Mike Plume Band Live in Edmonton June 14th 2019

On Saturday June 14th my buddy Buzzard, Cuz and I went to the Mike Plume Band show at the Starlite Room. This would be my 17th time seeing Plume in concert, but this show was different from every other time I had seen him. This time around Mike had his old band of Ernie Basiliadis on drums, Dave Klym on guitar and Derek Mazurek on bass and of course Mike Plume on vocals and guitar. This was the original lineup from 1997 and the band that recorded the album Song And Dance Man. I never got to see this formation of the band, so I was really looking forward to seeing and hearing this. This was a small three date tour that started in Calgary, then Edmonton and ending with a music festival in St. Paul, Alberta.

There was no opening act for this show, it was just a night of Mike Plume Band music. The opening song of the three hour set was "Bird's Eye View" from his 2001 album Fools For The Radio. What a great way to open the show. I wasn't sure what to expect, I thought they might just do the Song And Dance Man album, but nope, they pulled out songs from Mike's whole catalog of music. Even stuff from his latest release Born By The Radio, an album that only drummer Ernie had played on. For a band that had no rehearsals before this three date tour they sounded tight. Total professionals all these guys. Mike even broke into the Hip song "Fireworks" during one of the songs, that was a cool surprise. The whole band all had smiles plastered on their faces looking like they were having a great time playing together for the first time in 19 years. You would never know with how good they sounded. Just have a look at the setlist to see other songs performed, there were even a few songs played that weren't on the setlist, like the tribute song to drummer Ernie who has been in the band right from the very beginning "Me and Ern", such a great song. Mike usually doesn't use a setlist, but for this show because the band had no rehearsals he had to use one. Even with a setlist he still added a few songs that weren't on the list.

At one point during the show Mike brought his wife Jenny O on stage to perform the song "Roving Gambler" together, which sounded amazing. Roving Gambler is a traditional folk song made most famous by Simon & Garfunkel. Mike also did the Tom Waits song "Picture In A Frame" which also sounded amazing.

I have seen Mike play a lot of times, but holy shit this show was the best and up there with one of the best concerts I have ever been to. I hope Mike can get the guys together again for some more shows or maybe even a new album, that would be incredibly awesome. Good times!!!

Mike Plume Band setlist.

Mike Plume Band at the Starlite Room.

Judas Priest Live in Edmonton June 11th 2019

Last week I went to the Judas Priest and Uriah Heep double bill at Rogers Place in Edmonton. I wasn't sure if I was going to go to this show or not but after being able to score a ticket for twenty dollars through the Ticketmaster summer concert deal how could I say no. Especially a double bill like this. Between the two bands there is almost a hundred years of British rock n' roll to be celebrated. And not only that, the new Judas Priest album Firepower is a kick ass album.

Starting the night was Uriah Heep, this would be my second time seeing them in concert, having seen them play a club just last summer, and that was a great show. I was looking forward to seeing them play a big stage. When Uriah Heep hit the stage the place wasn't very full but it sure did fill up quick once they started cranking out the tunes. The band led by guitarist Mick Box the founding member of the band sounded great. Rounding out the band was Phil Lanzon on keys, Bernie Shaw on vocals, who does an amazing job, Russell Gilbrook on drums and Davey Rimmer on bass. For their hour long set they covered a lot of ground playing songs from their very first album ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble. Right up to their latest 2018 release Living The Dream. I thought they were awesome, and thoroughly enjoyed their set.

Uriah Heep setlist.

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Uriah Heep at Rogers Place.

Next up was headliner Judas Priest. This would be my third time seeing Priest in concert. The last time being in 1990 on their Painkiller Tour. By this time the place and filled up, with a crowd of about 6,000. Opening the show with a song from Firepower called "Necromancer", and following that up with an oldie "Heading Out To The Highway", and holy shit we were off and running. Rob Halford's voice sounded amazing. As did the band which included original bass player Ian Hill and Richie Faulkner on guitar who has been with the band since 2011, Scott Travis on drums since 1989 and the newest member Andy Sneap on guitar. Next song up was "Sentinel" from the Defenders Of The Faith album. If you have a look at the setlist it was a set of mostly deeper cuts, as there were a lot of songs I would love to have heard, but it was cool to hear some of these songs that I really wasn't expecting. And the four new songs they did fit excellent with the old stuff.

For the encore the three songs they did were "Hell Bent For Leather", "Breaking The Law" and closing out the night with "Living After Midnight". Holy fucking shit, what a great encore. a fun night of old school heavy metal. Good times!!!

Judas Priest setlist.

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Judas Priest at Rogers Place.

Anvil Live in Edmonton June 1st 2019

This Anvil show was almost three weeks ago now but am finally getting around to writing about it. Anvil was playing Rendezvous Pub on tour for their 2018 album Pounding the Pavement. This would be my third time seeing Anvil in concert.

Forty-two years in and Anvil still put on an entertaining show. It was exactly what I expected, old school heavy metal, with the band playing lots of their old stuff like "March Of The Crabs", "666", "Mothra" and "Metal On Metal", "Winged Assassins" and throwing some newer stuff as well from the Pounding Pavement album "Bitch In The Box" and "Doing What I Want".

The three piece band led by Lips on guitar and vocals with Robb Reiner on drums and yet again a new bass player. All three times I have seen Anvil they have had a different bass player. The guys were in fine form with Lips telling some great stories about hanging with Ozzy and Lemmy. and telling some cheesy jokes that got a few groans from the audience. I just love how Lips looks like he is having a blast playing live. Robb sounded great on the drums. All and all this was a fun show and am very happy that Karie talked me into going, even though I probably should have stayed home after a day of drinking, but what the hell you only live once, right! Good times!!!

Anvil at Rendezvous Pub.

Altameda Live at The Aviary May 10th 2019

Last Friday Buzzard and I went to the Altameda and Calvin Love show at The Aviary. And as always, I had to see Altameda again.

It was cool to see this show at The Aviary, a cool little venue that was packed for this show, even for opener Calvin Love.

We got to the venue just as Calvin Love came on. Calvin is also an Edmonton musician. He was performing solo for this show. I had never heard his music before and after about three songs, I don't think I will again either. Not really my kind of music. His music is a mix of folky, kinda jazzy and melancholy. I just found it to be rather boring. But lots of people there were digging it.

Now it was time for Altameda to play. This would be my tenth time seeing them in concert. It's been a while since these guys have played a headlining show here in their hometown. This show was a kick off party for their upcoming summer tour. They will be playing some shows in Ontario in early July opening for The Sheepdogs, which is a great slot for them. I'm sure they will win over some fans on that tour.

Altameda seemed to really be rocking it out at this show, or maybe it was just because of the small venue, but man, they were tight and full on. Their new album Time Hasn't Changed You which came out in January is probably my favorite record of the year so far. They played lots from the album such as "Time Hasn't Changed You", "Run Away On You (Again)", "Losing Sleep", "Rolling Back To You", "Bowling Green" and also throwing in a couple of old songs from their debut album Dirty Rain. Off that album they played "Borrowed Suit, Secondhand Dress", "Dirty Rain" and "Queen Of The Street".

Even when lead singer Troy Snaterse straps on the acoustic guitar you would think things would slow down a bit but that's not the case at all. A very rocking show from start to finish. To close out the show Altameda did a great version of the Paul McCartney song "Coming Up". What a great show and big thank you to The Aviary for guest list. Good times!!!

Also a congratulations to the guys in Altameda for their feature in an ATB (Alberta Treasury Branch) commercial. This commercial has been playing through out the NHL playoffs in Alberta.


Altameda.

Horse Feathers Live in Edmonton May 5th 2019

Last Sunday my buddy Buzzard and I went to the Horse Feathers concert at Station On Jasper.

We missed the opener Amanda Penner.

Headlining the evening was the band Horse Feathers which is a four piece band, led by Justin Ringle on vocals and guitar who is based in Astoria, Oregon as is Nathan Crockett on violin, rounded out by J.Tom Hnatow on bass and pedal steel and drummer Robby Cosenza who are from Lexington, Kentucky.

I just started listening to this band about six months ago with the release of their sixth album Appreciation which is a great album and more upbeat then their previous albums. I was surprised to see them playing way up north here in Edmonton so I was not going to miss this show, even though it was on a damn Sunday. Which is probably why there was such a small turnout for the show. My guess would be about 30-40 people, but that didn't stop the band from putting on a great show. This was the last show of this leg of their tour.

Horse Feathers play a mix of folk / country style music, but it's Justin's distinct vocals and lyrics that really make this band, mind you the rest of the band hold their own too. The violin playing is stellar as is the drumming and bass playing. The hour long set was mostly made up from songs from their latest album Appreciation, opening with the upbeat song "Without Applause". There were only a couple older songs which got a good rise out of the small but appreciative crowd. At one point in the show the violin played Nathan brought out a saw and played the violin on that, that's something you don't see everyday. All and all this was an excellent show and really hope to see Horse Feathers make their way up here again soon.

Because I had booked the Monday off from work I decided to hang around after the show a bit and got to hang out with the drummer Robby and violinist Nathan, both super nice guys and fun to have a few drinks and smokes with. Good times!!!

Horse Feathers.

T-shirt.