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Concert Review: Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle, Toronto

Carolyn Mark is my new hero. I'd never seen her live before she and NQ Arbuckle played a double, actually triple, bill at the Dakota Tavern in Toronto on Thursday, October 22. The Dakota is exactly the kind of place you want to see this show. Its like a dusty Texas saloon, only downtown in a major metropolis. The capacity is maybe 200, and it was only two-thirds full that night, the second night of their CD release party for Let's Just Stay Here.

The show started with the Vancouver-based Mark doing a few solo tracks with a drummer. She strutted around the stage with her guitar, posed for the photographers, flirted with the crowd, and showed her gregarious personality. She played four of her own songs including "Pirate and Shotgun" and "Not a Doll," before NQ Arbuckle joined her on stage to be her backing band. They played six more of Mark's originals including "Fuzzy Slippers," "Chumpville," "North Country Fair," "Don't Come Over Baby," and "2 Days Smug and Sober." Mark and NQ Arbuckle lead singer Neville Quinlan exchanged hysterical stage banter. This fantastic opening act was just a hint of what was to come.

I ran into Mark in the washroom between sets and I told her that I thought she ruled. She was so happy and smiley and appreciative. Definitely my new favorite female performer.

After a short break, Mark and NQ Arbuckle took the stage together to perform all of Let's Just Stay Here in order. Quinlan took the centre mic while Mark switched between keyboards, guitar, tambourine, and cowbell. They sounded fantastic. Quinlan and Mark's voices blend remarkably well. And they were having so much fun on stage! In their cover of Justin Rutledge's "Too Sober to Sleep," Quinlan changed the lyrics to "And I'm too drunk to drive," which made me giggle. He also gave a shout-out to the now defunct Edmonton-based band Jr. Gone Wild before performing a rocking cover of their song "Downtime." This was the first time that I heard the new album in its entirety, and it sounded great. It may crack my top ten this year.

Lastly, Toronto-based NQ Arbuckle performed some their original songs. Unfortunately, by this time is was after midnight on a school night and about 1/3 of the patrons left after the second set. Fortunately for me and others, this left us more room for dancing and getting up close to the stage.

Being a home-town band, NQ Arbuckle had dozens of very knowledgeable fans in the crowd, and many of their song evoked mass singalongs.

They played 13 songs spanning all three of their albums including fan-favorites "In Another Time" from Hanging the Battle-Scarred Pinata (2002), "Cheap Town" and "Goodnight Irene" from Last Supper in a Cheap Town (2005), and "Marco Polo" and "Don't Remember Me" from XOK (2008). Mark joined them on stage for "Fireworks," a song they did for Mark's 2005 album of duets called Just Married. When she wasn't performing, Mark danced with the audience and even hugged a few fans. Everyone was having a blast.

The last song finished at 1:40 a.m., for a total of 34 songs or over three hours of music. For a $10 cover, a $20 CD, a $2 sticker, and $20 in beer. It was another case of highway robbery - I thought I was ripping the artists off.

All photos by Steffen from Turn it Up or Turn it Off Photography. Scan of the Carolyn Mark sticker from my crappy HP 3-in-one.

Tags: carolyn mark, carolyn mark and nq arbuckle, concert, nq arbuckle, toronto

Comment by The Sumner Brothers on November 4, 2009 at 2:15pm: Stayed at Carolyn's place on the island some time ago. Drank a lot of red wine and played the fun machine (an organ) until the wee hours of the morning. A truly wonderful woman. Thanks for the article.
Bob.

Comment by denton fabrics on November 5, 2009 at 7:03am: I checked out her homepage and checked out one of her videos. Does anyone else say she sounds a bit like Neko Case? And for extra credit, download the mp3 of the Acuff-Rose song "You Belong To Me" and tell me what famous 1979 comedy featured that song. Very good stuff, thanks for the heads up on this!

Comment by hyperbolium.com on November 5, 2009 at 4:54pm: I always her voice (though not her songs) sounded quite a bit like Natalie Merchant. And wasn't "You Belong to Me" in Steve Martin's The Jerk?

Comment by denton fabrics on November 6, 2009 at 5:16am: Yup, you win. Great beach scene w/Martin on the ukelele and Bernadette Peters on trumpet.

Comment by Kyla Fairchild on November 6, 2009 at 7:23pm: Interesting that you referenced Neko Case. She and Carolyn are friends from when Neko lived in Canada and they recorded a great record together as the Corn Sisters. Neko worked at a restaurant/lounge called Hattie's Hat that my husband and I co-own with Dan Cowan, owner of Tractor Tavern, which is just down the street in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. The Corn Sisters record was recorded in the back room at Hattie's. Neko and Caroline were incredibly fun to watch live as their collective wit is pretty much unmatched by anything I'd seen previously or since. It's a fun record, check it out.

Comment by Stu Reid on November 6, 2009 at 10:34pm: Thanks for the review. As per usual, we Winnipeggers are being passed over on the official NQ & CM tour this month, so this is as good as it gets for us. They did play here together way back in the summer 2005, and that night on my little radio show I managed to drag them both down to hang out and eat brie, drink wine, play live and spin records. Easily the most fun show I've ever had in my ten year radio history. If you're a fan, you need to check out the archived show, streaming here now.

Comment by denton fabrics on November 8, 2009 at 5:08am: Kyla, I have that album! It never occured to me that Carolyn Marks was .5 of the Corn Sisters (note to self: read liner notes). Yes, it's a good album which could have been much better if the quality of the recording were improved.

Comment by Abbi on November 8, 2009 at 2:33pm: I hope Carolyn Mark comes to the US soon. She is one of my musical heroes, and I'd love to see her live.

Comment by Rockstar Aimz on November 9, 2009 at 7:33am: Thanks for all of the great comments guys! I had a blast at the show, and I really enjoyed reviewing this gig for you!

Comment by Andrew Kerr on November 10, 2009 at 6:25am: Right before this show, Six Shooter Records at a one-time show in Ottawa, Justin Rutledge, Luke Doucet, NQ Arbuckle, Amelia Curran, Royal Wood and more all played together, incredible show.
I'd love to see Mark and NQ together, I love the album.
Love to the review too, makes me jealous.