December 21st

  

 On December 21st, 2002 I saw the Corb Lund Band play the Power Plant here in Edmonton. Opening the show was local act The Swifty's and from Victoria Carolyn Mark. A great show and a really good time!

May 31st

 

 It was on May 31st, 2013 that I saw hometown Edmonton band Jr. Gone Wild play their reunion show , their first show since 1995. And what a great show it was at the Petroleum Club, the show got moved after the tickets were printed. A three hour show and it fucking rocked the whole time. Opening the show was the Queen of Victoria Carolyn Mark whom was also excellent. Good times!!!

11 Years Ago Today...December 21st

It was eleven years ago today that I saw Corb Lund with Carolyn Mark play the Power Plant here in Edmonton.

10 Years Ago Today...September 19th

It was ten years ago today that I saw the band Bionic play Likwid Lounge here in Edmonton.

Also on this day eight years ago, I saw Robert Plant play Rexall Place in Edmonton.

As well on this day, five years ago, I saw Sloan play the Urban Lounge in Edmonton.

And finally, it was a year ago today that I saw Carolyn Mark perform at Permanent Records here in Edmonton.

In concert news...Sloan will be playing at the Arden Theatre in St. Albert on Friday September 27th.

Also Carolyn Mark will be playing The Artery in Edmonton on Tuesday October 15th.

Jr. Gone Wild Reunion in Edmonton May 31st 2013

Last night my buddy Hurl and I made our way out to OTS Park here in Edmonton to see the Jr. Gone Wild reunion show. After finally finding this middle of nowhere venue, I was actually impressed with the venue of choice, (as this wasn't the original venue) other then being way out there, it was the perfect size for the show. It was like one big hall party.



Now this was not only a reunion show for Edmonton band Jr. Gone Wild, but it appeared and sounded like it was reunion for a lot of people in attendance, lots of hugs and handshakes and "haven't seen you since..." everyone seemed pretty psyched about the big show.

I've lived in Edmonton all my life and have been to quite a few shows, yet had never seen Jr. Gone Wild in concert before. They had a big following in the 80's and 90's releasing five albums in that time. I thought I was one of the few but apparently not as I talked and heard others saying this was their first time as well. Jr. Gone Wild haven't played together in eighteen years but Mike McDonald the leader of the band was talked into reforming the band after being asked over and over by a local promoter. He finally gave in early in the year and got the band back together. This line up of the band that includes Mike McDonald, lead singer, guitarist and main writer of the band, is rounded out by Dove Brown on bass, Steve Loree on guitar and drummer Larry Shelast. All these members actually were never in the band all at the same time til now, but all did play in Jr. Gone Wild at one point during Jr. Gone Wild's career.

This version of the band sounded incredible last night throughout the three plus hour set. The band played a thirty-five song setlist that covered their six album career. Opening with the song "Raisins" from their 1995 album "Simple Little Wish", the band came out rocking, the first three songs of the show set the presidence for the rest of the evening. They came out rocking hard playing their brand of cowpunk. Jr. Gone Wild were way ahead of their time in playing this style of music twenty some years ago. The band sounded super tight, proving that all the time spent in rehearsals was well worth it, not only for them but for all those in attendance too. This reunion will not be a let down like a lot of reunions can be. You could see Mike crack a smile after the first three songs went so well and the band was on in a big way. All the members in the band looked to be enjoying themselves and looked relieved to finally be playing in front of an appreciative crowd of about six hundred fans. Ford Pier who fronts his own band in Vancouver and plays keyboards with Carolyn Mark also made an appearance with Jr. Gone Wild doing backing vocals on the song "I Don't Know About All That" which was appropriate seeing as Ford Pier also played in Jr. Gone Wild for a period of time in the mid nineties. My favorite part of the show was during the last song of the show playing "I Don't Need That Anymore" when the crowd took over singing the song, Mike McDonald just stepped back and watched and listened all the while with a smile on his face from ear to ear, you could see he was touched by that moment in the show. Mike's voice stood the test of time and for singing for three hours he sounded awesome through the whole show, and the band was tight as hell too. This was an amazing show and am looking forward to seeing them play at the Interstellar Rodeo Festival in July. Welcome back Jr. Gone Wild!!!

Also watch for a release of the remastered album by Jr. Gone Wild's 1986 debut album "Less Art, More Pop!".

Setlist for Jr. Gone Wild.

1.Raisins
2.Annie Get Your Gun
3.What's Going On
4.Akits Hill
5.Slept All Afternoon
6.All Talk
7.Obituary
8.Cliche Song
9.I Fell Dumb
10.Bachelor Suite
11.Poets Highway
12.Sleep With A Stranger
13.Never Changes
14.Juliette
15.Try Again
16.Fine Scotch
17.I Don't Know About All That
18.Downtime
19.In Contempt Of Me
20.Tin Can
21.Day Of The First Snow
22.Go On Your Way
23.What A Great Day
24.Why I Hate The 60's
25.Jerusalem
26.Where The Hell Are You?
27.Rain Or Shine
28.I'm So Glad
29.Just The Other Day
30.God Is Not My Father
31.Goodness
32.Rhythm Of The Rain
33.Cosmos
34.Martha Quinn
35.I Don't Need That Anymore

Some pictures I took at the show.



Opening the show was Carolyn Mark and the New Best Friends which was a great pick for opening this reunion gig, as Carolyn Mark has also got a history with Jr. Gone Wild. She did some guest vocals on the Jr. Gone Wild album "Simple Little Wish" and appearing in the JGW video "Where The Hell Are You?". She put on a great performance warming up the audience with her songs and stories, and Ford Pier on keyboards was entertaining as hell, singing backing vocals, swaying and jumping around like a crazy man, you could tell he was having a blast. All and all this was a great evening of rock n' roll and am sure it will be in my top three shows of the year. Good times!!!





T-shirt.



In concert news...Jr. Gone Wild will be playing in Calgary on Saturday June 15th at the Calgary Bowness Centre with opening band The Jane Hawley Band. As well Jr. Gone Wild will be playing the Interstellar Rodeo Festival in Edmonton opening up the three day festival on Friday July 26th.

Carolyn Mark at Permanent Records Sept.19th 2012

On Wednesday I had a Doctor's appointment which took up most of the morning and then had to go back in the afternoon for another appointment which took up the rest of the day which meant having to miss work after all was said and done. After spending the day waiting in waiting rooms and Doctors offices, being poked and probed and such, it was time to see some live music, which is just what the Doctor ordered. Luckily all my appointments were done in time to catch Carolyn Mark play at the local record shop Permanent Records here in Edmonton.

Carolyn Mark is touring to promote her newest release 'The Queen Of Vancouver Island' which came out the day before her in store performance here. This release came out on Mint Records and is available through Mint's website and at your local record shops, support your local store.

The performance at Permanent Records was another poorly attended show, which is very unfortunate, maybe it was because of the 4pm Wednesday afternoon start or the lack of advertising for the show, nonetheless, there were very few people in attendance.

That didn't stop Carolyn Mark and her three piece band from playing a 40 minute set. Carolyn plays a country/rock style of music and comes across as a very entertaining lady with a great sense of humour. She started her set with a song called 'Fuzzy Slippers' from her 2002 album Terrible Hostess, she also played a song appropiately enough called 'Edmonton' from her Party Girl album that came out in 2000. Carolyn and her band played a few new songs too of course from her newest release, songs such as the title song 'The Queen Of Vancouver Island', 'Flaming Star', 'Best Friend' and 'Baby Goats'. Kudos to Carolyn Mark and her band for putting on a good show even though there was next to no one there. Good times!!!

Concert Poster Of The Day Oct.8th (Corb Lund)

Today's poster is from the Corb Lund concert I saw in 2002 at The Power Plant on the U of A campus in Edmonton. Opening bands for this show were Carolyn Mark and The Swiftys. Great venue,and a great show.





In concert news... Corb Lund will be playing at the NCC Community Centre on Sunday November 28th as part of The Grey Cup tailgate party.