Posted in: ADVENTURES OF CHEEKY CHARLIE, Concerts & Events, News | No Comments | December 6, 2021
A huge ‘thank you’ to Dine Alone Records for contacting us and arranging for the fabulous B.C. band YUKON BLONDE doing an acoustic in-store appearance at Cheeky Monkey on Wednesday, December 5th. They were in town as the opening act for The Sheepdogs at The Industry later the same night.
This was not the first time they have played in Sarnia, but it was the first time playing in our store and hopefully not the last. You may have seen them before at Paddy Flaherty’s.
The core band is 3 members with the occasional ‘friend’ added in for fun as was the case here. All four played guitar with the 3 main members doing the singing. Harmonies - oh my gosh what fantastic harmonic voices they have. All their songs have catchy melodies and beats that get your toes tapping. Their music is best described as ‘rootsy’ in the vain of Mumford and Sons or Avett Brothers yet distinctly their own.
I must add also, they are 4 of the nicest guys we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. They were more then willing to hang out for a while to chat with the fans and sign CD’s, records and posters for them despite the fact they still had to do their sound check at the Industry and get a bite to eat before the show.
We sincerely appreciated them taking the time to play here for our customers and wish them well on their musical journey. You will hear much more from them, we are sure. If you didn’t make the shows or buy their CD’s yet, we do have them in stock.
Thanks also go out to Adam Miner of DNA Studios for the use of his PA equipment, Brenden E. Fraser for making sure the PA was set up just right, David Burrows of The Show for filming ( watch for next weeks Episode # 58), Sean Donnelly for B&W photos, once again to Dine Alone Records and mostly to the band, Yukon Blonde for their talent and their time with us.
More photos can be viewed by click on the PHOTO GALLERY tab at the top of the page and look for the YUKON BLONDE IN-STORE APPEARANCE album.
REVIEW OF IN-STORE BY FRIEND & FELLOW MUSIC LOVER, AL FRASER…
Yukon Blonde at Cheeky Monkey;
My impression of Yukon Blonde from previous listens was one I assumed stylistically was slick production work, layered auto tuned vocals and the singing of many non-lyrical “hooks”. Seeing them reproduce their sound live in an intimate setting I was able hear their vocal harmonies discernible to individual members yet equal to quality of their recordings and bringing to mind The Jayhawks early work or maybe the Byrds, the non-lyrical hooks did not seem forced in any way and allows the listener quick sing along potential. The lead guitar being a Les Paul is usually recognized as a bright and sharp sound but was a more muted tone with reverb, like a keyed instrument might produce but still having an edge only a guitar can invoke that also matched exactly their recorded output. The rhythm section was the electric bass and one plastic shaker, its high sanding sound sliced into the music rounding the entire ensemble out nicely. I gained a good appreciation of what they are doing musically and found it all more approachable knowing it is not a production of a studio but of their talent. Very glad I made it out early to hear them play stripped down musically at the Cheeky Monkey instore performance prior to later that evening.
