Craig Finn in Ottawa, ON, Canada last night

[Northern Wish]

My good friend Trevor was texting me from an event called "Random Play" last night in Canada's capital city. This was hosted by the CBC's (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Alan Neal. The concept is that he chooses a few artists to come together for an evening of song and story telling. The artists are selected by Mr. Neal hitting 'shuffle' on his ipod.

Performing:

Craig Finn
Rose Cousins
Elliott Brood (they are a band, not a guy- in fact there is no one named Elliott or Brood in the band. Also they are awesome)
Bonjay
Iskwe
and house band The Split

I got the first text pre-show when my friend mentioned that seeing Craig standing in a well-lit church hallway was both weird and exciting.

The first song chosen was 'Barely Breathing' which was discussed by the host and Craig, including showing a video of the lead singer from Youth of Today.

After the first half of the show, the host then chose random covers for the artists to play...

The second song for Craig was the deep Springsteen cut 'Car Wash' (from Tracks) accompanied by Bonjay. Craig only sang on the chorus and the second verse.

The next time Craig got on stage he performed a new song. I don't have a title but my buddy had this to say: "It's about two friends who've known each other since childhood. Billy was one and the other was Johnny, I think. It's dark. Vicodin and Oxycontin were both mentioned. The last line about hating coming home was awesome." He also added "I loved it, but the rest of these fucks didn't appreciate it". If you know the stuffy nature of an Ottawa crowd, this was the best text he sent.

Towards the end there was a collaboration of all artists on a "radio play version of some old superhero/ Aquaman thing".

Overall he said the pace of the show was torture, but that it was a good event. He just wanted more Craig ;-)

[wealdstone]

Apr 24, 2015 8:25:32 GMT -5 Northern Wish said:

The next time Craig got on stage he performed a new song. I don't have a title but my buddy had this to say: "It's about two friends who've known each other since childhood. Billy was one and the other was Johnny, I think. It's dark. Vicodin and Oxycontin were both mentioned. The last line about hating coming home was awesome."

That'd be Dennis and Billy

This from 2012

[delboydrums]

I'd forgotten that one - good track, too.

[bigontheinside]

Barely Breathing solo sounds cool. Always thought that track was underrated, even though it does go on a bit at the end.

Shame that new song didn't turn out to be new, but maybe it'll make the next Craig solo record!