It's not anybody who can claim to be heralded by Rolling Stone magazine as a modern day guitar hero, but there was one on stage at Montreal's Théâtre Fairmount on Friday night as Winnipeg's Ariel Posen hit the stage. For some, having such a title thrust upon them can end up dragging them down, but there is no albatross hanging around Ariel Posen. Once you get the opportunity to hear him play, you understand immediately where all of the high praise comes from. He spent a considerable amount of time in Montreal over the past year as some of his new album, Reasons Why, which was released back in September of this year, was recorded here in the city and he has also been working with Brittany Kennell, who opened the show with an acoustic set of songs before later joining Ariel on stage for a quick duet, on her new
album which is due to be released in the Spring. He also made an appearance earlier this Summer with Brittany when she performed at the MTelus as part of the Lasso Festival festivities. Playing a style of music I was told was termed Heartland music, a mix of soul, jazz, country and rock, you can here the influence of the bands he grew up listening to, but all in a style that is his own. And don't forget the guitar playing. His mastery of the instrument is evident from the first notes as his playing demands you attention, and them keeps it. This was my first extended Ariel Posen experience, and I certainly hope that there will be many more to come. The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 6400 at 28mm and the second photograph was taken at f.3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm. Here are several more photographs that I took of his performance.
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