Never one to miss any opportunity to see live music, I must say I got my fill throughout the school break week. My far better half, myself and our friend Gibber headed to Tranna recently to help move our eldest Jodi, from city core further east across the Don Valley to a different apartment which, thanks to her excellent organization, left lots of time to enjoy some live music. We started the Friday night at the Black Swan on Danforth, where I finally saw for the first time in over 30 years, Mike McKenna. Back then he was the guitarist for what was McKenna - Mendelson Mainline, later just Mainline, a solid blues band from Tranna that I caught as often as I could. Mike still has the licks, fronting his own band at what appears to be a standing Friday night gig, upstairs at the Swan. It was great to reminisce, being transported back via several of his licks to my A yeut.... back to when we'd be hearing Mainlines singer, Joe Mendelson serenade us with one slightly raunchy tune after another ... my buds and I in our innocence, snickering away at all the innuendos like the schoolboys we were. Amazing what just a few notes can bring back to the ol brain bucket. After surviving the move on Saturday, we treated our weary bodies on Sunday afternoon to a play with our student thespian, son Lucas, then some further relaxation at the Cameron House on Queen St. W. where we heard the Kensington Hillbillys, a seven piece country band run through a seemingly endless supply of their takes on covers of old country tunes from their website I see they've been around for about 10 years, most of them involved with a variety of bands / genres of music in the area. Unfortunately we missed their usual fiddle player, Rose Bolton who was busy at The Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Somehow you don=t expect a country fiddle player to hold a Bachelor of Music (Theory & Composition) degree from the University of Western Ontario; a Masters degree in Musical Composition from McGill University and be a member of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble but were told she plays a mean jig or reel. Stu Crookes stood out on pedal steel, adding sensitive backing to any C & W tune. I'd suggest a trip to The Cameron House sometime. Its a unique experience with its quirky decor and quality musicians who share their gifts straight up. On Monday night we headed to one of my favourite haunts, The Orbit Room, upstairs on College, near Clinton to hear Sisters Euclid, who I've written about several times before. While there I ran into last years (OCFF) Ontario Council of Folk Festivals - Estelle Klein Award Winner - Richard Flohill. He's a long transplanted 70+ year old Brit who’s been promoting musicians in Toronto for eons. Last summer, while recovering from Stewart Park Festival at my camp, lazing around the campfire listening to Saturday Night Blues on CBC, I heard B.B. King interviewed and when asked how he first came to Canada, his response nearly caused me to spill my elixir when he said, AWhy, Richie Flohill first booked me into Toronto. Richard was at our festival with one of his proteges, Justin Rutledge, a couple of years ago and hasn't stopped praising our event since. At the Orbit he, in turn, pointed out another of his current stable, young blueswoman, Roxanne Potvin who I wrote about as part of the recent pre-Christmas Vinyl Café Show. It was an honour to congratulate her on her latest cd “The Way It Feels” after following her for the past 4 years when she was still living in Gatineau, Que., playing the area. A funny thing happened at the Orbit. While there my old high school friend, Rob Gusevs, keyboardist for Sisters, introduced me to a woman friend of his who hosts a radio blues show in Tranna. When she heard I was from Perth she immediately stated Sue Foley ... thats my Perth connection. Oh, and I've been in contact with Susan Tennant, trying to book a friend from the UK to her house concerts to which I was able to acknowledge knowing Susan Tennant intimately. We had a good chuckle over this, as Sue and I have several times since. The climax of the music though came on Tuesday evening when, thanks to my little brudder Drew, we attended the Canadian premiere (first public dress rehearsal) of a new musical that I'm not allowed to write about yet, as they're still in previews. Stay tuned for more when Im able to share. We returned to Perth and headed back to the reality of work for a couple of days before completing the week, again musically at a Friday night hospital fundraiser at the Smiths Falls Legion where we joined many Perthites to listen to multi-award winners Rick Fines and Suzie Vinnick spin their magic. Our week was made complete thanks to Brad Kyles - Kyle Motors sponsored concert by Ron Hynes at the Studio Theatre on St. Paddy's Day. Ron again brought his homeland the Rock and his unique writings to our eager ears. His rendition of Godspeed, which he wrote to honour the late Gene McLellan, songwriter of many of Anne Murray's hits like Snowbird brought tears to my eyes, opening the second set. Gene also wrote one of the perennial choir pieces I sang as a kid in youth choirs Put Your Hand In the Hand that was made famous by the band Ocean and this song is mentioned in Rons requiem. His chronicle ‘Atlantic Blue’ of the 1982 tragic loss of the Ocean Rangers 84 person crew also was incredibly stirring. Well, we couldn't end St. Paddy's without a pint so we then headed to O'reillys to hoist a shamrock or two, serenaded by Guthrie House and their own repertoire that continues to impress me. I was honoured that they shared with me they too were in the midst of their own very special celebration that I'll write about another time soon. Quite a week of live musical variety at various establishments, each with their own stories to tell. Coming up this week is James McKenty and the Spades at the Studio Theatre with a CD Release on Friday March 30th. James always impresses. Its so nice to see local lads making their mark in the tough music business of Canada and that they keep coming back to show us how they're doing. See you there.
SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC EVERYWHERE