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The Sheepdogs + The Commoners

Wednesday 4th December 2024

Brudenhell Social Club, Leeds

We can hear it already. What makes a Canadian music blog travel 3,500 miles to see two Canadian bands?

If you've seen The Sheepdogs and The Commoners before, it’s not that difficult a decision. The last time we saw The Sheepdogs they played the 2,600 capacity iconic venue that is Massey hall in Toronto. It was a great night and the chance to see them again in the sold out Brudenel Social Club, Leeds, was too good to miss. That coupled with watching the final tour of our favourite band The Oysterband and covering a solo Blues artist in Amersham sealed the deal.

As expected, The Sheepdogs delivered a strong set mixing tunes from across their catalogue which includes two recent releases. They delivered a series of anthemic call and response tunes, including 'Southern Dreaming', ‘How Late, How Long' and 'I Don't Know' with an artfulness and dexterity which belies their years.

Anyone thinking that the tunes are rehashes and were wishing for the 'Jessica' cover should realise that the band have moved on and the excellent 'Scarborough Knife Fight' was simply outstanding with amazing lead guitar work all round. It's easy to focus on Ewan's lead vocals as the central point, but the band Rock both individually and collectively with amazing harmonies. The encore closed with ‘Feeling Good’, which rocked the crowd into the night.

In similar fashion we've followed The Commoners for years in Toronto. In simple terms, they rock. Hard working, self effacing, honest, focused and above all talented, the combination of great tunes, soaring lead vocals and amazing almost hypnotic lead guitar laid a foundation for big production numbers, and an engagement with the audience that has been built over time. Touring the UK and Europe is hard for Canadian bands, but The Commoners have provided the blueprint and are working it beautifully.

At the end we walked out into a damp Leeds night looking for our ride home, with a friend we met Glastonbury in 1992. Great friends, great bands, a great venue, great beer (an Oatmeal Stout to die for…) and a fantastic night that will live long in the memory, and we aim to be back.

The Moose

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