Casino Lethbridge brought in something a little different than usual, but something that was really cool, Aug. 12. — the Folk Roadshow.
The Folk Roadshow combined the talents of Benjamin Caldwell, Dominique Fricot, Olaf Caarls and Peter Van Vliet ( Port of Call Nusic) and Nick Petrovich who also plays drums in Bend Sinister.
They didn’t have a lot of people there for a great show, save a couple of couples and table from the Owl Acoustic Lounge who remembered solo performances from Caldwell and Fricot. They played an amazing show full of vocal harmonies reminiscent of Crosby Stills, Nash and Young, mixed with Simon and Garfunkel.
They each played a brief solo set before playing two sets together.
“Portuguese Disco” was an immediate highlight of the show. Each of the band members took turns singing lead. And they traded instruments every other song, employing guitar, banjo, mandolin and trombone, which added an extra, unusual, exotic and upbeat feel to their beautiful sounds.
While they mostly played original music, they also put their own majestic twist on covers like Neil Young’s “Ohio” which featured Van Vliet playing the familiar vocal melody on trombone.
Van Vliet sang several songs which were especially mesmerizing.
After that Caldwell sang “ Sweet Redemption,” which was a highlight.
The second set was more eclectic, though still showcased their stunning vocal harmonies. Caldwell picked up the banjo and played it with a bow.
A highlight near the end was when they segued into their own version of Folsom Prison blues in the middle of one of their own songs.
They showed a variety of influences including a touch of blues, upbeat jazz and lots of folk and country music. They added all of those influences into a cover of a popular hip hop hit from R Kelly.
A longer song “ Meredith,” was one of my favourites of the show.
