Chris Velan @ Petit Cafe Campus

It was homecoming for Montreal’s own Chris Velan on Thursday, December 8th; he rocked out for a crowd of about 50 at Petit Café Campus for the first time in over a year. “I will never do that again,” vowed Velan about being away from his hometown for so long, and I hope he keeps his word.

He played mostly songs from his third and fourth studio albums, Solidago (2009) and Fables for Fighters (2011); the audience was treated to an eclectic mix of rock, funk, blues, and reggae from Velan and his three full-bearded band members. The skilled keyboardist aptly filled the void left without a second guitarist to strum the chords, adding to each funk-inspired bouncy beat. The bassist and drummer showed their aptitude too, playing like the travel-savyy tour group that they are.

However, as he should, Chris Velan stole the show with his clear, personable and emotionally charged voice. Songs like "Interrogate Me," and "There Goes Sara" (my personal favourite off the new album) started the show off on an up beat, presenting that Velan is much more than just an acoustic guitarist. The excellent use of lighting, which alternated from passionate red to cool blue and green, brilliantly increased the experience. Yet, the crowd was standoffish at first - surprising for a hometown act who has been featured at dozens of concerts and festivals across Canada and the US.

-Photo credit: Joel Balsam

The new album is riddled with different experiments, but none stood out more than "You’re On Your Own Now," featuring Velan’s voice altered with autotune at certain points in the song. Yet, despite the dynamism and variation of Fables for Fighters, it wasn’t really until Velan picked up his acoustic guitar and started playing songs from Solidago that the crowd got into it. By then, the infectiously poppy songs permeated through the modest audience, transforming a bit of swaying into an all out jumpy dozen on the dance floor.

For "Pauper in a Palace" and "Wobbly Bones," Velan went off script, altering the pronunciation of the vocals and beat from the recorded sound to give an effective individual experience. The scat doos on "Out of Range" and the heart-thumping beat of "House Upon a Hill" got everyone dancing, culminating with "Best of Me" off of Twitter, Buzz, Howl (2006), which had all the local Velan fans mouthing along with the words.

Right when the party was at its height, Velan dipped out, but not before a unique and much appreciated encore performance. Returning to the stage alone, Velan grabbed the ukulele that was perched ever-so-softly beside the mic stand throughout the show and sang "Any Number of Ways." After about a minute and a half into the poetic country song, the band came out from the depths of backstage to finish the song with Velan, who rocked out hard on the little red ukulele.

The only thing missing was my favourite Velan song "Go Easy." I guess I’ll have to check that one out next time he plays Montreal. See you there!

-Joel Balsam co-hosts Currently Concordia every Friday from 11am-12pm