Chris Velan

Who: Chris Velan
Where: Lydia's
When: June 14/07

Velan started off slow but things got infinitely better once the patchouli people arrived to dance barefoot.

At first I felt bad for Velan as the crowd talked over him.

But things got better. The first song had only one loop. By the end of the second set, he was throwing in multiple loops, layering tracks - turning himself into a veritable one-man electrical band.

What’s great about him is his back story. He worked in Africa, making a documentary about The Refugee All Stars (No, not the Fugees). The music found him, and he came back to Canada, inspired by the the sounds of Africa.

So now he tours club to club. I don’t know if it’s a happy life, but he retreated into himself when no one was listening, and looked out when people were dancing.

Velan makes fun music. The most mainstream comparisons I know are Jack Johnson and Ben Harper. I could imagine him jamming out with the pair on some beach somewhere.

If we were friends, I’d bring him to every campfire possible. He’d be such a hit, with or without his loops.