It is appropriate that, of the songs Jay Brannan performed at his November 25th concert at the Marquee room, a cover of Jann Arden's Good Mother was included. Like Arden, Brannan sings of love, loss, and heartache. Like Arden, those songs are balanced with a sharp wit and humor. Also like Arden, Brannan also has ties to Calgary.

The Texas-born, New York based singer-songwriter actually spent several years in Calgary as a child, from the age of 5 to 11. He was in town a day early and drove around revisiting old memories.

"When I was a child they'd warn us about a creepy man hanging around the elementary school. I realized today they weren't creepy, they just went to school there and were reliving memories... I was the creepy man!" Brannan said of going by Brentwood Elementary School. He sang about driving around his own neighborhood: "This use to be my Edgemont. This used to be my crowchild trail. That coffee shop used to be a 7-11..."

Simply put Brannan made a room full of primarily gay men and a handful of women, become smitten with him based on his personality and his voice. The guy is a charmer for sure, although his self-deprication seems strangely out of place. "I have time for four more songs. Is that ok? Are you done?" The audience took in every second and would have gladly stayed for as long as Brannan wanted. "I'm going to play a sad song to switch things up."

One of the nice things about Brannan's songwriting is his honesty. Songs like Housewife and Half Boyfriend don't sidestep his sexuality - they are songs about what he wants in a husband. While not every one is based around being gay, it is so rare for songs to be written about same sex relationships - it is refreshing to hear.

The show consisted primarily of tracks from his 2008 album Goddamned as well as Soda Shop from the Shortbus soundtrack, and a cover of The Cranberries Zombie from his cover album In Living Colour.

Watching Jay Brannan and his guitar in an intimate venue like the Marquee Room was a beautiful thing to experience. With concert production values and over-the-top effects in music, we often miss out on the raw, stripped down intensity that music is supposed to be. Hopefully this is not the last time Brannan returns to his childhood home to perform.

If you missed out on the show, you can find Jay's music on MySpace and YouTube, and purchase his albums through his website.