Bob Wiseman and Collapsing Opposites at Western Front

On Friday I got into the Bob Wiseman Show at the Western Front by volunteering to work the merch table for CiTR. (woo free shows!)

Bob Wiseman, if you don't already know, is a musician/comedian/film maker from Winnipeg. He plays an accordion, piano and guitar and used to play with Blue Rodeo and the Hidden Cameras before going solo. I first caught him opening for Final Fantasy at the Norm Theatre and I've liked his music ever since. What is most impressive about Wiseman is the emotional range of his performance. Some musicians are really good at making funny music and some musicians are really good at making sad music, but few are good at being both. Wiseman is one of the few who can do both. He does a brilliant job of going back and forth between comedic moments (like a video he made featuring himself, Kids in the Hall actor Scott Thompson and some comedian I knew the face of but couldn't place deciding what Wiseman should do with a dead body) and tragic moments (like his duet with Leah Abramson who made a surprise appearance to sing "You Don't Love Me", so beautiful).

Though he's a musician, and a damn good songwriter, Wiseman is equally notable for his film making. Throughout the night he showed numerous videos that he had made which he played music overtop of or just watched. Though his videos are funny some of the most impressive were the ones where he integrated his performance with the video, such as one where Wiseman filmed himself performing four backup acapella tracks for himself to play along with.

If you haven't seen Wiseman yet, it is worth the effort.

Collapsing Opposites opened for Wiseman and it was the first time I'd ever seen them electric. (Past times I have seen them have been acoustic shows at the Shed and in bank machines) They played the same music, but it was nice to hear the electric versions of the songs.

I perhaps should have paid more attention to the show itself, but instead I spent a lot of my time chatting with the staff at the Front who were also working. Very nice people.

I stole that photo because it's the one the Western Front used to promote the show. I think it's one of Wiseman's press photos.