It isn’t often that a small, Baptist church in downtown Ottawa is crowded well into the night, occupied with merchandise tables, brimming with people and the faint sound of violin escaping from the large, under-construction wooden doors.
Toronto band The Wooden Sky performed a set of folk-inspired music from their latest album, Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun Oct. 26 to a full room.
Their raw talent and vast array of instruments more than filled the room.
Following opening performances by musician Andre M. Bluteau of Ottawa, and Wildlife, also from Toronto, The Wooden Sky shifted the atmosphere for a tranquil audience sitting in pews, to an enthralled assembly entirely unfocused on their setting.
Their opening song transformed the church and the captivated audience responded with enthusiastic applause.
Lead singer Gavin Gardiner bellowed eerie and passionate vocals that echoed off the walls of the church, greatly complemented by the dim light and serene ambience of the room.
The band played in perfect unison, Gardiner’s vocals often roaring past comprehension but flooded with talent nonetheless.
“We’re gonna play a lot of songs for you tonight,” Gardiner said after expressing the band’s happiness to be back in Ottawa.
Clearly comfortable with the venue, Gardiner informed the crowd that churches were a regular scene for them, apologizing to the crowd about the lack of pipe organ in their performance.
“You’ll just have to use your imagination,” he said with a laugh.
Their music is a collaboration of indie, folk and country, reminiscent of the swelling instrumentals of Mumford and Sons. It was perfected by a handful of violin, piano and vocal solos accented by a harmonica and melodica that lent itself so easily to the imagination.
After playing a variety of songs from all three of their albums including crowd favourite Angel, the band moved off the already low stage to be level with the pews.
“Can we get you anything? You guys good?” Gardiner said to the first few pews, receiving friendly laughter in response.
Forty minutes into playing, the band left the stage, bidding goodnight, but an increasingly noisy crowd wouldn’t take no for an answer. They cheered and applauded until the band took the stage once more, singing powerful ballads accompanied by acoustic guitar and the piano.
Their last few songs were played with simplicity — no lights and no stage, in the aisle of the pews, occasionally allowing Gardiner’s vocals to be the only sound filling through the room.
And while you often wonder why talented bands like these play to small crowds in obscure locations, it seems unlikely this band, affable and charming, would fit well in a formal, unsocial environment.
