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.
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