Concert Review // Royal Wood // April 28.2016

Last Thursday, I got to step out once again, sans kids, to go to church. St. Matthew’s church that is, which, for Thursday evening only, became Royal Wood’s church. I was very happy to be a part of the congregation, and listen to the gospel according to Wood. The church atmosphere, with its stained glass windows, unpretentious wooden pews, and comforting wrap-around balcony allowed for an intimate and magical inaugural show on Royal Wood’s newest chapter, The Ghost Light Tour.

Like any new chapter in a person’s life, this show had many firsts. It was the first show on Wood’s spring tour but it was also the first time the new band played together. It was the first time the band played the new album “Ghost Light”, which had been released a week before.  [On its first day,”Ghost Light” took the number one album spot on iTunes, as well as the third for the deluxe version. It’s a really good album.] So why did Royal Wood decide to take these first steps of a new tour, with a new album, with a new band, with us, in a church, on the edge of the earth, in Halifax?? I am not really sure, but as our most fashionable Nova Scotian musician says, “All good things have got to start somewhere”.

So Joshua Hyslop, a singer songwriter from the Vancouver area, got things started for Royal Wood. He warmed up the crowd with his soothing voice and poetic lyrics. His humble nature and genuine humour allowed us, the audience, to open our hearts to the vulnerability that singer-songwriters endure as they present their souls on the stage. With songs titled Time Alone, Let it Go, and Stand Your Ground, he sang about broken relationships, and staying true to yourself in troubled times.  Hyslop’s lyrics, presence, and acoustics foreshadowed the delivery of Royal Wood’s ghost light opus.

Enter the Ghost Light.royalwood2

In researching why Royal Wood chose this name for his new album, I discovered that Wood is referring to more of a single light that is at the centre of the darkness. This album is an exposure of the rawness and basic being of Royal Wood as a musician. Which actually, it turns out, is not very basic. My friend who came with me to this show is a long time Royal Wood fan, and she was the one who introduced the song Juliet to me (by making her husband sing it, and play it on the piano one night after we had a “little” wine). She loves the older Royal Wood songs, and was thrilled when he stepped behind the piano to play such songs as Juliet, Tonight I Will Be Your Guide, and A Mirror Without. Many would think that this was Royal Wood in his raw form. After listening to Ghost Light and seeing this show, however, I would beg to differ. The songs in which he had the band behind him, including a surprise accompaniment from the Samba Nova Drum group, were the ones where he seemed to be in his true element. Songs like Long Way Out, Come Back to You, and Good to be Young all had a different level of “Royal Wood” that the older songs did not.

Royal talked about various moments in his life that instantly changed him, and formed who he was as a person standing on that stage. These moments have also influenced his previous songs. He talked about his family relationships that helped him write “So Glad I Met You”. He even, more vulnerably, talked about failed romantic relationships where you could say he received his inspiration for “I Wish You Well”. No personal story he spoke about was with a negative twist, it was all part of the humble, comical narrative of his own life story that led him to his own ghost light.

My favourite part in the evening was a culmination of Woods’ narrative, sense of humour, and musicianship, where he led us in an interactive version of Forever and Ever. It seems like this new chapter is one where Royal Wood is making sure to have fun, laugh, and sing his heart out. It was a lovely evening full of amazing acoustics, spontaneous moments, intimate conversations, and humble life lessons by the singer-songwriter himself. I am definitely a believer in Royal Wood’s Ghost Light.

 

About the author

Juliet

A music, movie, lyrics and quotes junkie. Currently doesn't get out much with four kids at home, but can be seen making her kids watch various YouTube videos of her favorite musicians or soundtracks and then creating life lessons about them.