Once again, the Humboldt & District Gallery was packed on March 25 as people piled in to see the next Performer’s Café with Brian Grest. Despite Grest’s regular appearances with his band, 40 oz. Philosophy, it was the first time the musician had the spotlight on him and only him the entire night.
“It was the first time I was ever asked to perform as a solo artist,” said Grest. “I did have my backup, but it was built as me and I was in front. It was definitely more nerve-wracking than usual. In some ways, every performer likes some attention drawn to themselves, so it was nice to have some attention.”
Despite his nervousness, Grest really stepped up that night, belting out one song after another. The atmosphere was completely different than usual, since there were no cheering crowds or carefree partygoers. The place was dark except for the spotlight on him and there was a hush over the crowd of people present whenever he was up at the microphone.
“I received a number of texts and messages the next day. The crowd truly enjoyed the event,” said Cori Norman, a director for Arts Humboldt and an organizer of the Performer’s Cafes. “I noticed (a hush over the audience) with our other performances, which isn’t unusual. I think as the night progressed, the electricity in the building definitely heightened with laughter and with calmness.”
Norman speculates that since these coffee house performances are still rather new, people aren’t quite sure what to expect and so aren’t as forthcoming in their expression. They may not cheer or clap or be as vocal as they normally would were it a familiar performance such as an outdoor cabaret.
Being indoors and in a much smaller venue, Grest was also new to the scene. For once, he was expected to speak and interact with the audience.
“At a usual concert, I look around and I’m not sure if people are paying attention, but this time every time I looked into the audience, everyone was looking and listening and I could see people nodding their heads,” he said. “It was a satisfying feeling to know I engaged the audience.”
It all began in November of last year when Norman approached Grest to do the coffee house. At first he refused, but Norman said she was adamant.
“Brian is a very talented person. Singing, entertaining, encouraging, and being very thoughtful of what the community desires for entertainment,” said Norman. “But he never put himself in a position that gave him the opportunity for growth and new experiences, so one day I went to him and said, ‘Brian, I really want you to take this as an opportunity for personal growth for yourself’ … he finally relented when he realized I wasn’t going to relent.”
Unlike his usual rock-style songs, Grest went a different route for this performance and instead he chose songs for a “coffee house setting.” It was a good thing too, because he said the venue was great for acoustics.
That’s not to say that Grest was perfect. There were some hiccups, but he handled it with aplomb.
“I forgot to put my harmonica on, so when it got to the first song, I went ‘crap,’ but we got through it and that’s the sweet thing about the coffee house,” he said with a laugh. “I also forgot the lyrics and I forgot the bridge (at one point), but you just roll with the punches. It’s like performing with friends, so you don’t get hung up on it.”
Grest also said the level of engagement was different considering the crowd is not only smaller, but also makes it easy for him to discern the faces of close family and friends. It can make for some serious stage jitters, even for someone as experienced as Grest. Nevertheless, Grest was on a mission that night.
“I’m an average singer, a below average musician, but my goal was to be entertaining and I think people found it entertaining, at least based on their faces and their comments after,” he said. “Being something new to me, I really enjoyed it and I could see myself doing it again if someone were dumb enough to ask.”
Backing up Grest on drums was regular band member, Nathan Gregg. On rhythm guitar was Jodie Hergott and lead guitarist/multi instrumentals was Brett Hrynewich. According to Norman, Grest was unlike many other artists she’s witnessed because he shared the limelight with them and made sure the audience got to know them as well.
“You got to know the entire group up there, not only Brian, and he was very successful at that,” she said. “You don’t see that very often when you go to concerts and things like that.”
The performance also spotlighted the poetry reading of Barbara Langhorst, who Grest said was both humourous and engaging.
“The one thing I came out of there saying to Brian was that both he and Barbara complemented each other very well,” said Norman. “They are very strong entertainers. They captured and held the interest of the audience through the entire show, despite two short breaks and the changing of the performers.”
The way it was laid out was Grest opened with his musical talents and then they took a short break, after which Langhorst came on and entertained the crown with her poetry recital. Another short break ensued and then Grest was back in the spotlight. The pattern continued and then was concluded with Grest’s final encore.
The next Performer’s Café will feature Alanna Hoesgen in July. Hoesgen was the winner of last year’s Soundcheque Showcase and this time will be performing with some people from Saskatoon. The fourth and final Performer’s Café will feature the musical talent of Grest’s colleague, Jodie Hergott, and the literary skills of Marion Mutala.
Grest said there’s a good chance he’ll be one of the musical supports for Hergott during her performance.
