I don’t know if I’m going to be able to say anything other than – it was awesome! It was soooo good! Sooj rocks! But I’ll try… S.J. Tucker came all the way to Canada and played in our co-op’s hall with her sexy cello player Betsy Tinny. Sooj filled up the hall, not just with her voice, but with people! Many I knew and many I didn’t, but thank you all so much for coming! Mojo opened the show with a set of his new tunes; “Harvest Dance”, “Lord of Light”, “Pay the Piper”, and also his soon to be released “Valhalla”. Then our friend Wendy joined him in singing two songs from Chalice and Blade: “Cunning and Art” and “I Hear You Calling”.  Then Sooj and Betsy came onto the stage and started off with a set of their wonderfully silly songs: “Alligator in the House“, “Tough Titty Cupcakes“, “Taglio“, and “Ballad of the Boy Cat” leaving the audience in giggling fits. Then Sooj brought us back down to a more somber mood with “Follow Me Down” from Haphazard and “Cold Sunshine” from Sirens (which Betsy rocked the cello on). Then for a surprise she called Mojo on stage, where his own drum mysteriously appeared, and asked him to play “Hymn to Herne” with her from Mojo’s favourite Sooj album Blessings. He blushed but agreed and all three musicians played their drums while singing for the Horned God.

Sooj also played many of her songs from her new yet-to-be-released album Mischief including “Ravens in the Library“. To end the show, first the ladies played “Manticore’s Lullaby” and then they played their version of the ballad of ‘Tam Lin” from Tricky Pixie’s Mythcreants album. It was beautiful, enchanting, and a bit sexy if I may say so myself. It left everyone in a very magical happy place. S.J. Tucker made a lot of new fans that night and also made life-long devotees of those who already listened to her music, but had never seen her live. Sooj is an entertainer par excellence – every movement, every facial expression, and every note has meaning and intent behind it. She made people cry, shout, laugh, jump, sway, dance… and clap so loudly after each song it sounded like thunder.

They stayed at our house for a couple nights after and I made sure to feed them well. But time goes fast, and after exploring Vancouver they had to leave and go back to Seattle. My personal goal was to spoil them rotten so they’d come back, but I think the audience on Sunday did a better job of spoiling them then I ever could. Sooj and Betsy were positively glowing after the show from how warmly they were received and loved here in British Columbia, Canada. Good job Canucks! With luck they’ll come back soon!