Circus in Flames burns up the Minstrel

Doug Andrew & The Circus in Flames delighted the Minstrel Cafe crowd with a couple of burning sets on Thursday evening in Kelowna.

Doug Andrew is a songwriters' songwriter. Circus In Flames is a great live band. Doug Andrew & The Circus In Flames together are a great live band with really, really good songs.

As a writer, Andrew reflects an awareness of the great storytellers in song who have proceeded him and the influence of the likes of Tom Waitts and Steave Earle and others and expresses it all in the form of something he likes to call "Sheet Metal Country." The depth of the songwriting stands on its own, but finds the perfect expression through the persona Andrew embodies as a live performer. Andrew again played and sang passionately and with purpose as he wound his way through songs from a body of work that spans more than a decade.

On this night, Circus in Flames consisted of usual bandmembers Brian Barr on tele and mandolin, Ed Goodine on drums, along with ex-bandmember and jazz session player Bernie Addington on upright bass. (Addington now resides in Kelowna and plays extensively here while not on tour supporting other artists.) To say these guys combined groove and energy and feel for these two sets wouldn't quite capture it all. This was a true fine performance by an acoustic roots/rock & roll unit behind a engaging frontman in Andrew.

The Minstrel, as always, served up excellent food and drink to go along with the ambiance and music lineup that has made it THE happening venue in Kelowna for years now.

Doug Andrew & The Circus in Flames continue on to Alberta on their Western Canada mini-tour. Catch them if you can, they are a pure joy to see and hear live.