Last Friday my buddy Buzzard and I went too the Jr. Gone Wild show at the Rocky Mountain Icehouse here in Edmonton. The main reason for going to this show was to see local cow-punkers Jr. Gone Wild. This would be my 18th time seeing Jr. Gone Wild live, so ya, big fan!
When I first heard about this show and saw the poster, this looked to be a show with bands from all parts of the world, JGW local act with Maverix from Italy and Morgen Le Fae from Paris.
First act of the evening was Morgen Le Fae, who is actually from Calgary, so not sure why the poster said Paris. Morgen plays a roots country folk style of music, joining her on stage was Steve Loree of Jr. Gone Wild. They had a rough start to their set with sound issues which after a few minutes got sorted out. The way her set started, I was not liking it much at all, it was slow mellow very country kind of songs, but the set picked up pace. The guys from Maverix joined her and Steve for a song which sounded great. By the end of her set their were even a few people up and dancing. I ended up enjoying her set.
Next up was Edmonton's Jr. Gone Wild. I was surprised to see them not headlining this show, playing the middle slot. I had the chance to talk to a few of the guys from the band, asking them why this was. It was by choice apparently. Jr. Gone Wild have been together in different forms since 1986, so a veteran band of the Edmonton music scene. And to this day they still kick ass playing their style of cow punk.
The venue was packed by the time they hit the stage playing a rocking 45 minute set. With Mike McDonald on guitar and vocals, Dove on bass and vocals, Steve Loree on guitar and vocals and rounded out by the newest member who has been with the band since 2020 Quinton Herbert on drums. It seems with his younger enthusiasm the band seems to be reinvigorated with JGW sounding loud tight and rocking as hard as they ever have. The last few times I have seen them live they seem to be bringing in a younger audience which is good to see. Hard to believe it has already been five years since the last JGW album Still Got The Jacket, which in my opinion is one of their best albums. An awesome set, just wish they had played a longer set, they really should have headlined this show.
The band announced at the show that the Jr. Gone Wild documentary that has been I believe 12 years in the making is finally done (More Miles Than Money: The Story of Jr. Gone Wild) premiering on Sunday November 1st at the Metro Cinema (formerly the Garneau Theatre) tickets available by clicking here. I'm really excited about seeing this film.
Setlist from the show.
Closing out the show was the three piece band from Italy called Maverix. Their music would be best described as cow punk. Their 2023 album is even called Cowpunk! They were a high energy band with a mix of country and punk sound, hence the cow-punk label, Similar in style to JGW with a mix of Social Distortion. They too were joined by Steve Loree of JGW for a few songs, so ya Steve pulled triple duty on this night. Mike from JGW even called Steve a band slut during JGW's set. I enjoyed their set as well, with the band playing a 45 minute set. All and all a good show. Good times!!!
