(Just like) Brian Wilson

We interrupt our brief series on modern folk music to bring you “Brian Wilson” by former Barenaked Ladies front man Steven Page. Page is touring in his trio with guitarist Craig Northey and celloist Kevin Fox. They made their first American stop before a packed house last night at the Dakota in downtown Minneapolis. I snapped the photo of Page from Table 150, right in front of him, but too close to get a wide shot of the trio.

Page plays acoustic guitar and piano. The instrumental and vocal backing seemed to me improbably beautiful. The songs, one after another, were great. Page is a literate and witty songwriter with what seems to me perfect pop songcraft. The two-hour show had no lulls or lowlights. The pace was torrid. Page was in top form.

Their instruments traveled from Canada by truck and got snowed in somewhere along the way. They had to play on instruments borrowed or rented hours before the show. Page was funny talking about it. I would never have known if he hadn’t said anything about it.

They dressed in matching blue suits. It’s a look I haven’t seen in a long time. It seemed to me something of a throwback. They looked like professionals.

The trio kicked off the show with “It’s All Been Done,” “New Shore,” “Jane,” “Alternate Girlfriend,” “Golden Age,” “Gravity,” “Good Boy,” and “Linda Ronstadt in the 70s.” I think “Brian Wilson” (below) was the last number before the encores. The tour continues with stops in Madison, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and a few other stops noted here.

We stuck around after the show and ended up chatting with Kevin Fox, as did a few other members of the audience. He could not have been nicer. We wanted to let him know how much we enjoyed the show. He wanted to let us know how much he enjoys playing with Page.

Like Brian Wilson, Page has been troubled by a demon or two in the course of his career. Indeed, I can hear it in his tribute to Wilson. I wanted to give interested readers an idea of what the trio sounds like. Page himself sounded in better voice last night than he does in the video below, but this gives you a fair idea of what he has on offer with the trio.

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