Steve Earle at the Light House Arts Centre

Photos and Write-Up BY: Mitchell Jodrey // THE BOOM AT NOON 

Steve Earle played to a sold-out Light House Arts Centre on Monday night. For those lucky enough to snag tickets, the show sold out within five minutes when they initially went on sale. It was a night of great tunes, memorable witty lines, and fantastic storytelling.

Early into his set Steve responded to a heckler: "I remember my first beer. I bet you'll be the first person to shout 'Copperhead Road,' and you won't even be awake when I play it." The crowd, other than a few bad apples, was passionate and respectful, singing along to classics like "I Ain't Ever Satisfied."

A few highlights of the set included a 10 minute story about the life of Jerry Jeff Walker, leading into an emotional rendition of "Mr. Bojangles," which had the crowd singing along once again. Steve also spoke about his late son Justin Townes Earle, openly discussing their shared struggle with addiction. This led into another emotional rendition, this time of Justin's "Harlem River Blues."

Steve closed the set with "Copperhead Road,"..no word on whether the drunk heckler made it that far. He then briefly left the stage, returning a few minutes later before exclaiming, "Thank you, l'm a famously cheap encore." He talked about his success in Canada and how the country punches above its weight for great songwriters per capita. We couldn't agree more! This led into an incredible cover of "Summer Wages" by lan Tyson. The night was capped off with another crowd favourite, "Hardcore Troubadour."

Leeroy Stagger opened the show with a fantastic set that perfectly set the tone for the evening. We hope both songwriters will be back soon!