April 20th

  On Record Store Day April 20th, 2013 I saw the Vancouver band The Ford Pier Vengeance Trio play at a record store in Edmonton called Permanent Records (sadly no longer around). This was back when RSD was actually fun and an all day event. This show at Permanent was so loud that framed pictures on the wall of the store came crashing down during the performance.

Interstellar Rodeo Fest Day 1 July 26th 2014

So last weekend was the third installment of the Interstellar Rodeo Festival in Edmonton. Sadly, the start which was supposed to be Friday night with headliners Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans was cancelled due to a fucking torrential down pour of rain for about twenty hours with wind gusts, so Friday was a wash out.

So Saturday was the start of the festival held at the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park. Saturday's weather wasn't looking all that good either with a forecast of rain off and on during the day, but hell, beat the shit out of the Friday weather, so therefore the show went on.

I got there nice and early with my sweetie Janis, our friend Erin and her Mom, cool Mom, I say. Anyways, first band was on at 12:30 which was the Dave Bidini Band. Dave of course used to be the lead singer of the Rheostatics from Toronto, Ontario, whom is also an author of books such as Tropic Of Hockey, For Those About To Write, Around The World in 57 1/2 Gigs, just to name a few. This was the second time had seen Dave Bidini solo in concert. I thought he put on a wicked show, also I am thinking that was Ford Pier on bass.

Dave Bidini Band.

Next up was another band from Toronto called the Strumbellas. Now I had heard lots about this band and heard some of there tunes on CKUA Radio. I kind of thought they were a hyped band and figured they were going to be a disappointment, why I thought this, I have no idea, jus hate being let down. Well, I have to say, they were fucking awesome live, way better then what I had heard recorded. A very energetic band, great songs, great characters within in the band. Reminded me of a mix of Edward Sharpe and Gogol Bordello. Great stuff, I will be seeing this band again for sure, and picking up some of their music.

The Strumbellas.

After the Strumbellas was band from Australia called Wagons. Wow, what a great one, two punch that was one after the other. The Wagons played an awesome hour long set of Americana country rock. They fuckin' kicked ass, very entertaining. There song Willie Nelson was a crowd favorite. Another band I will be watching.

Wagons.

Lee Fields and the Expressions were up next, yet another band I had never heard. Well, I can say they kicked ass, great soul music, easily compared to James Brown in his hey days. Tight band, had the crowd up and dancing. Surprisingly this guy has been doing this since the late sixties and just now getting his exposure. Good stuff!!!

Lee Fields & The Expressions.

Interlude between bands was Ford Pier out of Vancouver. While I had seen him before with his own band The Ford Pier Vengeance Trio, this time he was playing a solo show, well for the most part, he did have a drummer come up half way through. I enjoyed his set, I know many people found it weird, but that is what I expected. All and all, I thought he was alright. Ford played in many a bands before, checkout his page here.

Ford Pier.

The next band Hydra is what I guess you would call a super group, Canadian wise anyways, with Leslie Feist being in it, lots of other members from other bands I have no idea whom are, maybe I am out of the loop. Regardless, there music was fucked up, at times I thought they were incredible. other times, I thought they were gawd awful. Don't know what to make of this band other then interesting yet terrible. hmm, just plain weird.

Hydra.

To close out the first night of the Interstellar Rodeo was Andrew Bird & The Hands Of Glory out of Chicago. His brand of music was a little soul influenced, folky/indie rock. His voice was great as was his violin playing. All and all not a bad show. Overall, a great day of music, weather wasn't the greatest, but still good times!!!

Andrew Bird & The Hands Of Glory.

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.