By Meriha Beaton, Staff Contributor
For the first time in four years Canadian musician Sarah Harmer returned to Halifax last Friday, to play for fans at the Rebecca Cohn. Cracking jokes and telling stories in between songs, Harmer made her audience feel as if they were sitting in their living room, simply listening to their very talented, Juno-award winning friend.
Opening for Harmer was Joey Wright, a Jacob Dylan-like singer-songwriter. Accompanied by a woman playing slide guitar, Wright played a set of folk-infused songs from his upcoming album Hatch. His smooth, mellow voice prepared everyone for Harmer.
“Good evening everyone,” greeted Harmer warmly as she walked on stage. She immediately broke into “One Match,” a catchy song from her new album Oh Little Fire. She followed by playing “Around this Corner”, a song from You Were Here. The rest of her set followed the same order, going back and forth in time, playing songs from both older and more recent albums.
Although she played mostly her own songs, Harmer performed a song written by her friend called “Silverado.” On a whim, the slide guitarist for Joey Wright accompanied Harmer.
“It’s okay, I didn’t even write this song. We can screw it up,” joked Harmer, as she began to play.
The first half hour of the concert, Harmer played faster, more up-beat tunes. Assisted by her band, which included a keyboardist, bass and electric guitarist and a drummer, Harmer pumped up the audience with a powerful, electric sound.
Halfway through, however, the band left the stage, leaving Harmer to play three acoustic songs accompanied only with her guitar. First, she played a “sad dog song,” and dedicated it to a dog that just passed away.
“This one’s for Lenny,” she explained.
During her acoustic songs, all that could be heard was Harmer’s voice and guitar. The audience was lulled into a somber trance by Harmer’s intimate lullabies.
“Let’s keep in a melancholy frame of mind here, “Harmer said softly before beginning the last of her acoustic songs, “Because the band’s going to come out here soon and we’re all going to get chipper and happy again.”
Harmer proceeded to play a song she hadn’t performed in years. She became so moved by this re-discovery that she was choking up by the end of the song. Wiping away tears as her band returned to the stage she laughed over the fact that she made herself cry with one of her own songs.
The rest of her set continued with happier, more upbeat tunes. At one point, she stopped to tell a corny joke to the audience at their request. At another point, she explained the story behind her song “Washington,” which detailed a road trip she mistakenly turned down to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama.
When Harmer finished her set, she received a standing ovation from the audience. The applause urged her to return to the stage for an encore, in which she played “Lodestar” and “The Hideout,” two favorites from You Were Here. Another standing ovation ensued, which resulted in a second encore, in which she played her classic “Basement Apartment.”
During “Basement Apartment,” Harmer created a feeling of unity within the audience. Her fans left the concert serenely happy, just as anyone would be who spent the evening with an old friend.
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