When The Rock and Roll Greats Breaks

I've seen some amazing collaborations over the years. From Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks to The Band and Bob Dylan. But just recently I've stumbled across this wonderful combination of legends. What kind of superpower album would have it been if Neil Young and Led Zepplin would have released an album. We may never know the true outcome of this but for 10 mins at least we could just open the door and peek into the heavenly supergroup. At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame some sick music organizer came up with the idea of throwing Jimmy Page and Robert Plant on the same stage as Neil Young. Was it ever a sight to have seen. The joy on Page and Plants face seeing Neil just rip into When The Levee Breaks was amazing. It was also wonderful to see Page just sit back and play the rhythm while Neil completely shreds the solos and riffs. Neil was so into it he even missed to cue that the song was over forcing Page to tap him on the shoulder to signal that its time to stop. The only complaint that I have with this performance is I have to question what possessed Robert Plant to pick up a guitar alongside Neil and Jimmy? He looks ridiculous trying to perform alongside two of the greatest guitarists of all time and it just makes him look awkward. But that put aside the highlight by far is seeing Neil do what he does best and just rip through the song with no regard. Its so much fun watching him get so into the song it just takes him to another place where everything else is relevant. You can see Page and Plant eye Young with respect seeing him do what he does best. Kill the guitar.

Braden Shines His Star From The North

It was a cold stormy night. The winds were wild and whipping past corners of houses in Bonavista like a screaming eagle. The roads were bare and empty except for me. I was determined  to make my way up the harbor (what the locals call downtown) to the famous Garrick Theater. There was a show there that night that I was determined not to miss. As I griped the slippery streets with my feet and narrowed through the 120 km gusts of wind somehow I made it to Walkhams Pub where I sat back at a table to grasp my breath and gather my energy before the great show. Pat Braden was about to perform for us Newfies and oh what a night we were about to witness. I made it to the show and downed a beer before in the lobby. I make my way to the concert hall in awe. It was my first time in the Garrick since the renovations and oh what a beautiful job the city done with the place. They really kept the old with the new and I love how they kept alot of the vintage look to the place, I was impressed. As I was sitting waiting in anticipation for Braden to start his set my buddy Harv joined me for the show, me and Harv has seen some great music together and im sure this will be one more notch on the music stick. Braden makes his way to the stage and straps on his unique guitar called the Chapman stick. Its an interesting and strange instrument where you tap the strings on the fret to play the note and play bass with on hand and the melody with the other. It seems extremely complicated to play and sounds amazing with Bradens wonderful songwriting. Braden paints pictures with his songs, giving them intros that explain the whole song with a storytellers voice. He talks of growing up in Yellowknife Northwest Territories. He grabs your imagination and throws you back in time and thousands of miles away with his great imagery. With the winds churning outside it really gave us all quite the impact that night, what a perfect night for such a unique concert. I was extremely impressed with the great show as it gets deeper and deeper into the show. He tells you stories of the native people of Yellowknife, of the new blues club that just opened and had a unfortunate turn of events at opening night. He tells of of the gold miners who were hard and rough. With the Chapman stick he had the perfect tool to flow through the story songs. Pat Braden is one of the gems of Canada and should be seen by everyone who is interested in knowing how wonderful our country really is.

Cash's Gonna Cut You Down

Today marks the birth of the man in black Johnny Cash. One of the most important figures in music history not only in country where he strived but also in gospel, rock and folk. He will never be forgotten after his life was portrayed in the blockbuster hit movie Walk The Line as it placed his life on screen, revealing his hardships and pain, battling with pills and God. This song was released after his death and to me shows Johnny's talents more than any other video. Its morbid and dark but so is Cash at his best, no wonder he was dubed the man in black. His raspy deep voice only betters with age and it fits this song very well. Gods Gonna Cut You Down was maybe Cash's last testament. His going away card to the world before he himself was cut down. Its the perfect ending to the perfect long career of the man Johnny Cash. Happy Birthday, you are missed.

Love Hurts So Good With Amelia Curran On Monday Nights

Last but not least on my fun filled weekend of hot music and hard booze buried in rough Newfoundland weather was one that was one that will never be forgotten. A friend of mine was asked to help out at a concert at a local church by selling t shirts for the artist. Of course she would, how can anyone resist getting paid and listening to great music? She agreed to do the job and for this was told that she could bring a few guests. Lucky for me I was staying at her apartment and was asked to come. How could i resist a free concert, at a church no doubt. Anyone that knows anything about live music knows that live shows at church's are amazing, the acoustics fill the air so great that there are no bad seats and the echo gives such a deathly sound. The concert was for a Newfoundland artist that is blazing the music scene around Canada named Amelia Curran. I had never heard of her before but was more than happy to give her a try. My fiance Virgina brought me to a Jolie Holland show once and I was more than happy with her soulful sound. So we head off to the church after having a few at home drinks, not a huge drinker but music and drinks always go hand in hand. After first hearing Amelia's voice I was taken back to that Jolie Holland concert and being blown away by her voice. Amelia was a lot like her in that way but with a great knack for songwriting. Combining witty lyrics and a great voice I can see how shes won so many awards around Canada and has such a cult following. The concert got a standing ovation and the crowd wouldn't stop clapping and shouting encore until Amelia steped back out for another song. I must add thank you very much Kirsten Joy for the free concert, it was beautiful hearing such a lovely voice in an amazing acoustical church.
I was running a little late for my next concert that night, which started at ten. The Curran concert was supposed to end at ten but was running late and she was called out for an encore. I couldn't wait until the end of the encore so I rushed out of the church and thanked Kirsten for the concert. Running as fast as my legs can carry me down the steep St. John's hills towards Water street I almost tripped up in my own legs a few times and slipping on ice was on the top of my mind. But that didn't stop me from getting to my next destination. The legendary Rose And Thistle pub on Water Street. Its probably one of my favorite places to drink in St. John's. Its dark and real, raw and reeking of talent. That night was a concert that I couldn't miss for the world. As I stepped through the doors I saw my buddy Harv leaning up against the bar smiling from ear to ear and watching such a talent that St. John's is most famous for. Tonight was a concert for love, a tribute to Valentines Day. Two great singer songwriters and husband and wife duo was putting on a show of hearts. Joe Belly and Sherry Ryan was tackling love songs like it was third down and the game was on the line. They are such a great pair together that its hard to take your eyes off of them when they're performing and you can see it in all the other patrons that night. All eyes were glued to the stage and that's where they stayed untill each song was over and another started. One of the highlights for me that night was when the pair performed one of my all time favorite songwriters John Prine's song In Spite Of Ourselves. The catchy and delightfully hysterical lyrics in this love song is perfect and heartwarming at the same time. Joe and Sherry really did a number on it and for me of all the music I took in that weekend it was the highlight of it all.
After Joe and Sherry did their show me and Harv wasn't done quite yet for music, I never am. So we heard there was a show still at the Fat Cat on George Street. A group called The Monday Nights. Harv heard of them before and actually has one of their albums at home. Even though it was late we decided to check it out anyways. We get to the Fat Cat and walk in and the music just electrifies the airwaves. This band was great! Full of energy and spice. What amazed me most was how uncanny of a resemblance the drummer had with legendary drummer Ginger Baker of Cream and Blind Faith. Between his looks and movements on the drums you could swear that it was a young Ginger Baker reincarnated and back on the drums. Plus the guy was playing sick drums. Heavy and hard with arms wildly flying in the air with no regard. The band only played a couple songs before it was all over with but with the few songs that they did me and Harv was blown away and impressed with the group. If you ever see an upcoming show for The Monday Nights catch your eye be sure to jot it down and clear your calender, you will not be disappointed.
Well that was it for the extra long, highly packed weekend of great live music in beautiful St. John's Newfoundland. It was a rare weekend and we were extremely lucky to have fallen upon it.  

Radiodead

I'm a huge fan of music and a wide range of music. From Led Zepplin to Miles Davis to Doc Watson to Hank Williams to Muddy Waters to Nirvana theres not much I can't stick my ears to. However there is one band that has taken the whole world by storm. They are almost crossing Godlike and are revered as one of the greatest bands ever. Some say the lead singer is a genius and has an angelic voice that stands tall against such greats as Jeff Buckley and Billie Holiday. The band I speak about is Radiohead. I can not wrap my head around why this band is so big. To me their music is not very listenable. Its filled with weird sounds that sound much more like a bad dj than a great band. As for Thom Yorke's angelic voice I cant really see it. It sounds extremely meek and too soft to even understand what hes saying. Today however Radiohead released their new album and new single called Lotus Flower. Apparently I missed the bandwagon on this one because as soon as I started watching the video I was perplexed at what I was watching. Yorke's oddly spastic dance moves was distracting from the song, which probably was a good thing. As soon as I could take my eyes away from the actual video and started listening to the song I was really not impressed. It sounded more like mumbling than what is considered the greatest rock band ever. I was never a huge Radiohead fan and this proves why. I have no idea why there's so many gigantic Radiohead fans, its more of a cult following where it's cool to like a band not for their abilities but for their marketing. Its a shame that this is what the music industry has come to. There's hundreds of better bands out there performing underground that can blow Radiohead away in concert or in the studio. I'm not one to demean music artists out there but I just couldn't sit back and let it go unsaid. I for one can't see the popularity of Radiohead. Its my opinion and I always stick to it.

Newfoundlands Son

The second night on my journey through the best music St. John's has to offer throws me into a landmark. Me and Harv was shall we say not really in the mood to drink after the first night. But there was one man that had the power to draw us down to the famous Rose and Thistle Pub on Water St. If anyone ever wants to seek out great music on any given night you really gotta check out this pub. Its a regular for great singer/songwriters of Newfoundland and with its dingy charm and tight quarters you can really get personal with the artist. This certain night gave us the one and only Ron Hynes. Ron is a true Newfoundland artist, most famous for his song Sonny's Dream which has been covered by everyone from Emmylou Harris to Christy Moore. The song has taken on its own fame and is considered one of Canada's greatest songs ever written. If you ever have the chance to see Ron perform live don't pass it up. He will give you the performance of a lifetime no matter if its in front of thousands or tens. Then after he performs he will step offstage and drink a beer with you and chat about music like the both of you were friends from long ago. After the show we left the Rose and Thistle and decided to take in another show at the Fat Cat. As we were walking down George St. , famous for its array of pubs and clubs, we couldn't help but hear a familiar voice filling the cold nights air like snowflakes falling. It was apparently coming from Rob Roys just across the street from the Fat Cat. We decided to check out and see if this was who we thought it was and as soon as we walked in the door to our surprise it was. That voice was that of Fred Jorgenson of Newfoundlands favorite sons The Navigators. I remember first hearing The Navigators about 13 years ago after friending his younger brother Kev. Since then i've been listneing to their songs and covers of great long ago sea shanties that has been lost but not forgotten. Freds voice can't be missed and you would understand if you ever heard it before. Its as raw as Newfoundlands sea coast and as deep as its oceans. The man was born with gravel in his throat and hes been spiting it out at listeners ever since. That night we only caught the bare end of the show unfortunately but even though, Fred with Arthur O'Brian on guitar and backup vocals gave us and the crowd watching and enjoying the show a good time. They easily drew people out on the small stage dancing around kicking their feet to jigs, knees up and heals down. There was no shortage of entertainment that night. 

The Blues That Howse Built

This past weekend has certainly been a busy one. I've took in an array of live music, the best that St. John's can offer. From Legends to up and coming locals who are blazing their way through to becoming legends. It probably can't ever be beaten to see so much great music in one weekend again and probably shouldn't be. It had good times where my face was hurting from smiling so much at what I considered to be an privilege to be able to sit and listen to music that built this land and gives me goosebumps. To sit back and listen to amazing acoustic blues one night to down home traditional newfie music the next to deep in the woods folk the next. I can't be thankful enough to Harv Templeman enough for bringing me to these shows which I probably wouldn't have otherwise. The next few days on the blog I will post the music I took in each night, starting with Thursday. So here we begin.
We rolled into St. John's around 9pm Thursday night. Pushing in through to catch a legendary Newfoundland blues musician who now resides in Nova Scotia named Roger Howse. It was his new cd release party and there was no way Harv wanted to miss this guy play. He knew I would be blown away by this guy being a huge blues fan and oh boy was I ever. We went our separate ways and planed on meeting at The Ship pub where the show was being held later. I got talking to friends and had a few beer primers so unfortunately I ended up missing a bit of the show. As I broke away from the gathering I took the corner of ally where The Ship is neatly tucked away and outside low and behold Harv is outside having a smoke with Howse. I was introduced to the blues singer even before I had the chance to listen to him play. So I go in and order my beer and anticipate the next set having missed the first. The pub was packed with St. John's finest from actors and musicians. Older folk who appreciate great music so after scanning the place I knew that I was in for a great show. Roger makes his way up on stage with his new duet group Stonehowse with Brenda Stone. The moment I heard and felt the pick of the strings I was floored. Roger and Brenda played old blues and new tunes that sounded like old blues. It was a great show and the great thing about it all was everyone was in awe of it. They were the perfect crowd to watch a great show. They knew great music and came to listen to it and not to pay 10 bucks for a ticket and then sit at the bar and talk all night over the live performance. Unfortunately I missed out on the first set where Roger put on a great solo show but I got the album and have listened to it alot in the past few days. After that show I could have went back to Bonavista a happy man, pleased and thrilled at what I just saw. But low and behold it was only the beginning.