August 12th

 

 It was August 12th, 1988 that I saw George Thorogood and The Destroyers in concert for the first time.This show was at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton with Elvin Bishop opening. A great rockin' blues double bill.

February 16th

 

On February 16th, 2001 I saw American blues guitarist, singer/songwriter Elvin Bishop rock the Myer Horowitz Theatre in Edmonton.

Edmonton Blues Festival: Day One August 21st 2015

This past weekend my buddy Buzzard and I attended the 17th annual Edmonton Blues Festival held at Hawrelak Parks Heritage Amphitheatre. There were two headlining bands that we wanted to see Elvin Bishop on Friday and Canned Heat on the Sunday, so we opted for buying the weekend passes as it was a lot cheaper. This was my first time going for the whole weekend and the last time I went to the Blues Festival was back in 2010.

Kicking off this years Blues Festival was Mississippi's Shawn Holt & The Teardops. Shawn is the son of Magic Slim who first started the Tear Drops back in 1977. Magic Slim passed away in 2013, Shawn has carried on with the band name since then. Shawn Holt & The Teardrops put on a good show with some rockin' blues. I thought the other guitarist in the band actually stole the spotlight from Shawn.

Shawn Holt & The Teardrops.

Next up was The 44's with Kid Ramos out of Los Angeles, this band was a great rocking blues band that really got the crowd up and dancing. I had seen Kid Ramos once before in a band called the Los Fabulocos a few years ago and thought he was good then as well. Kid Ramos and Johnny Main made for a great guitar duo ripping it up. I made my way to the front of the stage during their performance and it was then that I realized how short these guys were, checkout the picture of their pants all rolled up, damn that made me laugh. When Shawn Holt came out to do a song with them it really made them look like dwarfs actually. A pretty decent set by these guys.

The 44's with Kid Ramos.

Headliner of the evening, and the reason I wanted to go the first night was Elvin Bishop. This was my third time seeing Elvin in concert, and again a great set by this Tulsa, Oklahoma blues artist. It had been fourteen years since I last saw him in concert. And this was the way to see him, in an outdoor festival setting. Though the night here was mighty chilly, Elvin helped warm up the crowd with some wicked blues with lyrics that have a sense of humour to them as well. The dance floor was packed right from the start of his set. Some of the tunes he did during his seventy-five minute set were Party Til The Cows Come Home, Can't Even Do Wrong Right, Everybody's In The Same Boat, What The Hell is Goin' On and Hey Ba-Ba-Re-Bop just to name a few. This was a fun way to end the first night of the Blues Festival and am sure everyone left with a buzz and a smile on their face. Good times!!!

Elvin Bishop.

25 Years Ago Today...August 12th

It was twenty-five years ago today that I saw George Thorogood with opener Elvin Bishop play Northlands Coliseum here in Edmonton.

Also on this day, twenty-three years ago, I saw Bob Dylan play the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton.

On the same day twenty-three years ago, I had gone to the Edmonton Folk Fest hoping Dylan might make a surprise appearance, no such luck.

This day has been a good date for shows. As it was twenty years ago today that I saw Pearl Jam with Cadillac Tramps play the Convention Centre here in Edmonton.

And it was on this day five years ago, I saw Tom Petty with Steve Winwood opening at Rexall Place in Edmonton.

12 Years Ago Today...Feb.16th

It was twelve years ago today that I saw Elvin Bishop play at the Myer Horowitz Theatre here in Edmonton.





Looks like February 16th has been a good day for blues musicians coming through Edmonton.
As it was also six years ago today that I saw Johnny Winter and David Gogo play here at the Polish Hall.

Ticket Stub Of The Day Jan.6th (Elvin Bishop)

Today's ticket stub is from the second time I saw blues guitar player Elvin Bishop in concert. This show was in 2001 at The Myer Horowitz Theatre on The U of A Campus in Edmonton. Having seen him before opening for Thorogood, I was expecting a good show but wasn't impressed with this show at all. I went to this show with a co-worker (Mark), he fell asleep as per usual during the concert. A very disappointing show.