Hey Ocean! @ Hunter's - Live Review - Mar 22/12

I showed up to Hunter’s Ale House around 10:30pm to make sure that I was there before the crowd came.  Upon entry, the bar was already pretty full, which came as a surprise as I usually expect most to show up around the 11:30 or midnight mark.  I sat down at a table and waited patiently for Aidan Knight to start his opening set.  Honestly, I had no idea who Aidan Knight was; in fact, I was assuming that he was a one-man show.  I was sorely mistaken!  Aidan Knight had a full band with him, all of which were multi-instrumentalists.  One song I’d see a fiddle, two trumpets, and some percussion while the next song would have a tambourine, two people on drums, and some guitar.  Needless to say, within about 30 seconds of starting the show, I was in love with this Victoria, BC band!

Then, of course, it was time for Hey Ocean!  I had seen them once before at the Canada Day celebrations at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth, NS, and I was so amazed at how well they worked together and how beautiful and unique they sounded that I knew I had to see them in Charlottetown.  Seeing them so up close and intimately in comparison to the large venue at Alderney was a serious treat.  They began their set with the first track off of their album Is (set to officially release on May 15th) “If I Were A Ship”, which I believe was the perfect introduction to their amazing talents.  From the beginning line shouting “HEY OCEAN!” to the sound of Ashleigh’s beautiful vocals along with her flute and calymba playing and of course the completely obvious chemistry the band has together made for one fantastic experience.  The crowd was definitely on their feet dancing, completely feeling the groove Hey Ocean! was bringing to the table.  All of their songs that they played, including “Jolene”, “Islands”, and “Big Blue Wave” brought the same feel-good energy as the one before.

I had a chance to sit down with Ashleigh Ball (vocals/flute) and Dave Beckingham (vocals/guitar) to ask them about how they enjoyed playing PEI and what’s in store for the future.  “We’ve never been to [Hunter’s] before.  We played The Wave twice, once with a band called Slowcoaster quite a few years ago and this is our third time [on the island].  We want to come more often for sure, it’s a great place with great people,” says Dave.  When it comes to their new album releasing officially, Ashleigh was very happy with the finished product: “We’re really excited about it, we haven’t put out an album in over 3 years.  It was definitely a very interesting and crazy process for sure; it actually took us over a year to record.  A lot of love and blood and sweat and tears went into the album.  It’s very different but it’s also really us, so we’re happy to be touring with it!”

I agree, the album has a very unique but amazing sound, and so far I have heard nothing but positive reactions to the music.  I wish Hey Ocean! the best of luck on their tour, and if you didn’t catch them at Hunter’s, you can always take a roadtrip out to Montreal in August to see them at Osheaga Music Festival alongside a ton of other extremely talented artists!