09-28-2003, 12:15 AM
I just got back from the very first Big Sugar concert I've ever seen - and, sadly, as well all know, the last I'll ever have the chance to! I have wanted to see them for sooo long, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. If they were continuing on, they might have become my very favourite live band! What a spectacular show.
I had the good fortune to happen to go to a show that is both a part of the "goodbye" tour AND the "Greatest Hits" tour...so it was packed with every one of my favourite songs. In fact, even with all the artists I like, this is the very first concert I've ever been to where all 10 songs I hoped they'd play were actually played.
After a frustratingly late start, and then a truly awful opening band (not the Trews like they used in the rest of Canada...why not??) things got off to a smashing start with Gordie (looking sharp in a black shirt and black cowboy hat, with a colourful Canada-themed guitar strap) slamming straight into songs like If I Had My Way and Diggin' a Hole. Everything was perfect - the guitar, the vocals, the harmonica...even the stage lighting. Too bad less than half the room was full, maybe 300 people at most. It was so loud that my ears instantly started ringing, but the music was more than enough to drown that out!
Later in the show, the band got a chance to stretch out with songs like Let It Ride, Turn the Lights On, and Better Get Used To It being reworked and loosened up a lot. Every musician had their moment to shine, and shine they all certainly did. Things then kicked back into ultra-high gear with The Scene, Open Up Baby, and Dear Mr. Fantasy. The encore contained the ONLY slow song of the night (I don't even know what it was) and was capped off with Ride Like Hell to end the night. All in all, a perfect 10 concert. I can't believe I'll never get to see them again!!
The evening was filled with interesting guitar techniques...it was thrilling when he threw his Gibson up over his head during O Canada to reveal a maple leaf emblazoned on the backside (while still playing), and using the mic stand as a bottleneck slide I've never seen done before. Oh, and the SLIDE - man, I knew this man was a wizard with a bottleneck, but I had never realized just how technical and lightning-quick his playing was! The man deserves to be a guitar god! And his songwriting is just brilliant - mixing in blues, hard rock, funk, reggae and southern roots music and still managing to sound completely original ain't easy. He's quite the entertainer - so many guitars, straps, and gadgets. Watching him fly back and forth between the double necks of his Gibson is awe-inspiring.
No pictures this time...I was going with a friend, and because there was a mandatory coat & bag check, I figured I'd never sneak a camera in. I kinda wish I had, because the lighting was so perfect and the crowd was so small, but it was nice to be able to relax and just enjoy the music in all its bombast and glory!
I had the good fortune to happen to go to a show that is both a part of the "goodbye" tour AND the "Greatest Hits" tour...so it was packed with every one of my favourite songs. In fact, even with all the artists I like, this is the very first concert I've ever been to where all 10 songs I hoped they'd play were actually played.
After a frustratingly late start, and then a truly awful opening band (not the Trews like they used in the rest of Canada...why not??) things got off to a smashing start with Gordie (looking sharp in a black shirt and black cowboy hat, with a colourful Canada-themed guitar strap) slamming straight into songs like If I Had My Way and Diggin' a Hole. Everything was perfect - the guitar, the vocals, the harmonica...even the stage lighting. Too bad less than half the room was full, maybe 300 people at most. It was so loud that my ears instantly started ringing, but the music was more than enough to drown that out!
Later in the show, the band got a chance to stretch out with songs like Let It Ride, Turn the Lights On, and Better Get Used To It being reworked and loosened up a lot. Every musician had their moment to shine, and shine they all certainly did. Things then kicked back into ultra-high gear with The Scene, Open Up Baby, and Dear Mr. Fantasy. The encore contained the ONLY slow song of the night (I don't even know what it was) and was capped off with Ride Like Hell to end the night. All in all, a perfect 10 concert. I can't believe I'll never get to see them again!!
The evening was filled with interesting guitar techniques...it was thrilling when he threw his Gibson up over his head during O Canada to reveal a maple leaf emblazoned on the backside (while still playing), and using the mic stand as a bottleneck slide I've never seen done before. Oh, and the SLIDE - man, I knew this man was a wizard with a bottleneck, but I had never realized just how technical and lightning-quick his playing was! The man deserves to be a guitar god! And his songwriting is just brilliant - mixing in blues, hard rock, funk, reggae and southern roots music and still managing to sound completely original ain't easy. He's quite the entertainer - so many guitars, straps, and gadgets. Watching him fly back and forth between the double necks of his Gibson is awe-inspiring.
No pictures this time...I was going with a friend, and because there was a mandatory coat & bag check, I figured I'd never sneak a camera in. I kinda wish I had, because the lighting was so perfect and the crowd was so small, but it was nice to be able to relax and just enjoy the music in all its bombast and glory!
cratch: :lol:,
