Last night's Gloryhound & the Skyhawks show was notable for a couple of reasons. One of which, as noted, was the opening set by Dave Marsh and True Love Rules. More on that in a minute.

I went down early, immediately after Survivor (about which I will only say, for the moment, that as far as this season is concerned Kipling was absolutely right, the female of the species is more deadly than the male. Or possibly just smarter) because I thought things might possibly get started a little early. And they did, because it turned out there were three acts playing last night. Busy!

First up, just after ten-thirty, was Lonnie James (don't have a MySpace link for him yet) who used to play drums for the Super Friendz. He did the solo-acoustic singer-songwriter thing, played about a dozen songs and got a good reception. I think I'd have to hear the CDs to form an opinion about him, though.

Next up was Dave Marsh with True Love Rules (Scotty on drums, Paul on bass and guitar, Tim Brennan on guitar and bass, Adam when needed on keys, and Joel Plaskett a couple of times on guitar and backing vocals.) When I arrived the bar area was so crowded I went and sat at a small table near the stage but when the second act went on the crowd sort of moved forward so I made my way back to the bar to pester Erin. The stools are more comfortable than the chair I was in originally, anyway.

I've only seen True Love Rules once before, at a show at the Seahorse, and I was favourably impressed. It's a pretty eclectic record--on different songs you might hear a reggae influence or a sort of electronic pop thing or something like that. I bought the CD at the end of the night and if I come up with some more coherent observations you'll be the first to know.

True Love Rules played about ten songs and then Gloryhound came on at probably sometime after midnight. (I generally don't wear my watch on Thursday nights, because I tend to just stay until it's over.) They ended up playing one long set and went over well--a lot of people stuck around until the end, and at one point I was treated to the sight of Joel Plaskett at the other end of the bar, air-drumming along to one of their songs.

And to bring this back to the post title, it turns out that last night was the final show in the weekly Tribeca series. The news took me by surprise (I'd have figured it out eventually...) but all things must end, and it was nice for this one to go out on a high note. Erin and I agreed we were getting a little sentimental by the end of the evening, and I think Paul thought we were crazy, but there you go.

Set List

Rockaway Beach (The Ramones, a new one to me from these guys)

"Sure don't feel the same"

Out Of Hiding

Standing Still

Bright In the Dark

On My Back

See You Round

Flee the Scene

Don't Do It (The Band)

Where I Lie

LA Woman (The Doors, with Scotty on drums)

Last Dance With Mary Jane (Tom Petty, with Harper on harmonica)

You Gotta Learn

Before You Fall

Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (Bob Dylan, Adam: vocals and guitar, Evan: drums, Shaun: keys, Scotty: emergency running repairs on the mic stand)

Going Home (Ten Years After)

The set ended amid shoutouts from Gloryhound to the other bands on the bill, and to Tribeca and its staff for being more than great to them, and to the folks who came out regularly (a bunch of whom, led I think by Ryan, were in the process of giving the band a standing ovation at the time.)

And so it ended. Gloryhound's next scheduled show is the CD release party at the Seahorse on May 31st, after which they'll be playing several shows around the Maritimes.

I myself have no firm plans for future Thursdays, but I'm sure something will come up.

And it kind of bears repeating: it's been a lot of fun to follow this series. I've mentioned before that I generally only find out about bands after their second CD or so, and it has been really cool to watch Gloryhound closely over the past year and a bit. The Tribeca series gave them the opportunity to work out new songs and experiment, and they are definitely a tighter band now--they've gone from being a very promising band to being a very good one (not to mention kind to the elderly--thanks), and it's been a lot of fun to watch. It should be just as much fun to see where they go from here.

And on that note--see you May 31st at the Seahorse.

It took me a little longer than usual to get downtown last night: when I got within range of the Metro Centre the streets were suddenly full of people in hockey jerseys, which is when I remembered the IIHF World Hockey Championships are in town, and Team Canada was playing the Americans yesterday evening. Since nobody tried to thrown themselves under my Honda, I assumed the game had gone well.

( Adam and Rob and friends notes and setlist here. )

Also, Scotty mentioned that his other project, True Love Rules with Paul and Dave Marsh from the Joel Plaskett Emergency (okay, I guess that's technically Dave's other project, with Paul and Scotty) is playing a few songs on Thursday with Gloryhound. Which sounds like fun, so we'll see you there!

Yeah, there is a story behind that subject line.

So last night Skank Williams and Realiser were playing at Gus's Pub, so I rearranged my usual Thursday plans and and went out to see them. As I explained in the Tuesday post, fully half the participants are Tribeca regulars so someone had to go and report back, right?

The show was listed as starting at ten. In my experience, this invariably means eleven, so I went ahead and watched the end of Survivor (which was kind of awesome) and then made my way downtown, arriving at about ten-thirty.

Just as well, since Skank Williams was just about to go onstage. In fact, if the sound guy hadn't gone missing they've have been onstage already when I arrived! (The sound guy was Scotty, who is too large to steal, and once again I must note that if I'd been writing this story things would have looked bad for Scotty. At least until I relented in the second draft.) Luckily Troy, Scotty's band mate and brother, stepped in to look after sound and the girls got started just after ten-thirty.

As I have mentioned before, Skank Williams is the self-proclaimed "only all-female Hank Williams cover band in the Halifax-Dartmouth area!" Which is certainly factual, but it would perhaps be more true to say they are the best all-female Hank Williams cover band in the Halifax-Dartmouth area.

( Meet Skank Williams! )

The girls came offstage to general congratulations (I wasn't even the only library type present) and Realiser went on.

( Realiser notes but no set list. )

After Realiser had literally played every song they knew, I looked at my watch and it was only about a quarter after one. Dawn and Kathy and I were at a table together and they joked that I was probably calculating how fast I could get to Tribeca.

( More on THAT good idea. )

It's possible that a giant, awesome jam session broke out after hours--if there wasn't one there should have been--but two bars in one work night seemed like enough for someone my age, so I said goodnight and called it one. Whew!

Well, not so much rain as fog, really. Actually, a lot of fog. Hound Of the Baskervilles fog, if we get right down to it. (Okay, slight exaggeration, and we know Halifax, especially down by the harbour, is prone to fogginess. But I was still alert for the sound of ghostly barking, and it was probably just as well the sidewalk was unable to retain the footprints of a gigantic hound!)

Why yes, I am still taking painkillers. Why do you ask?

( And this got long, so here is the cut! )

And after that, there really was nothing to do but call it a night. Well, I did. Dave let me out and we took a look around for gigantic hounds, and as you can see I got home in one piece. Cool.

Now, I should note this will be the only Tribeca report for this week, because on Thursday Skank Williams is playing at Gus's with Realiser, and you know I wouldn't take the night off for just anyone but two thirds of Skank and a third of Realiser are Kathy, Dawn, and Scotty, so if nothing else someone needs to go to their gig and report back to the group at Tribeca. How's that for a rationalization?

Anyway, Dave wrote me a note so it won't be held against me.

And now there's nothing left to do but record the set list. So here it is.

( Set List )

See you next time!

Okay, my time sense has always been ever-so-slightly suspect (and I can't tell time with a digital clock, but that's probably material for a completely different post) but that wasn't the reason I arrived something like halfway through Gloryhound's first set last night. My excuse in this case was, I was over at latsyrk's place again, snuggling David Donald again (this is not the first such occurrence.) Compared to the last time I saw him (too long ago--being ouchy and self-centred should not preclude admiring new babies) he still weighs significantly less than Coney, but is a little bit sturdier. However, he can't hang on yet so I made sure I was sitting down the whole time I was holding him. Hey, I know my limitations.

So it was a little after eleven when I left latsyrk's place (the family is on David Donald time so it wasn't as late as it should have been, if you follow) and started downtown.

Put on my windshield wipers to combat the snow that had started to fall. Big, wet, melty snowflakes. I was out of David Donald's hearing by this time so I expressed myself accordingly. And spared a sympathetic thought for Benson, one of the horses at the barn who was just body-clipped on the principle that he didn't need that big old winter haircoat anymore. Well, at least he has a blanket. And by the time I got downtown the snow had become rain anyway.

( It was all worth it, though. )

I said good night and went outside, where the snow was still coming down and turning to sleet. Agreed with Shaun and Dave that there was no need of this nonsense.

But it's all right today, so I assume the trip to the Island will be no trouble. I hope, anyway. Because the Island is always a good idea.

I nearly didn't go out last night: I ended up working late, got home at nine, and by that time I was sore and cranky and doubted that I should inflict my company on anybody else. However, I've noticed that the chairs along the bar at Tribeca don't bother my leg and anyway, after a good night's sleep that leg is really cranky in the morning. So I went off to see what Adam, Rob and the guys were up to, promising myself that if I started to get hateful I would go home. This seemed fair.

Well, I don't know what Adam was up to, but whatever it was he wasn't up to it at Tribeca--I arrived partway through the first song to find Jason singing and playing guitar, Rob playing keys, and Mike and Brian on bass and drums.

It was also, for some reason, a really quiet night. Possibly a lot of hockey fans stayed home to watch Calgary at San Jose (about which the less said the better, thankyouverymuch.) However, the smaller audience was enthusiastic, and interactive, and... I'm trying to think of a way to say "we were obnoxious" without coming right out and admitting it, and frankly not having very much luck. Fortunately, everyone involved was a good sport. And really, what country singer could possible mind being heckled by two-thirds of Skank Williams?

Since Jason was obviously the lead vocalist they did a few songs from his first solo record, and then a few more from the upcoming record, as well as a few covers--"Wild Horses" by the Rolling Stones, "All Right For the Shape I'm In" by BR-549, "Tiger By the Tail" by Buck Owens, and after considerable pressure from the peanut gallery Jason agreed to play something by Johnny Cash. Jason knows a bunch of his tunes. Speaking as a member of the peanut gallery I was reluctant to specify one (okay, I did yell for "Big River" at one point) just because I had no idea which songs the band as a whole knew.

There was one glorious moment when, based on his guitar work, I thought Jason was talking everyone into playing "Tennessee Flat-Top Box," but he didn't get traction from the others (and I may have been hearing things anyway.) However, they played "Big River" and "I Still Miss Someone," which I should have remembered Rob would know from the Chris Denny sessions.

It was a short evening (and this is a short entry) but definitely a nice one.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I spent yesterday in an all-day meeting of the consortium of libraries of which my workplace is a member. It was the annual where-are-we, where-are-we-going meeting and it was fascinating. FASCINATING. Gloryhound at Tribeca last night had a lot to live up to, let me tell you!

Why yes, I am acquainted with that play in which the lady doth protest too much, why do you ask?

There was a pretty good crowd out last night including quite a few dancers, which always livens things up. Patrick has invented a new drink, and both Ryan and Dave were wearing ties. I don't think there was an occasion or anything, but they did look pretty spiffy.

Also spiffy was the black acoustic guitar Dave played in the first set. (Both he and Evan went acoustic in that set but I don't think I'd seen the particular guitar Dave was playing before.) After the first set the band went back to its electric ways for the next three sets.

Yeah, there were four sets last night. The third one was very short. I have no idea what was up with that. Evan sang pretty much the first half of the night and Adam the second half, and although I couldn't see the stage a lot of the time (as I say--dancers!) it seems to me that Evan played keys a lot in the second half. No idea whether that organization meant anything, but tweaks large and small tend to keep things interesting. I may have said that before.

( Set list. )

Yes, well, since my last post was about going out to shows, here's a directly relevant post. Yes, it was Tuesday. Yes, that means I was at Tribeca last night for Rob and Adam's regular set, which now includes Jason Heywood (ex-Divorcees, and now a fixture in the group, as you may recall from last week's post.) The band also includes Mike on bass and ordinarily Brian on drums (although you may recall Shaun has stepped in a couple of times.)

Last night things were pretty quiet when I arrived, and by "pretty quiet" I mean there was no sign of Rob or Adam or, actually, a drum kit. Apparently Brian wasn't around and nobody seemed to have heard from him.

It's just as well for Brian this wasn't a story written by me, because you know this scene would have ended in a grisly discovery by somebody...

( There are no grisly discoveries behind the cut. )

So: a full three sets, and I do mean full.

Incidentally: since the night didn't end until two o'clock this morning, I am ever-so-slightly toasted this morning. However! I hardly even limped as I walked into work this morning! When you only get three hours' sleep, there is a limit to how bad your sciatic nerve can stiffen up. Everything in life is a balancing act...

Honestly, you'd think the only reason I ever use the Internet is to rant and find out what bands are playing where.

Oh, wait...

( In a nice change from recent ranting, this one is about bands. )

I understand the Surfers are financing their own tour so if they arrive in your town do yourself a favour and go see them. You'll thank me later, I promise.

In case anyone was worrying that I'd forgotten it's Friday, here is the report from Gloryhound & the Skyhawks' show at Tribeca last night.

Gloryhound was back to their plugged-in ways and included one new-to-me (I think) cover, "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan (although I confess to a really soft spot for The Band' version from High On the Hog, with Levon's old-guy vocals. It sounds more like sage and affectionate advice coming from him.) Andy from El Torpedo was in attendance but the band couldn't persuade him to join in. Oh, well.

It's been a long week so I think i'll just leave you with the set list this time.

Set List
Set #1

I arrived in the middle of this one and didn't get it written down. I'm pretty sure it was one of theirs

Forever Young (Dylan, I don't think I've heard the band play this one before)

"Sure don't feel the same"

"On my back"

Shape I'm In (The Band, Adam: vocals)

Where I Lie

From A Buick 6 (Dylan, with really good guitar... dialogue... at the end) (Best term I could come up with)

What's Left

I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges)

Break
Set #2

Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (Dylan, Adam: guitar & vocals, Evan: drums)

Wasn't Born To Follow (The Byrds, Adam: vocals, Evan: keys)

Standing Still

Free Of You

Flee the Scene

Long Arm

See You Round

Mountain Man

Hey Hey My My (Neil)

Break

Nebraska (Springsteen, Adam: vocals)

License To Kill (Dylan)

Play Along ("never really there" now has an official title)

Dazed and Confused/San Francisco/Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin, featuring the Revenge of John Paul Jones, but I think that was more Paul playing with sound levels than Jeremy turning everything up to eleven)

Working Man Blues (Merle Haggard, Adam: vocals and guitar, Evan: drums, Shaun: keys)

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Neil, Adam: drums)

Before You Fall

I'm Going Home (Ten Years After)

I just got a reply to that last Paper Lions-related post and it appears the band is going to be back in Halifax, at the Seahorse, on May 9th. Join me!

(I just edited the tag for the band. Since the name change is fairly recent I've essentially mapped the new tag to the old one. Eventually I'll remove the mapping and leave only the new tag. Go with me on this one. I passed cataloguing and everything.)

Also, yay!

There were some changes last night at Adam and Rob's Tribeca set. The biggest was a change to the cast of characters: in addition to Mike and Brian being back on bass and drums, Jason Heywood has joined the fold. Jason was previously with The Divorcees and is working on solo material at the moment. Jason has played with the guys before, but I missed the show because the weather was appalling that night and I didn't want to drive in it. The really cool part is, Jason is apparently now a permanent part of the organization.

( Which is just one more reason to come out on Tuesday. )

For the past few weeks I've been planning to go to Ginger's to see Rob Szabo again. I caught a set by him at Winston's a few months back and I really liked him.

However. Last night several people asked me whether I was planning to go to the Seahorse tonight for True Love Rules (they're opening for Yellow Jacket Avenger and another band.) True Love Rules is the solo project of Dave Marsh, drummer for the Joel Plaskett Emergency, but more to the point the band includes Paul, who owns Tribeca, does sound for Gloryhound, and lets us treat the place like a clubhouse. If I heard correctly, Scotty is also part of things.

And on reflection, as much as I hope Szabo has a good show and I see him another time, I kind of can't not go to the Seahorse. Just the fact several people asked if I was coming indicates it's pretty important to Paul, or at least to people who like him--the folks I spoke to were not only excited, they wanted him to have a good turnout. And in thinking about it, I do too. It's a community thing, I guess.

So, catseatsocks, if you were planning on hitting this show, I am too, now. And now that I know who's involved I'm looking forward to it!

[Incidentally. The post title above reminds me that I currently hate my dearest friend in the world, because Bruce Springsteen played Vancouver last week. She was there. I was not. HAAAATE.

Well, for a given value of "HAAAATE."]

Anyway. In what appears to be a trend, I was a little bit late for Gloryhound & the Skyhawks last night, although I think I arrived during the first song. I would be a lot more contrite about my tardiness if I hadn't had such a good reason: I was over at latsyrk's place, hanging out with her and her husband and mother, and their new baby boy David Donald. Who is four days old, and weighs half as much as Coney, and has the tiniest perfect little fingernails and a whole lot of dark hair, and kind of curls up in a ball when you hold him and... EEEEEEE.

(I may not have much in the way of motherly instincts, but my auntily instincts are second to none.)

Ahem. You'll be hearing more about David Donald, I assure you. But in the meantime, I believe I had a point here somewhere...

So last night Shaun was among the missing, apparently off doing "Shaun things," so the set was not only unplugged again, it was without percussion. Which was interesting again, because the acoustic sets call for rearrangements in the first place, so what was played last night were... you know what I mean.

( More on the rearranged rearrangements here. )

Next gig up is not actually Gloryhound, but Paul (who is sort of the host of the fun at Tribeca) is playing at the Seahorse with a project called The True Love Rules, which is a solo thing by Dave Marsh of the Joel Plaskett Emergency. I was planning to go to Ginger's to see Rob Szabo, but if I hop really fast I can probably manage both. At my age I should be slowing down, but at my age I also have no time to waste!

So the joke was, I arrived late and missed the first three songs. Oops!

This week's lineup consisted of Adam on guitar, Rob on bass, and Shaun (and occasionally Scotty) on drums. It was one of those loose and jammy kinds of nights where the band seemed to be kind of experimenting or playing around a bit. I was the moderator for an internal professional development session today (which is why this entry is late) on teaching with analogies, and I remarked that, although I don't use it when teaching, in my own mind everything can almost always be related to horse training.

So I am going to say that last night's two sets reminded me a bit of the days when you put your horse out in the arena and sort of chase her around to get the kinks out, but eventually she's not just tearing around, she's working around you on a circle and you actually seem to be accomplishing something. (Hey, it happens.) This felt like kind of one of those nights.

( More on this and set list. )

A good word for the set might be "eclectic." It was definitely entertaining.

And, with that, I hopped off into the night. See you next time!

...whether Matt Mays & El Torpedo would ever play the Marquee again, or whether they've outgrown it.

I just got my answer: they're scheduled to preview their upcoming new album there, on June 6th.

Well yes, of course I bought a ticket immediately. What do you take me for?

Ask me if I'm excited!

After a bit of a wrangle with TicketPro, I did in fact get a ticket to Joel Plaskett's show at the Marquee last night. I'm on a computer at the public library so I have very little time for this entry, I'll try to write a better one tomorrow. However, for the moment let's just say this: about halfway through the evening, enveloped in the warm fuzziness that is the Power of the Plaskett, it occurred to me that a lot of aspiring performers have the wrong idea about rock 'n' roll charisma. The cut-and-paste "rocker types" who end up on American Idol turning everything into a Nickelback cover, and the nameless band from the Seahorse last week apparently think that if you strike the right post, you'll acquire charisma.

To which I can only reply that if you've got it, you can lope out onstage wearing a sweater vest and have the crowd eating out of your hand.

[Okay, I've only ever seen Joel play on home turf--he is something of a diety in Halifax--but the press coming out of his now-regular Australian swings also indicate by the time he's through with an audience over there, they want to follow him home and bake him muffins, too.]

Joel also played the first set wearing a beard, which was new. Ordinarily he looks more like a librarian than I do. When Matt Mays takes to the beard he tends to look like a sweet-tempered werewolf. Joel... kind of looked like a librarian with a beard.

And then he shaved it off during the intermission and reappeared all shiny.

Speaking of the sweater vest, he was wearing a new one last night (the original was the colour of a Siamese cat's chest, this one was grey.) Joel delightedly (he looked delighted in general last night, but at this moment in particular) explained that Becky had made this one as well. "There's love in the air--and I'm wearing it!" he proclaimed. Indeed.

Special guests included semi-regular Peter Elkas, former Guthrie Ruth Minnikin, and an extended appearance by Mr. Bill Plaskett, the finger-picking genius. There was at least one occurrence of the young male voice hollering "I love you, Joel!" Joel acknowledged requests from the audience, in one case honouring it with a rendition of "Extraordinary," and in another replying, "That's a legitimate request but I'm afraid we can't play it tonight--next time, I promise." I didn't hear the request but I have every confidence Joel will live up to his promise.

I had been a tad worried about standing up all night, but I found a chair in an elevated location and by the end of the night my cranky hip muscle, responding to the vibe as much as anyone, didn't even hurt when I stood up.

In my attempts to learn to like vampire fiction, I kept encountering the idea of vampires using mind-control on their human victims, overcoming their puny will and bending them to the vampires' bidding. I thought about that briefly last night. There was a vibe coming off the stage that infected everybody, so you felt like nobody in the Marquee had ever had a mean thought in their lives, and I allowed myself to imagine one of those vampires trying mind control on Joel--and recovering consciousness some time later with vague memories of not only not wanting to bite anybody, but also having helped old ladies carry home their groceries and possibly having rescued a stray cat from a tree or something.

Truly, this is a power that should be used for good and not evil. But that goes without saying.

I didn't get a true set list but I remember a lot of the songs, so I may put something together tomorrow. And with luck, bearded photos will turn up on Flickr.

In the meantime, maybe I'll get my Natal Day tickets this afternoon. A good jolt of positive energy and good music is nothing to be careless about.

[Note for new folks reading this journal--in addition to the horsey content and a great deal of silliness, you'll find the Friday report on the Thursday night set by local Halifax band Gloryhound & the Skyhawks is a regular feature of this journal. Their CD is set for release at the end of May. We're all looking forward to it!]

After the rowdy double birthday party last week, this Thursday at Tribeca almost had to be a little quieter. Which is not to say the music was quiet. As someone commented, when Paul is away, everybody turns up everything.

And apparently turns down the lights, judging by how dark the stage was. I was worried for a minute that my eyesight was failing, until Erin and Scotty confirmed they couldn't see anybody onstage either. It sounded like Gloryhound & the Skyhawks, though...

Okay, so there weren't as many people out this week as last, but special awards should be given to the band's friend who not only showed up on the night before he had to write an exam, but brought his two study partners with him. Now that is some devotion to the cause. I hope the exam went well!

And also the other friend of the band who, possibly owing to his hat, the generally dim lighting, and the fact my eyes are really not what they used to be, kept reminding me of someone. Like, I would notice him and think, "That guy looks just like Bob Dylan!" Well, he did from a bit of a distance in bad light. Or maybe I just had Dylan on the brain because, after failing miserably in my efforts to get Cohen tickets last week, I really did not want to miss out on Dylan at the Metro Centre in May.

(And as a matter of fact I just got a pair of tickets through the pre-order, and if my leg didn't still hurt I would be doing high kicks right here in the office, but I digress!)

( Enough digressing. Here is the set list. With, come to think of it, a significant amount of Dylan content. )

And that, for now, is that.

Saturday got off to an excellent start, what with the sleeping in and the riding lesson. But wait! There's more!

I had nearly forgotten that Gloryhound & the Skyhawks were playing a set at Monte's Bar and Grill over in Dartmouth, opening for an act called the Hip Replacement, which with a name like that you will not be surprised to learn is a Tragically Hip tribute band.

I haven't been to an "away game," so to speak, in quite some time, and I don't know Dartmouth at all, so I sort of took it as a navigational challenge.

( As challenges go, this one wasn't bad. )

And when I stood up it turned out that, after sitting sideways in my chair all evening, that pinched nerve had sort of unpinched and I was perfectly fine.

Or at least I was all the way home and until I rolled over at some point in the night and tweaked it again.

But aside from that, definitely a good evening!