Amos the Transparent Puts on Another Jolly Christmas Show
[More photo work from Ross MacDonald with a review from Zachary Resnick. – AC]
Ottawa’s Club SAW hosted Amos the Transparent and friends for their yearly Christmas concert this past Saturday, December 20th, and I can’t remember the last time I was so thoroughly charmed by a show. The band has been putting these shows on annually for the last 10 or so years, originally held at Greenfields.
The SAW Lounge is an intimate venue, which suits this type of concert beautifully. The crowd was filled with friends and family (shout out to bassist James Nicol’s parents, who I met in line) and the stage looked perfectly festive, adorned with strings of lights and a huge star overhead, made by vocalist Olenka Reshitnyk herself.
As we waited for the first set to begin, some funky, festive tunes were piped in before the band took the stage. Amos arrived to a hometown pop, and opened with a slower, sultry rendition of Mariah Carey’s ‘Baby Please Come Home.’ The crowd and Nicol provided the “Christmas” chant, and Reshitnyk “sleighed” on the jingle bells.
Next, they launched into ‘Sure as the Weather,’ with Reshitnyk’s vocals sounding particularly ethereal, and Mike Yates providing some mean cello on the bridge.
After that tune, lead vocalist Jonathan Chandler joked “Everyone come up to the front so it looks full for Ross to take a picture!” The Ross in question of course being our own Ross Macdonald.
The first special guest of the night was called onstage, and it was none other than Brent Jackson, formerly of The Junction, currently of Sunshine Makers. Jackson accompanied on ‘My Love was There,’ a high-energy, fun joint.
Jackson was joined by Alex Newman and Trevor James, his former bandmates in yet another of his previous projects, Battle Mountain Band, who were a tour bus favorite of Amos. They performed ‘My Weekend,’ which was rich in funk and got everyone grooving.
Everyone stayed onstage for ‘It Ain’t Right,’ another Battle Mountain tune. Do we need a BMB revival? All signs pointed to yes as we absorbed the upbeat, rollicking fun of the song.
Jackson, Newman, and James took their leave, and Amos brought things back to Earth a bit with ‘Let It Out,’ a little slower, featuring strong vocals from Chandler.
Next, they exploded into a fantastic rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rhiannon,’ which was explained to be the honoring of a drunken promise to play the song, made on Nicol’s birthday. Dan Hay’s guitar was on fire here, and the floor was PACKED. The song closed to a huge pop.
Chandler confirmed Amos’ new record would be launching in March of 2026, and they treated us to the title track, ‘Everywhere All the Time,’ a slower, more melancholic ballad, moved along by the strength of Christopher Wilson’s drums.
Another guest, Toronto’s Paesler, was welcomed to the stage, and she and Amos performed ‘Natural Wine,’ a creeping, lyrical journey. She then launched into a self-described contender for saddest song of the night: the emotional ‘First Aid.’
Paesler closed out her three-song-set with a killer rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark,’ which had the whole audience singing and dancing along.
After a brief break, The Love Machine took the stage, opening with the high-octane ‘No Matter What You Say,’ quickly pumping the crowd back up.
Brent Jackson was brought back out, as we heard that The Love Machine’s first live show was meant to be with The Junction, but they missed sound check and didn’t get to play. They made up for this all these years later with the one-two punch of ‘Sorry My Dear’ and a cover of The Junction’s ‘Frequencies.’
Everyone was having so much fun. Members of Amos could be seen in the crowd during this set, greeting fans, hugging friends and family, and just enjoying the music their contemporaries were making.
Next up was ‘Cold City,’ off of The Love Machine’s first EP, with its snappy drums and jazzy guitars, and a massive pick up at the end.
‘Lioness’ followed that, a slower number with some great vocal harmonies. The Love Machine’s final song of their set was ‘Love Is on Your Side,’ along with an announcement of new music coming soon. Midway through the song, Amos re-emerged, adding to the vocals and instrumentation, helping to finish the tune.
Next up was ‘Steady Light,’ the first single off of Amos’ upcoming album, which is already on the airwaves making rotations. If you haven’t heard it yet, you’re missing out. They followed that up with another new song, ‘Anywhere but Your Side,’ a little slower, with song longing in the lyrics.
Another melancholic track, ‘Someone I Used to Know,’ followed, featuring a killer guitar solo from Hay.
The highlight of the night, however, was the final song, which saw everyone return to the stage for a heart-warming sing-along version of Oasis’s ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger.’ Did I say highlight of the night? I meant highlight of my month. I adore seeing musicians who are also obviously good friends sharing a stage.
You’ll have to wait until next year for Amos’ next Christmas show, but the chance to see such a talented group of individuals perform great music and give off such positive vibes should keep you on the nice list until next festive season.
Amos The Transparent:
Jonathan Chandler – vocals, guitar
Olenka Reshitnyk – vocals, percussion
Dan Hay – guitar, backing vocals
James Nicol – bass, backing vocals
Christopher Wilson – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Mike Yates – cello, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
