I was at a gig this week watching a personal favourite play to a sparse crowd, and found myself wondering why some bands who should be massive never quite make it to the arenas.
The Commoners are one such band. Full disclosure: I love the Canadian quartet and have done for years. I’ve also gone on record as saying they are the best band of their type around, and “Runnin’ Blind” offers no reason whatsoever to revise that opinion.
There is a moment when the song simply explodes, the harmonies arriving with such absolute glee that resistance is pointless. “Put your money where the wind blows, honey” sings Chris Medhurst, and right there is the freedom of rock ’n’ roll distilled into a single line.
“We’re gonna wind up dead,” he adds, and surely that is the point. This is not morbid; it is gloriously celebratory, a reminder to live loudly while the chance is there.
Then comes a tumult of organ before the final chorus sends the whole thing soaring once more. The astonishing part is that The Commoners do all of this in less than three and a half minutes. No wasted motion, no unnecessary decoration, just soul, swagger, harmony and joy.
“Runnin’ Blind” is the kind of song that makes you want to quit your job, sell everything you own and dedicate the rest of your life to rock ’n’ roll.
Frankly, there are worse ideas.
