Concert Review: Dave Hause and The Mermaid

I went to see Dave Hause and The Mermaid the other night at The 27 Club (in Ottawa) and it was amazing! The last time I saw Dave Hause he opened for Frank Turner in Peterborough; it was a solo show with each guy performing their sets with just an acoustic guitar and it was the best show I've ever seen. With that being said I was really excited to see Dave Hause performing with a full band behind him and they fully met my expectations and even went beyond. Dave and his band earned 110% last night because that's what they gave the crowd! Dave left it all on the stage and I can't be more thankful to him for it. The opening act, Northcote was also awesome. It was my first time seeing them but they've gained a new fan in me...for whatever that's worth!

Standing in the second row for this show was exactly where I needed to be. It was a "down" weekend for me, my low mood (the dark wolf) reigning most of the days. But standing there, in front of this man giving everything he had to a Sunday-Night-Ottawa-Crowd was inspiring. Everything about him oozed giving a "fuck you" to the system as he sang and spoke about making our communities a better place. And that's what I'm trying to do too, in my own way. I'm just a forty one year old white guy trying to make his world a better place, and Dave Hause reminded me that I'm fighting the good fight... and it's feeding my light wolf.

I felt affirmed after the show that night, my light wolf had been sated. I was reminded that trying to make my classroom a more relevant and up-to-date environment for my students to learn skills that go beyond rote memory is the right thing to do. Punk rock and the people who see themselves in that scene are often pushed into the margins, not to mention the communities that are marginalized for their race, their beliefs or any other part of their identity. Our education system is not designed to help anyone who finds themselves in a marginalized group, but since I have an identity and a position to effect at least a little bit of change, I feel duty-bound to do so.

It was also awesome when I was recognized for having been in The Rude Dudes by some people who had been to a bunch of our shows (you can find us on Spotifiy) when they were fifteen and sixteen. It's pretty cool to know that I made enough of an impact on someone that they still remember me after all these years.

I consciously took a number of moments during the show to soak up the experience and be fully present in the moment. I let the sounds, sights and smells of the night soak me in its punk-rock greatness. It covered me like a blanket. But not just any blanket, the kind of blanket that covers and quiets the dark wolf and lets the light wolf feed, and flourish...not just survive, but thrive. It was visceral, the feeling I got while consciously soaking it all in. A total release of everything that keeps me down and a complete absorption of what makes me who I am.

I've seen artists jump into the crowd before, but when Dave Hause did it on that night at The 27 Club, it felt different. It felt reciprocal. It felt genuine. It felt like a connection. It felt like Dave wanted to go beyond performing and really connect with his crowd. He gave his energy, and he needed ours. We were all in it together. He even stayed after his set to talk to everyone and sell his merch. He could have gotten someone else to sell the merch and just get in his bus or his van, and just chill out, but he wanted to keep the connection going.

I had the chance to talk to him and his brother Tim (who is also an awesome dude) after the show. I didn't want to take up too much of his time and space because there were other people behind me, but I was able to give him as heartfelt a thank you as I could muster in that short amount of time. I went to the show by myself last night and part of me knew there would be people there I knew, and sure enough there were, but I also knew that even if I was alone I wouldn't be lonely. That's what the punk scene is about. Again, we were all in it together. Dave Hause took all the people that were there last night to see him and made us a community.

So last night I wasn't the one being creative, I got to watch Northcote and Dave Hause and the Mermaid share their creativity with us, but the show definitely got my creative muscles flexing again. I'm reinvigorated to go to school and keep trying to change my little corner of the education system that so badly needs changing, and updating. I was in a flow state last night and I'm in a flow state right now.

My light wolf is sated and my dark wolf is quiet today as I'm still feeling the effects of that show. I'm going to ride this wave as long as possible, and the biggest take aways from last night are:

1) I belong

2) I am enough

Thanks Dave!