Blackie & The Band
Blackie & the Rodeo Kings (BARK) fronted a tribute to The Band on November 22 and 23 at the Glenn Gould Studio in the CBC Building. I caught the Thursday show... sorry no photos allowed.
The tribute was timed to mark the 30th anniversary of The Band's farewell show -- The Last Waltz.
As a quick reminder BARK are the trio -- Colin Linden, Tom Wilson & Steve Fearing -- all with independent careers of their own. They just come together now and then to cut a new album and tour with it. Somehow that BARK blend is far more than the sum of the parts.
I don't know who organized this event, but clearly the CBC wanted it for radio broadcast.
I'd call the show great overall, but it certainly had its rough edges... especially since this was night 2. I had been raving to my friends about the great acoustics in that venue, only to find the the sound really sucked during the first few numbers. It was clearly the sound guy's fault, not the theatre's, but it was annoying all the same.
The general idea was that BARK would substitute for The Band and bring on guests as The Band did at their farewell show.
The line-up of guests included: Paul Reddick, Dione Taylor, Kathleen Edwards and Luke Doucet. I enjoy all of these performers, but that night they seemed less like guests than musicians who mistakenly wandered onstage, played a song to try and fit in, then wandered off just as fast.
The highlight of the concert was having a real live Band member, Garth Hudson, come on after the intermission with his wife, Maud. Garth played some outstanding keyboards (including his solo opener), and Maud provided some great vocals later on; but you got the feeling that Garth wasn't really there. He never faced the audience, and I don't think he said a thing (unless I missed it). He was just there as a backup musician.
Brad Wheeler of the Globe and Mail had his reservations about the show too, but I couldn't disagree with him more. His conclusion was that the show fell flat because The Band made it big in the US, so they weren't Canadian anyway and didn't deserve a tribute (in spite of the fact that four of the five were Canadian citizens). God knows what he'd say about Neil Young, who's written a song called "Let's Impeach the President" after his many years of US residency. Apparently, he wouldn't deserve a tribute by Canadian musicians either.
No, the show was fine... more than fine. I write off most of my reservations to the venue. Present company accepted, the audience was predominantly sexagenerians -- the typical crowd that occupies the plush seats of the Glenn Gould Studio. They clearly knew nothing about the amazing performers onstage (except Garth of course), but grew up listening to The Band.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with that; and there was no evidence that anyone was disappointed.
But, believe me, that show would have been totally different if it had been staged at The Horseshoe. The sound may not have been suitable for radio playback; but who listens to the radio anyway, when you can see it live!
The tribute was timed to mark the 30th anniversary of The Band's farewell show -- The Last Waltz.
As a quick reminder BARK are the trio -- Colin Linden, Tom Wilson & Steve Fearing -- all with independent careers of their own. They just come together now and then to cut a new album and tour with it. Somehow that BARK blend is far more than the sum of the parts.
I don't know who organized this event, but clearly the CBC wanted it for radio broadcast.
I'd call the show great overall, but it certainly had its rough edges... especially since this was night 2. I had been raving to my friends about the great acoustics in that venue, only to find the the sound really sucked during the first few numbers. It was clearly the sound guy's fault, not the theatre's, but it was annoying all the same.
The general idea was that BARK would substitute for The Band and bring on guests as The Band did at their farewell show.
The line-up of guests included: Paul Reddick, Dione Taylor, Kathleen Edwards and Luke Doucet. I enjoy all of these performers, but that night they seemed less like guests than musicians who mistakenly wandered onstage, played a song to try and fit in, then wandered off just as fast.
The highlight of the concert was having a real live Band member, Garth Hudson, come on after the intermission with his wife, Maud. Garth played some outstanding keyboards (including his solo opener), and Maud provided some great vocals later on; but you got the feeling that Garth wasn't really there. He never faced the audience, and I don't think he said a thing (unless I missed it). He was just there as a backup musician.
Brad Wheeler of the Globe and Mail had his reservations about the show too, but I couldn't disagree with him more. His conclusion was that the show fell flat because The Band made it big in the US, so they weren't Canadian anyway and didn't deserve a tribute (in spite of the fact that four of the five were Canadian citizens). God knows what he'd say about Neil Young, who's written a song called "Let's Impeach the President" after his many years of US residency. Apparently, he wouldn't deserve a tribute by Canadian musicians either.
No, the show was fine... more than fine. I write off most of my reservations to the venue. Present company accepted, the audience was predominantly sexagenerians -- the typical crowd that occupies the plush seats of the Glenn Gould Studio. They clearly knew nothing about the amazing performers onstage (except Garth of course), but grew up listening to The Band.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with that; and there was no evidence that anyone was disappointed.
But, believe me, that show would have been totally different if it had been staged at The Horseshoe. The sound may not have been suitable for radio playback; but who listens to the radio anyway, when you can see it live!
posted by Charles Whaley at Saturday, December 02, 2006
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