edger

15 long years, and still truckin'... The boys will be celebrating by putting on a show Saturday Sept. 29th. They'll be digging up their roots by jammin it out in Dundas at the Thirsty Cactus. Back in the day when it used to be Rockwalls, this bar was one of the first places where the Fatties played as a full band. They plan to do a full-band acoustic set (which has been a while...I'm personally hopin' that Gatch will bust out the banjo...), and they will also do an electric set. Cover will be $10 I believe tickets will be available in advance, and at the door. I will post more as soon as I have more details, but for now, hold that date if you're interested and able. Should be good times.

Congrats to you and your family!

Glad to hear that all of you other fine folks were able to carry on... I don't know what goes through some people's heads sometimes...

Hey folks, I too had a fun time at the festie. Although I was only there for one night unfortunately. I just needed some downtime this weekend, so we opted to hear north to the cottage on Saturday. I was really dissapointed to have missed the United STeelworkers though as they are a band I've been wanting to catch for some time. Fatties kicked things off on Friday. I thought they played a great set. Dave had a particularly good night on the bass. Three new tunes thrown into the mix as well, which was refreshing. And some good old ones that i haven't heard them dig up for a while. The band that played after them (Battleship Ethel) were super talented. They had this old school art rock thing going on... reminded me of Yes, very early Floyd, even a bit of Zappa. That drummer was crazy!! I was really impressed by them. You don't hear too many bands these days experimenting with that kind of sound (I don't anyways)... it's not always my thing, but they had it going on. Diesel Dog were great as usual. I was dissapointed to have bowed out early, as I missed their entire acoustic set. But with a bun in the oven, and nothing in the system but water and pizza, sleep came over me. The only downside to my experience this year, is there was a total crazy psychopath wandering around the backfields where we were camped. I had been sleeping for about an hour or so and was startled out of my slumber by some guy screaming, looking for a fight, yelling brutal obscenities at women, pounding on people's cars, tearing at people's tents. It is the first time that I have EVER actually felt fear or real danger at a festival before. I thought being in the back ninety was a wise choise given that I wanted to get some actual sleep that night, but I was quickly regretting my decision as I was honestly just waiting for this guy to attack our tent. I don't know where this dude came from... and I'm not the type that ever wishes violence on people, but I really hope this guy was either turfed or put into his place. I heard the next morning that poor Scott had an unfortunate run-in with some guy. I'd put money on it that it was the same person as that guy was a total loose canon and it was only a matter of time. That really put a damper on my night, and I wouldn't be lying to say that I was happy to get the hell out of there the next morning... Hopefully no one else was terrorized by that asshole!

I also heard something similar regarding the origin of AC/DC's name. Although I think I was told that it mean "Against Christ, Devil's Children"... I know I've heard some rumour that Rod Stewart blew off all of his bandmates and then had to have his stomach pumped. Something tells me that account is a little (or a lot) inaccurate...

Glad to hear that you had an enjoyable and refreshing weekend! All the best to you and Jennifer!

Best wishes!

We'll be rolling in Friday as well!

Very cool. To be published is a goal of mine as well, so it is nice to see a good inspirational example coming off of this board. I'm digging the cover...

All the best guys... an inspiration.

I'm not familiar enough with Gisto's work to really comment on him specifically. But to me, reggae is a style of music, a form of expression. You don't have to "necessarily" be a big, black rasta man to channel that (although if it is clearly a part of who you are, and where you have come from, it will likely flow more naturally...which shows). While certain "styles" tend to evoke different sounds and approaches with musical instruments, I think the same can be said about vocals. Reggae without the patois would sound a little strange (unless its purely instrumental) I can't really think of many examples where that is the case (but hey, if anyone can think of an example that's worth listening to, I'd give it a shot I suppose)... Reggae to me is about putting out a certain energy. Some don't have it, and in that case I guess it would come across as a "front", or forced, and I agree that is an unpleasant and contrived listening experience. But you don't have to be white to fit into that category. I used to thoroughly enjoy the vibe put out by Friendlyman (I think that was his handle), that used to play with Truths and Rights. (Are they still around?) Anyways, I'm rambling...

I'm always away for the good stuff... Have fun kids!

Yeah, I'd have to say that I generally prefer when things are set up that way as well. That way, everyone is happy. If you feel like raging on, than there's something to feed that. If you opt to sleep at some point, than you're still left satisfied and get your money's worth... Thanks for the review.

I am fortunate enough to have been one of the chosen ones

Hmmm... judging by that it looks like we only really missed the encore. Guess we timed our departure well (i hate leaving early, but it was a wise choice this time)

We almost didn't make it... but I'm sure glad I did! After waiting over an hour and a half (or more... lost track) at the border, we were about four cars away from going through when my car started to smoke, and leak rad fluid. Not good. And the thought of waiting for a tow truck driver, missing the show, and then sitting in that god-awful border line in a tow truck only to return to Canada was NOT appealing. But we waited a long while, let the car cool down, and when driving on the highway with cool air blowing through the engine all was fine. It's not liking the idle mode right at the moment, so off to the shop for me I guess. But at least we made the show! Definitely one of the best Ratdog shows I've seen. They're hit and miss for me, and last night was definitely a hit. My highlights for that were being welcomed in to Here Comes Sunshine, the Loser (DAMN I love that song!!!)... and the Dark Star>Terrapin jam. So good. I almost wish they had ended the show on that note. Don't get me wrong, I love Touch of Grey, but it seemed a little deflated in comparison to the previous jam. I had the same sentiments as the reviewer posted above at the end of Ratdog... just feeling real lucky that after all that we still had the Allmans to take in. They were TIGHT and on their a-game. I thought Greg's pipes sounded particularly good last night. And can Warren ever sing. Derek is just getting better and better every time i see him. He's such a treat to watch. Definitely many mind melting moments sans psychedelia (for me). We unfortunately bowed out a couple of songs early, as we were concerned about the car surviving a stop-and-go, gridlock parking scenario, so opted to beat the traffic out. But all in all, a great show.

i'm confused... the fat cats i know haven't been to the east coast in a long time... not since the bus died many years ago.

Keep your head up Jay!!

Oh, I should mention that the main drag (King St.) will be closed due to the festival. But you should be able to find parking on one of the side streets no problem (and the winch is at the far end of king, so things aren't usually as crowded parking wise down there)

nudge, nudge

Happy birthday! ::Drumming and spinning in your honour::

Me, Todd, Tonin, and \/\/illy are definitely going. So is Wassink Wild Card, and i believe RayRay. Who else is in? Last I knew I believe livingstoned, neugroove, tigger and becky were all hopping on the party train. Should be fun.

Thanks AD. I'll drop him a line.

Hey folks. I may have a pair of extra Ryan Adams tickets available for the show in Toronto at Massey Hall on Friday September 21st. PM me if you are interested. I'd be looking for face value. Peace, sara

I remember it was Cactus Fest in Dundas. We ventured down to the Collins for some brews... had to drink them quickly as the few that were lucky enough to find themselves on ice were quickly dissapearing. I remember feeling bad for all of the local restaurants, bars, vendors, etc that bring in an uncharacteristically large stock in order to accommodate the festival crowd. A lot of people lot a hell of a lot of money due to spoilage that weekend. But from our end of things (other than the sweltering heat of the apartment), I enjoyed roaming around with friends in the dark. There was an extra aroma of freedom in the air... The stillness at night in the city was quite foreign to me.