DEAN & BRITTA + CamaRomance @ Main Hall

By Susannah Hicks - Rock the Plank - 03/10/2007

Dean (Wareham) and Britta (Phillips) are no newcomers; they have been influencing music for decades. This duo are no strangers either as they are both former members of the band Luna. Prior to Luna, Dean was the frontman of Galaxie 500 and Britta voiced the well-known animated character Jem. Dean and Britta's musical union began in 2003; it was not until the recording of Back Numbers, their second full-length album in 2007, that their matrimony formed.

The Show began with the opening act CamaRomance, a solo performer (Martine Groulx) from Montréal. Her act consisted of her angelic yet strong voice and electric guitar. Groulx's songs were composed of simple strumming and repetitive cords. She was actually supposed to play with her band but they were playing Toronto Music Week. It so happens that by accident, her band left with her guitar pedal, so she had to buy a new one for the show. The problem was that Groulx wasn't comfortable with this new equipment and some technical difficulties arose, interrupting the performance. The atmosphere during her set was beautiful. The lights were dimmed low, people were sitting comfortably and the audience was small and intimate. After Groulx's performance, I was talking to the merchandise girl and she described her performance as Jewel doing Cat Power covers. Groulx had a strong voice that filled the room and she stood strong alone, but I found her songs too repetitive -- they sounded too much alike.

Dean and Britta's quartet trickled on stage after Groulx's performance as they were welcomed by a huge applause from the audience. The band were made of Britta on bass, Dean on lead guitar, and a drummer and keyboardist. Their set started with their hit song "Singer Song" off their latest album Back Numbers. This song was performed beautifully with Dean's low deep voice harmonized with Britta's soft sweet vocals. Their fourth song really struck a nerve with the audience with Beatles-esque chords, chimey keys and Britta's powerful voice belting out lyrics in a Jem-like fashion. They played their hit track from the Squid and the Whale soundtrack, which had a different feel from the rest of the songs. This one was slower with softer piano and brush drums. The seventh song played, "Words You Used to Say", was poppier than others. The keys played many roles in this track, sounding futuristic at some points and psychedelic at others. The next song, "Since I Lay My Burden Down", had a country feel with solo vocals by Dean and whimsical keys. The following tune started off with dark, deep vocals by Britta and then changed paced with la la la's and ended with a jam sequence. In between each song, there was humorous chit-chat of mostly Dean talking about quaint stories related to the songs. The highlight talk spot occurred when Dean mentioned their dinner plans before the show. The band went out for curry goat in Montreal. While eating, Dean picked up one of Montreal's free weekly magazines. Inside there was a review of their new album and the review mentioned Dean's previous band Galaxie 500. After the word Galaxie 500, Americana was stated in parenthesis. Dean confusedly responded"why would they put Americana" as he has never read this in a review before. Turns out there is a Québécois band also named Galaxie 500. I am not doing the story justice; it was a lot more humorous live coming from Dean's mouth. Dean is actually very charming and has great stage presence. Britta didn't talk that much, as she seemed very shy onstage.

Their closing number of course was "Bonnie & Clyde", which has vocals in French, very appropriate for this Montreal audience. After this song, Dean acknowledged that their one-year anniversary was that night. The crowd cheered and they played two encore songs. They received a standing ovation at the end of their set -- the audience loved the performance. Throughout the whole night, Dean & Britta played different styles of music: country, rock n' roll, psychedelic, spacey pop and indie rock. Each track was different but it worked. All in all, they played amazing music, had interesting conversations with the crowd and put on an entertaining show. 9/10 in my books.

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