by Scott Roos
photos by Deanna Roos of Contingent Colours Photography
*Anna Haverstock strikes a perfect "guitar face" pose
This past Saturday, Dec. 18th the Capitol Music Club in Saskatoon played host to Anna Haverstock, League of Wolves and Seven Mile Sun. In general, the show was well attended, and the Cap continues, with it’s wood paneled, pub style ambience, to provide a highly functional, versatile and hip venue for live music in the city.
Haverstock kicked off the festivities at around 10 pm. Haverstock was in good spirits as she played a tight set of grunge imbibed alt rock. Her attitude and a generous portion of soul being strong positives throughout her set, she was enjoyable to watch. Her voice almost sounded like a cross between Liz Phair and a female version of Darius Rucker as she dutifully cycled through her songs. Meanwhile, her very capable back-up band, which included Matt Stinn (Greenwing), Matt Smith (Gunner and Smith, The Buzzardine) and Matthew McLaughlin (Gunner and Smith, Shirley and the Pyramids), provided the support she needed to do her thing.
League of Wolves was up next with their brand of heavily polished, anthemic, arena ready, predominantly medium tempo, riff rock. Whilst the incendiary, shredtastic tones of lead guitarist Leot Hanson (ex-Sheepdogs) and the sex appeal of vocalist Dillon Currie are clear standouts in terms of personality and watchability, it’s evident that the precision by which this band is able to deliver each of their songs makes them arguably the current “kings in waiting” within the Sask rock scene. If perfection is the measuring stick this band is setting a very high standard overall. They had every aspect of their set down to a science.
*League of Wolves delighted the crowd with performances of songs like "I Live in My Car" and "Never Be the Same Again"
Finally, the pride of Harris, Saskatchewan, Seven Mile Sun, took the stage in the “headliner” slot. In general, Seven Mile Sun’s sound is somewhere between a more traditional blues rock and a classic rock vibe. Much of this likely has to do with vocalist/guitarist Kevin Stevens and drummer Kimberley Stevens' history as the cover band Better Than Nothing. They cut their teeth on the classics and have, in the handful of months since the release of their debut ep Light In the Dark, branched out to performing entire sets of original tunes. With the addition of Joanne Genest on bass, Seven Mile Sun exemplifies the rock n roll aesthetic. To them the beauty and majesty of rock is in the spontaneity and imperfections of the sonics they put forth. Each time you see this power trio, you will get a slightly different experience than the last. They all clearly enjoy playing together and, in turn, it makes Seven Mile Sun a standout attraction anywhere and anytime they are on stage.
*Seven Mile Sun doing what they love!
At the end of the day, with the uncertainty of yet another COVID variant on the horizon, it was good to see three bands doing what they love to do. The Capitol proved, yet again, to be a suitable space to let creativity reign with each band playing new material for an enthusiastic crowd of music starved fans.