I have no idea if this was an out of the ordinary thing but Jim Bryson only played for 1.5 hours. They started at 9pm and were done two encores by 10:30??? What happened? Definitely not worth the ticket price.
The sound was great, and Jimmy sang from the heart. He played quite a few tunes from his first album, and the singing was completely changed. But that's a good thing, since it almost seemed a bit monotonous but he does have a very good voice. Also, Weakerthans rule.
I've never gotten into Jim Bryson or the Weakerthans until seeing them together at the 2010 Winnipeg Folk Festival. Despite not knowing any of the songs, I dug 'em and picked up their new Album "The Falcon Lake Incident". I saw that they were playing on of my favourite Winnipeg venues The West End Cultural Center and decided to check it out... What a treat. Jim Bryson truly loves to be on stage. Personally I'm not a huge John Samson fan... I respect him as a great Winnipeg musician, but his style of singing was never my favourite. Jim Bryson however is more my kind of style and coupled with one of Winnipeg's best bands, it made for an excellent show. The energy was great, John and Jim harmonized on a number of songs, the band was very into it, and with it being the second last show on the tour and in the Weakerthans hometown, Jim seemed to really appreciate the crowd and really enjoyed the show. As someone who is an occasional fan, I thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed the show and would recommend it to anyone.
Enjoyed the show. Bryson and the Weakerthans are clearly good friends and enjoy working together. Opening act Siskiyoo's stuff was well performed but it was all so slow and mellow that I wanted to drift off.
I simply couldn't hear the Jim's singing. I think partly because of the poor acoustics at Lee's, but also Jims voice is quite mumbly and vague. The band was solid and save the concert from complete disaster.
When I realized John K. Samson was not coming out on the stage to join the performance, I was immediately disappointed. But after that initial blow, the concert impressed me and I danced the night away. Jim Bryson was engaging and entertaining, and made it clear that he was happy to be up on that stage. A great show overall, definitely recommended.