Basia Bulat Sings in Polish at Chicago Show

It'd been two years since Canadian folk singer Basia Bulat swung by Chicago and played an intimate show at Schubas in support of her debut record 'Oh, My Darling.' This time around, the venue was the same but the record was different. Accompanied by viola player Allison Stewart and Bulat's brother Bobby on percussion, she sang a combination of her older songs and new, rhythmic ones from 'Heart of My Own.'

Bulat opened with the title track from 'Heart' and sang it with fury alongside co-vocalist Stewart. During the one-hour set, Bulat volleyed between playing her acoustic guitar and sitting down for the autoharp. On the plucky 'In the Night,' mellifluous sounds melded with strings and drums while on 'I Was a Daughter,' the audience tapped their feet and clapped their hands in time.

Near the end of her set, Bulat exchanged her upbeat and twangy songs for two slower and older numbers. Standing alone onstage with her guitar, she performed the captivating 'Birds of Paradise' and 'A Secret' from 'Darling' and ended on the woeful melancholy of 'Sparrow.' For the second time, she experienced some instrument trouble and decided to perform the song with just her ukulele and no microphone. She warned the room it might not sound the way she wanted, but a loud, possibly intoxicated audience member -- who'd been continuously shouting out random observations throughout the night -- reassured Bulat, "Chicago doesn't give a f---. We love you anyway." The candid remarks incited snickering from the audience and Bulat, and while it might've not been the vote of confidence the singer was looking for, the song sounded even better stripped down.

"Since Chicago is so forgiving, I'm going to play a cover," Bulat told the audience and then started into Daniel Johnston's 'True Love Will Find You in the End.' Responding to the laidback atmosphere, Bulat asked the audience if she could sing a song in Polish. She explained this would be only the second time she'd ever performed it onstage and the crowd enthusiastically applauded her choice. Taken aback by their positive response, she belted the song in her Polish tongue and graciously thanked the audience who'd weathered through instrumental hiccups and a very vocal concertgoer.