Hawksley Workman came to St. Thomas on Saturday evening to wow and charm a sold-out audience at the Princess Ave Playhouse. It’s a bit hard to describe Hawksley performing his unique brand of rock. What comes to mind is an elastic band with pop, zing and stretch afforded by his stage presence and incredible range of intellectual, musical and vocal talent.
The six times nominated, two-time Juno award winner has performed in over fifteen countries in prestigious and more intimate venues, and has produced albums for such stars as Tegan and Sara, Serena Ryder, Great Big Sea, Sarah Slean and Jeremy Fisher.
A true entertainer, on Saturday evening Hawksley shared his music, humour and insights and seemed to create for an appreciative audience, the feeling that he was here, not just to stop by, but to be part of our town for a few hours.
The six times nominated, two-time Juno award winner has performed in over fifteen countries in prestigious and more intimate venues, and has produced albums for such stars as Tegan and Sara, Serena Ryder, Great Big Sea, Sarah Slean and Jeremy Fisher.
A true entertainer, on Saturday evening Hawksley shared his music, humour and insights and seemed to create for an appreciative audience, the feeling that he was here, not just to stop by, but to be part of our town for a few hours.
Between songs he mused about swallows having it figured out (they have work to do but still say let’s have some fun); the Princess Ave Theatre (“This feels nice here, I don’t know what they did.”); something about “a bunch of kooks who decided to make an old church into a rock n roll venue”; growing up in northern Ontario with ideas about southwestern Ontario (some of them myths) from TV and a feeling that there is something special down here; the seeming obsession with lawns of people along highway 3; adhering to convention; St. Thomas’s incredibly long main street; the strangeness of city councils (he had evidently listened to a few minutes of ours on television); the sadness of many beautiful stores on a main street being empty; his appreciation of the sales pitch for a piano that he received from a woman in the recovery store with a “girl’s name”; thoughts on everyone owning a piano they eventually end up trying to get rid of…and again more wondering about our incredibly long main street.
He treated the audience to a far-ranging selection of his songs which vary in tone and topic, and offer an abundance of thoughtfulness, humour and soul. “Mr. Lonely” (Todd Lumley) accompanied on piano, keyboards and some vocals in perfect syncopation with Hawksley, an integrated part of each song and seeming to provide as much momentum for the show as Hawkley himself. Towards the end of the evening both men joined for a “duelling piano” number which appeared to be heading toward the goofy side but abruptly turned into a demonstration of music-making at a sheer genius level.
"Mr. Lonely" & Hawksley Workman, Photos by Relish Elgin
Like most touring entertainers, Hawksley came to share his talents, and something of what he thinks, appreciates, finds amusing. All of that would have been worth the price of admission, but what he also did throughout the show was wonder and ask about how life is with us. Thanks Hawksley for coming to St. Thomas, and thanks so much for asking. Life here, like anywhere, has its ups and downs, and for Saturday's audience, you were definitely one of its ups.
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