Rural B.C musician Cam Penner and multi-instrumentalist Jon Wood played to a full house at the Owl, May 29, though most of the audience was chattering through his set.
Fortunately the tables in front of the stage were filled with people listening intently to every word he spoke and every note he played.
The burly and bearded Penner looked like Opie from the Sons of Anarchy television show and sang like a blend of Fred Eaglesmith and Bob Dylan in his raspy voice.
He alternated between a tenor guitar and an acoustic guitar, though he took his seat behind the drums for “Memphis,” a crowd favourite and highlight of his new CD “To Build A Fire” which gets a lot of play on CKUA. Wood was all over the stage, playing drums, playing some very tasteful lap steel guitar, a black Telecaster and a couple interesting electronic devices.
A couple of the highlights included a sweet version of “Curiosity” from the new CD and my favourite, “Memphis,” which ended the show which was a lot of people’s favourite judging by the applause.
He played much of the new CD and told a few stories about moving out to the Kootenays and having breakfast with his new daughter.
He had a huge, captivating stage presence, which definitely held the attention of most of the room.