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May 23-24, 2008 - Orillia, ON WOW! I could leave this road story with just that one word as it comes closest to what the gig was like but I'll add a bit more info here! We're at the incredible Casino Rama, just north of Toronto and what a place! The venue is huge with somewhere in the 4000 seat size and the staging was top notch with an incredible light show and the best sound around. So I'm going to dub these two shows as the "Celtic Circus"! You see we did a double bill with the celtic powerhouse Leahy. At times it felt like a three ring circus with incredible entertainment going on everywhere you looked. Both Natalie and Leahy decided to do away with the traditional "you open the show and we'll close it" attitude and decided to make one big show with one band doing a few tunes, the other coming on and doing a couple, then some members doing songs together then others playing together on other parts. I believe it kept the audience very entertained and wondering what was going to happen next. The last song as well as the encore featured all the musicians on stage together (I got to play beside one of my favourite bassists, Siboheann Leahy) and at the end of the encore every Leahy as well as Natalie were at the front playing fiddles and dancing. Incredible energy up there and the crowd really got into the show. As our drummer JD mentioned, these had to be two of the funnest shows we've ever done. I hope one day to actually do a tour like this. Anyway it was great to play and visit with everyone again and catch up on what everyone is doing. We won't be playing together as a band again until the middle of June and Natalie will be out all summer with different members and special guests so every |
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show is going to be unique. If you see her playing in your area make sure you check it out. You'll never know what you're going to get but rest assured it'll be great!! See you next time. ............................................................................................................................... August 1, 2008 - Victoria, BC Hi everyone. Well the full band is back for a full weekend of dates. We're at the beautiful Butchart Gardens just outside of Victoria, BC. And what a beautiful place this is. In the middle of it all is this wonderful amphitheatre which is a gorgeous place for a concert. Natalie gave the folks a wonderful show and considering we hadn't played together for a couple of months, the band was back in top notch form. The crowd was full of energy and Natalie loved the fact that there were so many families there. It's always great to see kids dancing in front of the stage. In fact at one point Natalie ran off the stage and formed a conga line with the kids! A huge thanks to everyone who came out to the show and all the staff and volunteers at Butchart Gardens. We had a blast! ... See you all in Richmond. ............................................................................................................................... August 2, 2008 - Richmond, BC Well folks we're at the amazing River Rock Casino in Richmond, BC tonight. What a great facility this is. It's a state of the art theatre with about a 1000 seats and is designed as a multi-purpose room that can go from theatre seating to a flat convention like floor in a matter of minutes! Not to mention it has some of the best sound and lighting around and also has the worlds second largest mirror ball suspended over the crowd! How cool is that! Great crowd tonight. Natalie was on fire tonight and the crowd was hanging on every note. We even had a bit of a surprise tonight. Natalie had a couple of guest there that she actually brought on stage for a dance!. A great treat for all of us. And of course Natalie pulled some strings and got them to turn on the mirror ball for the encore. A great way to end a great show. So tomorrow we have a 5am lobby call to fly to Edmonton, AB for two shows in one day! Time for bed. See you there. ............................................................................................................................... August 3, 2008 - Edmonton, AB Well we made our early morning lobby call and got to the festival in fine form! We're at the Edmonton Heritage Festival in the heart of downtown. Wow what a huge event this is. There are over 60 countries represented and each have their own tent with food from their native countries. Some of the boys managed to walk around and sample some of the cuisine. We are playing a amphitheatre on the grounds of the festival. Beautiful setting right beside a lake and right in the heart of all the action. This is a great permanent facility with covered seating directly in front of the stage as well as a sloped section of grass for folks who want to bring a blanket and enjoy the concert from the back. As well, we weren't the only entertainment on stage. Just before us were the incredible Wajjo drummers from Africa. Not only are they fantastic drummers but they had a bagpiper in their group! So you know we had to run out front and catch some of the show. So we were blessed with perfect weather for both shows (it was cloudy and cold when we got there) and the audiences were great. For the first show we had lots of kids taking advantage of the area in front of the stage to dance along with Natalie's music and we had mostly adults dancing for the second show. Again Natalie ran off the stage and did a dance with one of the fans. You never know what that gal will do! A huge thank you to the staff and organizers of this wonderful event and also to eveyone who came out. What a great time we had. Now we are all gonna hit the hay early as we all fly home tomorrow morning. The next gig for the band is next week in Quebec City. Looking forward to it. ............................................................................................................................... August 9, 2008 - Quebec City, PQ Did you ever want to go to France but the budget just wouldn't let you do it? Well do I have a treat for you! Head on up to the beautiful Quebec City, go into the old part of town and you'll swear that you're in the middle of France! (well except for the Canadian and Quebec T-shirts in the souvenir shops!) That's where the gig was today, right in the heart of Old Quebec. First of all the stage is in a unique place. We are basically in a square with buildings all around us. You have to walk through an archway and your first site is the stage at the far end. It's a great place for a show and we were very excited about performing tonight. As an added bonus at soundcheck Natalie introduced us to a special guest. Stephan Landry is an accordion player that Natalie has played with before and she invited him out to play a few tunes with us tonight. Wow this guy is incredible. His French style of playing is very unique to us and it was a great bonus for both us and the crowd. And speaking of the crowd, you'd be hard pressed to find a more exuberant audience. These people love music and they love to show it. The energy was over the top and made us play even harder. It was a very memorable show for us and all of us say a huge thanks to everyone who came out as well as the top notch staff and volunteers who made this show such a success. Well we now go our different ways for awhile. Natalie is playing a few shows with the limited band and we won't be playing together as a full band until late September. Then its going to be a full on tour until the end of October. Please check the schedule to see if we're going to be in a town near you. Until then take care and thanks for coming by the Road Story page. It's always great to hear your comments.
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