Despite rain, snow, sleet and hail, spring break-up mud, and the rushing torrent of Moffet Creek nearby, Geoff and Marin Patenaude opened their home for a house concert, Saturday, April 6 for Victoria-based indie-folk quintet, Fish and Bird.
Folks in the Cariboo didn’t bat an eye over the inclement weather, and the house that Geoff started building 39 years ago was full to the rafters.
Marin, one of Geoff’s four musical progeny who moved back home a couple years ago, introduced Fish and Bird band members Ryan Boeur (guitar), Ben Kelly (percussion), Adam Iredale-Gray (fiddle and guitar), Taylor Ashton (lead vocalist, songwriter, guitar, banjo), and Oliver Swain (bass).
It was pointed out that Swain was filling in for regular upright bass player and vocalist, Natalie Bohrn, however Swain has played with the group in the past. Some folks might remember him from the now defunct group Outlaw Social which included Pharis Patenaude (now Romero) and Catherine Black.
Fish and Bird started out as a duo six years ago with Ashton and Iredale-Gray, then expanded into a five-piece band in 2009.
The band stopped by the Patenaude household for a house concert on their way north to Prince George where they were scheduled to perform at Artspace the next day (Sunday, April 7), before continuing their tour in a nasty diagonal to South-Eastern B.C. in Nelson, several major rivers and mountain ranges away.
Besides singing their repertoire of old material, the group performed several new songs that will be included on their upcoming album they plan to record soon on Main Island.
This will be Fish and Bird’s fourth album and their second in their configuration as a five-piece band. The group’s first two albums were done as a duo with the original band members Taylor Ashton and Adam Iredale-Gray.
For more information on the group or to purchase their music, visit their website fishandbird.ca.
Marin says she and her dad hope to host more house concerts, so keep your ear to the wind or eye on facebook for more upcoming events.