March 13th – London – East Village Arts Co-op
Shannon had an excellent time in London. She met up with her old photographer friend Dana Brushette for a pin-up shoot. “Lace Ventura” looks stellar in her roller derby skates! She even gave me a copy of the photo to keep on the sunblocker on my car, similar to a war pilot. London is also one of my favorite places in Canada, probably because Reggie lives there. This time I didn’t have a bar show, but rather a smaller show at the East Village Arts Co-op. It’s a small hole in the wall, about the size of your grandparents’ living room, in a part of town that might be called a “rough neighbourhood”. It was structured as an open mic followed by full sets from myself, Jef-Something and Mike Wolski. I’ve known Mike for a few years (he’s from Dryden), and he started the second half of the show with some covers and an original. Jef-Something came next, and I was stoked to find he was a one-man-band too! His setup was mobile though, as he does a lot of busking. I dedicated a Radiohead cover to him, as he did 2: Creep and another from Kid A (I forget the name).
My set went over quite well, having Reggie join me on a conga for a few tracks. It reached it’s apex on the last song when I picked up one of the strands of stage lights and wrapped it around my body as I finished the track by getting people to clap along with me.
You can also read Maggie McGee’s review of the show in the Interrobang (which is also my newest favorite punctuation, pushing the umlaut to 2nd). For those of you that prefer synopses, she found some of my songs “reminiscent of Nick Cave”, and that “De Roover manages to carve his own niche and express his personality and parlay it into a personal chemistry and stage presence that is something distinctly his own. If the innate optimism and excitement can be maintained and nurtured through experience, De Roover’s growth as an artist will be impressive and will come as no surprise.”