It was a cool breeze from the Canadian maritimes that blew into Washington, D.C.’s fabled 9:30 Club last night as legendary Halifax singer/songwriter Joel Plaskett took the stage with fellow countryman (and sometime Emergency band member) Peter Elkas to deliver a short, but highly satisfying set of old and new favorites from his vast catalog of song craft. Whether singing rocking crowd pleasers like “Nowhere with You” (named the CBCs Top East Coast Song of All Time) or standbys such as “Deny Deny Deny” from his acclaimed 3 CD set, aptly titled “3?, Plaskett & Elkas put on a rousing and heartfelt performance while opening for headliners Rusted Root. Playing on his ancient Bruno acoustic and beloved tenor guitar, Joel set the standard for fun picking and fine songwriting chops, with a commanding and enjoyable stage presence. Our only hope is that we will not have to wait so long for his return to the States, but till then we’ll just have to be content with a new round of music from his latest CD, Scrappy Happiness. Thanks Joel and Peter for a wonderful shot of Halifax onstage!
March 11, 2013