Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Final Leg - Martimes - Johnny Reid Dance With Me Tour 2009






April 22 - Moncton NB
The DWM tour's third and final leg began with a bang at this great gig at the local arena. One More Girl opened up and received a rousing round of applause after the first couple lines of their hit 'I Can Love Anyone'. This was a good sign. The crowd did not dissappoint.

April 23 - St. John NB
The J train rolled in to the towm where he received his first ever CCMA award. Excellent gig and .... On a personal note ... The poached salmon was exquisite!

April 24 - Halifax NS
This was amazing. Four thousand fans attending made this gig truly special. The show began with two bagpipers walking through the crowd. I couldn't hear them through the cheering. Amazing. To make the day complete, Denis Dufresne bought me fish cakes from the Blue Nose cafe. Marc Perry from EMI bought me sea bass at the Five Fisherman. Life was perfect that day.

April 25 - Sydney NS
Traveling with One More Girl (I was helping with the driving of their minivan as both Britt and Carly are not old enough to drive a rental van), I bore witness to some of the most beautiful terrain Canada has to offer. The people in the Maritimes are the most charming down to earth people you'd ever want to meet. Cape Breton is a special place. Johnny brought up two of the coolest little ones onstage to 'jam' with the band... I've posted two pictures which I snapped onstage at this gig. Adorable.
On another note, the pub that catered the gig (I think it's called 'The Govenor' or 'The Grosvenor') blew my mind. Thai cous cous, blackened salmon and a pepperpot soup left me speechless.

April 26 - Charlottetown PEI
Carly and Britt lost their minds as we crossed over the Confederation Bridge.... A 13 KM engineering marvel which connects PEI with the mainland. The regal quaintness of this community never ceases to amaze me and I couldn't think of a better way to end the tour.


Thanks to all the local crews, the promoters, agents, catering, runners, drivers and other people I'm forgetting for helping out. Thanks to the GREAT fans for attending and keeping us working! Thanks to media for supporting it. Thanks to Britt, Carly, Tom, Linda, Denis, Marc and Fraser from the One More Girl gang. Thanks to our crew Ken, Warren, George, Gary and Alex. Thanks to the band: Chuck, Nick, Dave, Yvan, Ben, Miku and Saidah. Thanks to the Zen gang: Tracey, Brianne, Cathy,
and Mr. Sakamoto. And last but not least, a big thank you to Mr. Johnny Reid for giving me this wonderful opportunity to make great music and memories. Until next time.....

In Praise Of The Road Crew






The artist is the one that gets 90 percent of the attention at a show. The band, the crowd and other elements of the visual presentation make up the other 10 percent. It's time to give some extreme credit to the crew... The roadies, the techs, the guys with the black shirts, mag lights and laminated backstage passes. On the 'Dance With Me' tour, we've had a great crew. Warren Dieno and Ken Turta have shared the front of house duties (the sound which the crowd hears). Alex Livland is at the monitor desk (the sound which the band hears). George Gorton is the guy who runs all the lights. These guys are the crew which travels with us on every date. However, the local crews (who are provided by the venue or local sound company) round out the people who work on the show - setting up the stage, rigging, putting up the lights, the speakers, 'hucking boxes', setting it up, breaking it down... Etc etc. . They operate the spotlights, they drive the trucks and buses, they provide security, they cater our meals ..... I'm thankful for every one of them!
Jackson Browne was far more eloquent in praise of the 'common' roadie than I could ever be... But let it be known the roadie rules. Bill Henderson said 'if there's no audience there just ain't no show'. There wouldn't be a show without the roadies either. Next time you're at a show and the monitor guy says 'Check, check' into a mic.....give him a round of applause! All hail the roadie!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Johnny Reid - Dance With Me Tour 2009 Part 6






April 2 - Edmonton, The Jubilee Theatre - SOLD OUT!

The Reid train arrived in Edmonton in this beautiful theatre. The show was filmed for a DVD which will be released at some point. Director par excellence Joel Stewart and his crew did a great job of capturing Johnny at his best.

April 3&4 - Calgary, Deerfoot Casino - 4 shows SOLD OUT!
April 6 - Lethbridge, ENMAX Centre - SOLD OUT!
April 7 - Moosejaw, Mae Wilson Theatre - SOLD OUT!
April 8 - Saskatoon, TCU Centre - SOLD OUT!
April 9&10 - Regina, Casino Regina - 3 shows SOLD OUT!

At the risk of these journal entries sounding like Groundhog Day ..... let's just say "Great crowds, great venues, great gigs!" Thank you to everyone who came out. Looking forward to the Maritimes!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Mr. Jack Velker - RIP

Jack Velker was one of the most unique individuals I ever met. He was a pianist / accordion player / vocalist and one of the most engaging entertainers I've ever had the pleasure to play with. Articulate, wise and always surprising and inventive - whenever a gig came up with Jack I was excited and delighted. He left this world doing what he loved and I learned a valuable lesson from him - the gig is what you make it. It's a lame gig if you make it a lame gig. I've enjoyed playing music even more after meeting Mr. Velker. Rest in peace Professor.

Johnny Reid - Dance With Me Tour 2009 Part 5 - The Hat and The Deer






MARCH 31 - Medicine Hat, Alberta - SOLD OUT!

After the successful Winnipeg run the tour buses arrived and shuffled us off to Medicine Hat. Again - a big crowd and the gig rocked. We were joined again by One More Girl (aka 1MG)..... The bus ride was great - Yvan and I enjoyed the Game Show Network and I introduced him to the finer points and rules to the $100,000 Pyramid. Awesome!

APRL 1 - Red Deer Alberta - SOLD OUT!

Another great gig. It was nice to see Duane Steele, Greg Shannon and Tera Lee. Ms. Sidney York even made it to the gig from Calgary which was great. It was a nice reunion of the Huron Carole crew as well whom I hadn't seen for a while - Warren Dieno, Rick Wilson and Chris Briere. A love fest!