All credit for this one has to go to Feely. Once again, there was a concert, and once again, I had nobody to go with, and once again, I thought about skipping out. So I sat down for a chat online as I tried to make up my mind.
JamesEarthquake: Feely
I was sitting off to the side, watching the show and occasionally taking illicit videos, but I seemed to be sitting in heckler’s row. Sitting two to my left was the guy who yelled out for Ministry. When someone else yelled “Danny Michel for Prime Minister” (Danny was selling “DM for PM in 2010” buttons), this guy responded to Danny’s impromptu campaign promises with a demand for “less talk more rock.” I thought it was a bit much coming from someone who didn’t even look up from his books the whole night, but I’ll give the guy the benefit of the doubt and suggest that he was merely suggesting another campaign promise instead of just being a dick. I mean, I’d vote for a Prime Ministerial candidate whose campaign slogan was “less talk, more rock.” Assuming they actually rocked, that is. Meanwhile, immediately to my right was the guy who yelled that Danny was “a real good guitar tuner.” A few feet from him were the random yellers and the off-beat clapping team. They get rowdy in Regina on an April Fools Tuesday night.
I don’t really know what else there is to say. He played a lot of songs. I liked the songs, including the new ones that I hadn’t heard before. The new album features a song about Mexican wrestling, but he didn’t play that one… well, unless it was steeped in metaphor. Basically, I’ve been promised a Mexican wrestling song, and the sooner I get done this review, the sooner I can listen to the new album and devote some actual attention to it.
There was one encore of one song, a Los Lobos cover. He led the crowd in singing the chorus, then unplugged from his amplifier and played the guitar as he walked offstage. It was a pretty cool way to end the show. I’d have taken more songs, but I was certainly happy with what we got. And though he may have been tired (and the crowd was both smaller and less receptive than you’d think, resulting in a show that – as a whole – didn’t quite compare to the other two times I’ve seen him), he still stuck around and chatted with everyone as they left. What a cool guy. I got my CDs signed and took a picture because hassling the marginally famous ensures good times for all.
In closing, I should mention that Danny is up for a Juno award for best DVD. The first time I saw him, he was up for Best New Artist and promised to lose to Michael Bublé, which he did. On this night, he once again vowed to lose, though he wasn’t picking a winner this time. He did say that the Juno folks wanted to know about his limo plans for the ceremony. He emailed them back and told them that because he loves the environment, he and his date would be arriving on bicycles. I think he was kidding. But they thought this was a great idea, so I think he might actually do it. You might want to check that out, it could be funny. He might even ride his bike all the way up the red carpet as promised, though I don’t think he’ll go through with his plan of locking his bike to Ben Mulroney and drinking the night away. At least, not ALL of that plan.
