Hey Rosetta! @ Le Cabaret du Mile End

To promote the release of their third album, Seeds, Hey Rosetta! (exclamation mark mandatory) is doing a North American tour. They sold out Montreal’s Le Cabaret du Mile End on Friday, February 18th.

Walking into the venue moments before the band took to the stage, I felt the sense of excitement and electricity in the air. Everyone was there to see the small town six-member band from St. John’s, Newfoundland. The size of the crowd was amazing; seeing the band member’s surprised and humble expressions throughout the whole show as they looked out at the mass of people, you knew they felt the same way.

Hey Rosetta! started the show with three songs off their new album, giving us a taste of why we were there. Mixing their garage rock sound with more traditional instruments like the violin, cello, and piano, the band’s new music stays true to their roots.

“Yer Spring” was the third song on the setlist and it is by far my favorite off the new album. The song showcases the band’s layered sound and lead singer Tim Baker’s energetic and balanced voice. Everyone in the audience had their eyes closed as they swayed to Baker’s voice, and jumped up and down as the song picked up. Hey Rosetta! has a way of making you want to slow dance and mosh all at the same time.

The band took a turn down memory lane and played a few songs from their first two albums, Into Your Lungs and Plan Your Escape. The classics they played really got the crowd roaring. Everyone sang along to "There’s An Arc" and Baker started a clapping interlude that felt 10 minutes long. After this the show really got going; the crowd was even more energetic, as was the band.

When the band got to the title track of Seeds, there were people dancing on stage, sitting crossed leg on ledges bopping their heads, and, I am pretty sure, there were some crowd surfing. This song really showcases the band’s flexibility; member’s switched violins for maracas and tambourines, cello’s for bases, piano’s for mandolins - back and forth throughout the whole song. A mini dance party started on stage in the middle of the song, but it didn’t last long enough. For a moment it seemed like Baker was going to start beat boxing.

Baker interacted really well with the audience and of course told us how much the band loved Montreal. He referenced J.D. Salinger and Leonard Cohen as inspirations for a lot of the music they make. Although he was the only one who really talked to the audience, the rest of the band looked so happy to be there that they didn’t need to express it in words.

The stage was properly dressed with antique chairs and a landscape background. Both represented their classic sound and folky East coast roots.

Hey Rosetta! ended their twelve song set with a personal favorite of mine, "Red Heart," off their second album. By the end of the song people had lighters in the air and wanted more. The moment Hey Rosetta! stepped off stage the iconic chant began, begging them to come back out for just “one more song!”. Playing four encores, Hey Rosetta! still left me wanting more. Maybe it was the massive energy of their live shows, the dancing highs and lows, or the intoxicating hum of their layered sound, but when they left the stage a second time all I could think was “one more song!”.

Set list:

1. "Downstairs"
2. "Welcome"
3. "Yer Spring"
4. "Another Pilot"
5. "There's An Arc"
6. "Yer Fall"
7. "Young Glass"
8. "I've Been Asleep For A Long, Long Time"
9. "Swing The Cellar Door"
10. "We Made A Pact"
11. "Seeds"
12. "Res Heart"