Shotgun Jimmie at Jimmy Jazz, April 6. (Photo by Tom Beedham)

Pulling into the Jimmy Jazz without the multiple performance stations and makeshift instruments (suitcase bass drum, megaphone, etc.) he had in tow at the eBar last September, Shotgun Jimmie’s Kazoo! Fest set rode into Guelph on the virtue of making a conscious effort to avoid repeating the past. On tour promoting his new album, Everything, Everything, Kilpatrick performed a set mostly consisting of new material (songs that usually clock in under two minutes), predominantly handling bass and snare drums with his feet while simultaneously singing and playing the guitar, but sometimes even smashing a ride cymbal with a shaker while hitting guitar chords with his other hand.

It’s an act that does rely on novelty, but never too heavily. It also helps that it’s a novelty that fails to wear off. Even if Kilpatrick fumbles a note while juggling upwards of four instruments, as a performance that champions underdogs and average-ness, the goofs don’t really stick out but instead find a place in a Shotgun Jimmie show.