There were cocktails, sushi, and not an open seat to be found while the singer-songwriter and his accompanying keyboardist spent over an hour cranking out new and old original tracks with cover songs tossed into the mix. Starting the evening with moderately upbeat track “Easier” and following with a new song, the chatter of surrounding, previously uninterested groups lulled while a nearby all female birthday party booth strained their necks for a look at the performer. If the heartfelt, guitar-picking tunes weren’t enough for the group once they laid eyes on the dark-haired, blue-eyed singer they were hooked. Cover song requests were encouraged and before night’s end the crowd was treated to John Mayer’s “Dreaming With A Broken Heart”, “I’ll Follow You Into the Dark” of Death Cab For Cutie fame, and a mash-up of B.O.B.’s hit “Nothing On You” with Eagle Eye Cherry’s “Save Tonight” to name a few.
Far from a rock show, and still strangely far from a dark coffee shop, Jesse Labelle’s performance in the lounge of The Drake Hotel came across as both classy and classic. The evening was certainly a breath of fresh air into a Thursday night in downtown Toronto and here’s to more intimate and out-of-the-box Jesse Labelle performances this summer.
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