When Joel Plaskett opened for Paul McCartney in Halifax a couple of years ago, he played before 50,000 people.

When he last appeared in Kitchener, it was as the opening act for the Barenaked Ladies in a packed house at Centre in the Square.

When he appeared Thursday in the Songwriter Series in the centre's new Studio, he performed in front of a sold-out audience of about 120.

The size of the audience didn't matter to the acclaimed Nova Scotia singer/songwriter. He gave it his all.

Plaskett's dedication illustrated why he is an artist on the rise as his fan base continues to expand across Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Australia.

The Juno winner is in the midst of a tour of Ontario and Quebec with Emergency, but bandmates Dave Marsh and Chris Pennell got the night off as Plaskett played the concert solo.

Alternating among a 12-string, four-string and two six-string acoustic guitars and a hollow-body electric, the tall, lanky artist selected material from the past decade over two 45-minute sets.

For a change of pace, he played a novelty song in each set on his well-travelled, five-dollar, plastic, battery-operated lap keyboard salvaged from Value Village.

He ended with a two-song encore in response to an enthusiastic standing ovation.

Plaskett is a warm, personable performer with a voice that sounds a little like a young Jackson Brown. He is impossible to pin down in terms of style, spanning folk, country, reggae, pop and rock performed with a charming quirkiness.

His songs were variations on three major themes - songs about touring, songs about where he is from (the Halifax area) and love, including Work Out Fine (about an earless, deceased cat who taught him unconditional love).

"I feel more comfortable writing love songs as I get older," he confided at one point.

The evening's repertoire included Down at the Khyber and I'm Yours ("a return to the Khyber building"), in addition to A Gentle Goodbye, Make a Little Noise, Miner's Scotland Blues, One Look, True Patriot Love, and the brand-spanking new To the Island Girls and the Harbour Boys (so new he inverted the title).

It wouldn't be a Plaskett concert without a clutch of tripartite titles (Deny, Deny Deny, Rewind, Rewind, Rewind and Rollin', Rollin', Rollin').

Plaskett drew an appreciative applause when he recalled appearing locally at the Volcano with his early band Thrush Hermit.

The third and final concert in the Songwriter Series takes place June 16 with the Toronto-based female trio Good Lovelies.

The finishing touches have been put on the Studio.

The acoustics have been fine-tuned, the permanent stage lighting has been installed and the crimson, velvet, floor-to-ceiling curtains make for a warm and intimate setting.

Source:

http://www.therecord.com/whatson/artsentertainment/article/503457--plaskett-gives-it-all-in-front-of-intimate-songwriter-series-crowd