"Let 'em In!" The Bros. Landreth at the Park Theatre, New Year's Eve, Winnipeg, MB

My best friend and his lovely wife treated me and mine to a fab New Year’s Eve at Winnipeg’s Park Theatre & Lounge.

The Park has been transformed from a third-rate “Also-Running” cinema to, frankly, one of the rockin’-est venues I’ve ever enjoyed. Check out their official site. They book acts from all over the map, but whether you’re seeing a girl and her ukulele or a group of head-bangers bringin’ it to the mosh, the environment brings out the best in audiences and performers.

NYE was given over to The Bros. Landreth, who devoted the majority of the night to the music of one Sir Paul McCartney.

"Bros. On The Run"

I wasn’t sure what to expect. The Bros. only CD, Let It Lie, skews toward Jackson Brown, with flourishes of Bonnie Raitt (she’s a big fan of the Bros., and no wonder: they’re carrying her torch). My friend tells me these pups cut their teeth as session musicians for various Winnipeg studios before it dawned on them that they might just have their own sound and words — so baseline instrumental competency was a given.

Still, McCartney’s music, from the ‘60s and ‘70s at any rate, is surprisingly tricky stuff to play live. Adding to the challenge: not a single keyboard was to be seen on the stage. So how, exactly, was a guitar band going to pull off an entire night of McCartney music? The opening number (a song I would never attempt on guitar) was, “Let ‘Em In,” and the answer was, “With breath-taking élan.”

"Let 'em In": Four-part harmonies, no keyboards.

The Bros. threw in a few of their own numbers, but overall the evening was as advertised. The Bros. were tight, the sets were brisk, snappy affairs, and the overall vibe grew ever more celebratory as the evening progressed. We had ourselves a mighty fine time, in other words.

The Bros. are on a limited tour — if you can catch them, you should. Their live sound has none of the Jackson Brown vibe, but much more Gram Parsons and Allman Brothers — their sophomore album should be killer.

And bring your Significant Other. These fellas are a hunky bunch, and a little of that swoon-factor definitely keeps the spark a-smoulderin’ for a healthy-happy marriage.

Adding heat, way past midnight.

A side-note to the Bros.: I stole a glance at the stage during the “Happy New Year!” midnight-clutch, so I well understand that you boys are not yet in that phase of life where you can inveigle on a long-suffering Significant Other to take over the merch table. But surely there’s a willing cousin? I was not the only person who asked the beleaguered coat-check guy if he couldn’t sell me a shirt, so you had a fairly lengthy gravy train leave the station to attend to baby-sitters back home. That’s gravy that makes the slower nights in Northern Ontario just a little warmer. In the meantime, I shall resort to your website to get my daughter the promised item. Rock on, Bros.