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| GREAT BIG ROCK JAM Published by Erika The Red � 2005 (Graphic donated by Don Berryman) |
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| March 20, 2005 |
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| Earlier this month I stopped in at the Cynthia I. Noel Art Gallery and was pleased to make the acquaintance of Ms. Noel herself. Although I had just missed the �Artists Paint the Blues� exhibit, I did get a chance to check out the new �March Right Into Spring� collection, including beautiful works by Cynthia Noel, Julie Duff, Joan Blackmore Thistle, Leona Ottenheimer and Lisa M. Rowe. I believe I passed by one of Ms. Blackmore Thistle�s sculptures in front of the St. John�s Convention Centre* the other day, to give you a hint of the caliber of work on display here. In music news, I finally got to hear Lady Luck and the Smokin� Guns (with the ubiquitous Blair Harvey fronting the band on guitar and vocals) at Roxxy�s, a cozy, unassuming club tucked away on George Street. The band wasn�t quite as raunchy as I had expected, no doubt going on the mistaken impression that their music was similar to Seattle�s Smokin� Gun, a blues-rock band. Still, the country-blues repertoire of covers and originals was very entertaining, even without the presence of a drummer. Actually, they could have used the not-quite-muffled vibrations of the drummer in the adjoining club to keep time, but they managed to keep a solid beat all on their own, despite the acoustical distraction. Although illness kept me from staying for the entire evening, I very much enjoyed Lady Luck and the Smokin� Guns� covers by Hank Williams, Sr., Robert Johnson and even Elvis Presley�s �That�s Alright, Mama�, vocalized by Gillian Hynes (I believe). Duane Andrews seemed to be missing from the line-up, as well, although I�m not sure if he�s a regular member of the band or not. Speaking of Blair and Duane, I did see them both today at the Masonic Temple for Patrick Boyle�s Hold Out CD release party. Duane plays guitar on the CD, so he was naturally onstage with Blair for a few of the songs. Bill Brennan also guested on vibraphone. Patrick is a multi-instrumentalist who has played and recorded with scores of big-name musicians (Bill Frisell, I Mother Earth, former Monkee Micky Dolenz, Burlington's Finger Eleven, as well as local musicians Great Big Sea and Mark Bragg, just to name a few). Displaying his skills on trumpet, Patrick seemed genuinely surprised and delighted at the great audience turnout and reception at the no-cover-charge event. There�s a lesson to be learned there� Not being a regular jazz listener, I found most of Mr. Boyle�s collection of jazz and jazz-blues fusion numbers, including an interpretive rendition of Thelonius Monk�s �Nutty�, to be very intriguing in its innovation. The more outstanding selections played were �Big R�, �Hold Out� and �Piece en Forme de Habanera� (the latter featuring Bill Brennan), all of which can be heard at Pat's website at www.patrickboyle.ca. Patrick explained the title of the CD as his determination to "hold out" for the best songs to play and the best musicians to play them with. Looks like he nailed it, in this instance. Other guests on the CD include jetsetter Curtis Andrews (currently in South Africa), keyboardist Brian Way, and Carbonear vocalist Jenny Gear, who sang a few songs at the CD release party. She�s got a great voice, but I wasn�t that keen on her version of �Always on My Mind�, especially after Pat�s introductory blurb stating that they both liked to leave �spaces� within the music (as well there should be). Jenny did admit it was only the second time she had performed it, so I�m sure she was just nervous. The audience, on the other hand, applauded wildly and I did overhear a couple of people outside the hall say that they really liked her performance of that song, as well as her contribution on the CD, so maybe my ears just need some fine-tuning. Pretty well all of the above-mentioned musicians (and a dozen or so more) perform on the soundtrack of the Giant Squid Films� presentation of �Water Street�, a documentary on the eclectic music of St. John�s. Upcoming screenings include the Drake Hotel in Toronto, in July, as well as at Evolve 5 in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, in August. For more information, visit www.giantsquidfilms.com. My apologies for missing the Power House Blues Band gig at Fat Cat this weekend. I just wasn't physically or financially healthy enough to make it. Another time, for sure. If anyone else caught the gig and would like to send me their review and/or photos, please feel free by emailing me at [email protected]. |
| * The sculpture in front of the St. John's Convention Centre ("Making Fish") was in fact created by Jim Maunder - my apologies. The calibre of Ms. Blackmore Thistle's talent is nevertheless on par with that of Mr. Maunder, in my humble opinion. |
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