Don Amero brought his acoustic-driven, folk-country performance to the Prince of Wales on Friday, February 28. The Assiniboia Arts Council estimated there were about 76 people in attendance to enjoy the evening鈥檚 program filled with thematic melodies, strafing guitar strings and humorous breaks. Amero was accompanied onstage for much of the show with Dylan McDonald on guitar and John Baron on bass. 听听
Both musicians added excellent backing for Amero. Certainly, Baron鈥檚 bass provided a nice groove to the music, while McDonald adding some great rhythm for Friday night鈥檚 sounds. 听听
The songs narrated by Amero鈥檚 raspy voice contained sing-a-long lyrics with poetic leanings. Although Amero鈥檚 lyrics were rarely cryptic, there were still frequent moments of light-hearted passion expressed through wistful imagery, like dancing in the moonlight and so forth. His lyrics had these stimulating elements, with beat-influenced stream of consciousness-styled rhymes intermingled with innocent, childlike wonder. 听听
鈥淭his is our first time here in Assiniboia,鈥� Amero said as he introduced himself. 鈥淲e鈥檙e staying in the 121 Hotel. It鈥檚 pretty great. You never know what you鈥檙e going to get.鈥� Amero often talked to the audience between songs, but the musician鈥檚 humorous jiffs at audience rapporteur were always succinct enough to never overwhelm the musical portions of the program.听
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to blame Assiniboia,鈥� Amero said at one point as he tried to tune his guitar. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 supposed to be -10 and my guitar is still in tune with Winnipeg weather.鈥� 听听
A standout part of the evening for the appreciate crowd in the Conexus Auditorium included the song, Music Lover. Conveyed with a mixture of sincerity and inner-craving, Music Lover had everyone sitting on the edge of their seats for the duration. Amero expressed a personal adoration for the song himself, saying the ballad reminded him of his wife whenever he was on the road. 鈥淭hat girl is music and I鈥檓 a music lover.鈥�
Although the Winnipegger was happy to be on a road tour through Saskatchewan, he clearly missed his family, telling the audience how much he enjoyed pizza movie nights with his wife and children at home.听听听
Don Amero鈥檚 show contained distinguishable, lilting stories conveyed through raspy narration as he interpreted the easy-going times, while refusing to ignore some of the artist鈥檚 difficult, but engaging moments in life.
His music represented a matchless juxtaposition of country, folk and ballad, along with something unique to this musician 鈥� the craft of poetry. Although Amero鈥檚 time in Nashville had clearly influenced the musician鈥檚 country leanings, he proved to be so much more than a country artist with folky stripes. In sum, Amero鈥檚 distinctiveness can be appreciated through listening and reading his poetic lyrics, which make the Winnipegger absolutely shine in comparison to other Canadian artists within the folk-country genre.听听
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