Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards / Russell deCarle Trio, Traverse

A US string quartet with a difference.  Cortese leads on vocals and fiddle, ably assisted by Jenna Moynihan on fiddle, long time collaborator Valerie Thompson on cello, and the bass of Natalie Bohrn.  Their material is largely from the pen of Laura herself, with a contribution from Thompson and some more traditional tunes, delivered in a style that's a mix of country, folk and pop.

Cortese has an excellent, if not particularly distinctive, voice and turns out some interesting lyrics and catchy tunes.  Many of her songs stem from her own personal experience, but she's not averse to getting more political when the mood takes her.   The playing is of a high standard, and it's easy to imagine that the band could turn their hand to any number of styles of music.

Highlights included an a capella rendition of the lovely Rhododendron, a set of Scottish pipe tunes with Moynihan taking the lead, and the rousing Heel to Toe.  They encored with a simple chorus song using 2 strummed fiddles and four voices, a beautiful way to end the set.

A generation of so older than the first act, Russell deCarle is a long time star of Canadian country music.  His trio play a mix of country, western wing, blues and some good old fashioned rockabilly.  DeCarle leaves the flashy musicianship to his fellow band members, providing solid rhythm guitar and a fine voice that has matured across the decades to become mellow, comforting and full of expression.  Singing a mix of his own songs and classics from several genres of North American music, there's everything in the mix from the pathos of country to full on rock and roll.

Simple arrangements serve to highlight the quality of deCarle's vocals and the talents of his companions' instrumental breaks.  Flanking Russell were Steve Briggs on guitar and Denis Keldie on piano accordion, both excelling when it came to their solos.  If Briggs was occasionally guilty of falling into 'the more notes the better' trap, Keldie's turns invariably started simple and developed into miniature masterpieces.

DeCarle a man who knows exactly how to handle an audience and between songs he is amusing, informative and immediately feels like you've known him for years.  After the encore the band looked liked they could have carried on all night.  And we would have been happy if they did.