Po' Girl with JT Nero

What better way to kick off March break than with a trip to the Black Sheep Inn? Tonight it was Po' Girl hitting the stage again with some help here and there from JT Nero from Chicago. The end result was more than adequate, in fact it was verging on spiritual.

Po' Girl is in the middle of their No Shame Tour that will see them on stages in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The night before they were in my hometown Peterborough where they apparently impressed and enticed some of the fans to actually hop in the car and check out this evening's show in Wakefield. The start of a dedicated fanbase maybe? Call them Po'Heads?




Po' Girl are multiple instrumentalists. There was rarely a break between songs where the members weren't switching the tools of their trade. Banjo, slide guitar, electric bass, clarinet, accordion, wash bucket bass, glockenspiel, piano, and even bicycle bells (which sound surprisingly musical when left in the hands of these girls). Very impressive. What I love the most is the way they make these changes without pointing out the obvious to the fans like so many other bands often do. Well done.



Great music, good friends, and a round or two of micro-brewed beer. Cheers guys now bring on St. Patty's Day!!

Check out the last time I caught Po' Girl at the Black Sheep back in October 2008.

Chris Brown and a Spin Doctor

Thursday at the Black Sheep Inn it was Chris Brown (Bourbon Tabernacle Choir) joined by Eric Schenkman (Spin Doctors), Sarah McDermott, Anton Fier, and Elijah Abrams (The Abrams Brothers). It was their first time playing together as a band (Open Heart Society) and I'm sure it won't be their last.

The opening act for the night was The Jack Grace Band hailing from Brooklyn. Well technically it was just Jack and Daria less the band. They put on an entertaining opener, very Johnny Cash like, and if I'd timed it I just may have been able to confirm my suspicion that they actually played longer than the headliners. ;) And of course Luther Wright was on hand to join Jack on a couple of tracks.



By night's end, Open Heart Society had put on a good show. My only complaint was that it could have been 3 or 4 songs longer. Oh and after a taste of Eric jamming out a raunchy rocking version of "Back Door Man" in the rehearsal, I was expecting him to step up to the mic at least once to let go. Oh well, next time maybe...

Grass Mountain Hobos and USWM

Photo by Kenmore.

Friday night and I'd just finished my annual visit to the Sparks Street's International Chicken-Rib Cook-off. Belly full, I was grinning out the bus window watching the pour souls try to dodge the downpour of a serious thunderstorm when I noticed a text message waiting for me. It was Kenmore saying that if I was still interested in heading up to the Black Sheep Inn for some music and beverages, he was in. I mulled it over a while (pulled pork sandwiches with a side of baked beans and a pint of Guinness can take a lot out of a man) but in the end I opted in.


Photo by Kenmore.
I arrived at the Inn around 8 pm to find Kenmore settling in with a cold pint of Belle Gueule Originale. The opening act, The Grass Mountain Hobos, were up on stage testing out their sound levels. They're a bluegrass band from PEI - banjo, fiddle, dual acoustic guitars, mandolin, and tons of vocal harmonies. They proved to be a lively bunch and highly entertaining.


Photo by Kenmore.
The United Steel Workers of Montreal hit the stage running. I'd seen them play here last March so I thought had a pretty good idea of what I was in for. Boy was I mistaken. Having only recently returned from a 15 show tour of Europe they were showing no signs of jet lag. The place was hopping.

Gern f. took hold of the audience from the opening note of Shot Tower and even managed to get them all up and standing for the encore with a little help from members of The Grass Mountain Hobos. All evening the breeze was blowing outside across the Gatineau River, while inside it was sticky muggy hot. So much so that at one point in the evening, Gern stepped down off the stage mid-song, grabbed a bottle of water from a nearby table, slapped an empty chair in the middle of the floor and then proceeded to douse himself. Yes, a complete re-enactment of the infamous Flashdance scene. Too funny. And there wasn't a soul there that didn't want to join in. Thankfully though Gern did spare us the dancing bit.


Photo by Kenmore.
All in all it was another night to remember at Le Mouton. Thanks Paul and thank you USWM. Cheers!

LeE HARVeY OsMOND is Tom Wilson

Last night my buddy Mikey and I drove out to Wakefield to see Tom Wilson's latest creation, Lee Harvey Osmond. Technically speaking the touring band consists of a rotating set of members pulled from the list on the inside cover of the new CD "A Quiet Evil". Helping to create this album Tom pulled together a rather impressive gaggle of talent with members from the Cowboy Junkies (Michael, Margo, and Peter Timmons), the Skydiggers, Junkhouse/Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Huron, Suzie Vinnick, Colin Linden,... you get the idea.

The night started with a huge line-up at the closed door. Mikey and I had hoped to score a seat and stupidly thought that arriving over an hour before ticket time would be sufficient. It was not. This Thursday night gig was not going unnoticed by the Black Sheep regulars. It was sold out.

Opening the evening was Justin Townes Earle (son of Steve, albeit raised by his mother -- which btw provided some funny between song banter). Hailing from Nashville, TN Justin warmed up the house to a mixture of folk, honky tonk, and a taste of country while his side kick Charlie played a mean mandolin and blew what may have well been the best harp I've ever heard. Check out the track "Halfway to Jackson" on his latest CD - even keeping in mind that live rocks while studio only rolls, the train/harmonica leads are smoking.



When Lee Harvey Osmond finally took the stage the crowd was more than ready. According to Tom himself he was one grumpy bastard upon arriving having just spend a dozen odd hours in the back of a minivan. But hearing Justin play the opening set made him "real happy". Thankfully too, as we the audience were the benefactors.

At one point in the night, Tom dropped word that he is working on a new CD with Blackie & the Rodeo Kings to be titled "Kings and Queens". Aside from the standard Blackie members, Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing, and Tom Wilson they have been teaming up with various female artists. There was no name dropping but I'll go out on a limb here and mention Margo and Suzie. Regardless it sounds like a recipe for awesome. Looking forward to it.



As the night wore on it become more and more apparent that Tom was really enjoying himself. At one point he jumped to stage left away from the mic and started belting out the song John Henry (or at least a version of). As you can well imagine Tom had no problem making his voice carry in such a small room. Powerful - a very effective way to kick things up a notch.



By night's end there were a couple of standing O's and even one unexpected encore (Tom had to quickly teach some the of the band a new track to play). By now he had everybody on their feet throwing a glow with lighters and cellphones while they rocked out to Mott the Hoople's Sweet Jane. A great end to a great night. I still had to get up early next morning, but definitely no regrets.

Here are a couple of youtube videos from Lee Harvey Osmond, Queen Bee and Every Blade of Grass. Enjoy.

United Steel Workers of Montreal

USWM - March 20, 2009 @ The Black Sheep Inn
I'd only been back a few hours from our March break vacation in the Great White North when I hopped right back in the van and headed off to the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, QC. Tonight was a double bill, Enter The Haggis was opening for the United Steel Workers of Montreal. ETH is a five man band from Toronto and USWM is a six-piece from (are you ready for this?) Montreal. Both can have a Celtic/bluegrass feel to them but I'd put USWM on the folk side of that and ETH on the rock side.


Enter The Haggis
The night felt a bit like an after after party from St. Paddy's Day. Fiddle, bag pipes, mandolin, banjo, accordion,... it was a very eclectic bag a tricks coming from these two Canadian bands. Needless to say it was high energy and very entertaining.




Check their websites for tour dates and be sure to check them out sometime. You won't be disappointed.

Here are some HD youtube clips from USWM :
Shot Tower
For the Love of Your Mother's Sake
Meaner Than You
Emilie Bertrand

Chris Brown and Kate Fenner

Saturday night I headed out to the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield Quebec to see Chris Brown and Kate Fenner. I've been following these two since about 1988-89 when I first saw them perform with The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. The Bourb was an electrifying 9 piece band playing some kind of cross between funk, rock, and R&B.

Tonight they were promoting their new solo CDs. Pretty mellow stuff which worked great for me after my crazy moe.down weekend. The venue is incredibly small and intimate and I even had a chance to talk with Kate before the show and then Chris after.

Not the Bourb in any shape or form but definitely two very musically talented individuals.




The second to last track was a nice mellow 7 minute version of Chris Brown's "Superior". The grand finale of the show was when Chris and Kate were joined by Luther Wright (of Luther Wright and the Wrongs and formerly of Weeping Tile of which Sarah Harmer was lead vocalist) on the track "While You Sleep".



A great finish to a great evening.

Download the bootleg of the show here (then go buy their CDs)...



Cut me some slack on the boot too, it was my first ever and I borrowed the recorder from a friend. Setting the levels was next to impossible so I gave up.

Click here for a little slideshow of the evening.