Cuff the Duke: They make bad sound sound good

Oh Cuff the Duke, so very country, so very Oshawa, so very much the only band that seems to be able to consistently sound good when playing at the consistently-bad-sounding Maverick's... I'm not quite sure how they do it- perhaps they are very thorough in their sound checks? Maybe they've just played there so many times that they have this special way of tuning their instruments? Maybe they're just magical... Whatever it is, they consistently deliver.

I don't know that that sounds like a compliment, but it is certainly meant as such. With Cuff the Duke you know what you're getting: they're straightforward blue collar guys singing about their experiences growing up in a straight-up blue collar town- something that is a really common experience in life, but not something commonly sung about in music. And it speaks to me. It sounds corny, but its true! There is something about  Cuff the Duke's music that makes me feel at home.

It may be because half of my family is from Oshawa- I grew up going to family gatherings there in the old house, driving by the GM plant, thinking it was super cool to have a corner store literally right on the corner (we didn't really have that kind of stuff in the 'burbs). So many of my Grandma's childhood stories were about the quintessentially blue-collar-Oshawa that I'm sure I likely always pictured it as the depression era town where my Great Grandfather fixed porches to put food on the table and my Grandma scooped at the ice cream counter... but there is just something about Oshawa, something shared by London Ontario, by Edmonton, by Winnipeg, and by parts of Calgary and Hamilton... something so rarely captured in popular music but so clearly its very distinct thing... and Cuff the Duke  encapsulates it perfectly.

Maybe thats why they sound good at Maverick's when everyone else sounds like crap- They understand the uneven floors, they understand the weirdly placed pillars and the unhinged bathrooms doors, the room sees that they understand it and it pays them thanks by helping them sound good. Or maybe they just sound that good. I guess we'll never know...

Cuff the Duke: Oshawa for your ears

I'm sure this is a sentiment that will be oft repeated in the coming months/years, but Cuff the Duke is like Oshawa for your ears. Bluecollar music from bluecollar boys from a bluecollar town. Word. Rossland Square makes me think of my childhood in a way that seems strange since I only went to Oshawa to visit family... but it captures it in a way that is so very close to my childhood impressions of the city that it makes me feel even more at home than when I visit there now.

Openers The John Henrys were a last minute substitution who were surprisingly very up to the task, paving the way for Cuff the Duke to do their thing, and make us feel like we should all be working for GM. in a good way. Man that compliment really got away from me there...