Weekend warriors
A look back at the Canadian Music Week that was

DAN BRYK
March 29, Ted's Wrecking Yard. ***

To borrow a phrase from hip-hop parlance, Dan Bryk is slept on. That he was stuck with a thankless 9pm slot and playing to a crowd you could count on three hands was typical of the reception Bryk's had in his hometown, while across the border the Yanks seem to be catching on to the talents of this piano man. Running through indie-approved odes to admirable software programmers and more universal ballads for the unrequited, alternately sprightly and sad with self-deprecating humour and sweet sighs, Bryk and his backing band fought a no-win situation to pick up the vibe in the room. Though breathless confessionals like "Fingers" didn't aid the possibility of a table-dancing outbreak, it -- and the rest of Bryk's repertoire, for that matter -- signifies he's gone unheralded long enough.

-- Ryan Watson