Ryder a season highlight

Culture & Events — 07 February 2012

Serena Ryder performing at The Centre, Feb. 2. Photo by Chris Marchand

By Chris Marchand

The simplicity of a woman and her guitar were more than enough to satisfy a room packed to the rafters for the highest profile show of the 2011-12 Dryden Entertainment Series.

Abstaining from commercial radio for the most part, I admit I arrived to class without my homework done on Ms. Ryder. In my head, indistinct impressions of a Melissa Etheridge-type of songwriter formed my only expectations.

What followed was an eye-opening affirmation of what everyone says about Serena Ryder.

You know who she is. You just don’t know you know. Y’know?

After seeing her perform, it’s unlikely I’ll ever forget.

The 2008 Juno-winning (Best New Artist) Ryder plowed through a repertoire studded with inescapable originals like ‘Little Bit Of Red’, ‘Weak In the Knees’ and ‘All For Love’ — to the delight of the devotees in the audience.

What could not be accounted for was Ryder’s presence. While comments on stage presence are a trite and commonplace part of any review, Ryder seemed to project an uncanny level of confidence and relaxed comfort on stage — as though she could curl up and have a nap in front us if she wanted to.

Thankfully, she didn’t. On the contrary, at times Ryder would totally lose herself, stepping back from the mic’ to power into her guitar parts, her mop of hair flying wildly, obscuring her face as she hunched over her acoustic guitar, totally possessed by the performance.

While amazing to see someone so totally in the zone, she was a nightmare to photograph — her erratic movements often too much to freeze a sharp image at 1/15 of a second in the available light.

And thank the creator for the super-fans in the audience, who livened up the typically sleepy, overly polite Entertainment Series crowd with some tension-defusing hoots and hollers to fend off ‘the crickets’ in lulls between songs.

Not that Ryder needed any help. She was as charming between songs as she was when playing — calling out to see if the Ho-Ho’s waitress (Olga) whom she had put on the guest list had made it to the show (she did).

Ryder and her powerful, versatile voice left the Dryden crowd wanting more after a performance of her a cappella tune Sing Sing, returning for a one song encore.

The Dryden Entertainment Series returns Thursday, Feb. 23 with the Manitoba Theatre Centre’s travelling production of The Melville Boys. The series is looking for volunteers to help in the loading/unloading and set-up/teardown of the theatre sets. Interested volunteers can call 223-8139 or 937-6574.

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The cast of of Manitoba Theatre Centre’s travelling production of Norm Foster’s The Melville Boys. Pictured from left: Murray Farnell (as Owen Melville), Kevin Klassen (as Lee Melville), Alix Sobler (as Mary) and Elizabeth Stephensen (as Loretta). Presented by the Dryden Entertainment Series, the play was staged, Feb. 23 at The Centre. Photo courtesy Manitoba Theatre Centre

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About Author

chrismarchand

Chris Marchand is a native of Dryden, Ontario. He served his first newspaper internship at The Dryden Observer in 1998 while attending journalism studies at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops B.C. He's worked desks as both reporter and editor at the Fernie Free Press as well as filled the role of sports editor at the Cranbrook Daily Townsman. Marchand was named editor of the Dryden Observer in Aug. 2009.