FAYE WEBSTER IN TORONTO

BY ARLIN

With her smooth musical riffs and glittering vocals, Faye Webster doesn’t just light up the room, she makes it glow. She took the stage on a warm October 27th after indie-punk band Upchuck who brought a fiery, fist throwing energy to open the show. Mentioned by Faye to be one of her favourite bands, they were a stark yet pleasantly surprising contrast to her.

As I looked out into the audience anticipating her set, some people were dressed in Halloween costumes, but many had adorned their faces and shirts with red circular stickers reading “haha”, an ode to her most recent album I Know I’m Funny haha (2021). 

Although Faye has transitioned from her distinct country sound heard in her first album Run and Tell (2013), many of her songs still hold a slight country flare, notably in the instrumentals of the introductions to her songs including “Right Side of My Neck” and even all throughout in her song “Better Distractions”, the opening track of the show. 

My favourite part of the night was her special performance of “Jonny”.  At what is the end of the original studio version, she leads into an extended smitten monologue to Jonny. There is a swooning nostalgia to her monologues with squeaky voice breaks and a youthful tone that feels reminiscent of the voices of 1930s cartoon characters such as Betty Boop that I always enjoy. The very end gave me goosebumps as the music stops and she cheekily says “Goodbye, Johnny” and the instrumental plays out as she chaotically keysmashes. This live version provides a sort of unexpected closure to the story of Jonny that I absolutely loved. (After the show I learned about “Jonny (Reprise)” at the end of the album which features the extended monologue, though I must say the live version is its own unique rendition and a must see).

There is a deeper level of emotion present in her live performances that is quite special. The night eventually came full circle as she invited Upchuck back onto stage for a group hug and they all said their goodbyes. Faye Webster’s North American tour will continue into mid November, and will pick back up in 2024 in Europe for the month of May. Tickets are available at fayewebster.com