Sweet and tangy as your favorite piece of candy, the Sadies will astound you with their polished musical taste and cross-genre ability to combine thick, smooth melodies with twanging guitars.
A unique combination of country and folk-rock, The Sadies have been collaborating with Heavy Trash throughout the past year on both tour and album. The success of this partnership shines through The Sadies’ most recent release, The Sadies Live in Concert Vol. 1, and subsequent tour. The album is a 41-song collaboration from a two-night concert at Lee’s Palace in their hometown, Toronto, in which Jon Spencer of Heavy Trash guest performs. Heavy Trash is currently in the process of setting up an album in which The Sadies will play back-up band.
In 1998, The Sadies signed with Chicago’s Bloodshot Records with their debut album, Precious Moments. Since then, The Sadies have produced six albums.
“[The Sadies Live in Concert Vol. 1] is a really good starting point if you’ve never heard us,” Sean Dean said, “because it features us.”
The two-disc set includes guest performers such as Neko Case, Jon Langford from the Waco Brothers and Garth Hudson from The Band.
The Sadies also play with Neko Case in her 2004 album release, The Tigers Have Spoken. The album is recorded live in concert, brandishing haunting lyrics and a few country classic sounds.
The Sadies continuously prove to their audiences that they are best when live, whether for their own performances or alongside another band.
“Doing a live album is a good way to document what we’ve been working on up until now and a good way to work with all of our friends in an atmosphere that we’re comfortable with,” Dallas Good said.
The Sadies are notorious for performances lasting for, oh say, 40 songs. However, you’ll never find them slacking off halfway through their show-their enthusiasm and musical talent is good to the last drop.
“We’re a bar-band deluxe that loves to tour and play,” Sean Dean said about their performances.
The band is made up of two brothers, Travis and Dallas Good, as the band’s frontmen, Sean Dean on upright bass and Mike Belitsky on drums. Travis Good also plays the fiddle, which lends to the band’s acoustic sound in many of their songs.
In the song “Cheat,” the Sadies start off with an energized presentation of a Johnny Cash-esque song with their own, modern country twist. “Cheat” preludes the audience into what kind of performance to expect by full-heartedly putting their “all” into every song, even though the song may only last under two minutes.
In The Sadies Live in Concert Vol. 1, The Sadies cover songs such as Pink Floyd’s “Lucifer Sam,” with their signature Sadies’ twist.
“You need to make goals of original music to set up the band,” Sean Dean said. “We base our band around our own songs, but also give the audience some treats [by covering other songs].”
At their best in live performances, The Sadies always manage to fire up their audience, even after the 42nd song.
Come check out The Sadies with Heavy Trash 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29 at Cowboy Monkey. Tickets are $10.
