I want to tell a quick story about the first time I saw Jason Collett play live. It was at Richard's on Richards in 2008, and for some reason it was not widely known that it was an early show. Thanks to that, there were very few people there for the first of three bands -- I want to say maybe a dozen people, if that. That opening band was also Jason's backing band at the time, so part way through his own set he paused to let them play a song of their own songs, for the people that were not there earlier. Simply because he wanted more people to hear them.
And then, just over a month later he was back for another show. This time at the more intimate Media Club, also with the same opener/backing band. He mentioned on stage that he was back so soon specifically because he heard people missed his show altogether, thanks to the miscommunication.
I've always remembered that not only because it was a cool thing to do for his friends playing with him and opening the show, but a cool thing to do for the fans that didn't even get to see him.

I tell this story because the band in question was Zeus, who was also Jason's backing band this night, at the Fox Cabaret. It had been a few years since I last saw Jason Collett play live (coincidentally, it was the Bonfire Ball with Zeus and Bahamas) so I was excited to see him once more, especially with four of the five members of Zeus backing him; Carlin Nicholson, Mike O'Brien, Neil Quin, and Jason Haberman. The band lent their amazing guitars and perfect harmonies to Collett's heartfelt songs, for a great combo.

Jason started the set off with "Pavement Puddle Stars" going all the way back to '05's Idols of Exile, transitioning seamlessly into the cheeky "High Summer" and then one of my absolute favourites of his, the unbridled "I'll Bring The Sun".
Collett was on and off guitar throughout the night, putting the "dance" part in the new album's title Song And Dance Man (or attempting to, as he joked) and casually bantered to the crowd between songs, even expertly shrugging off a... let's call it an "aggressive request" from the crowd.
Songs ranged from the sombre "We All Lose One Another" -- a song about death which he prefaced with a story about Prince -- to the upbeat twang of "Love You Babe", with highlights including the pairing of the classics "Fire" and "Hangover Days", and the hip-swaying groove of "Love Is A Dirty Word" which ended the main set.
For the encore, Collett came back out on stage first, starting the melancholy (and timely) "Almost Summer" while the band slowly joined in, and ending off with a nice cover of Hall & Oates' "She's Gone".

I'm always happy when a great songwriter and excellent lyricist can translate their songs into an engaging live show. And while Collett is more than capable of doing that himself, the addition of members of one of the country's best live bands (Zeus) as his backing band was definitely a plus.

setlist
Pavement Puddle Stars
High Summer
I'll Bring The Sun
Provincial Blues
I Wanna Rob A Bank
Through the Night These Days
Fire
Hangover Days
Singing American
We All Lose One Another
Black Oak Savanna
Song and Dance Man
Love You Babe
Where Does Your Love Go?
My Daddy Was A Rock'n'Roller
Dirty Old Town
Lake Superior
Love is a Dirty Word.
(encore)
Almost Summer
She's Gone [Hall & Oates cover]