2008/05/26  Richard's On Richards; Vancouver, BC Edwards takes tunes to a grittier level Quietly stepping onto the stage at Richards on Richards, Kathleen Edwards and her band slipped on their instruments and glided into a soft rendition of Mercury from her first album, Failer. The tempo increased by the third song, which was the title track of her new CD, Asking for Flowers. As they shifted through their musical gears the five musicians showed the benefits of extensive touring as they nailed the timing on every number. Speaking to the audience for the first time she said it was great to be back in Canada. They have been touring in the United States for the past two months. The Ottawa native smiled as the fans shouted out their adoration to her. The band was made up of Joel Anderson on drums, John Dinsmore on bass, Jim Bryson on keyboards and guitar and Colin Cripps on guitar. Edwards shifted between her well-travelled acoustic guitar, and harmonica as well as electric guitar and for two numbers she picked up her violin. Drawing from all three of her albums, Edwards moved seamlessly from quiet acoustic ballads into rocking electric numbers. Most of the songs were played on a grittier level than the polished album versions. Songs like The Cheapest Key, which ended the set, were pushed to a whole new sound with extended guitar work from both Bryson and Cripps. Throughout the performance Edwards spoke casually to the audience and shared stories from the road, making music videos with hockey players, interviews gone wrong and more, all the while endearing herself to them. At one point the band left her alone on the stage to perform a solo version of Scared At Night, a song she wrote for her father. Bryson returned to play two songs with her as a duo before the rest of the band rejoined them. After the set was finished the crowd clapped and stomped their feet demanding more. The encore began with Oh Canada and moved into an exquisite version of Goodbye California that featured a brilliant guitar segment by Cripps. They wrapped it up with Back to Me and the enthusiastic crowd could only hope she would be back again soon. North Shore News				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews