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We’re here. Scene’s better than Mohawk or Ottawa. Vendors abound. I resist the temptation to buy a veggie burrito for old times sake. We have pretty good seats in orchestra B row B just right of centre. It’s not as hot as Ottawa and we’re in the shade which is nice.
Set 1:
Feel Like A Stranger
Shakedown Street>
Alligator
Money For Gasoline,
Magnolia Mountain
Lost Sailor>
Saint Of Circumstance
In The Midnight Hour
Set 2:
Mountains Of The Moon>
St. Stephen,
Blues For Allah
Terrapin Station Suite,
Let It Grow
Morning Dew,
Unbroken Chain>
The Wheel,
Not Fade Away
E: Brokedown Palace
Of note. Three Phil tunes and his voice was great at 70 years old. Kadlecik was simply smoking during Morning Dew. Joe Russo was awesome during the Terrapin Suite. Unbroken Chain was great.
p.s. I got my Philly Cheesesteak at a little brew pub called the Sly Fox. Their Royal Weisse was a REALLY smooth wheat beer. Kudo’s to their brewmeister.
Two Samosas and 2 beers later, I greet Mr. QMS. Two tapers behind me are grooving about shows and equipment. Nice chit chat. One sounds German and the other is from California. Both seem pretty nice.
A non head Halifax next to me was awkward. He was more cleancut than Ward Cleaver. There were two heads from BC staying in St. Catherines parked in front of me. They really seemed to enjoy the show and almost danced as much as I did.
The band comes on late. With bluesfest ending at 11, there seems to be some curiousity about whether they will play two sets. Probably only doing one big one and an encore.
Set list is below.
Alabama getaway
Don’t ease
Mama tried
Dire wolf
Hell in a bucket
Bertha
Truckin>
Smokestack lightnin’>
KCJonz>
Miracle>
Help>Slip>Caution (do not stop on tracks)>
New Speedway Boogie>
Wharf Rat> (a fave of mine)
I fought the Law>
Liberty
After the finale, Phil who is a liver transplant recipient came out which he does all the time and reminded people about being organ donors. I haven’t signed my card but will for Phil and I will turn to a loved one and say “I want to be an organ donor”. You should do the same.
Encore : On the Road Again>
Touch of Grey
The staples of Truckin’, Casey Jones and Touch of Grey for the non head in the crowd seemed to be par for the course.
That’s it, that’s all. I was right on the single set. But it was a long one.
See ya in Philly Boys right after a disgustingly sloppy cheesesteak.
I’m in. I found a sweet spot next to the walkway where the fence bends so according to the couple next to me we would be protected from the beaten path.
They watch my chair while I grab a couple of pints. The opening act is on. Sounds like some kick ads Mellon and Black Crowds style. It’s a young Ottawa band called Silver Creek. (Either they are named after a beer or they could be). Not bad.
An older man is wearing a QMS t-shirt. I’m contemplating letting him know my ringing is QMS. So is half the Officially Screwed audio for my videos. What a dichotomy! The dead and my right slant on politics. But it’s the libertarian way that often straddles that centrist space Canada loves so much.
I’m going down the road feeling bad. I exit at Bronson to find somewhere to fill my 2.5 liters worth of empty plastic water bottles. My one vice representative of my conservative values I staunchly hold on to. (Truth be told I was going to bring a giant refillable but the Blues fest said there was no unsealed water bottles. I didn’t want to lose my trusty canteen at the door if even empty it constituted unsealed.
I park at the Museum and immediately lock myself in an emergency stairwell because of stupidity. But realistically the exit door was also locked but buzzed. After some paranoid banging a couple of nice ladies let me out. Breathe Steve breathe.
On site I see the Mill St brewery tents all over staffed by college kids. Cheap labor but it adds a c-note and a line to a resume.
Bizarro world collided with NeverNeverLand this past week for me. On Tuesday June 29th I received a very unexpected and very welcome invitation from the PMO to attend a special dinner in the presence of Her Majesty and His Royal Highness at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. At first I thought I was on an episode of Punk’d or that my kids had submitted something to Pranked. But as I quickly realized this was simply reality. So in a whirlwind I made sure I was black tied and Monday morning I hit the road for Toronto.
Arrival at the Royal York was a zoo with the power outage in that part of the city. Of more concern to me was the potential for a lack of air conditioning. Being a big man, I overheat quite easily. The cocktail room was quite spectacular and while mingling, I quickly ran into a couple of familiar faces. Three of them being past or present Blogging Tories. Matt from A Step To The Right, Dr. Roy from Dr. Roy’s Blog and Sean from The Politic.
The crowd was prepped on how the introductions to HM and HRH would go down. It still all seems a bit surreal to me but real enough none the less. As the crowd waited for the introductions the power came on (thank Goodness!!). We slowly made our way behind the white curtain to meet the Royals.
When my turn came up, the greeter was dressed in his finest military and as he checked my invitation card I thanked him for his service. He seemed pleasantly taken aback at my remark but seemed to appreciate it. The announcer confirmed the pronounciation of my name and proceeded to announce me to Her Majesty and His Royal Highness. I stepped forward first towards the Prime Minister who smiled and greeted me with a firm handshake. He said it was nice that I could make it . I then took a step to my right and Her Majesty held her gloved hand out, so as I took it, I bowed and greeted her as well. Similarly, the Duke of Edinburgh extended a hand to me. I was quite honoured to receive this formal of a greeting. Then in her usual friendly self, Mrs. Harper greeted me last and said it was a pleasure to see me again. The whole process seemed to be a blur to me but it was clear enough for me to know I was in the presence of a truly magnificent institution and heritage and one of the most magnificent monarchs our race will ever know.
Then as Her Majesty entered the whole group joined the singing of God Save The Queen. It was quite moving. The speeches and dinner were delightful and the unveiling of a new Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit was interesting to say the least.
As coffee and dessert were served, the group was serenaded by the Four Canadian Tenors who are world renowned already. I was especially moved by the second song which was not fully understood as it was mostly in French but I know it was about Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame and La Esmerelda.
Then shortly after this, the Four Tenors sang the National Anthem and once again the crowd joined in. After this the Royals left the dinner and the crowd mingled quite a bit taking photos in front of the exhibit. I snuck a couple of the roses from the table and am drying them for the shadowbox.
I did get a few moments to speak with Minister Jason Kenney about inroads into the Greek community, congratulate Minister Flaherty on holding the world at bay on a bank tax, and I got to let Senator Duffy know that a friend of ours is running for Ottawa City Council. I also got a chance to see Lois Brown again and I met Peter Kent for the first time. He was very charming. As was Michael Chong and his wife.
Some photos/items from the evening. (more to come I am sure)
The Four Canadian Tenors Invitation MenuMatt and I Minister Rona Ambrose and Me Blogging Tories After Dinner with Her MajestyBlogging Tories with Kara Johnson of National Council
While waiting for the second set the sun goes down and directly to our left and low in the sky is the bright Venus shining in the sky foreshadowing something. I point the planet out to Vlad and he nods not sure what I mean. He thinks it’s a star but it ain’t flickering so I know it’s Venus. The band comes out and starts playing. The early part of the set is new music for me. I have never heard the instrumental Sage and Spirit or Bob’s new tune. As the dig in the music really gets moving and when they cut Sugar Mags off before the Sunshine Daydream I was a bit disappointed but figured they would reprise it at the end of the jam and as they swing into Dark Star the crowd is really starting to dig it.
Then the foreshadowing came true. A lyric from Terrapin Station:
Counting stars by candlelight, all are dime but one is bright;
The spiral light of Venus, rising first and shining best.
Oh, from the northwest corner, of a brand new crescent moon,
They then proceeded to play the full Terrapin Station suite. The whole crowd singing along must have reverberated through the hills for miles and miles.
Near the end of Terrapin I turn to Vlad again and tell him that they need to play the Sunshine Daydream finish to Sugar Mags. He nods but I don’t think he realized what I was talking about.
For me the sweetest part of the night was Uncle John’s Band. It’s a favourite for me because I have an Uncle John who passed away far too early in life. Coincidentally, after this concert I would be driving the 60 or 70 miles back to Syracuse to stay in my late Uncle John’s home for the night.
Then the encore which was an easily predictable One More Saturday Night. Additionally what was predicted by me was the finish. They kicked in to the overdue Sunshine Daydream for a kick ass double ending. I was one happy man.
Set 2: Sage And Spirit>
*Seven Hills Of Gold> Althea
Magnolia Mountain> Sugar Magnolia>
No More Do I> Dark Star>
Terrapin Station Suite>
Stella Blue> Uncle John’s Band
E: One More Saturday Night>
Sunshine Daydream
*1st Time Played, New Bobby Song
That pretty much ended the show and night. Vlad and I walked back to the car and as we turned the corner into the field we saw the crescent moon so low in the sky (foreshadowed by the Terrapin lyrics). We escaped the traffic, and were briefly questioned at the Sobriety checkpoint and made our way back to the Cafe where my car was parked and off to Denny’s for a 2am breakfast before the trek back to Syracuse where I rolled in at 3am and crawled into bed.
It’s 720pm. Vlad’s still not here. He asked if we should meet at venue but chances of finding him are slim so he agrees to come to the cafe. At this point I am sitting in my truck surfing the web on my bb via a free wifi called collis (from some collision repair centre). Lucky me because roaming charges in the U.S.A. Are disgustingly unfair for canucks.
Ad shows up and I leave my truck at the cafe and after 2 missed turns, a closed road detour and some crazy sticky tar that made his car sound like it had a flat we get to the venue just a few minutes late. But it’s an open air show so we can hear the tunes.
Set 1: The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion>
Born Cross-Eyed> Alligator> Truckin’>
Feelin’ Alright, New Potato Caboose>
Cream Puff War> Viola Lee Blues
But what was noticeable was the shortness of the set.
After grabbing a couple of pints we were in the thick of it about 20 or so people back from the stage.
I cruised down through Syracuse and across the 90. Vlad has the tickets so we agree to meet at 5pm at the Albany Street Cafe/Pub in Herkimer. I arrive at 430, park and know that I’ll be awhile because Vlad’s let me know he is way behind schedule. I grab a seat and order up a Magic Hat 9 (nice little apricot beer from Vermont), and a French onion soup. I really need to reiterate the beer is pretty darn good with the smell of berries.
While waiting, several other Deadheads come in. One who used to live in Montreal and Hawkesbury, (practically a neighbour) but now residing in Woodstock, NY, sees my tiedye and comes over to say hi. We chat about this iteration of the band for a bit and he let’s me know he has seen them with Warren and now with John Kadlecik and he is impressed with John. Having played with the DSO for 12 years, he is pretty ready to make an attempt at being Jerry 2.0 and 15 years after Jerry’s passing has probably left enough of a gap in fans minds for them to be pretty accepting of him doing Jerry’s part in the new band. I’m pretty stoked by this point.
The soup is piping hot and tasty, the stuffed porkchops even tastier. The Utica Club beer I swish it down with is nice but I go back to the Magic Hat 9 for my third. It’s now 6pm and the concert doors are open. No more tiedyed people are scattered around the place. At this point in time there is still no sign of Vlad and I am ticketless…waiting for a miracle.
To be continued…
Albany Street Cafe - Herkimer
(sorry about the mess that was here previously, It looks like this message was scattered in bits and pieces through the internet.)
From the department of the completely ridiculous and asinine, U.S. Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi actually says that the fastest way to get an unemployed person a job is to give them an unemployment insurace cheque.
You can’t make this stuff up. My working American friends and family are getting OfficiallyScrewed.
