| HAMILTON'S HESS VILLAGE |
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| For those who can�t quite make it to the middle of the work week, there�s a great variety of music going on in Hess Village � for those who like to support bands who are still climbing the stairway to (rock�n�roll) heaven, there�s a jam at the Mermaid�s Lounge with Captain Easy, who played fairly decent but very loud versions of the Marshall Tucker Band�s �Can�t You See� (also beautifully covered by Matt Minglewood), Blue Rodeo�s �Diamond Mine� (with some rather wild harmonies), and Jethro Tull�s �Locomotive Breath�. I personally prefer the more filled-out version of the latter covered by Burnt Rose, though, especially with John McCullough on flute and lead vocals, Don Berryman on piano and Phil James on bass. Mermaid�s staffers (and Little Red Blues Gangers) Claude Desroches and Tim Gibbons are making travel plans for New Brunswick and Texas, respectively. Across the street at 33 Hess, Steve Strongman continues to draw a large crowd with much more harmonious covers like �Let�s Stay Together� and an outstanding guitar rendition of Jimmie Vaughan�s �Don�t Cha Know�. Steve�s in great company with Colin Lapsley, who is one world-class drummer, easily switching back and forth from rhythm & blues to shuffles to boogies, or whatever you like! Colin�s brother, Craig, not only gives great bass but does a fine job on lead vocals as well! Steve�s friend (and an awesome guitarist in his own right), Jamie Oakes, who often joins in with Steve�s band, apparently just got married and is off on his honeymoon. Although I could have listened to this band much longer, the clock was ticking and I wanted to check out Freedom Train at its regular Tuesday nighter at the Lazy Flamingo. I�d previously heard Freedom Train play at Panama Jak�s (and briefly at the Molson Canadian Rocks Festival) and was very impressed with them. Tonight�s gig was even better, as they were joined by one of Hamilton�s higher-profile guitarists, Bill Dillon. Along with many other celebrated musicians (reportedly including the Pretenders!), Bill has played/recorded with The Boomers (along with Ian Thomas, Rick Gratton - Maureen Brown�s hubby - and Peter Cardinali) Ronnie Hawkins, Lindsay Morgan, Sara McLachlan and Robbie Robertson, on his self-titled album, produced by Daniel Lanois, which featured hits like �Somewhere Down the Crazy River�, �Fallen Angel� and �Showdown at Big Sky�. Bill also appears on the Maple Folk CD, Tears of a Thousand Years, a project of the Canadian Musicians September 11th Relief Foundation. For a complete list of the participating musicians or to purchase a copy of the CD, go to www.maplefolk.com. The members of Freedom Train � Carl Jennings on bass and lead vocals, Tim Jennings on drums and Ed Mitchell on lead guitar � were hyped to be accompanied by their more famous guest, as was most of the crowd present that evening! The set I caught included James Gang�s �Funk 49�, the Beatles� �Taxman� and �Happiness is a Warm Gun�, U2�s �One Love�, Chuck Berry�s �Memphis, Tennessee� and Stevie Wonder�s �Feel It All Over�, intro�d with a swing tune that may have been Glenn Miller�s �In The Mood�. Lots of great guitars, too � a bass shaped like a violin (didn�t catch the maker�s name), a Guild and an Epiphone! There was also a guest performer on smashing lead vocals for David Bowie�s �Young American� � Adam Ostroffer (probably spelt incorrectly!). For such a small entertainment �district�, it certainly does pack a lot of legendary local talent into it! D. Wells (Aug./02) |
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