Lake Street Dive: Good Together Indeed

The opening was abrupt. The house lights went down and boom—the crowd barely had time to cheer before crystal-clear piano and Rachael Price's vocals filled the room. The rest of the band eventually joined them onstage.

And the sound was amazing for a room that size. Almost the entire night, I could understand every word all five vocalists sang.

The whistling (into microphones!) that opens “Far Gone” struck me as something that could be a soundman's nightmare in a room this size. It wasn't. It came through just fine.

There's something about Rachael Price's voice that just does it for me. I can't really explain it—I simply love the sound of her voice. She was obviously having fun, dancing and interacting with the crowd, telling funny anecdotes—including the story of an Airbnb stay with a particularly unforgiving mattress that inspired one of the night's new songs. She was having a good ol' time up there and seemed determined to make sure the crowd had as much fun as she was.

Bridget Kearney is a monster bass player! I've always known this, but seeing her live for a full performance made it all the more clear. She particularly stands out on upright bass, which she played for more than half the show, but was just as good on electric—whether playing straight-ahead rockers on her Höfner (“Beatle bass,” as my friend who accompanied me called it) or getting funky on a Fender Jazz Bass. Her playing stood out to me almost as much as Rachael's voice did.

I always knew Mike Calabrese was a good singer, but I hadn't realized what a good drummer he is too. He handled multiple percussion duties from behind the kit. One little thing I loved: he had a woodblock off to his left that he'd tap in time with Rachael's handclaps, seemingly knowing exactly when they were coming, while still keeping everything else going.

On the yet-to-be-released “Vegas Mattress,” a song he wrote after an Airbnb stay involving a particularly back-breaking mattress, a couple of perfectly timed bongo strikes—with sticks—punctuated the appropriate line. It made me chuckle.

In the middle of the show the band gathered around a single microphone for a three-song acoustic set. Rachael stood centre, Bridget just to her right with the upright bass, close enough to lean into the mic when needed. Akie stood behind them with a melodica, James behind Rachael with an acoustic guitar, and Mike off to the left keeping time on a hand drum. They all leaned toward that one microphone when it was their turn to sing.

The set was mellow and Rachael's voice had almost put me into a trance-like state. Then they played The Cranberries' “Linger”...

Stunning.

Rachael's voice was beautiful, Bridget played her ass off, and their arrangement turned it into one of the many highlights of the night.

Akie Bermiss is a funky keyboardist with a really good singing voice. He could sing lead for any other band that wasn't already fronted by Rachael. His back-and-forth with her on “Good Together” was phenomenal.

Bermiss was given the lead for one song, and why did it have to be Shania Twain? (Sigh.) After introducing it as a song "by a Canadian artist"—to a suitably enthusiastic Canadian crowd—they launched into “You're Still the One.” I later discovered it's already part of their repertoire, but I didn't know that sitting in the audience. At the time I was thinking: Of all the Canadian songs they could have chosen, why this one?

James Cornelison is a straight-up rock-and-roll guitarist with a light touch. At times there was almost a disco vibe to his playing—and I mean that as a compliment. But on the occasions when he really rocked out, he seemed to change gears completely, and I had flashes of Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen and even Chuck Berry in his playing.

The entire band could sing, and the harmonies were stellar—sometimes all five of them at once, and often three or four at a time backing Rachael. 

OLG Stage is an impressive venue. The layout works well, and even from farther back the large video screens—with multiple camera angles throughout the show—keep you close to what's happening onstage. The sound did muddy a little when the band really rocked out and Calabrese thrashed—which didn't happen often—but what venue that size can't say that? For most of the night the sound was crystal clear, and at its worst it was about as good as you get at many concerts. Bravo to OLG.

Listening to “Seventeen,” I could have sworn I heard a few double entendres in the lyrics. I looked them up afterward and apparently they weren't there. I'm not sure what that says about the song—or me.

They closed the night with the upbeat “Good Kisser,” finally getting pretty much everyone out of their seats and dancing. When the house lights came back up the crowd was still buzzing, with more than a few people singing it on their way out.

Lake Street Dive exceeded my expectations. I knew Mike Calabrese was a good singer; I hadn't realized what a good drummer he was. I knew Bridget Kearney was a great bass player; somehow she was even better than I'd imagined. And the vocal harmonies were stellar.

And I finally got to hear Rachael Price's beautiful voice sing to me all night.

Yes, me. Just me. There just happened to be a few thousand other people in the room.

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