Steve's Blog
Wednesday October 13, 2010

Hi everyone

First off, thanks to all those who came along to see The Paperboys last weekend. We had fun, and the band was in excellent form. What a combination of Latin horns and Celtic strings! There were a few sound problems on Saturday, although things improved - markedly - as the evening went on. One or two people left at the break, and missed the much better second half. The next day the band's sound engineer discovered that a unit he'd brought - which had only recently been repaired - wasn't working at all. Eureka! Sunday's show sounded good throughout.

This weekend we have three contrasting concerts: blues and roots, traditional and contemporary folk, and country folk.

1. Colin Linden, Friday October 15th, 8pm, St. James Hall, 3214 West 10th Avenue

The Rogue and Shore 104.3fm present Colin Linden, renowned singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He's a singer and songwriter of great skill, an in-demand and prolific record producer (he has played on 300 and produced 60 albums e.g. Bruce Cockburn, Tom Wilson, Colin James), a sideman to the stars as guitarist for the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris, and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - yet somehow finds time to both pursue a prolific solo career and play a key role in Canadian roots-rock "supergroup," Blackie and the Rodeo Kings with whom he has played for the past decade. He has won seven Junos, multiple Maple Blues Awards, and a Toronto Arts Award. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for the starstudded A Tribute To Howlin' Wolf CD, and was involved in the groundbreaking O Brother Where Art Thou phenomenon. He always puts on a great show, and the last few times he's played here his good buddy Colin James has joined in. We're not promising anything, but who knows? www.colinlinden.com

In these parts, Colin Linden is also known as The Voice of Shore 104, Vancouver's coolest and best radio station. Roots, Rock & Rhythm is their motto, and Colin is the living embodiment of all of these styles. Furthermore, he's the voice we hear every few minutes, extolling the special virtues of Vancouver's landscape - both physical and musical - and laying down some of the coolest slide guitar riffs anywhere. So, it's only natural that Shore would record this concert and lend us their invaluable promotional and financial support. Thank you, Shore 104.3fm, for making Rogue the 4th "R", and lighting up the local airwaves - and the skies during Shorefest / Celebration of Light these past two summers! www.shore104.com

2. Finest Kind, Saturday October 16th, 8pm, St. James Hall, 3214 West 10th Avenue

Finest Kind's set on the Saturday night was a flawless piece of work, an extraordinary melding of history and song. Three of the finest voices in Canada singing about our past and filling the dark and still air with soaring, glorious harmonies. — David Francey, at the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival 2002

Finest Kind was formed in Ottawa in 1991 by Ian Robb, Ann Downey, and Shelley Posen. A remarkable folk trio whose exquisite harmony singing and brilliant vocal arrangements bring a fresh sense of excitement and discovery to the performance of old songs. Their glorious sound, served up with easy-going humour, has won a devoted following across North America. The trio have just released their 4th CD, For Honour & For Gain. It's another creative tour de force, and will be available at the show. www.finestkind.ca

3. Fred Eaglesmith, Sunday October 17th, 8pm, St. James Hall, 3214 West 10th Avenue

Fred Eaglesmith has followed his muse and the music to wherever it takes him since he left the family farm at age 15 to pursue the hitchhiking and freight-hopping trail of a traveling troubadour. As a result he has forged one of the most distinguished and unique independent careers in popular music from the grassroots upwards, marked by a consistent string of critical superlatives for his work. And now after being a leading light in both the new folk and Americana movements, Eaglesmith stays at the cutting edge of the musical zeitgeist to help spark a rock'n'roll renewal. I still want to be vibrant and I still want to be on fire and I still have passion, he asserts. I don't ever wanna stay in the ghetto.

His restless and relentless muse has already earned Eaglesmith a singular and impressive legacy of achievements. Over the years the Juno Award-winning artist has had his music used in films by Martin Scorsese, James Caan and Toby Keith, scored a hit #1 on the bluegrass charts ("Thirty Years of Farming," recorded by James King), and had his songs included in the curriculum at two colleges. His fans are so devoted that he is the host and centrepiece of music festivals in the U.S. and Canada as well as inspiring the Roots on the Rails rolling music fests and hosting a number of its excursions, plus now in 2010 hitting the high seas with the Fred Eaglesmith Atlantic Adventure. A popular live attraction in clubs and festivals across North America, Eaglesmith also enjoys fervent followings in Europe and Australia.

He has a brand new CD, Cha Cha Cha, and a hatful of new songs and stories to share (and he wears a BIG hat!) Don't miss this rare solo show, folks! www.fredeaglesmith.com

4. The Edge On Folk, Saturday October 16th 8am to noon, CiTR fm 101.9 and www.citr.ca

We lost another music legend this week: Solomon Burke died on arrival in Holland for a tour with Dutch soul band De Dijk. He was 70 years old, a colossus in the music business, a master of soul, country, gospel, R&B and rock music. I'll have some music from the great man, plus new releases like Afrocubism - with African musicians travelling to Cuba and Spain to record with Cubans (this was the original intention of the Buena Vista Social Club CD, but the Africans were stranded in Burkina Fasso during a civil war, I think.) Plus the new Luka Bloom CD, a new live album by Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole, a new Pine Leaf Boys CD, a new song by Zachary Richard, and other new albums and concert previews galore. Please join me for four hours of the very best in Roots Music.

5. New brews at the Rogue!

We have a new selection of fine beers from Tree Brewing at our shows, plus a new coffee supplier, and maybe even a wine tasting this weekend. Come along to a concert or two and augment the experience with some wholesome and tasty beverages and snacks.

6. New Ticketing System

We'll probably introduce the new online ticketing system on Monday. Maybe earlier. You should notice a marked improvement in the ease with which you can purchase tickets - and memberships and Parcels O'Rogues - online, but you shouldn't experience any difficulty in adjusting to the changes! Visit us on www.roguefolk.bc.ca and see what we mean. As I say, the ticketing change probably won't happen until Monday, but the website will have lots of new content before then, so please stop by on your next surfing safari.