We’ve lost count of how many references have been made over the years here at GDW about the popular radio channel CBC Music Sonica – one long since removed from the SiriusXM radio lineup where we discovered it back around 2007 or so. For those of us south of the 49th parallel, this station proved to be a fabulous source of new Canadian music – especially of the niche and independent variety – and very quickly brought a grocery list of artists into our lives. With the likes of Elliott BROOD, Joel Plaskett Emergency, and Great Lake Swimmers leading the charge, this infectious brand of indie music from our northern neighbor kick started an unbelievable new music journey.
Another band dropping onto our listening radar care of this new music source was Oshawa, ON indie-folk rockers Cuff The Duke. Our earliest recollection of hearing their music was likely around the release of their 2008 “Way Down Here” album, although given the time that has passed, It’s All A Blur. Okay, apologies for the blatant cheesy pun – it was impossible to resist the temptation of using the title of one of that album’s single releases as a segue. But with tracks such as this and “Listen To Your Heart” demonstrating their passion for melodic indie-rock riffs, once we encountered the additional alt-country cues discovered in their (still) fabulous tune “Follow Me,” Cuff The Duke very quickly became a lock for our regular listening-rotation pleasures.
Unlike the three bands name-dropped earlier, however, who we have had the pleasure of catching in concert on many occasions since, Cuff The Duke instead proved remarkably elusive for us. For closing in on fifteen years, we had not crossed paths with this band in person – and okay, the band’s lengthy sabbatical from touring over the last decade certainly contributed to our lack of success – but with the release of “Breaking Dawn” this past September (their first album in twelve years), the announcement of a small Ontario album tour piqued our curiosity. And upon learning that one of those gigs would bring Cuff The Duke to Warehouse Concert Hall in St. Catharines – on a date that coincided with our own vacation plans in the area – we finally had that opportunity to connect. Tickets bought!
With lead vocalist/guitarist Wayne Petti now an official resident of the St. Catharines community, Cuff The Duke received a strong welcome as they made their way out onto the the Warehouse stage. Joined by bandmates Paul Lowman (bass/violin), François Turenne (guitars/vocals), Thom Hammerton (keyboards), and AJ Johnson (drums/vocals), these five musicians would perform eighteen tracks from across their entire catalogue over the 90-minute headlining stage time at their disposal.
Opening with some eerie guitar rings, it was quite a pleasant surprise (and delight) to find Cuff the Duke kicking off their set with “Blackheart,” itself of course the opening cut from their debut 2002 “Life Stories for Minimum Wage” album – one of the finest indie albums from the turn of the century, in our opinion. Equally surprising was how quickly the band returned to this one to deliver “Hobo Night Stalker,” complete with the recognizable surf-rings – amazing how this 22-year-old tune still sounds so fresh, with the band lighting up the room with a stunning prog-guitar solo to close.
While this small run of tour dates provided the band with an opportunity to showcase their latest release, Wayne seemed content in penciling just three new songs into their set – performing their recent single “Got You On The Run” early in the evening, and adding both “Leaving It All Behind” and “Seasons Come, Seasons Go” at various intervals – the latter providing Paul a moment to switch out the bass for his violin, and for Thom to shine with some Hammond-style keys down the stretch.
With a full rack of guitars to his left just off-stage, Wayne would switch instruments frequently, which did not go unnoticed by some in the room. “Damn, what guitar change is that? Number three or four?” came a friendly heckle from the back of the room. “Come on, hey you know what, six,” Wayne retorted in jest. “I believe I … as someone who really loves guitars, when someone asks me how many guitars do you need, I’m always like one…more. You know, you can’t have enough.” And as the resulting laughter bounced around the room, the peppy rings of his freshly-strapped-on guitar led into “Remember The Good Times,” with Wayne ready to add one further comical retort as the tune closed. “I’ll have you know, I carry all those fucking guitars,” he stated, triggering plenty of chuckles and mirth around the room once more.
Wayne not only enjoyed this interaction with the audience but also dealt with some friendly ribbing from his own bandmates during a guitar-tuning delay. “Hey, you know what? What happened was we were gonna play this other song tonight, and I had it in a really great tuning, and I forgot to tune it back,” he confessed – only to be harassed by Thom and AJ, who filled the room with the Jeopardy theme on keys and percussion respectively. “Oh, that’s enough bullshit, go away,” Wayne joked, filling the room with merriment once more before launching into the recognizable rings of “Follow Me.” And when Wayne invited the audience to add harmonies down the stretch, the room did not disappoint in delivering the popular chorus. “Follow me, follow me / Take the high road and follow me / If you can’t walk, I will carry you back home.” Ever appreciative, Wayne would offer compliments to the room, adding “very nice singing, thank you,” at the song’s close.
An explosive sequence of popular hits would dominate down the stretch and included the epic seven-minute plus opus “Bound To Your Own Devices” (complete with the many timing shifts and changes one would expect to hear). With Paul once again switching instruments, the cries all evening from the crowd for “If I Live or If I Die” became fully realized, as Cuff The Duke ended the evening on a high with this crowd favorite – and returning for a pair of encore tunes, would revisit their debut album once again to end the evening with the five-minute-plus ‘mostly instrumental until the end’ song, “Ballad Of A Lonely Construction Worker.” I’ll go out on a limb here and state that I was perhaps not alone in feeling some slight Coldplay vibes here, before Wayne stepped up to the microphone one last time to lead the closing chants of “It’ll be alright / It’ll be alright / It’ll be alright / It’ll be okay…”
Hitting the stage around 10:30 on a Friday night – and wrapping up as the early moments of Saturday morning rolled around – our much-anticipated first encounter with Cuff The Duke proved more than worthy of the fifteen year-plus waiting time. This was a solid performance from one of Ontario’s finest indie-folk bands, and we remain ever hopeful that while Seasons Come, Seasons Go, we do indeed not have to wait out another decade before the opportunity arises to do this over again.
Set List:
- Blackheart
- The Future Hangs
- Side By Side
- Time Is Right
- Got You On The Run
- Hobo Night Stalker
- Seasons Come, Seasons Go
- Remember The Good Times
- Follow Me
- Rocking Chair
- Count On Me
- Bound To Your Own Devices
- Leaving It All Behind
- Rossland Square
- You Don’t Know What It’s Like
- If I Live Or If I Die
Encore:
- Take My Money And Run
- Ballad Of A Lonely Construction Worker
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
