Part deux - Saturday - the daytime.

Saturday morning Laurie and I get up ridiculously early to head over to the Halifax Brewery Market (Ok only ridiculously early because of the very little sleep so far). So we spend part of the morning wandering through, getting some yummy food and I get perhaps the most sentimental I have been about this city that I love. I cried ok? Yes, I cried in the Farmer’s Market. I miss it. I loved living there and if I hadn’t been transferred to that god forsaken New Brunswick city I probably never would have left the Maritimes… but I digress.

Around 11 we have to head over to pick up backline for the Sixshooter In Store at Sam’s which goes without a hitch. Drum kit there, bass amp here… We get the backline into the store and I start setting up the drums (please don’t tell any of the drummers I know that I know how to do this – especially Jules!). Bands arrive, coffee is administered intravenously and the fun begins.

First off in the afternoon are Elliott Brood who rocked it! So much fun and remarkable energy for an afternoon show. I love these guys – can’t say enough about them. It’s a crazy sound a mesmerizing mix of traditional bluegrass, straight up rockin' and an odd pinch of death metal. Honest – I don't know how to explain it but it works. And they are gathering quite the following, as they would prove both this afternoon and once again at their showcase that evening back at the Seahorse.

Luke Doucet is up next with a drummer and bass player who may have seen the sun rise that morning. The crowd just gets bigger for Luke’s set. And again they are totally engaged, hanging on every note - how often do you get a bunch of people singing back at you at an afternoon In Store? Some familiar faces from the night before are there plus a bunch more – including most of Blue Rodeo, who just popped by for a listen (!). I guess that tells you something about what kind of musician Luke is – a musicians musician one might say.

Lastly, NQ Arbuckle plays and in spite of it still seeming to be a bit early in the day for the rock stars, their set is great! Lots of people hanging out and listening, Neville entertains the whole way – even with one too few strings at the end. I love NQ Arbuckle - love the songs, love the performance but maybe most of all I love that this band always seem happy to be onstage.

There’s a rack of Sixshooter CDs and if you buy one you get the compilation disc free – we watch as the supply of Sixshooter discs begins to dwindle. Eventually there’s not-a-one. It's a grand afternoon!

We hang out a bit after – dismantle things and say goodbye to our fantastic hosts at Sam’s. Load up the backline and go back the way we came. Such a fun afternoon. And the evening would prove to be even more so….

Stay tuned…

Juno adventures Part 1 - Friday frenzy!

So I don’t really know where to begin so I’ll begin at the beginning (with the immediate realization that this could be the longest post ever). For anyone who doesn't know, we were in Nova Scotia for the Junos - doing a bit of work for Sixshooter records and seeing alot of excellent music (and having the best time ever!!).

After an all night flight with very little sleep Laurie and I arrived in Halifax, slightly less than bright eyed and bushy tailed. We walked out into the arrivals area and were greeted by the first of many surreal scenes – plush red carpet, giant painted lobsters and a true Nova Scotia welcome wagon – volunteers galore dressed in NS tartan vests handing out blueberry cider and Rumrunner cake, plus all the info on the weekend we could possibly need. Honestly, there was practically applause as we came off the plane into the room full of drivers holding up limo signs reading “Universal”, “Sony”, “Warner, “Jully Black” and more.

So we hung out waiting for our charge from Sixshooter to arrive and watched the obviously music industry folks disembark from their various flights. Excited greetings and a couple introductions later our gal arrived and we drove into the city. On our way in our driver (OK my Dad) told us all about the excitement in Halifax – the whole city was celebrating - not surprising to anyone who understands what a music city Halifax is and just how much the city loves it when events actually make it that far East.

We dropped H. off at her hotel and went to our digs on the waterfront. The condo was gorgeous but would become merely a roof for sleeping under – we didn’t spend much time there.

A nap and shower later, we were on our way to the Juno Cup. Rockers vs. NHL All Stars plus a few others thrown in – the Trailer Park Boys and Sami Jo Small for example – played in a somewhat silly hockey game that illustrated the old adage: Rock Stars all want to play hockey and hockey players all want to be rock stars. It was fabulous and the one time all weekend that my focus veered away from the Rock: PAUL COFFEY played in this game and he still skates like the wind! Luke Doucet played goal for the All Stars (he was on the same team as PAUL COFFEY!) for the second half of the game and No – Jim Cuddy did not score on him!

After the hockey game and first of several excllent receptions (the ginger beef canapes were really yummy) we headed down to the Seahorse for the NQ Arbuckle set. Halifax is really a city that loves music and I don’t think there was a venue in the bunch that wasn’t jammed to the rafters. The crowd was great – really attentive and watching and singing along, listening and reacting to the guys on stage in the best possible ways. Their set was awesome but seemed too short (which would be a theme for the weekend – 45 minute sets are just not long enough).

Then it was a sprint over to Tribeca, a bar I had not been in before, for Luke Doucet’s show. The place was jammed! H. passed off the CDs and said “maybe you could sell them up front by the stage” …so Laurie and I weaved our way forward to find a spot beside the stage – winding in and out of the tightly packed crowd until we came right up against the stage. Oops no room whatsoever up there. But we kind of perched on the edge of a speaker and on half a piano bench to watch Luke’s set from quite possibly the closest vantage point I’ve ever had for a show. (To the point of almost having the uncomfortable feeling of being onstage).

It did however prove to be an excellent spot to take in the crowd’s reaction which was unbelievable from the first note Luke sang through his ever-present phone distortion mike thingy. Girls in the audience gazed at him, hands clutched to their chests in swoony admiration. Men raised their fists and rocked along. A totally amazing set – the crowd at one point took over the background harmonies during One Too Many, much to Luke’s apparent astonishment. This wonderful wall of sound came back at the stage from the completely engrossed mass of sweaty concert-goers bringing a look of joy to Luke’s face. It was magic! Luke was his usual genius self on guitar and his backing band filled out the sound fabulously. Love Luke with the three piece. Love it love it love it!

So this was our early to bed night (by early I mean about 2:30am) so after the show wound down we made our way down to the waterfront and back to our condo. Fell into our beds and slept soundly until the adventure began anew the following morning.

…stay tuned for Part 2 – Saturday’s exploits!
(may take an indeterminate "few" days - I open a show at the theatre this week - I'm busy ok?)