By: Eamon McGrath
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Dallas Good of The Sadies - Photo by David de Young
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I like my rocknroll to have a serious dose of honesty. I hate pretentiousness in rock, I hate bogus rock wankery, I hate it when bands make videos, for example, or "get ready for photo shoots," or things like that. I like it when bands are honest, with themselves, with their audience, and with their image. It's just what I'm into.
Thankfully, the Sadies fit the criteria, and admittedly, they are about the least likely band to fit into a "folk" festival, despite the fact that some of their slower stuff could be considered "folk songs"-the comparisons are few and far between though, because the Sadies are baaaaadass. Seriously badass.
In fact, when Dallas and Travis Good walk out onstage, there's not enough badass to go around; I was shit out of luck. These guys have been through the wringer-the wringer of touring, of booze, of women; a general "wringing" has been bestowed upon them-and they look about as energetic as a dishrag. As the Sadies set up their gear-vintage tube amps, a double bass which could rearrange a few faces on its own, Mike Belitsky's sparse drum kit-a chill goes down your spine, even in the thirty-plus heat of prairie Manitoba, because you know that you are in the presence of a truly serious, honest, and hard working rocknroll band.
Dallas Good shrugs contentedly at the monitor setup, and the rest of the band agrees that everything's fine-and then, in true Sadies fashion, they rip into some surf-folk-country-punk rock hybrid thing that's about nothing more than drinkin' and makin' booze-and we're totally off in Sadieland, intoxicated as all hell and floating up to our necks in moonshine. Immediately, though, they pull out of this sleazed-out folked-up Dick Dale thing and throw us into a completely other realm, as they deliver the title track from Stories Often Told and make us think more about the beloved Gram Parsons than about drinking whiskey from a barrel. Beautiful.
For the next hour and a half we are flying on this roller coaster, touching on everything from sheer, faster than hell surf-rock and country abrasion to delicate folk ecstasy, completely committed to this band and convinced that they have involved us all in their professional rock showmanship. They're totally contented guys, as they stand still on stage, professionally, and just let the music do all the moving for them; Dallas and Travis Good's absolutely stunning guitar playing not only defines the Sadies' sound, but I was also blown away the whole weekend by their technicality, and what they contributed to workshops on small side-stages, using their laid back charm and subtle, modest genius to actually enhance the songs of songwriters who had thought they'd learnt it all (read: Jay Farrar.)
The Sadies take everyone on a trip, and they sound, feel and look the part. Travis Good himself fits the said rock criteria perfectly, and he has a striking elegance about him. As he screams into the microphone over a sturdy backbone of country and punk chords, you'd swear to god you were watching some operatic act instead of Canada's forerunners in the underground surf, roots, and punk scene. The Sadies unpretentiously show you exactly how it should be done: short, to-the-point, loud, fast, hard, and unforgettable.
Location Info:
Winnipeg Folk Festival
Artist Info: The Sadies
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