notes till I get this shit worked out" thing. It was really cool to watch him work it out live.

Then as luck would have it (and after Justins amp had fuzzed out earlier in the show- ghosts in the machine?) he broke a string on his 2nd guitar (pictured below here) and had to do the same thing- but this time he played some dirty staccato notes over the music which Justin obviously loved as he leaned in and said something to David which had them both smiling as wide as possible.

[deranger]

I've seen Justin Rutledge a few times and although I think the comparison is accurate as far as similar sounds with regard to the whole band, in no way does he come anywhere near Ryan Adams emotional delivery or songwriting. I find Justin's songs fairly pedestrian and without much by way of strong vocal melody. However, I have not heard any of the new album and I'm only basing that on the 2 previous times I saw him play. His band does play very well behind him though and Burke Carrol is one of Canada's best steel players.

[Northern Wish]

in no way does he come anywhere near Ryan Adams emotional delivery or songwriting.

I think this is more than a fair assessment especially on the delivery side. That being said I am a big Ryan fan and don't think any can compare.