Shotgun & Jaybird

Mainstage Tent, Sackville NB, August 3

Photo: Stephen McGill

BY Ryan McNuttPublished Aug 4, 2014

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Sunday night's Sappyfest line-up had two reunions at the top of the bill, but Shotgun & Jaybird knew who the main attraction was. Shotgun Jimmie even wrote a new song for the occasion: "I don't believe in a lot of things," he sang, as Fred Squire drummed along, "but I believe in the Constantines."

Not that a Shotgun & Jaybird reunion, even a one-off, isn't an event in and of itself. Formed in Dawson City but spending most of their short, entertaining run in Sackville, the two artists are local institutions and familiar Sappy faces. But after years of experiencing Squire as a folk artist, or Jimmie playing his quirky, sometimes noisy solo material, there was a certain novelty to seeing them rock out together again. (For Squire's part, it was a reminder that he's actually a rather engaging electric guitarist.)

Shotgun & Jaybird's songs feel like they were penned purely for fun, just two clever writers trying to impress one another, but they're so genuine and inviting that there's room for everyone to join in. If the set was, indeed, a last hurrah for the duo (which I personally doubt), it was a sweet and sentimental one.

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