Summer was still officially a couple of days away when Michael Rault took to the makeshift stage of the Captain Matthew Flinders as part of the M at NXNE Bruise Cruise, but the Edmonton native's mix of Rundgrenian pop, T.Rex-inspired rock-and-boogie and '70s highway chug was the perfect soundtrack to take in a bit of late-spring sunshine over Lake Ontario.
From the rollicking "All Alone (On My Own)" to the alternately sludgy-and-breezy "Real Love (Yeah)" to "Hiding From A Heartbreak" and "Lost Something" somehow approximated an early '70s universe in which Plastic Ono Band Lennon is still releasing albums with Ram-era McCartney. The songs from Rault's immaculately produced Living Daylight all seemed to gain in power in a live setting. After a frustrated Rault mistakenly thought his time was up following cassingle-only A-side "Nothing Means Nothing," the band returned for "Suckcess," a final Yardbirds-by-way-of-Bolan rave-up that brought the set to a more satisfying close.
From the rollicking "All Alone (On My Own)" to the alternately sludgy-and-breezy "Real Love (Yeah)" to "Hiding From A Heartbreak" and "Lost Something" somehow approximated an early '70s universe in which Plastic Ono Band Lennon is still releasing albums with Ram-era McCartney. The songs from Rault's immaculately produced Living Daylight all seemed to gain in power in a live setting. After a frustrated Rault mistakenly thought his time was up following cassingle-only A-side "Nothing Means Nothing," the band returned for "Suckcess," a final Yardbirds-by-way-of-Bolan rave-up that brought the set to a more satisfying close.