2008/03/15  Black Sheep Inn, Wakefield, QC Black Sheep Inn gets lit up Canadians Kathleen Edwards, Royal Wood pack venue in Quebec 'There's something special about the Black Sheep," said Amanda Putz, host of the CBC radio show The Fuse. "People just love to listen to music here more than anywhere else." Putz introduced opener Royal Wood and headliner Kathleen Edwards at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Que., March 15. It was the second of a two-night engagement. From The Camera House, his residence in Toronto, Wood travelled to perform for a sold out crowd. He said the best part is just having the chance to perform. "It's about taking your songs, singing your words, and seeing how people react," Wood said. There were some hiccups in the night's performance - some feedback from the sound system, a late start. This is why Wood said his favourite part of the album-making process is his time in the studio. "It's so different, you know exactly how to control everything," he explained. 'The studio is my own little world where I can have fun." His fun has led to the release of two full albums with indie label Dead Daisy Records/Outside Music - A Good Enough Day, Tall Tales - and one EP, The Milkweed. He played selections from all three at Saturday's show, alternating between accompanying himself on the piano, then the acoustic guitar. Wood finished his set with "Lady in Blue," a song he dedicated to his close friend whose grandmother and grandfather had died within a week of each other. Love and heartache are recurring themes in his music. "I never know what to say in moments of crisis, let alone moments of death," he said. "So I wrote her a song." The ballad silenced the packed bar right until the end, when Wood had the crowd softly echoing the refrain. Putz said she is not surprised. "I saw him perform at Pop Montreal," said Putz, "and he silenced an entire courtyard there." In his relatively young career, Wood has been compared with the likes of celebrated Canadian artists Ron Sexsmith and Rufus Wainwright. His music has been featured on several TV and movie soundtracks including the HBO series Regenesis, and he has collaborated with many other Canadian musicians, including Sarah Harmer, Hawksley Workman, and even headliner Kathleen Edwards. "I've known Kathleen for a while," he said. "I sat in on the bonus track on her new album, and I'm working with her husband on my next album." Edwards' headlining performance at the Black Sheep Inn was one, as Putz put it, "long overdue." Edwards actually got her start performing and selling her first EP, Building 55, at the Wakefield bar. Now, nine years later, her current tour has brought her home to promote her fourth full-length album, Asking for Flowers. Edwards, like Wood, alternated between accompanying herself on different instruments including the acoustic guitar, the harmonica, the electric mandolin, and the electric guitar. Saturday's show, she said, actually marks her "first live guitar solo ever." A multi-talented musician, Edwards also emphasizes the power of songwriting as means of self-expression - particularly in her own life. She, like Wood, dedicated the title track of her latest album to a dear friend. "She knows who she is," said Edwards. "She taught me a lot about what it means to be patient, and patient with others in times of loss." The performance of "Lazy Eye" was the highlight of Edwards' set. The duet featured her on lead vocals, playing the acoustic guitar, with Royal Wood on harmony, accompanying her at the piano. The two Canadian artists had chemistry both in music and in stage presence. "It always gives me great pleasure to welcome back to the stage Canada's own Paul McCartney," Edwards said. "Of course, if Royal were England's Paul McCartney, we'd both be fucking rich." Rebecca Ryall The Charlatan				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews