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twina76
2/28/01

Ottawa Review

Hi all, here's a review (my first ever!) of the second concert in Ottawa last week (I couldn't go to the first!)
Hopefully it will have a hint of coming close to being as good as a DrT review!


Sarah Harmer at Barrymore’s in Ottawa February 22, 2001

****Sarah stuff starts at the stars
Well, to start, I had harangued my twin sis, Jacquie, and two of my best friends, Katie & Cathy, into coming to the concert with me! Katie was having technical difficulties getting out of the house that night (i.e. her mom didn’t get home until late to watch the little one) so I dropped her ticket off after we picked up Cathy. And away we were! We decided to chance the Queensway (major highway through Ottawa) as the news said the bomb scare was over (now THAT doesn’t happen very often in Ottawa!). Well, we made our way down Bank Street to Barrymore’s and found a parking spot not too far away. We noticed, however, a considerable lineup when we drove by. Fortunately, it diminished by the time we got there. Well, we made it inside and found it to be VERY full! I had not expected it to be so full! Anyways, we were standing near the door deciding on what to do when a friend of mine comes down and grabs us! So we follow her up to the top level and grab a drink and chat during the opening act. The opening act consisted of Kate Fenner (apparently a recent back-up singer for the Tragically Hip) and Chris Brown. They were okay, just not too well rehearsed or loud enough or something. The crowd did not get into them at all. After trying to look around the chandelier to see the opening act, I decided to see how close I could get to the stage. Fortunately my friend agreed to watch our coats while we were down as the coat check was full! So off we went and I, politely, maneuvered my way up to just left of the centre of the stage! It was a great spot to be, right in front of "Foxy", as I’ve heard him referred as, and a good picture line for Sarah! Anyways, the opening act was wrapping up & I glanced over to the stage door (not visible from farther back) and, if I’m correct, I saw Sarah peeking out! I then began to get excited! Oh, I almost forgot! While we were up on the top level, I noticed someone walking from backstage around the front of the stage to the other side and I said to myself, "Hmmm, that looks like Foxy, hmmm." I was right!

*********
After what seemed forever, Sarah Harmer finally took the stage!!

The set list (as best as I could remember & figure out - I have yet to know all the Weeping Tile songs). The first four are in order - the rest are close!

The Hideout
? A song about a plant surviving the winter?
Uniform Gray
Trouble in the Fields (yay! I was hoping!)
Good Fortune
Capsized
A new one, didn’t catch the name, but it was good!
Don’t Get Your Back Up
Open Window (The Wedding Song)
Coffee Stain (the crowd was very into this song - the first one where I could hear the audience singing!)
You Were Here
Basement Apartment
Lodestar ( I believe it was here when the psycho couple butted in beside me - more below)
Weakened State
Dumpster Diving (by the Hill Billies from Kingston, Ontario)
And there were a couple I didn’t know, in particular, the last song (second encore!) which she dedicated to some girls she pointed to in the audience.

For those who care, the wardrobe:
Sarah: had her hair in pigtails, wore a maroon sweater and dark blue jeans rolled up in that style that I have yet to totally understand? She was wearing those new slip on runners that I have seen & have been tempted to buy. She also said she was wearing long johns ( and showed us the bottom edge of her leg at one point, then her sleeve when she tried to roll up her sweater a bit later).
Mr. Fox: he was simple in his almost-tight gray t-shirt and dark pants.
As for the rest of the band, I couldn’t remember what the drummer & other guitar player were wearing.
Well, she didn’t chat very much on stage and didn’t do very long introductions to the songs either. There was a group beside & in front of me that kept yelling out, "Dear Henry". When she finally heard them, or admitted to hearing them, she said she didn’t know how to play it, just sing it. Still, they kept asking for it throughout the show. Finally at the end, they yelled again & one guy got up close to her and asked again, saying that his friend really wanted to hear it and his house had just burnt down (could be true - there was a big fire a few days before the concert) but she said, "Dude, I don’t know how to play that one." Well, the guy whose house apparently burnt down was excited because Sarah had called his friend, "Dude". It was cute!
        The crowd took a while to get going but eventually they did. I had a very good time, except when this older couple (I’d say about 40 & who had a "stuck in the 60s" look going) pushed their way in between my sister and I and started "psycho-dancing" as I have come to describing it. I have NEVER seen anyone dance quite like that. They took up sooo much space & moved so much & weird … I can’t describe it! During the slow parts he was rubbing his hands ALL over her fast and then when the music was fast, they were moving all over very fast - not even to the beat! Anyways, that was my only complaint about the show.
        As I said before, Sarah came out for two encores, the first being three songs ( I think) and the second only one ( I think). When she came back out for the first encore, she said that usually she has a stool for her red wine & kleenex  

Well, that’s all I can remember at this point! Feel free to correct me on the song titles, I’m still a new fan & don’t know everything!
Hopefully my pictures will turn out & I’ll find somewhere to post them (no, I don’t have a site, yet). Oh, and no, my friend Katie never made it. I got a message about her getting lost but I have yet to talk to her. Anyways, thanks for reading!

Alison in Ottawa
(aka twina76)