MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: MAV KARLO - STRANGERS LIKE US

I tell ya, it's next to impossible for musicians to play live, let alone mount a tour, so hats off to the intrepid Mav Karlo, who has travelled all the way from Ontario, plus spent two weeks in required isolation, just so he can play a few dates in Atlantic Canada. That's devotion. And the tour is called, naturally, the “I drove here and slept in my car and only peed on the side of the road and quarantined for two weeks, oh and the shows are all socially distanced” tour.

Wait now, Mav who? Well, you do know him, it's Menno Versteeg, the frontman of the late, lamented Hollerado, always popular on the East Coast. The band called it quits last December in a blizzard of confetti, and Versteeg has reemerged with a new name but the same open and winning personality. The eight-song set, Strangers Like Us, sees him in fine form, albeit stripped back and bit more on the singer-songwriter side than his band days. That's because it's a more introspective set, tackling a rough personal patch and how to figure out what caused the pain.

Far from a pity party, instead Versteeg, er, Mav, jumps in with his bright melodies, good humour and pop instincts intact. Heavy topics don't have to be heavy songs, as he shows in lead cut "Elevator," about highs and lows. "There are days when I feel like I'm a superman," he tells us first, then "There are days when I feel I'm a bacterium."Another great help to the mood is the other main instrument, the voice of Katy Goodman (Vivian Girls), almost a co-vocalist on the album.

Versteeg is honouring the East, as these are the first shows he is doing under the Mav Karlo name. Come out and see him, he sure went to a lot of work to come see you.

November 11 - Trailside - Charlottetown
November 12 - Derby Bar - Halifax
November 13 - Bannermans - St. John’s
November 14 - Bannermans - St. John’s
November 15 - Bannermans - St. John’s

November 18 - River House - Newport Corner, NS

November 19 - The Capitol - Fredericton
November 20 - The Timber Lounge - Moncton
November 21 - The Old Sydney Society - Sydney