| The Caf� au Lait hosted a wonderful birthday jam for Angel Marr on Wednesday, March 21, and there just wasn't enough time to accommodate the huge line-up of musical talent wanting to get in on the action onstage! Among those who did were "Fire", a drummer of the female persuasion, Jeff "G", Rick Girouard, Neil McLaughlin, Tommy Salas and Pete Mountain, who variously performed great versions of "Paint It Black", "Like a Rolling Stone" and "On the Cover of The Rolling Stone" (with full audience participation). The regular members of the Angel Marr Jammers, while doing their usual fantastic job on their own, were also joined onstage by Johnny McGoldrick (Dirty White Boys, Fresh Eire) and Dan Williams (Pillars of Society, Fresh Eire), who performed Free's classic "Alright Now" and provided some expert harmony on "Wild Horses". Dan also offered a personal tribute to a visibly touched "Angel, the Wiseguy" via Frank Sinatra's "My Way". A wonderful mini-set of "nouveau punk" was provided by Sebastian Agnello (backed by Kim Doolittle on bass and Mark Matthews on drums). Composed of some very clever lyrics, unusual bass lines and a way-energetic beat, these tunes brought back my own memories of the 70s punk scene in Ottawa, ruled by The Action (Paul Fenton), the Red Squares, the Strone, Blue Peter, Ragnarok, etc. The third female performer was Donna Marr (and her Rram mates, Joe, Carlito, and T.J.), who sang a hard-rock version of "I Will Survive". Apparently the Monday night Rram jam at the Rio had been cancelled and the club closed down, but after seeing a previously-unannounced Goddo gig at that venue on Friday, March 21, looks like there may be an imminent "resurrection" happening at that venue in the near future. It's looking and sounding good in there, as well! Towards the end of the evening, when the Angel Marr Jammers (now 80% former Blushing Brides) had regained their stage, they played a highly exciting version of the Beatles tune, "How Can You Laugh (When You Know I'm Down)", an irresistible "rock dance" tune, for sure! I also learned that evening that our "Prime" Minister of Rock and Roll, Paul Martin, is part of Go, Freddy, Go, an outfit which performs at the Stonecutter's Arms (Richmond/Sherbourne) on the occasional Friday evenings. |
| ANGEL MARR BAND (from left: Mark Yanetta, Paul Martin, Angel Marr, Des Leahy) |
| UPDATE (20/09/02): The Angel Marr Band (with Tony Springer replacing Paul Martin) now hosts a hot rock/blues jam at Wise Guys Tavern on Danforth Avenue (near Coxwell) in Toronto! I also recently learned that The Rio is now back in action under the name of Stanley's. |
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