Dave Monks novel acoustic set at Massey Books
written by Scotty Evil
It was refreshing to head out on a cool autumn Monday night to Massey Books in Vancouver’s Chinatown and check out an acoustic set from Dave Monks, lead singer of Tokyo Police Club (and recently 1/4 of new supergroup Anyway Gang), with his talented partner in crime Alyson McNamara.
A quiet group of friends and fans politely took seats in folding chairs between shelves of literature as Alyson sipped her tea and strapped on her teal blue Danelectro guitar. Her deft playing style, breathy singing and heavy reverb was immediately hypnotic, delivering wistful songs that drew you in. Her light touch on the strings was balanced equally by her vocals; you could hear a pin drop between notes.
Dave Monks came out and hoisted his acoustic. “Shoutout to Long and McQuade for fixing this for me” he quipped between talking about how well received his duo with Alyson was while opening for Said the Whale on their current tour.
With irreverent lyrics and a delivery reminiscent of Bob Dylan and Arlo Guthrie, he launched into “Ready to Win”, setting the tone with likely a record for the amount of times the phrase “fuck up” is said in a song.
After a few solo tunes, Alyson joined him, her subtle lead guitar tones and vocal harmonies a nice counterpoint to the raw acoustic.
The influences from the likes of Paul Simon were easy to spot; with no fancy stage lights and a minimal setup it was like intimate busking.
I had a brief chat with Alyson after the show and mentioned I was reminded of Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) by her guitar tone and playing style.
She said she would have to look him up. Kids these days.
Dave was pleased with merch sales of CD’s and shirts, then was off to a late night snack with local friends and fans.
Their tour continues to Kamloops and Calgary this week. Catch them if you can.
©nightMair Creative.com
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written by Scotty Evil
photos by Red Lenses Photography
