Now there's something we haven't seen on Queen West in, oh, almost a decade: a chalkboard outside The Rivoli advertising a Feist show. The Calgarian/Torontonian/Parisian chanteuse was a fixture in the Riv's back room at the turn of millennium, both on its stage (where she celebrated the release of her 1999 solo album, Monarch) and behind the bar slinging drinks. Of course, nine years, five Junos, one big iPod ad and a BBC arctic-exploration expedition later, Feist's local venue of choice has been upsized somewhat. But with a few days off before this weekend's pair of big-ticket shows, Feist took the opportunity last night to host a homecoming that didn't require security checks and seat ushers.
The show was announced late Tuesday afternoon by way of the Riv's sandwich board, with the advertised $20 tickets available at the front bar (all proceeds from the night were donated to War Child Canada). Despite the large-fonted FEIST! scrawled across the board, closer inspection revealed the show was actually a Feist-hosted songwriters circle featuring members of her touring band (Afie Jurvanen, Jay Baird, Vancouver songwriter-cum-guitar tech Bob Kemmis), her opening act (Hayden, along with his touring guitarist Wayne Petti of Cuff the Duke) and old friends (Doug Paisley). But more so than a small-club reprieve from her current arena tour, for Feist, the evening carried a full-circle significance; as she explained after a gritty, stripped down performance of "My Moon My Man," her first ever solo vocal performance (outside of her old punk band Placebo) was at the Rivoli in 1996 at a Hayden-hosted Hardwood Wednesday acoustic night. (Also contributing to the throwback factor: the ceaseless sound of chatter emanating from the back bar — nice to know some things never change.)
After working through the songwriter lineup five times, the evening ended as all gatherings of singing Canadians often do: with a Dylan cover, as Petti led the throng through a sing-along version of "You Ain't Going Nowhere." But as the crowd filed out, murmurs abounded that this wouldn't be Feist's only surprise club gig this week — let's just say that, if you're hanging out on Queen West this afternoon a block west of Spadina, keep an eye on the chalkboards.