Dave McCann Live in Edmonton March 2nd 2019

Last Saturday my buddy Buzzard and I went to the Dave McCann and The Wildhearts concert at the Station On Jasper on what was a bitterly cold night, which might explain part of the reason for the small turnout.

This would be my third time seeing Dave McCann in concert but first time seeing him with a full band. The previous two times it was Dave McCann playing with Leeroy Stagger and John Wort Hannam (Highway Three Roots Revue). Those shows were acoustic affairs in which each performer played a few songs, a singer/songwriters circle I guess you would call it. I really enjoyed his songs both times, so it was nice to see him come through Edmonton this time with a full band promoting his new album Westbound Til Light.

We got there a little late and only caught the last 3 songs by Jake Ian, an Edmonton musician. What we heard was really quite good, a roots/country based style of music. Wish we had caught more of set. I'll be keeping my eyes open for another show of his.

Jake Ian.

Headliner of the night was Lethbridge based roots singer/songwriter Dave McCann. Dave and his band The Wildhearts sounded great, also sitting in with the band were the Mayhemingways from Ontario. Dave has got a great voice, his music is not only roots based but also a tinge of blues and rock. His harmonica player was good to, I liked that he wasn't overwhelming like some harp players can be. He did of course some new songs from his new album, a lot of the new songs are folklore stories, like the song "Can't Cheat The Mountain" which is about the Frank Slide, which was a rockslide that buried part of the town of Frank in the North West territories. Another new song was called "Swing Your Lantern" about some homeless people caught in a blizzard by Lake Superior in Ontario during the Great Depression.

Dave and his band also played some older songs from his album Dixiebluebird. I wish I knew the titles better, but I did recognize a few songs from that album as I do have that one in my collection. Overall I really enjoyed his show. It's really too bad he didn't get a better turnout for the show, but that certainly didn't stop him from putting on a hell of a show. A big thanks to Cuz for the tickets. Good times!!!

Dave McCann.

Bill & Joel Plaskett Live in Edmonton Dec.6th 2018

Last week Janis, Buzzard and I went to the Bill & Joel Plaskett show at the Myer Horowitz Theatre. This would be my ninth time seeing Joel Plaskett in concert. Bill & Joel were playing two shows in Alberta to cap off their Solidarity tour. Solidarity being the name of the album that Joel and his Dad Bill put out in February of 2017. The tour didn't come through Alberta when they originally did the tour as Joel had done a few shows with the Edmonton and Calgary Orchestras. So I really wasn't expecting to see the two of them perform together. But much to my surprise JCL Productions brought the two of them to town for a show.

Opening the show was the Mayhemingways, who are a folk duo from Peterborough, Ontario. Benj Rowland does lead vocals and plays an array of instruments from acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo and accordion all the while playing bass on a guitar pedal, part two of the duo is Josh Fewings on drums and harmony vocals. I had never heard them before but thought they were pretty damn good. A couple song titles I recall them playing were "Bad Old Days" and "Frances The Truck", both were good. Overall I enjoyed their set.

Mayhemingways.

Next up was Bill and Joel Plaskett. I always enjoy seeing Joel in concert as he is a great songwriter, guitar player and always entertaining. I had seen his dad Bill play in Joel's band once before when Joel came through town in 2009 on his tour for the album Three.

This show started with just the two of them playing about a half dozen songs together, which of course included a few songs from the Solidarity album. The only problem with this show is that they struggled with monitor problems through out the show, but they soldiered on and still put on a wicked show. After the first six or so songs it was time for Joel Plaskett to play some songs by himself.

A couple of the songs that Bill and Joel did from the Solidarity album were, the title song, "Dragonfly", "Blank Cheque" and "On Down The River". Joel's solo songs were great too, with im playing a rare acoustic version of "Drunk Teenagers", "Ashtray Rock" and "Fashionable People" from his Ashtray Rock album, and a good selection of songs from his Three album "Rollin', Rollin, Rollin", "Pine, Pine, Pine", "Wishful Thinking", "Through, Through, Through" and "Deny, Deny, Deny".

Other songs played were "I'm Yours", "I Love This Town", oh man I wish I could remember them all. He did play one new song I believe was called "Memory Complete Me". So many great songs in this two hour show. For the last part of the show he had the Mayhemingways join them for about 6 songs. All in all this was a great show. Good times!!!

Bill and Joel Plaskett.