by Matt Stinn
photos by Aaron Brown/Aaron Brown Photography
This May mark's Capitol Music Club’s 10th anniversary and what better way to celebrate a decade of live music than a month of stacked lineups! Kicking off the festivities was Saskatoon-export and Art & Crafts artist, Katie Tupper. Tupper’s last Saskatoon date was back in November as part of her first Canadian headlining tour - but that may as well have been a lifetime ago. Since then, Tupper scored a Juno nomination and took the coveted #1 spot on CBC’s countdown with her single “Need Nothing”. Saying that 2024 is shaping up to be a big year for her would be an understatement.
Kicking off the evening was local artist, Halle Ponton. Backed up by a few recognizable faces from the band Something Eventually, the young four-piece delivered a tight thirty minute set of head-nodding pop songs to a receptive and energetic crowd. Highlights of Ponton’s set included a crowd singalong of her track “American Boy” and a cover of The Beaches song “Blame Brett”. Ponton did a great job of slowly building the energy in an already electric room to set the stage for the main event.
Tupper’s set began with an extremely intimate rendition of her track ‘Woman No”. While the band vamped on ambient opening chords while Katie teased what was to follow with soulful vocals sung word for word by a captivated audience. Every member of the backing band did a phenomenal job of knowing exactly how much NOT to play while presenting arrangements of her most notable songs that didn't stray too far from the recorded material - all while still being exciting and translating extremely well in the live context. Tupper’s set was accented by quirky crowd interactions, personal quips and moments of subtle intimacy between bandmates that obviously know each other and their shared performance well. This live iteration of Tupper’s material is a well-oiled touring machine that perfectly frames her rich vocals.
After close to an hour of euphoric sway-along songs accented by gentle lighting and near-perfect live sound, the show came to its final two songs. A performance of “How Can I Get Your Love” (where Tupper playfully forced her sister to join her on stage and then insisted she crowd surf) and a final cover of the Hall and Oates classic “Rich Girl” that had the whole crowd singing.
As I stepped out of the Capitol and into the smell of fresh rain, I couldn't help but smile at the perfect pairing. Cheer’s to ten years of Capitol and congratulations Katie - I know I'm not the only one from Saskatoon who’s following your ongoing growth as an artist and cheering you on.
