NXNE Night Two – Zachary Bennett @ the Tranzac

Night two of our NXNE adventures started off a little rainy, a little dark and gloomy. But that didn’t stop us and many others from taking to the streets and jumping bar to bar to see what Thursday night had to offer.

NXNE Night Two – Zachary Bennett
@ the Tranzac

Over the last few years, I’ve been trying to see Tin Star Orphans play, but anytime they have a show, I’m either at another show or out of the city. Timing just never seems to work. Keeping with that pattern, they are playing tonight (Friday) at midnight at the Dakota Tavern, and yet again I will not be able to see them.

Thankfully, last night, Tin Star front man Zachary Bennett was playing a solo show at the Tranzac and I was finally able to catch at least a flavour of the Orphans through him.

If you’ve ever heard the Orphans, you know that Zachary’s vocals have a very distinctive, raw sound to them. And not the kind of raw you expect; there’s a strangeness to his sound that at first, is kind of shocking. But it’s also a powerful sound and you can’t seem to keep it from grabbing you and soaking in all its dripping emotion. 

Taking that sound and isolating it from the rest of the band leaves Zachary and his guitar completely on display in the tiny but acoustically emphatic front room on the Tranzac and creating one of the more intimately potent shows we’ve seen all week. 

Zachary started the night with an improv little ditty he sang up on the spot, talking about the Tranzac, while waiting for some technical issues, but it wasn’t long before he launched into a mix of solo songs, some Orphan songs and a couple of new Orphan songs from their upcoming album. Orphan Steve Savage joined him on stage for a stint, accompanying him on piano to create a full, haunting sound.

For a performance with a show of physical passion that is giving us all he’s got, Zachary was surprisingly lighthearted and witty in between songs, laughing with the crowd and bursting with additional energy. His presence has this strange ability to just pull you right in, whether you fight it or not, something that seems to parallel his music as a whole.

Tin Star Orphans will be at the Dakota Tavern tonight at Midnight. They apparently put on one hell of a show, so if you have the chance, check them out and let me know how it goes.

Pictures (c)CityGirlScapes