Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The Riders or Bengough, Saturday, July 27

Out of all the members of the band, I care the most about the Roughriders.  If you are a fan of anything, success is fun, intoxicating and might become expected.  The last few years has seen success that leads to definite expecations, and now those expectations are being met.  The main questions are two: how hi can they get, or when do they crash?  I'd like to watch what happens this Saturday in Hamilton, as 5 - 0 sounds freakin' awesome, but watching the Gateway Festival audience watching us is going to take priority.  If any of you are debating your Saturday night options and Gateway vs the Riders is part of the equation, here is a top ten list of reasons why you should sway to the side of music vs. professional sports.

In no particular order, maybe....

10) Steve freakin' Earle - if the word legend can be used accurately with players this weekend, he is the only one that fits the bill.  Even if, somehow, by fluke, or bad strings on a guitar, he isn't stellar, he still brings his 'a' game and that is impressive for someone into his fourth (!?!?!) decade of making music.

9) You can PVR the Rider game.  Or you know someone who can.  Bring them to the show instead!

8) Workshop stages poolside: you heard me right!  Listen to workshops with a few refreshments under your belt and your belt underwater, if that pleases your sensibilities.  It'll appease many of ours to be sure....

7) Corb Lund: he seems to be the real freakin' deal, eh? Someone who seems huge, and is, but also isn't.  Killer headliner.

6) The Lazy MKs: yes, everyone on 13th Ave Records is a bit incestuous, so it would be no surprise that this blog would mention them.  But I don't really care about them - you should see them for their guests!  Hint: very few of them sing (I mean the guests).

5) 4 - 1:  still awesome.  Hamilton might be tough to beat, as I don't think the Riders can go much higher than they did against the team.  I'd like to see Fantuz play, but get three catches for 48 yards but give up at least two interceptions b/c he ran poor routes.  But I digress.....

4) Rah Rah: more incest, I know, sorry about that.  However, one of my highlights of last week's Ness Creek show was jamming with Marshall in the mess hall at 6am, after hiking all over the place and also after jamming around the fire.  He got badgered into doing "Jonquiere Tonight" and I sang with him on "Cuba Peru".  I was reminded of how awesome he is, even when he's not in The Lonesome Weekends, and I hear Rah Rah has just a bit of live performance experience.....

3)  The secret awesome vendor:  I recently heard poor reports about vendors at another festival in Saskatchewan, to which someone replied that the vendors at Gateway were second to none.  It is always just delightful to stumble upon something like holskap pie (!?? - just call it honeyberry, it's easier on the brain!) like at Ness.  What could it be this weekend?

2) "Crooked Line": new song by Devon.  It is perhaps the most intense song in our repertoire right now, and though there are rumours of recording, for the next little while we're going to be a band where you can only hear a lot of new stuff live.  With and without vanity, this song is at its apex right now.  It is kind of like what Kory Sheets is doing.  But remember, you can PVR the game!

1) Listen to the game while you get beer and/or pee: everyone has this sort of technology, that is for sure.  Just please remember if you are watching a band and listening to the game to cheer for a touchdown when the band does something awesome or finishes a song.  Or do it in the port-a-potty.  But then come let me know, even if I'm playing!

Riders 28  Ticats 18

Hat

2 comments:

  1. That was a good post. It made me want to PVR the game and come to the show despite living 3000km from Bengough.

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    Replies
    1. Mo!

      Slack on the comment replies, as the comments are as rare as your "cheer" near here! Muchas gracias, and everything has worked out swimmingly!

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