If the name Joel Plaskett rings a bell, there's a good chance you're Canadian. Although the Nova Scotian singer and songwriter has been a fixture in his native country while fronting the band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s and with his band The Joel Plaskett Emergency, elsewhere he's criminally unknown. That's a shame, because Plaskett is a true original, a fellow who writes songs that combine a feeling of classic guitar rock and pop along with elements of blues, country, folk, and even a bit of soul and reggae here and there.Plaskett usually tours with his band, The Emergency, in tow.
Seeing them in Canada is a fantastic experience, as the band plays larger venues in front of a crowd of adoring fans. His agile group acquit themselves well on what could be fairly difficult to translate songs, putting a heavy emphasis on tracks from his award-winning album 2010 album Three, as well as newer material from their latest release Scrappy Happiness.
Plaskett is a prolific songwriter, and set lists from show to show can vary a great deal in the songs performed, but never in quality. As such, if you're a fan and looking for a group to follow for a few gigs, Plaskett and The Emergency aren't a bad choice at all.Plaskett also performs the occasional solo acoustic set as well. In these shows it's usually just him and his acoustic guitar in a far more intimate setting. With the band arrangements stripped away, seeing him perform in this manner is a great way to get a glimpse behind the curtains, so to speak, at the process of one of the great songwriters in rock music today.
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