Sassy Slean to Serenade Saskatoon

Written by Crystal Clarke

Thursday, 17 November 2005

Sarah Slean’s performance, entitled “Intimate and Solo” promises to be a great sit-down show. Slean’s newest album Day One is a masterpiece, full of amazing lyrics, music, and artwork. A couple of years ago, Slean decided she needed a break from the world and took a hiatus in a cabin for a few months, writing, painting, and figuring herself out. I’m sure many of us 20-somethings would like to do this, but I doubt we would come out with anything as amazing as Slean’s fourth album. Slean is a sassy artist who tells lots of stories while on stage, and not just with her songs. When I saw her at the Regina Folk Festival this summer, she did a great job of mixing up her songs with quirky stories of being alone in that cabin. I’ve heard her described as a Canadian Tori Amos and I would mostly agree with that. However, Slean has an air about her that makes her seem like a person just like everyone else, who just so happens to be an incredibly talented pianist, writer, and artist. What struck me the most about her when I saw her live in Regina was her relationship with the crowd. Despite being an early act in the evening, she held everyone’s attention and had people swaying to her music as they sat on their blankets on the ground, laughing with her jokes and eccentric remarks. I also made a very wonderful discovery, which was unknown to me before that evening – her musical abilities. She studied music formally at the University of Toronto (after deciding against going into Medicine), but decided she wanted to play her own music. That she does – and very well I might add. Last April, she was nominated for the 2005 Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year for Day One. Her first single off the album “Lucky Me” is a great up-beat song that has good rhythm and vocals that are sure to bring people to their feet, if any song will. Other songs on the CD include the self-titled track, as well as “Vertigo”, and my personal favourite “Out in the Park”, a song giving the vision of a wacky woman in a park who is “conducting the birds/ trying to remember which bicycle’s hers.” If you like sit-down shows that are live and “intimate”, I highly recommend checking out the show on Thursday at Louis’. Perhaps you’ll see me there: “I’m taking my seat, oh lucky me.”