Every time I see Shotgun Jimmie I have a little giggle at his super fans: those dudes in the front row, usually wearing handmade Jimmie paraphernalia, waving their arms in the air and singing along to every word.
But I salute them. After Saturday's Bloor Ossington Folk Festival Beer Garden set, in which the Brandon, MB-based songwriter hammered through his set one-man-band-style behind a drum kit while wielding a guitar, I too sported the giant, goofy, ear-to-ear Shotgun Jimmie grin and figured that one day soon I may also be singing along with his songs.
Jimmie's two-minute pop-punk nuggets are infectiously charming and almost inevitably rhyme. ("Standing In A Line" off 2013's Everything, Everything bears more than a passing resemblance to the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated").
"You've probably noticed that all my songs begin and end the same way," Jimmie said at one point. "But the middle parts are different."
Indeed, his songs are often eccentric, romantic, comedic short stories. Contributing to the love-in vibe, Jimmie sang his tribute for the Constantines in front of at least one or two Constantines (Steve Lambke and Will Kidman were there).
"I don't believe in many things, but I believe in the Constantines," he sang. He'd later give a shout out to '90s Toronto band Project 9.
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But I salute them. After Saturday's Bloor Ossington Folk Festival Beer Garden set, in which the Brandon, MB-based songwriter hammered through his set one-man-band-style behind a drum kit while wielding a guitar, I too sported the giant, goofy, ear-to-ear Shotgun Jimmie grin and figured that one day soon I may also be singing along with his songs.
Jimmie's two-minute pop-punk nuggets are infectiously charming and almost inevitably rhyme. ("Standing In A Line" off 2013's Everything, Everything bears more than a passing resemblance to the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated").
"You've probably noticed that all my songs begin and end the same way," Jimmie said at one point. "But the middle parts are different."
Indeed, his songs are often eccentric, romantic, comedic short stories. Contributing to the love-in vibe, Jimmie sang his tribute for the Constantines in front of at least one or two Constantines (Steve Lambke and Will Kidman were there).
"I don't believe in many things, but I believe in the Constantines," he sang. He'd later give a shout out to '90s Toronto band Project 9.
Photo Gallery: FB, g+
