Joel Plaskett - La De Da - Released Feb 23rd, 2005.

Live at the Montreal Hyatt - Folk Alliance - East Coast Current showcase.

...Joel Plaskett stands side by side with his people from Halifax. He has watched many things happen to his city, the music scene, the people and the weather. He stands with friends and speaks his mind about these events from inside the line looking out at the rest of the world. He's on a bar stool...he's around a table...he's not really admitting that there is a microphone in front of him. Lucky for us, there is. La De Da is Joel's 4th album since the end of his Thrush Hermit days. It was recorded in Mesa, Arizona in the summer of 2004. Joel left for Arizona without knowing what exactly the album would turn out like. In this it does come across as a bit of a documentary. It is mostly a quiet record, full of amazing songs that Plaskett wrote on the way to Arizona or from the time period around it. If you are looking for another Truthfully Truthfully, then I would gladly suggest that you revisit the Down at the Khyber album... for La De Da is a whole different ballpark of extraordinary. These are quiet reflections of a songwriter who has spent much of the last 11 years on the road pining for his hometown. He's not bitter with the road. But you never forget for a moment where he is from.

The album is twelve songs, one was written by the 'not often enough in the spotlight' songwriter, Al Tuck. The album is mostly Joel on acoustic guitar and other instruments, with some overdubs provided by Joel, Ian McGettigan and some steel guitar from Jon Rauhouse. The great Plaskett lines are all there...'I take advice like Margaritas, with a heavy grain of salt' - From Lying on a Beach... or... 'the only thing worse than growing up, is never quite learning how' - From Absentminded Melody. This is a sunshine album. This is sitting in your backyard and BBQing music. The album is contemplative and feels like a deep breath before Joel Plaskett turns around and delivers the next level of rock. This should go in the books as another instant classic Plaskett album. How many of these things is he going to have to put out before the rest of the country acknowledges him?

The showcase at the Hyatt in Montreal was a completely unexpected highlight of the Folk Alliance for me. You can usually see about 300 artists perform in a couple of days, but when I saw that Joey P. was in that evening, I hightailed it to the 11th floor for the East Coast showcase room. Now I've seen Joel Plaskett a few times over the years, plus a couple of Thrush Hermit shows that rolled through Sudbury in the 90's. Seeing him play in a room full of Halifax people stepped it up a notch for me. You have to know that there is something more going on than writing and performing with this young man. La De Da had been an official release for three days at that point and most people in the room knew the words to all of the songs already.

The short set consisted of five songs from the new La De Da album, plus Down at the Khyber's Light of the Moon. His mastery of the songs has come immeasurably since I last saw many of these songs performed last July at the Townehouse. The solo Joel Plaskett is now ready to play any stage of any size. Not only does the room fill with love and respect for this performer, but you can also feel the respect that Joel has for his people that come out to listen to him. It's you and him against the world. It felt like a Fred Eaglesmith show, the way that everybody felt a bit of ownership of the songs and performer. That's the magic of Plaskett's songs is that they are presented so that everyone can feel comfortable identifying and claiming a little bit of the song for themselves. Owning the T-shirt is one thing... but now I can truly claim... another life changed by Joel Plaskett.

For tour dates, see www.joelplaskett.com ... to buy this album, see www.maplemusic.com

Joel Plaskett performs live at the Townehouse Tavern, Tuesday, Apr 12th, 2005. Tickets are on sale now. $8 adv and $10 at the door.