Michael Gravel Edmonton Writer

Hawksley Workman - One Amazing and Bizarre Act

Hawksley Workman may be Canada's best young singer/songwriter. He certainly takes the cake as the most mercurial. He played the McDougall United Church on Saturday night and I had the good fortune of having a fiance who pounced on some tickets to the sold out show. To see a rock and roll show in a Church was surreal but somewhat fitting considering Hawksley's otherworldly vocals and eccentric musical temperament. His only accompaniment was that of a pianist. The church setting and the sparse instrumentation made for a very intimate show.

Hawksley's banter was exceptional and often strange; he seemed to go with whatever thought ran through his head. At one point, completely out of the blue, he mentioned that a good friend of his sent him a photo of his moustache. Just the moustache - nothing else. A strange tangent that added to Hawksley's mystique and his warmth as a true performer. With no opening act to set the pace, he churned through a ton of diverse and fantastic material. An early highlight was You, Me, and the Weather, my personal favorite of his and, truth be told, my wedding song. It was great to hear it live with Kerry at my side. Jealous of Your Cigarette (a very Bowie-esque diddy to sex and desire) turned out to be quite memorable - he and the piano player burst into a medley consisting of Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall and The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again. It gave me chills and was both a subtle mockery of and a tribute to those bands - undoubtedly music that has profoundly influenced his own. For my money, the absolute showstopper was You and the Candles from Treeful Of Starling. He introduced it as a protest song and proceeded to sing it without the PA system. The tenderness and vulnerability in his voice was knowable, and the lyric "and what...what of the night?" sent chills up many a spine and I could see a few tears being wiped away from both male and female eyes.

The show was as much a tribute to the musical theatre of the 70's as it was a showcase of Hawksley's immense and passionate musical talent. His lyrics are poetic and stirring, sometimes verging into outright cheese. He is an eccentric and strange talent; a potent mixture of Bowie and Elvis Costello with a dash of Leonard Cohen thrown in. His talent is not one that is easily digestible (thus the dearth of his work on mainstream radio). His music is well worth the effort however, and pays big dividends with repeated listens. If you've never seen Hawksley's dramatics live, you really should. He is one of Canada's best.

Entry #47 · March 12, 2007 in