T&L hosts third iteration of Greville Tapes Music Club

“This is a song about an anxiety disorder and love in Sackville—and the next one is going to be about the same thing,” said Lucas Hicks in the opening performance of Greville Tapes Vol. III, held at T&L last Thursday. Alongside Scott Brown on bass, Hicks opened up for Eamon McGrath and Saint John-based band Little You, Little Me.

Greville Tapes is a concept put together by Peter Rowan in which two Atlantic Canadian artists meet for the first time to record in an old farmhouse in Port Greville, N.S. After creating at least four original tracks, they then head out on tour through the Maritimes and central Canada. Eamon McGrath took that stage next. McGrath had just returned from Port Greville with Little You, Little Me, where they had just spent four days recording new tracks. With Sackville being the first stop on the tour, we were the first to see the killer combination of musicians perform together live. Before the two bands showed off their new tracks together, Hicks, McGrath and Little You, Little Me played introductory sets.

Hicks told the crowd he had taken a break from his music but had recently delved back into songwriting and playing live shows. Hicks plays indie rock reminiscent of the earlier 2010s, putting his own personal Sackville taste and story into his lyrics. For this show Hicks played a more low-key set, handling the guitar and drums while Brown took the lead on on the bass. The set was perfectly mellow, the type that draws in a crowd with its lyrical intricacies and simple instrumental combination.

McGrath, originally from Alberta but now based out of Toronto, plays his own brand of folk and indie rock. McGrath was a good transition from the Hicks’s slower-paced jams, and he charmed the audience with a cultivated solo set balanced with a heavier sound.

Next, four-piece garage rock band Little You, Little Me was up. Their set was in stark contrast to the previous two acts, and featured feedback-heavy guitars and punctuated drum beats. With long hair and a laid-back attitude to match, Little You, Little Me motivated the crowd and changed the tone from easygoing to intense.

Afterward, McGrath joined the band on the stage. There were no expectations for what they had weaved together in Port Greville, and what came to fruition was somewhat shock-inducing. Surprisingly, McGrath’s mellow-yet-heavy sound blended perfectly with Little You, Little Me’s more in-your-face, boisterous nature. The set had a perfect blend of the two; neither band compromised their signature sounds and yet still adopted aspects of the other’s brand in a perfect culmination of smooth and coarse. They say the third time’s the charm, and this opening show for the vol. III of the Greville Tapes Music Club was no exception.

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