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Melissa Auf der Maur


Something of a late review.... M and I went to see Melissa Auf der Maur at Mavericks on 5th November - first 'dingy venue' gig in Ottawa. Not that Mavericks is at all bad - seemed on first impressions to be a mixture of The Boardwalk and Clwb Ifor Bach. Nice and cosy, although the 'locals' seem to drink less.

In keeping with the usual pattern of support bands, the touring support Final Flash (whom I believe are from Montreal) were quite interesting and obviously had some solid fans in the crowd, but local support The Balconies left a lot to be desired (although they also had a few keen fans). The young lady fronting The Balconies seemed to run out of breath part way through lines. They were clearly targeting the catchy-tunes-trio idea but said front-woman also lacked sufficient guitar skills to really pull it off.



Melissa (and band - who also doubled up as road crew but were very polished players) played a set mixed from new album Out Of Our Minds and previous solo release Auf Der Maur, with perhaps more songs from the first album than M anticipated. Unfortunately I can't remember or find a set list! They came onstage after a cool intro video. Clearly something of a 'long time, no see' show, well performed and a tremendously appreciative crowd.

Late finish (by Cardiff standards, anyway) so we got to try out the late-night buses (successfully). Roll on the next one!
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