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| GREAT BIG ROCK JAM Published by Erika The Red � 2005 (Graphic donated by Don Berryman) |
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| February 25, 2005 - Page 1 |
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| Last Friday (February 18), I decided to take advantage of the relatively mild, clear weather to check out the action on George Street, St. John's equivalent to Hamilton's Hess Village. The Scott (Curling) Tournament of Hearts had just kicked off that day, with a concert by April Wine and Brothers in Stereo at Mile One. I didn't know about that until the next day and probably couldn't have afforded it anyway, but, still..."I like to rock". George Street was packed to the rafters with hordes of 20-something people lining up to get into the many pubs on that street. I wouldn't have minded checking out Hotel California, an Eagles tribute band playing at Club One, as I'd seen them before in Scarborough many years ago, but even the $10 cover charge was just too steep for me. Instead, I made a return visit to Fat Cat (I do like blues music, too!), where I caught the late show with the Chris Badcock Trio, or at least a temporary version of same. Apparently, the regular drummer was not playing that night, so a stick-heavy replacement (obviously a rock drummer) had stepped in for him. I attempted to get some information from them but didn't find them all that sociable - not a great way to collect new fans, guys... they don't have a website, but they seem to play there on a regular basis. In any case, they started off their set with a rather violent rendition of "Let Me Love You, Baby" (compared to Jeff Beck's version, with Rod Stewart on vocals), so I'm not sure if "love" was really on their mind or not. For that matter, most of these covers were transformed radically from the originals, Willie Dixon's "Bring It On Home" being one of the exceptions. The most bizarrely-interpreted song was Hendrix's "Red House", played to the bass line of "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl"! They redeemed themselves with a soulful, but still innovative version of "Tin Pan Alley". They might be considered a bit much for blues purists, but if you are tired of the same old, same old, the Badcock Trio is a rockin' blues band, no doubt about it. Chris Badcock has got great vocal chops, too. In between the two sets I heard from them, I wandered down the street a bit, towards Trapper John's. I couldn't even get inside the door, as it was blocked with a crowd of people, so I decided to check out The Attic next door and upstairs - bad move. Just as I rounded the gate to head upstairs, I tripped over a huge pothole in the concrete and went crashing down on both knees. No one witnessed my accident, so I was saved any ensuing embarrassment, but I then had no choice but to struggle painfully onto my feet again without some assistance (and, no, I was not drunk, just blind, apparently). By the time I climbed the stairs I was not in a very good mood, so the laid-back music being played at the time did nothing to improve my spirits. Not hearing anything remotely resembling live rock music coming from any of the other pubs, I checked out the fiery-baton twirler doing her thing in the street before heading back to Fat Cat. The Badcock Trio ended their last set with a Hendrix medley that was pretty damned impressive, even if they didn't play "Manic Depression". I was told by the young woman at the door that it had been a slower night than usual, but I suppose the tournament had something to do with that. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On my way to the A.C. Hunter Library, one of only three in the city (and none being in the downtown core), I met a musician named Mark while waiting to transfer to a second bus. He had bummed a smoke from me, but then stated that if it weren't so cold outside, he would have played me a song on the guitar he was carrying, to repay the favour. It turns out that he plays in a local band called "Distortion", which has a rock-jazz flavour to it. I told him it sounded interesting, and he promised to send me an email to advise of their next gig. Bring it on, bro! Another musician I met was Steve Hussey of the Power House Blues Band, discovered by Mark Green. DJ Terry (Dr. Cosmik) Parsons had recommended I speak with Steve to get the scoop on local musicians (blues or otherwise), so I dropped in to Fred's Records (Steve's day job) to introduce myself. He was already familiar with this website (which made me feel pretty good), but unfortunately his boss was cracking the whip, so to speak, so our discussion had to be postponed for another time. I'm looking forward to the band's upcoming weekend gig on March 18 & 19. Background on this musical family can be found at www.rowdyblues.com/powerhouse.html. |
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