The Barbers: Sibling Revelry rolls out in Mt. Uniacke

By Jennifer Hoegg

The Hants journal/NovaNewsNow.com

Mt. Uniacke’s fire hall hasn’t usually been on concertgoers’ radar. Thanks to dedicated residents behind the fledgling Mt. Uniacke Society for the Arts (MUSA), however, that is changing.

A sold-out audience of almost 200 crowded into the hall April 19 to hear Jill and Matthew Barber give the final concert in MUSA’s first season. The capacity crowd made seating tight, but the high ceilings and professional sound system made for a fantastic listening experience.

Also the finale for the Barbers’ Sibling Revelry cross-country tour, the show provided almost three hours of enjoyment. Brother and sister share musical talent, songwriting savvy, an entertaining stage presence and lively sense of humour. Jill had the audience laughing out loud in between songs.

ECMA award winner and Juno nominee Jill Barber has built a loyal local following since adopting Halifax as home six years ago, evident by the crowd response to her Hants County stop, but the first half of the evening was big brother Matt’s time to shine.

Solo for most of the set, with back up from his sister and Alexis Taylor on a few numbers, Matt played several songs from his recently released fourth album, Ghost Notes. Choices ranged from the lively “Settle My Accounts,” to the tender “Easily Bruised” and “Timeless,” to the amusing insomniac’s ballad “Sleep, Please Come to Me.”

After Matt’s set and a short intermission, Jill took the stage, accompanied by Kim Dunn’s talents on keyboard.

Unfair to compare, but…

It seems unfair to compare the siblings, but, while Matt is an excellent musician and entertainer, Jill has an added depth to both her voice and songwriting that Matt does not quite match.

While squealing chairs and noise from the front of the house marred the room’s surprisingly good sound during the evening’s first half, once Jill was in full swing there were no interruptions. Her sultry, powerful voice held the audience’s focus for more than an hour with songs from her 2004 EP, Oh Heart, and 2006’s For All Time.

The old-style cabaret bounce of a few of her numbers, “When I’m Makin’ Love to You” and “Measures and Scales,” fit the venue’s cabaret perfectly. A few more winsome numbers, including “Two Brown Eyes,” “Don’t Go Easy,” and “Ashes to Ashes,” joined sneak peeks from Jill’s current project, like the beautiful “Old Flame.”

A bonus for the audience came late in the second set when Jill turned the stage over to Kim Dunn for a song. “Romeo,” from his upcoming album, mellowed out the mood.

Then Matt took over keyboards and the siblings’ voices blended beautifully on Matt’s “Where the River Bends.” Both Barbers on guitar wrapped up the set with a hand clapping, rocking version of Jill’s award winning number, “Hard Line.”

After a standing ovation, the group returned to the stage for an entertaining attempt at fulfilling an audience member’s request for “Tennessee Waltz,” finishing off the night with a gorgeous rendition of Neil Young’s “It’s a Dream.”

Loves performing

Jill knows how to entertain a crowd and obviously loves performing: “I hate recording. It’s not fun. This is fun!” Before going into the studio again this summer, she is off to the UK for a handful of dates in London and Newcastle, returning to her adopted province for shows in Ingonish and Antigonish in June. Matt is in Montreal for a theatre project and then plays dates through the summer, continuing promoting his March release.

Jill praised MUSA organizers for their enthusiasm and dedication to the arts, telling the crowd “you’re very lucky because you have someone here who cares about making music happen”

Hopefully, MUSA’s efforts will continue. The no-nonsense, intimate tone of the evening made for a unique concert experience, with the musicians chatting with audience members during intermission and sticking around after the show to sign CDs.

The mostly 30-and-above crowd enjoyed more space, easier parking, less expensive drinks and snacks, not to mention better sound than in most bars. The 8 p.m. show time was also hours earlier than a show in a typical Halifax venue.

With a sold out concert crowning the group’s first season and local interest – a third of the audience from the Mt. Uniacke area, another third from nearby HRM and the rest from the Valley, South Shore and beyond - there may be support for future concert series.