Bits and Pieces...

I've been busy working for a change, so haven't had much time to post here (not that there's actually tons of people reading ;-) ).

Last week Ed and I went to see Colin James in concert. I think only I saw him before at the Folk Festival, in one of his blues phases - Ed saw him (and drove him to the concert, and got his autograph) when he played at our Jazz City festival a number of years ago, not sure why I didn't go. He's one of those musicians that I've always liked but haven't been a super huge fan, so I wasn't really sure what to expect at the concert. Especially since I'd listened to his new CD in the car a few times, and while it's good it never really excited me.

The fact that he's been adaptable enough to go through so many musical phases or genres (CanCon rock/pop, blues, roots, swing/big band) has always impressed me. And second row at the Winspear Centre is always good for any concert though, so that was promising. We weren't disappointed...

Opening act was Colin Linden, good solo blues show and Ed said to me that it alone was worth the price of admission. Then came James and his band (including Linden), and I realized what an excellent live performer James really is ... recordings generally can't capture that aspect very well. The best example would be when he played "Keep On Loving Me Baby", a song that I always thought was very insipid and unoriginal (can listen here)- but very entertaining and dynamic when played live, I found out. Ed and I talked about how best to categorize or describe him overall, and came up with "bluesy rock" - there was lots of thanks, from both James and Linden, to CKUA radio for supporting the roots music scene in Canada (I'm sure the concert sponsor K-ROCK loved that, though as a listener-supported station it's not as though CKUA is taking ad revenue, or even likely listeners, away from K-ROCK).

Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening.

The week before, I went with some friends to see a play at the New Varscona Theatre in Old Strathcona (aka Fringe central every August). Live theatre in a small space can be really captivating when it's good - and this was a Stewart Lemoine play/Teatro La Quindicina, so it was good. Called "The Velvet Shock", it was about an opera singer in Vienna for a performance, with some intriguing twists and turns. So now I'm thinking I have to make more of an effort to get out to see some Fringe shows this summer...