Lady Gaga at the ACC

Tonight Teena and I went to the see Lady Gaga at the ACC. It was the second of two shows as she did one last night.

There looked to be three stages. The main stage behind the lights to the right and the two circular ones.

Here we are.

The show was scheduled for 8:30pm but she didn't come on till 9:15pm. Although she is coming off a bout of laryngitis which forced her to cancel Monday night's show in Montreal, her voice was in full form. She can really belt out a tune.

Lady Gaga sings at all her shows. No lip syncing phoniness here.

We were pleased to discover that a tent was raised off an area at our end of the arena revealing another stage. It was great to see the show planned so everybody, no mater what end they were sitting at, could see her close by. Bridges came from above so she could walk stage to stage.

Not only is the show a full-tilt spectacle of dancing, lights and fire, Lady Gaga also showed some of her personal side. I don't believe it was an act. She talked about being broke, her father's sister dying at 19 and read an emotional letter that a fan had handed her. That was unscripted, for sure. It was too emotional for her and the fan.

After speaking about her early life she did a solo on the piano, a slowed-down fabulous version of The Edge of Glory. For me that was the highlight of the night. She didn't sing Judas, which was one of the songs I really wanted to hear but she can be forgiven after hearing her do The Edge of Glory. I wish she would record that version.

She ended the show by putting her hat (she wore many during the show and being a hat guy, I enjoyed it!) on the piano bench before the piano and her was lowered below stage. Cool ya to end it!

It was a great show that had a little of everything in it. I'm glad we managed to get tickets for it.

David Wilcox in Concert with Kim Mitchell

I am a huge David Wilcox fan and so is Teena. When we heard he was going to be playing at the Phoenix, we had to be there.

The concert hall has a capacity of 1,350 and it was full.

Wilcox was his usual fabulous, energetic self. I have always enjoyed his music and feel he outperforms most musicians onstage.

Here is the first David Wilcox song that I ever heard, My Eyes Keep Me in Trouble.

Kim  Mitchell followed. He played songs he had done on his own in the past and when he was with Max Webster. The fans loved him.

It was a fun night. David Wilcox is very unique and I look forward to seeing him play again sometime.

Sleepy Mean at Canadian Music Week

Tonight Sleepy Mean finished Canadian Music Week by playing at the Nightowl with bands from Sweden, Ireland and the U.S. In fact, they were the only Canadian band on the schedule tonight. My friend Mark, who alternates between bass and lead guitar, is in the band and was the reason I was there. That and the fact that they are good!

I wanted to record the band but my zoom broke so everything was shaky. Too bad as I could have shown you some great songs, but instead here are some pictures.

Sleepy Mean has a new album out, or what ever you call it these days, on June 24th. Hey guys! Teena and I have no plans for that night!

Garth Brooks in Concert in Hamilton

Teena and I headed to Hamilton to see Garth Brooks in concert at the FirstOntario Centre (the old Copps Coliseum). It was the first of five shows in Hamilton. We parked across the street and had supper and a couple of drinks at The George Hamilton, the city's oldest pub, which we both enjoyed.

We arrived at the arena when the doors opened. Teena wanted a teeshirt but the size of the other fans wanting one too was incredible!

 

Teena gave up and headed downstairs to get one and she said there was hardly a person there.

Brett Kissel, from Alberta, opened the show. I really enjoyed his stuff. His music was quite lively.

Brett was followed by Karyn Rochelle, who is the usual opening act for Trisha yYarwood.

What was very cool was the announcer called out it was five minutes to Garth Brooks. With a minute to go, the countdown hit the screen on stage but about every five seconds an image would come up about the city. This was my favorite!

Garth time!

And out he came!

 

 

The River got the lights in the crowd going.

Garth on the screen over the stage.

 

Trisha Yearwood came  out to do a duet with Garth, then performed a set of her songs. She has been married to Garth since 2005.

 

 

She finished with She's in Love With the Boy and they did the Kiss Cam during it.

I put the camera away and enjoyed the rest of the concert. When Garth did the "revised" version of Friends in Low Places, I had to record it.

I really enjoyed the concert. Teena did too. Garth puts so much energy into his shows and knows exactly how to work a crowd. It was a great night! We both said that if he came back to the area we would be clambering for tickets as soon as they came out.

Jann Arden Live at First Canadian Place

I have been a fan of Jann Arden since she first came out with Insensitive from her Living Under June CD in 1994. It's been a long time but she has finally come out with a Christmas CD, A Jann Arden Christmas. To promote the CD, she put on a free performance on the Waterfall Stage at First Canadian Place.

I am not a fan of Christmas music but if I heard that Jann Arden was going to sing the alphabet, I would go see it. Not only does she have a great voice, but she is also gifted with a great sense of humour.

The session started with a short interview.

Another guitarist, who also sang harmony, accompanied Jann on stage. She sang a few Christmas carols, starting with her favorite, Silent Night, which I recorded and is posted at the bottom of this post, and ended with Good Mother, one of my favorites.

At the end, Jann stayed on stage to sign CDs. Of course, there was a long lineup but She took her time with each person to chat.

This is the first time I have seen her live, which is hard to believe. One day I hope to see her do a full concert. Here she is doing Silent Night from her concert today.

Emilie Claire Barlow in Concert at First Canadian Place

Today Emilie Claire Barlow put on a concert during lunch at the waterfall stage at First Canadian Place, and, of course, I was there.

Emilie-Claire Barlow is a Canadian jazz singer, arranger, record producer and voice actress. A Juno Award winner, she has released 11 self produced jazz albums on her own label and has voiced dozens of characters for animated television series.

Emilie Claire has done very well for herself. Here are some of her Awards:

2001 – JUNO nomination for 'Vocal Jazz Album' for Tribute
2008 – JUNO nomination for 'Vocal Jazz Album' for The Very Thought of You
2008 – Named National Jazz Awards’ ‘Female Vocalist of the Year’
2010 – JUNO nomination for 'Vocal Jazz Album' for Haven't We Met?
2011 – JUNO nomination for 'Vocal Jazz Album' for The Beat Goes On
2013 – JUNO Award for 'Vocal Jazz Album' for Seule ce soir

She sang some original tunes but her talent seems to really be taking old songs from the sixties and seventies and slowing them down and reworking them as Jazz. I really enjoyed her performance but didn't have time to buy one of her CDs that were on sale to the side as when I left, I already was late getting back to work.

I will have to download some of her songs from iTunes. Here is a sample of her style that I downloaded from You Tube, Sunshine Superman, a song I love which was originally done in 1966 by Donovan.