Here are some new shows
Nov 12 2009 @The Studio at Hamilton Place all ages show- Hamilton,ON
Nov 13 2009 @ London Music Hall 19 & over show- London ,ON ***SOLD OUT***
Nov 14 209 @ The Industry Theater 19 & Over show- Sarnia ,ON SOLD OUT
Nov 16 2009 @ The Grand Theater 19 & over show - Sault Ste Marie, ON
Nov 18 2009 @ West End Cultural Center all ages show - Winnipeg ,MB SOLD OUT
Nov 19 2009 @ THe Drink 19 & over show - Regina ,SK
Nov 20 2009 @ Orpheus Theater(SAIT Campus) all ages show - Calgary,AB SOLD OUT the show is at 7:30
Nov 20 2009 @Orpheus Theater (SAIT Campus) all ages show - Calgary AB the show is at 9:30 PM
Nov 21 2009 @ Myer Horowitz Theater( University os Alberta) all ages show - Edmonton ,AB
Nov 23 2009 @ Tide mark Theater all ages show - Campbell River ,BC
Nov 24 2009 @ Port Theater all ages show - Nanaimo,BC
Nov 25 2009 @ The ACT Maple Ridge all ages show - Maple Ridge,BC
Nov 27 2009 @ The Rio Theater all ages show - Vancouver ,BC *** SOLD OUT ***
Nov 28 2009 @ Garibaldi Lift Company 19 & over show - Whistler ,BC
Nov 30 2009 @ Lido Theater 19 & over show - Fort St John,BC SOLD OUT
Dec 1 2009 @ Max Center all ages show - Drayton Valley,AB
Dec 2 @ The Ridge Tap House 18 & over show - Slave Lake,AB
Dec 4 2009 @ West End Cultural Center all ages show - Winnipeg ,MB
Dec 5 2009 @ C2 19 & over show - Thunder Bay,ON
Dec 9 2009 @ Sydenham Street United Church all ages show - Kingston ,ON
Dec 11 2009 @ The Opera House 19 & over show - Toronto ,ON
Dec 31 2009 @ Prairieland Park 19 & over show - Saskatoon ,SK *** tickets available @ ticketmaster.ca***
Jan 23 2010 @ The Industry 19 & over show Sarnia
English
The Trews didn’t set out to make an acoustic record, nor did it come about by accident. Those who know the band a little will know them as an electrifying and electrified rock band; those who know them well know their acoustic side, long a staple in the live set but less heard on album. Friends and Total Strangers is the result of a recording that demanded to exhibit other colours of The Trews’ broad artistic palette. To tell this story, we need first to travel back in time to Japan, in the late summer of 2008.
The Trews were on an indie music junket to the east along with other artists and were given the opportunity to play an acoustic set at the Oscar Peterson Theatre in the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. The band had previously stripped down segments of shows for acoustic presentation of their songs but hadn’t approached an entire concert solely from that vantage point. Doing so took some of their audience by surprise and no less intrigued were the band themselves. So compelling was this rearranging of material that they decided to reprise the format for their fans on home turf. John-Angus MacDonald explains, “we thought that it was different enough from what we do to merit its own 90-minute performance. A lot of these songs are strummed on acoustic guitars first anyway. It's where they've come from.”
Colin MacDonald expands further: “we've always had this other side of us, which is 3 acoustic guitars and a hand drum. We used to busk in this way and people would stop to listen to the harmonies. It shines a different light on the band; it's not just the loud, in- your-face bar rock. I don't think there are a lot of bands out there who do the harmony thing, outside of pop groups.”
It followed that The Trews booked themselves into a theatre named for another famed Canadian pianist in Toronto’s Glenn Gould Theatre for two nights in late January 2009. It so happens that among the venue’s appointments of great sound and intimate atmosphere is also a first-rate recording studio. With a long history of chronicling their activities both audio and video, the decision seemed natural to record and film the shows. If the results were good, they would be used in some manner down the road, says John-Angus. “We wanted it to be good first. We wanted it to be worth putting out, worth listening to if you were a fan of the band or were first being introduced to it.”
Watching and listening to the results afterward, the band was so impressed as to be convinced the music deserved to be shared widely as a CD and DVD, showcasing the Friends and Total Strangers of their hits, as well as previously unreleased rarities and new songs. John-Angus illustrates: “’The Pearl’ and ‘Montebello Park’ from our second record were given brand-new treatments. Those songs, for whatever reason, never became staples in our electric set and they speak volumes in the acoustic set. There's also one or two songs that were never recorded but have been around for a couple of years: ‘Locked Doors’ and ‘How's Everything’. And there was the brand new stuff like ‘Sing Your Heart Out’ and ‘Happy Day’ in ‘Yearning’ that were written for the show or around that time. Echoes Colin, “’Sing Your Heart Out’ is a fully-realized southern rock kind of tune. After a record of paranoid freaks and gun-control lobbyists, that we figured lighten up and give something nice to sing along to.”
The album is different, sure, but no less Trews. Because it’s seemingly a step outside of the established path, there’s a temptation to explain the document. Ultimately, if it were your first introduction to the band, it would stand on its own. If you were already a fan, this shows something both familiar and new. Concludes Sean Dalton: “I just love the acoustic set anyway. If we were at a house party at 3 in the morning, we'd be doing same. It's nice to sit around and sing the songs and hear them in a different light. It makes you a better musician too. You have to try harder, stay in tune, be more articulate. It's a challenge for us. With the acoustic, we're a lot more strict. It's easier to hide behind the electricity.” Listen for yourself to Friends and Total Strangers, which has nothing to hide and radiates with an electricity all its own.