I wasn’t sure who was going to open, so I arrived early at the Owl Acoustic Lounge , Feb. 14, just in time for up and coming Edmonton based country band The Dungarees.”
They had a full house as they shot through a solid set of appealing modern country along the lines of bands like High Valley, which they even covered.
They had a simple set up of rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass, steel guitar and drums which made the songs shine through,
Frontman James Murdoch, who used to live in Lethbridge, was an affable presence on stage, singing up tempo, personal songs about aging and family.
They played all of their new EP including the title track “Twenty Something” and the moving “They Don’t Make Em Like they used Too,” about Murdoch’s grandparents, which deserves be a hit on modern country radio as does “Twenty Something.”
They played a couple older songs including “Hard Way,” and some new songs plus a couple of well chosen covers including a great version of Ridley Bent’s “Buckles and Boots.” and a great set ending cover of Rodney Crowell’s “ Ain’t Living Long Like This.”
Shaela Miller, sporting a distinctive purple suit jacket and pants, closed the night with her entire band including lead guitarist Evan Uschenko, Tyler Bird on drums and Paul Holden playing upright bass.
Miller was also in the mood to debut some new songs to be featured on her next CD as well as a few tracks off her most recent CD including “Cheating and Lying.” But she also delved back into a few of her earliest songs, including “Vicious Bitches.” She also added a few covers from the likes of Patsy Cline
As usual, she put on an impassioned, enrapturing performance.