Don't tell the sombre country buffs, but the Cowboy Junkies have been kicking out some seriously heavy jams lately. In addition to Margo Timmins's vocals, Michael Timmins's angried-up guitar and Peter Timmins's (yes, they are all siblings) drumming, along with Alan Anton on bass - their core line-up for the last 15 years - the Junkies have also been joined on tour by an extra trio of musicians, all of whom recorded on their new album, Open, and help beef up their sound both on the record and live.
The extended line-up has engendered a new-found heaviness in the band's sound, but also marks a return to their origins, in terms of a live, jamming feel.
After opening the set with two grinding, chunk-laden jams from the new record, they settled back to their more familiar, lachrymose selves with the oldies Cause cheap is how I feel and What's it like to be hunted.
When it comes to maudlin-free sad songs, few contemporary musicians do it as well as the Cowboy Junkies. One of the few was the late Townes Van Zandt, a songwriter who meticulously explored the bleaker sides of human nature in his music.
Perfect fodder for a Junkies cover, and midway through their set, they took the Van Zandt song, The Highway Kind and made it the slow-beating heart of the gig, subdued yet menacing, caustic and hopeful.
Ultimately, this darker, laid back stuff is the Junkies' true sound, and frontwoman Margo Timmins personifies this demeanour, chatting a lot, introducing the songs in an unhurried, earnest manner, telling little stories about breaking up, being bored, committing adultery.
Take the new song, Bread and Wine - a typically simmering opening segued into a rockier tune, except it felt a little limp. In general, the set was a little underwhelming when they took it up a notch, but was downright overpowering in the quieter moments.
Ultimately, what came across was a band in their element who have found a new dimension to their sound, but they are resisting - a band both in command of their new upbeat material and still a little depressed at heart.
