A 6 p.m. Regina Folk Festival slot was a little funny for Elliott Brood, as I could imagine them being the ace in the hole for a folk dance party later in the evening. But with big folk fest names (Sam Roberts Band, the Joel Plaskett Emergency) and dance-friendly acts (Blitz the Ambassador, Mexican Institute of Sound) coming up, the slot makes more sense. Maybe it was for the better, too. While parts of their set sound as good as they ever have, on the whole, the trio feel stagnant.
Their performance hasn't changed much. It's the same act that got them noticed in that time between 2005's Ambassador and 2008's Mountain Meadows, when they were a new interesting collection of voices on the Canadian roots scene. But aside from drummer Stephen Pitkin not using a suitcase as a bass drum — something he hasn't done for a while now — nothing's grown or evolved in how they approach their old songs. And they're almost all old songs. While there's still plenty of power in a track like "Miss You Now," hearing "Write It All Down For You" in this context with nothing new around it is tiring. This set could've been played by Elliott Brood at any time over the last six or seven or eight years, and probably has been.
Their performance hasn't changed much. It's the same act that got them noticed in that time between 2005's Ambassador and 2008's Mountain Meadows, when they were a new interesting collection of voices on the Canadian roots scene. But aside from drummer Stephen Pitkin not using a suitcase as a bass drum — something he hasn't done for a while now — nothing's grown or evolved in how they approach their old songs. And they're almost all old songs. While there's still plenty of power in a track like "Miss You Now," hearing "Write It All Down For You" in this context with nothing new around it is tiring. This set could've been played by Elliott Brood at any time over the last six or seven or eight years, and probably has been.
