Interstellar Rodeo: Day Two July 23rd 2016

Day two of Interstellar Rodeo saw Janis, Erin, Cuz and I make our way down to the venue early as the first band of the day was one I really wanted to see.

SATURDAY, JULY 23

Noon Gates open
1:00 pm Fantastic Negrito
1:55 pm Sykamore
2:35 pm Sam Outlaw
3:50 pm Cat Power
5:15 pm The Mariachi Ghost
6:20 pm Nuela Charles
7:00 pm Whitehorse
8:05 pm Faith Healer (solo)
8:45 pm Lord Huron

So we got to the venue and got a good place in front of the stage for first band of the day a band out of Oakland, California called Fantastic Negrito. Fantastci Negrito is led by front man Xavier Dphrepaulezz who produced and wrote all the songs on his album "The Last Days Of Oakland". I had seen a little footage of them playing a while ago and thought they would be interesting to see. Well, I sure was right on that account. Fantastic Negrito came out firing on all cylinders, their music is a mash up of rock n' roll soul music with some funk too, but live heavier on the rock side. Xavier not only can sing like a motherfucker and his band kicks ass too, but he is entertaining as well. Lots of energy, great songs with a political slant to it, he commands the stage like James Brown/Jimi Hendrix did back in their hey days. He had the crowd in the palm of his hands right from the get go. Him and his band looked to be having a lot of fun which is something I always like to see. An awesome set and a band I will be following closely from here on in. If you look into the history of Xavier, he has had an interesting life to say the least. This was going to be a hard act to follow. What a great way to start day two.

Fantastic Negrito.

I missed Sykamore as I was in the line up to buy merch and meet Fantastic Negrito. So next band I caught was Sam Outlaw an artist originally from South Dakota now based in California. Sam's music is Americana country music through and through, but good country music not like the shit they play on commercial country stations. Sam mentioned that half his band couldn't get across the border so this was a stripped down version of his band with just him and a lady by the name of Molly Jensen. Their harmonies together reminded me of Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris. Great southern California country music vibe. Sam Outlaw is also a Six Shooter Records artist with one album out called "Angeleneo" which was produced by Ry Cooder. I enjoyed the set, good stuff if you like country.

Sam Outlaw.

Next up was Cat Power. I have heard the name lots before but really knew very little about her. I can see why now too, not my thing at all. I watched about half her set and just couldn't get in to it. Time to step out for a smoke.

Cat Power.

The Mariachi Ghost from Winnipeg of all places was next. I was looking forward to hearing these guys as some Mariachi music is always fun uplifting dance music. Well I have to say I was disappointed with their set, it wasn't uplifting mariachi music at all, not what I was expecting. Though the lady dancing about through out their set was mesmerizing and fun to watch.

The Mariachi Ghost.

Missed Nuela Charles as it was time to get a bite to eat, can't survive all day in the sun drinking without food. So it was off to the food trucks for food. They had a decent selection of food trucks too with some good eats. Looking at you Sailin' On, great vegan food and I am far from a vegan.

After some food and getting a second wind it was time to catch Whitehorse another band on Six Shooter Records who are on the road in support of their latest release an EP called "The Northern South Vol.1" an all covers album, covering some old blues songs.

This was my second time seeing Whitehorse in concert. Whitehorse is a husband and wife team of Luke Doucet and Melissa McLelland. I really enjoyed their set again, they sounded good and looked to be having fun performing.

Whitehorse.

After Whitehorse was Edmonton musician Jessica Jalbert of Faith Healer doing a solo set between acts, it was only a three song set. I had never seen her play live before but have heard her music a lot as she gets a lot of air play on CKUA. This was her first time playing Faith Healer songs solo, so she had a drum machine working in the background. She sounded good but seemed to be struggling maybe a touch with this being fairly new to her. Didn't help that there was a sound check on drums going on behind her, that's gotta be tough. Nonetheless, not bad.

Jessica Jalbert of Faith Healer.

Closing out the show was Lord Huron from Los Angeles an indie folk band. Again another band I knew very little about was pleasantly surprised by their set. Not what I was expecting at all. A great set by the closer, good beer, beautiful weather and good company. Good times!!!

Lord Huron.

Favorite bands of day two were Fantastic Negrito, Sam Outlaw and Lord Huron.

Interstellar Rodeo: Day One July 22nd 2016

It's that time of year again which means it is time to checkout this years Interstellar Rodeo Festival held at Hawrelak's Heritage Amphitheatre in Edmonton. This is the fifth year of this festival that is put on by Six Shooter Records. When I saw this years line up I have to say I wasn't all that impressed. But every year there is a band that I don't know that really impresses me, so we will see which band that is this time around.

Janis and I made our way to the festival but got there a little late only catching the tail end of opener Copperhead from Calgary. What I did hear it didn't sound like we missed much.

FRIDAY, JULY 22

4:30 pm Gates open
5:00 pm Copperhead
6:00 pm Marty Stuart
7:25 pm Andra Day
8:50 pm The Strumbellas

Next up was Marty Stuart and his band The Fabulous Superlatives. Marty is one of the bigger name acts on this years bill. I had never seen Marty in concert before and really never had the desire to see him as I have never been a big country music fan. But Marty Stuart is more then just a country act mixing up his set with some surf music, rock, gospel, rockabilly and of course some country. The venue filled up quickly when he hit the stage with the dance floor filled and the audience dancing away and singing along. I don't know his music all that well but there were a few songs I did recognize. I did enjoy the Merle Haggard song "Mama Tried" that they did. Marty sounded good as did "Cousin" Kenny Vaughan on guitar and vocals, drummer Harry Stinson held his own and bass player Chris Scruggs was quite good as well. Over all a good set by Marty Stuart and Band.

Marty Stuart and The Fabulous Superlatives.

The next act up was Andra Day a soul/R&B singer hailing from San Diego, California. I had heard good things about her and heard a few of her songs on CKUA, so I was looking forward to seeing her. I'm not the biggest fan of soul music, I don't hate it, but it has to be really good in order for me to like it. Well, Andra Day certainly has a great voice and I liked her version of Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved", but overall I got bored quickly with her. Interstellar really like there soul music as every year it seems they book lots of soul acts, one a day would be enough for me but it looks like this year there is more then enough soul acts. More rock n' roll roots music is what I want.

Andra Day.

The last act of day one was Ontario band The Strumbellas who are also on the Six Shooter Records label, who are out touring in support of their latest release "Hope". This was my second time seeing The Strumbellas in concert, the first time being at 2014's Interstellar festival. I really enjoyed them that year but this year I really didn't care for them. There new stuff especially the single "Spirits" sounds way more poppy then there last release which was very rootsy. And that song "Spirits", man I can't stand that song. Lead singer Simon Ward sure has cleaned himself up from the last time I saw them, short hair now, trimmed up beard and not near as energetic as last time either. Though keyboard player David Ritter is worth the price of admission himself, he is very entertaining jumping around like a mad man, singing and dancing and carrying on. He looks like he would be a fun guy to hang out with. All and all not all that impressed with their set though.

So best act of Day One goes to Marty Stuart. Good times!!!

The Strumbellas.

Beer koozie I bought at the festival.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Live in Toronto July 10th 2016

The last show I saw while in Toronto was Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds at TD Echo Beach, an outdoor venue that is actually on a beach, and had a really great view of downtown Toronto.

Noel Gallagher is of course the one time guitar player and vocalist in the British band Oasis who called it quits back in 2009. This was my first time seeing him perform as I never did get to see Oasis in concert. While I don't know his solo stuff all that well, when I saw that this show was playing in Toronto while I was there I figured I would check it out, especially when I got a really good deal on the ticket through Ticketmaster's Summer Seat Sale. My ticket cost me a whopping twenty dollars, a great deal!

There was no opening act for the show, just a DJ that played tunes for an hour or so before the show. Which was cool as it gave me time to check out this cool venue. The weather was beautiful, beers were expensive, but you could actually have a smoke while having a beer and watch the show. Which is unheard of here in my hometown of Edmonton. Of course you couldn't smoke on the sandy part of the venue right in front of the stage, but anywhere else you could. I believe the venue holds around 5,000 people and looked to me like there was about that many people there.

The band opened with the song "Everybody's On The Run" from Noel's debut solo album, it was the fifth song "Fade Away" an Oasis song that really got the crowds attention. About half the set was Oasis songs including some of their biggest hits like "Champagne Supernova" and in the encore "Wonderwall". Noel's band also included a three piece horn section that was something I wasn't expecting. At one point during the show there was swarm of mosquitos around Noel in which he told the damn insects to fuck off, and that happened a few times. Some of Noel's in between songs were funny with his British humour, you just never know what is going to come out of his mouth. All and all this was a better show then I was actually expecting. Cool venue, great show. Good times!!!

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds at TD Echo Beach.

Setlist for Toronto show.

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Bootleg t-shirt I bought outside the venue after the show for ten dollars.
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