Almost two years since her last performance in Winnipeg at Folk Fest, indie songstress Basia Bulat returned to the city Thursday night to promote her new album Heart of My Own and played at the next place you’d find folkies (at least during the winter): the West End Cultural Centre.
(all photos by me at flickr)
Just after 8 PM, opener Katie Stelmanis strode onto the stage to sit at the venue’s old Baldwin piano – which immediately revealed a poor choice in stage setup: Positioning the piano at the far right of the stage had Stelmanis singing into the wings, rather than to the audience, and gave half of the crowd stage left nothing more than a clear view of her back.
But the Toronto-native tried to work with the arrangements, making tentative jokes about her lack of view which eventually gave way to the usual takes on Winnipeg weather. Her music, similar in style to that of Regina Spektor, combines her opera-trained vocal range with a shot or two of punk and synthesizer.
Her set received a polite but otherwise quiet reception from the almost, if not entirely full-house crowd who were clearly anticipating Bulat – and were a little displeased by her late arrival: at 30 minutes since Stelmanis’ last song, one man rose from his seat and shook his fist at the still empty stage.
Five minutes later, Bulat and her band hurried onto the stage to loud applause, jumping straight into a (disappointingly guitar-led, but nonetheless beautifully performed) rendition of her new album’s title track, Heart of My Own.
Swapping guitar for her signature autoharp, she ran through a series of old and new tunes including Gold Rush and her widely successful In the Night (which garnered great approval from the crowd) but had to cut it short when one of the harp’s strings broke.
Bulat handled the mishap with ease, quickly switching to the oddly placed piano for Run and Snakes and Ladders with a quip about the string instruments’ bad temperament towards her in the winter.
Despite having been on a rigorous tour schedule for much of 2010 – including Paris, London, New York and Chicago – Bulat appeared fresh and energetic: swinging ‘round the stage during the more lively numbers, her voice carrying well over the pounding drums from her brother, Bobby, and viola and backing vocals from Allison Stewart. Indeed, the concert could have passed for one in the first leg of her tour, rather than in the middle, had it not been for her speaking voice which was clearly quite hoarse after performing almost nightly since the end of January.
Compared to performances earlier in her career, like at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 2008, Bulat has gone far to strengthen her presence on stage. No longer shy and nervous during solos, she is as comfortable as if the stage is her second home. The smooth transitions between instruments – at this concert, ukulele, piano, autoharp, guitar, and a 95-year-old hammered harp – and song tempo demonstrate that Bulat, over the past three years, has done well to master her craft.
Yet in spite of her increased confidence and fame, Bulat remains a humble performer who is conscious of her audience and genuinely surprised to get song requests from the crowd – especially in Polish: she ended the night with an encore performance of To Nie Ptak, a Polish song loosely translated as It’s Not A Bird, which resonated gorgeously throughout the theatre despite her autoharp’s broken string.
After the show, Bulat, a first-generation Canadian from Polish parents, confirmed rumours that she’s planning to release an all-Polish album, but perhaps not for her next major recording. Despite assurance from her family, Bulat wants to improve her Polish pronunciation and possibly stake out recording studios in Poland before committing to the project.
Heart of My Own is in all indie-supportive stores now.
Download Gold Rush from the new album for FREE here.
There's a certain kind of depth in her voice that calms my soul; like water that runs deep. Thanks for posting this, Heather! I enjoyed it!
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