A snowstorm is slated to smack us this afternoon and night, though the weather forecasters can’t agree on how much white stuff will freeze us in place—anywhere from a dusting to a lot. (How’s that for narrowing it down?) As a result, yesterday, I spent several hours in the Mazda3 Time Machine while gathering groceries from an array of stores, including the only one that stocks the kitten food that our mitten-cats prefer. Along the way, I played Live in ’25, the new EP from Calgary-based Jackson Reed and his band, the Silverbirds. Each of the half-dozen listens sent me swirling through time to the age of Marty McFly (aka the mid-1980s).
The six-track album opens with “Calm Before the Storm,” a fleeting instrumental that’s the sonic equivalent of a sunrise, before a fiery stage introduction leads into the rollicking “Did I Miss Out,” which shares a question that hangs over the heads of most everyone when they’re young: “Did I miss out on the fun?” But, yesterday, I heard it as more than just a kid’s wish to hang with his older siblings: We may be getting older everyday, as the lyrics go, but sometimes recollections are tinged by regret: All the shows we could’ve gone to, the movies we missed, parties we skipped due to other commitments. Only a select few drove through the streets in snappy-looking DeLoreans; the rest of us worked crappy retail jobs, often in a mall, with daiquiri-drenched dinner breaks at Friday’s the only relief. (Fun fact: While the bartenders routinely carded, the waitresses never did!)
Similar memories drift to the fore during the rockin’ “They Can’t Stop Us,” which conjures Scarecrow-era Mellencamp, and especially the low-key “Warmth of July,” which channels Reed’s inner Bruce Springsteen. The latter seeks escape not with a Jersey girl but a Calgary coquette he’s smitten with; they’re alone together even when in a crowd. The live portion of the proceedings concludes with “Maxine, which injects a fun reggae flair into the proceedings, while the EP itself ends with the catchy studio confection, “Do You Feel Like I Do?” It sounds great flying down the highway.
Reed, who handles lead vocals and guitar (and also hosts an informative rock-related podcast), is joined by Jeremy Brigham on keyboards, Nathan Litvinchuk on drums, Deandre Crowe on bass, and newest member Tanner St. James on guitar. In addition to the EP, which can be streamed everywhere, there’s also a cool 30-minute concert film that adds in a few additional tunes, including their cover of Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” and a super-fun “Detroit Medley” (“Devil With a Blue Dress,” “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” “I Hear a Train,” available on YouTube.
The Old Grey Cat 