Murphy's Law

Friday night was one of those nights that I had high hopes for.  I was going to see an act live which I hadn't seen in roughly 8 years.  I had seen this act perform cover gigs in tiny little bars around Montreal and was glad to see that things had upgraded a bit since.  As the lights went up on the Dakota stage... I was quickly pleased to see that I would not be disappointed.

Shane Murphy and his band play a mix of blues infused soul/R&B that we spent the remainder of the weekend describing as "good sex music."  Picking up his CD from the Dakota show, I was massively impressed with how well his live tunes translated to disc and have been listening on repeat since Friday night.  However, the most impressive part of the act was his live show on Friday evening.  Murphy, hailing from Montreal, played alongside 3 friends from Ontario who seemingly had not played together much before.  However, as a testament to their incredible musicianship and Murphy's confident, inspired leadership, the quartet blew my mind with Murphy quarterbacking one of the most unique, unpredictable and enjoyable sets I've seen in a while.  With a few words, a simple nod of his head or a look over his shoulder, the band changed seamlessly between different songs and sections, all the while maintaining a groove that turned the Dakota into a dancing, sweaty mess (and one fool in a red hoodie who made Charlie Sheen look clean).

Long of it: if you get to see the Shane Murphy Band live in their hometown Montreal... great.  However, if the big man himself is wandering away from home and playing with a session band... you still could be in for one hell of a treat.


-She thinks she's cool but she don't know...everyone knows it's all a show