Rob Szabo & Ian Sherwood - Wednesday, July 28th - 9 PM - $15

You'll see below that there are a lot of reasons to get your ass down to The Carleton to see Rob Szabo. I love the guy's voice, and his pop sensibilities are right up my alley, I have to admit. But it stands to reason that if you generally think my taste is decent, chances are you'll like him a lot too, right? Oh yeah, you will!

A “gifted musician” with “the soul of a poet” and “a voice of tremendous power and whimsy”, Toronto-based Rob Szabo is a tireless touring troubadour and an acclaimed songwriter.  His music has been called “accessible yet sophisticated acoustic pop”.  Szabo’s lyrics are beyond-heartfelt and have a "psst, did you know that?” confessional air to them, prompting journalists to compare him to Elliott Smith, for his emotional intimacy, and to “prime Costello” for his lyrical smarts.
 
Life & Limb, Rob’s third full length studio album continues in the tradition he established with his 2006 CD/DVD Like A Metaphor that was championed by Canada’s CBC Radio 1 and 3 with its sleeper-hit single “Breaking Even” who’s animated video went top 10 on Much More Music’s viewer request countdown and peaked at #2 on BRAVO!’s video chart .
 
Co-produced with longtime friend roots/blues dynamo Steve Strongman, Life & Limb was recorded in the serene environs of The Barn studio high on the Niagara Escarpment in tiny Caistor Centre,ON.  The renovated 100 year old barn provided the warm wood-ey sound and a sort of casual intimacy that permeates the record.  If you listen closely you can hear the birds from the daytime sessions and the crickets at night … you can almost taste the sawdust and feel the history …
 
“That Cold Hard Sell”, a tirade about omnipresent advertising and consumer culture stomps the album off to an old-school-Dylan-on-speed start.  Other highlights include “All The Sleepy Souls” a stark sincere pledge of love with swooping cellos and the epic “He Loves You” a twisted romantic plea complete with military snare-drum corps and children’s choir.
 
The album also features an old-timey duet (“Last Night’) penned and performed with Kerri Ough (Good Lovelies) and a who’s who of ace musical guests: Bob Egan (Blue Rodeo), Adam Warner (Royal Wood), Dave King (T Bone Burnett), Karyn Ellis, Jesse O’Brien (Matt Barber), Mike Olsen (Arcade Fire) & Paul Intson (Renowned Film Composer).
 
Rob’s voice remains front and centre throughout, at times tender, at others aggressive, all the while committed to sharing the words he so evidently put so much of his life into crafting.

Opening the show Is our pal, Ian Sherwood. I've stopped counting the number of times Ian has been on our stage - he pops up all the time as a go-to sideman for all kinds of acts - but I'm very much looking forward to hearing Ian do his own material for a change.

It's also nice that Ian is playing with Rob because Mr. Szabo just produced Ian's new album!

This will be a killer double bill and the price is certainly right! Show happens on Wednesday, July 28th at 9 PM. Tickets are only $15.