Another busy week of upcoming shows in Winnipeg, featuring The Wooden Sky, Jason Plumb, John Wort Hannam, and Spring Breakup, among others. We previewed those, had a listen to some Winnipeg classics, paid a birthday tribute to one of our most devoted listeners, and we still had plenty of time for new music from the mailbag and beyond!
It’s KK & The Mudge in-studio this week as we play a wide variety of music, just the way we like it: some pop, some roots, some rock, all good.
We’re extremely lucky in Manitoba to have an incredible music industry featuring some of the best artists in the world. That’s in no small part thanks to the behind the scenes industry folk (and the horrendous weather!) at organizations like Manitoba Film & Sound. As great as that organization is, sometimes, they screw up. Big time. This Sunday is one example of that. The folks at Film & Sound put together an amazing showcase of Manitoba music, featuring steallar stars like The Weakerthans, Romi Mayes, JP Hoe, Paper Moon, and many, many more. What’s more, they’re putting it on for FREE this weekend at our wonderful concert hall. Sounds great, right? Well, they made one tragic mistake. They booked it on Sunday at 2 pm. I know, what were they thinking? No respect, I tell ya.
Well, I’m not one to sit and gripe about the foolishness of others. Instead, I’ll be the bigger man and give you the weekend off to go support our wonderful artists. This week we’re pre-taped so that I can go down to the concert hall with my picket sign bearing the TTBTGH logo. Maybe we’ll get Stu Reid to pick up a dozen eggs and join us.
But, I’m not one to leave you in silence or slack off and run some old show you’ve heard already. No sir. This week, I put together another one of those timeless classics (and by that, I mean that you might hear it again some Sunday when I do slack off and run some old show…). This one is a good one. As I said on Thursday, I might actually be jealous of folks who stay home and listen. I pulled out some old classics that we haven’t heard in a while. I even cobbled together a weak theme for the show. I won’t tell you what it is, but I will tell you that the music this week is AMAZING, and this is one show you won’t mind hearing again some time down the road.
This week Steve Earle brings his Townesaoke tour to Winnipeg. I’ve long said that I’d rather hear Steve Earle do his own songs and hear Townes do his own songs, so this week that’s exactly what we did. We also heard from Hayes Carll, James Keelaghan, Geoff Berner, and Rae Spoon who are all appearing in town soon. And, some new music that I’ve been dying to play (and a Fred Eaglesmith tangent it set me off on.)
The Mudge goes it alone this week with some previews of some great upcoming shows, and a sad, posthumous tribute to the late, great Paul Quarrington.
I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes, it is indeed best not to meet your heroes. With this in mind, for some reason, I’ve purposely avoided talking to one of the greatest songwriters in the world, even though I see him all over the place and have heard that he’s a humble, decent dude. This week, I took my chances and chatted with John K Samson of The Weakerthans, and found that he is every bit as decent as I’ve heard. Phew. He kicks off a preview of an incredibly busy week in local shows, featuring John & Christine & friends, Dala, Joe Pug, Cuff the Duke, Blue Rodeo, and more!
It’s been far too many years and one failed attempt, but finally, at long last, James Keelaghan drops by the studio to chat and sing us some of his amazing songs. He even asked me for a request (and wasn’t bothered in the least by it) AND promised to come back! Now that’s a show worth listening to again or catching up on if you missed it the first time.
This week we hear from a bunch of artists who made (and inspired) great music in 2009. We talked about what they’re up to, but more importantly, we dedicated the show to our good friend Dietmar in Germany who is a tireless champion of the music that we love. He is an inspiration and a great help the the artists we talked to, including Leeroy Stagger, Evan Phillips, Romi Mayes, Dustin Bentall, Matt Epp, T. Nile, and more! Here’s to you, Big D. Keep up the great work.
2009 was a pretty good year overall, and a terrific year for music, but it’s over. Done. Finito. Now, it’s time for the future. Well, just about. Last Sunday KK and I went over our official best of lists, but if you’re one of those no-show kind of folks (ahem, T-Bar…), you missed it. Well, we’ve got ‘em for you below (and up at the blog, and soon up at steelbeltedradio.com)
We’ve got one more official Best of 2009 show to do, and boy oh boy, you don’t want to miss this one. I can’t give away too much yet, but suffice to say this may be the most exciting, star-studded show in Tell the Band to Go Home in history. Seriously. I’m actually working hard, planning this one out for a change, and it’s going to be good. I guarantee it. We’ll hear from some of the many artists who rocked our world this year, and pay tribute to some other folks who really made 2009 special. Check it out this Sunday.
Here’s them lists:
Tell the Band To Go Home Top Twelve CDs of 2009
Wendy Bird – Natural Wonder – (Beaumont Classic)
Jim Bryson – Live at the First Baptist Church – (Kelp)
Rose Cousins – The Send Off – (Old Farm Pony)
The Damnwells – One Last Century – (Poor Man)
Ron Hawkins – 10 Kinds of Lonely – (self)
Lucero – 1372 Overton Park – (Universal Republic)
Madison Violet – No Fool for Trying – (True North)
Dan Mangan – Nice, Nice, Very Nice – (File Under: Music)
Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle – Let’s Just Stay Here – (Mint)
Romi Mayes – Achin’ in yer Bones – (self)
Leeroy Stagger – Everything Is Real – (Boompa)
Two Hours Traffic – Territory – (Bumstead)
2009 best live shows:
Top 10:
March 26 – Slaid Cleaves/Guy Clark – CFRUC
April 30 – Leonard Cohen – MTS Centre
May 27 – TTBTGH songwriters’ Circle – WECC
June 13 – Leeroy Stagger – StuDome
June 15 – Coldplay/Snow Patrol – MTS Centre
June 18 – Kasey Chambers/Shane Nicholson – Fargo Theatre
July 8 – Elvis Costello – Folk Fest
August 27 – Christina Martin/Steven Bowers – Sunset Saloon
Oct. 24 – Paul Quarrington tribute – Harbourfront (Toronto)
Dec. 6 – Sunparlour Players – Folk Exchange
Honourable mentions:
Jan. 10 – Bebop Cowboys/Nathan – Times Change(d)
March 25 – Tom Wilson – House concert
April 3 – The Other Brothers – Park
April 10 – Brock Zeman/Dan Walsh – Sunset Saloon
May 14 – Romi Mayes CD Release – Pyramid
June 30 – Al Green/Dirty Dozen – Concert Hall
Oct. 2 – Jesse DeNatale – Park
Oct. 24 – Skydiggers – Glen Gould Theatre (Toronto)
Nov. 25 – Royal Wood/Rose Cousins – Park
Nov. 27 – Silver Creek – The Standard
And, most importantly:
Tell the Band to Go Home fans of the year (in no logical order, and in no way a complete list):
Dietmar, Allison, Tonya, Eugene, KK, Jaine, Lucy, Zenon, Melissa, Ron, Rob, Laura, Dean, Art, Barb, Shelly, Oly, Laura, Stu, and everyone else who calls, sends emails, listens, comes to concerts, buys music, spreads the good word, lives a good life, etc.
We’ve still got a few Best of 2009 CD packages to give away. Email me if you’re interested in receiving CDs or downloading it yourself! Tons of great music on there for you to enjoy!
Don’t forget about our survey:
If you have a few moments, please visit:
http://www.tellthebandtogohome.com/survey.htm
Any feedback (even negative) is VERY helpful and MUCH appreciated. The goal is to give you more of what YOU want, so here’s your chance to speak up.
Here’s the “full” list of shows I attended this year (except, of course, for the ones that I forgot, didn’t write down, or just plain don’t want to tell you about:
Jan. 10- Bebop Cowboys/Nathan-Times Change(d)
Feb. 7 – Pat Dinizio-StuDome
Feb. 8 -Pat Dinizio-Times Change(d)
March 10-Amelia Curran/Luke Doucet – Park
March 14 – Geoff Berner/Bob Wiseman – Ellice Theatre
March 21 – Bonnie Prince Billy – Pyramid
March 25 – Tom Wilson – House concert
March 26 – Slaid Cleaves/Guy Clark – CFRUC
April 3 – The Other Brothers – Park
April 10 – Brock Zeman/Dan Walsh – Sunset Saloon
April 15 – Martin Sexton – Walker
April 17 – Weakerthans/Constantines/Oh Susanna – Walker
April 19 – Wiretap – Art Gallery
April 21 – Melissa McClelland & Jason Plumb – Park
April 30 – Leonard Cohen – MTS Centre
May 1 – Madame Butterfly – Concert Hall
May 14 – Romi Mayes CD Release – Pyramid
May 21 – Nathan/WECC grand opening reception – WECC
May 25 – Hawksley Workman/G.Mac – WECC
May 27 – TTBTGH songwriters’ Circle – WECC
May 29 – Danny Michel – WECC
June 5 – Stephen Fearing – Into the Music
June 13 – Leeroy Stagger – StuDome
June 15 – Coldplay/Snow Patrol – MTS Centre
June 16 – The Watchmen – The Ex
June 18 – Kasey Chambers/Shane Nicholson – Fargo Theatre
June 28 – Jill Barber – WECC
June 30 – Al Green/Dirty Dozen – Concert Hall
July 8 – Royal Wood – Old Market Square
July 8 – Elvis Costello – Folk Fest
July 9-12 – Folk Fest
July 27 – Glen Campbell – McPhillips St. Station
August 2 – John K Samson/Royal Wood/Fred Penner – Gimli Folk Fest
August 7-9 -Trout Forest
August 24 – Liam Titcomb – Forks
August 27 – Christina Martin/Steven Bowers – Sunset Saloon
Sept. 16 – Keane – Walker
Sept. 17 – Ayla Brook/Cuff the Duke – Albert
Sept. 19 – Cohenfest – The Cyrk
Sept. 21 – Leeroy Stagger – StuDome
Sept. 24 – The Hold Steady – WECC
Sept. 24 – Two Hours Traffic – The Albert
Sept. 30 – Elliott BROOD/Wooden Sky – WECC
Oct. 1 – Gaslight Anthem – Garrick
Oct. 2 – Jesse DeNatale – Park
Oct. 6 – Two Hours Traffic – Music Trader
Oct. 24 – Paul Quarrington tribute – Harbourfront (Toronto)
Oct. 24 – Skydiggers – Glen Gould Theatre (Toronto)
Nov. 5 – Mike Plume Band – Times Change(d)
Nov. 10 – Justin Rutledge/Melissa McClelland – WECC
Nov. 13 – Skydiggers – WECC
Nov. 15 – Michael Johnston – Sunset Saloon
Nov. 18 – Joshua Cockerill – Pyramid
Nov. 25 – Royal Wood/Rose Cousins – Park
Nov. 27 – Kelly Hughes Live w/Stu – Aqua Books
Nov. 27 – Silver Creek – The Standard
Nov. 28 – Billy Bragg/Ron Hawkins – Walker
Dec. 5 – Fish & Bird – The Cyrk
Dec. 6 – Sunparlour Players – Folk Exchange
Dec. 18 – Danny Michel – WECC
Dec. 19 – JP Hoe Holiday Show – Park