Charlotte Cornfield fills Wise Hall with Toronto songs, West Coast fans
The Ontario-based songwriter sold out the Vancouver venue, discovering she has deeper local support than she realized.
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Songwriter Charlotte Cornfield graced the Wise Hall last Thursday, bringing her twangiest songs yet to the stage. Just three months since the release of her sixth album, Hurts Like Hell, Cornfield exuded comfortable confidence and the joy of an artist who has yet to tire of regaling her audience with the personal stories behind her detailed tunes.
Though a sold-out concert, the night had the feeling of an intimate living room show. Cornfield remarked on the crowd, saying: "I've been playing here since 2009, but this is the fullest the room has been. Sometimes it feels like there's a chasm between Toronto and Vancouver [...] I didn't realize I had this many Vancouver friends." The crowd included local act Dan Mangan as well as members of Yukon Blonde running the merch table.
Opening act Sam Tudor — both an individual person and "the title of a project involving a large group of friends across Canada" — treated the audience to a generous set, including brand-new songs that brought to mind the prolific ramblings of Mt. Eerie and the gentle harmonies of Kings of Convenience.
Cornfield's songs are distinctly Torontonian. "Kitchen," for instance, nods to former beer haven Wise Bar and neighbourhood Dufferin Grove. Laden with vignettes from specific nights out, social gatherings, and the slow-burn dance of falling in love, certain verses land as both odes to a lover and the city of Toronto in equal measure. Yet despite their geo-tags from across the country, Cornfield's songs resonate out west.
Produced by Big Thief collaborator Philip Weinrobe and featuring legends including El Kemper, Leslie Feist, and Buck Meek, Hurts Like Hell balances twangy instrumentals and humorous anecdotes. Onstage, Cornfield was accompanied by Ray Goudy of Toronto band Burs. Between songs, she shared the specificity that gives her work its delicious intimacy: after performing "Lost Leader," where a crowd member railed "Fuck Steve!" at the song's subject, Cornfield was quick with the kicker: "Steve's actually the hero in this one."
