A surprise East Coast date has been added to Julie Doiron's tour schedule, which is grand news for Fredericton-area fans. Doiron's about to embark on a Upper Canadian tour, taking in several spots in Ontario and Quebec. But since she was heading west from Sackville anyway, a show has been added at the Cedar Tree Cafe in Fredericton for Tuesday night, Jan. 22. Doiron is touring in support of her latest disc, So Many Days, which came out last fall. I think it's one of her very best, and you can find my original review below.

Also on the bill, and no doubt playing a bit with Doiron, are her friends in Construction and Destruction. They make stripped-down modern folk and dark tunes out of their home studio in Greville, Nova Scotia, their latest disc being Mutatis Mutandis. The coffee house vibe of the Cedar Tree is a grand spot to see both Doiron and C&D. Here are the tour dates, and then a recap of the original Julie review:

January 22nd Cedar Café Fredericton, NB
January 23rd Le Cercle Québec, QC
January 24th Starlight Social Club Waterloo, ON
January 25th Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, ON
January 26th Grad Club Kingston, ON
January 31st Ebar Guelph, ON
February 1st Gordon Best Theatre Peterborough, ON
February 2nd Casa Del Popolo Montréal, QC

Having just hit 40, it's funny to think of Julie Doiron as a mature artist, as she's still a poster-person for the alternative crowd, but hey, I guess we're getting older too.

Like her past two albums, this one is also co-produced by Eric's Trip bandmate Rick White, in his trademark up-close, clean but home-made style. Really, Doiron's vocals have never sounded as present and personable, and her singing so powerful. Part of that no doubt is the increasing amount she's been performing with bands the last couple of years. While solo work continues for some gigs, she's been loving rockin' and rolling with her own groups, or as part of Gord Downie's troupe The Country Of Miracles. Instead of being overwhelmed by the occasional distorted guitar lines from White, she digs a little deeper, rising with the energy. And when things are soft, she's that much more in your head.

When Doiron's songs are at their most powerful, such as the country-folk flavoured The Gambler, she's singing right in your ear, with a story that lets you into her life for that time. No one puts across her emotions better, probably because they are so obviously real and so brutally honest. There seems to be no filter between her mind and her pen, no self-editing, no attempt to hide her fears and frustrations. Song after song, it's like we're right with her late at night, when nothing else but her mind is working.

Many of these cuts have been road-tested over the past year, and White and Doiron have done much to adorn them and improve them with extra touches. There are some excellent harmony moments, multiple Doirons entering the picture as a chorus of angels. There are some droning backgrounds that add to the atmosphere, and nasty buzzing guitar that gives several songs an edge against the natural beauty of her voice and notes. But overall, it's still sparse music, and no more powerful than the penultimate track, Homeless, which features her unaccompanied at times, or joined just by a shuddering, deep bass line. As a reflection of her nomadic life over the years, moving place to place on endless tours, and moving homes almost yearly for family needs, the fear and anguish that hits you from this song is as loud as a Marshall stack.