The Head and the Heart + Basia Bulat @ Theatre Corona

On a Saturday evening in late March, Basia Bulat played to a sold out crowd at the Corona Theatre in Little Burgundy. Her performance was incredibly pleasurable both audibly and visually. The packed audience was quite a mixed demographic of both older and younger folks. She performed on stage with a bass player and drummer, while she played keyboards. For a three piece they presented an astonishingly powerful, unanticipated sound. They played really well together, kicking out tight grooves, playful rhythms alongside Basia Bulat's almost lofty cloud-like vocals. One could compare her voice with other notable performers like Joni Mitchell, however I think her sound is unique enough to hold its own.

Her interaction with the audience was quite wonderful, it could almost be described simply as "cute", but it was clear that she had captivated every audience member with every note in every barre throughout her entire set. Her keyboard was decorated with what seemed like hula-dress material and lights that were very visually appealing. She did venture from behind her keyboards during a couple of her songs, and presented a playful but also very natural tone. I think what most people get from her music is an organic and natural feeling, which is an aesthetic that she always strives for. I would say she has accomplished that goal quite well, even with her latest album Tall Tall Shadow being more "electric". 

The Head and the Heart seemed to cater more to a teeny-bob girl crowd more than anything else. The two front men presented a stage presence of the crooning kind that felt pretty faked and staged. Their set didn't seem very well planned out in accordance to audience moods or feelings. All together I did not enjoy their set that much if only for the played-up stage presence abd their songs sounding very similar to one another. I do have to say, however, that their rhythm section rocked out so hard that it was fun to watch the bass player and drummer. The drummer played so hard his floor monitor almost fell off his riser. The bassists melodic lines were nice to hear among so many other predictable indie bass players. They would probably sound good in any other band.