Reuben’s un|love tour rocks Edmonton’s Starlite Room

 

Indie folk rock group, Reuben and the Dark, took over the stage, and packed house, at Edmonton’s Starlite Room recently as they continue a west coast tour in support of their un|love album. They were as comfortable in this smaller, intimate venue as they are in larger settings such as the Winspear Centre or the Edmonton Folk Festival.

Reuben Bullock, front man for Reuben and the Dark has been quite busy as of late.The Calgary based, indie gem had his song, Black Water, recently featured in the trailer for the Break Bad movie, El Camino. His cover version of What A Wonderful World is showcased on the soundtrack for Doolitle. Things are stating to pick up for Bullock. This may be the last tour we will be able to see him him in such an up close and personal setting as bigger things are looming on the horizon. His star is truly rising.

They set the tone for the evening opening with the first track from un|love, ‘Rising’.  Reuben Bullock’s commanding yet unique voice, which lays somewhere between Seth Avett of the Avett brothers and Imagine Dragons’ front man Dan Reynolds, reverberated beautifully over the hallowed walls of the Starlite Room and entranced the whole room. It wasn’t long before everyone started chanting along with him on such favourites as Rolling Stone, and Heart In Two.

They lead us on a rocking new sound, that is a departure from his earlier stylings. There was no doubt that Bullock’s decision to change direction musically wasn’t a miscalculated risk as the crowd embraced his re-imagining. Even a few of the songs on new album had a edge not found on the original recording. The packed Starlite Room was captivated from the opening chords to the final song of the evening, a stripped down acoustic version of Hallelujah from 2018’s Arms Of A Dream.

At one point Reuben Bullock was so comfortable with the crowd he sat on the edge of the stage for a brief moment, spreading his infectious appreciation for life to a few close fans up front. He then jumped into the crowd to shine his light on more lucky people. As he sang around the room, his charming smile and welcome eyes added joy to those close enough to be affected by him. You could tell he likes to be closer to his audience than the aforementioned larger venues.

The Dark, consisting of Shea Alain, Brock Geiger, Ian Jarvis and Dino Soares, were far from dark adding a good rocking edge with three guitars and drums. Their exceptional musicianship was the perfect back drop for Bullock’s amazing voice. The harmonies often sounded like one voice singing. The band, save for the drummer, were wearing one piece jump suits and looked quite stylish. One fan even shouted, “I love the onsies!”

Opener Faux Prix, a neat little project from Bradley Hanan Carter, an ex-New Zealander who now calls the Mojave Desert home, treated us to some unique melodies often created on yard sale finds. He spoke of finding a great piano at one for $40, it eventually cost him an additional $250 to get it to his home and had a wonderful track that was composed using said piano. At one point he even broke out his Casio mini keyboard, that he scooped up for a paltry $3. He’s proof that even the cheapest of instruments can produce great music in the right hands. He’s touring around with Reuben in his motor home taking every opportunity to make new music on his travels. His goal is to have another album ready to go for his 40th birthday in May.

All in all it was a wonderful intimate evening with one of Canada’s fastest rising stars as Reuben And The Dark’s name will adorn larger marquess the next time we see him in Edmonton. His tour continues through BC, a few dates in the Pacific North West and wraps up with a couple weeks on the Eastern Seaboard around Mass, NY and PA. He puts a nice bow on this tour in LA before taking a well deserved break until festival season, which he kicks off at the mother of all festivals Mariposa. For more information and dates visit https://reubenandthedark.com/