mark tonin

Meet Hat Trick Hank Meet Hat Trick Hank Orangeville songstress reaches top 50 in CBC Hockey Night in Canada’s Song Quest Orangeville Banner By Shannon Lough A local Orangeville musician’s hockey song is in the top 50 for CBC Hockey Night in Canada’s Song Quest. Anne Thomson composed “Hat Trick Hank†three years ago and couldn’t resist entering the song in the competition to find Canada’s next great hockey song. The song has a country twang that tells a story about an “enigmatic†romantic hockey player, with the chorus “he’s aggressive on the ice but he’s a lover with his wife,†that gets stuck in your head. Thomson is a full-time teacher and student. She teaches at the Pine River Institute for teens with addictions while working on her Masters of Social Work through the University of Windsor. The school has an outdoor ice rink in the winter where the students play hockey every morning. She said she sees her students “blossom†as they strap on their skates. Thomson’s song is representative of how hockey can bring out another side of someone, as it does with her students. “Who you are on the ice isn’t necessarily who you are off the ice,†Thomson said. As for Thomson, she said she’s the opposite of Hank. “I’m kind of a bumbling fumbling hockey player,†she said. Thomson may be awkward on the ice, but she’s a talented musician for someone who only jams with friends around a campfire and doesn't play professionally. Owner of Aardvark Music & Culture, Perry Joseph, has known Thomson for seven years. Joseph said he had no idea she played until she performed a song for him three years ago. Joseph asked her when she started playing and she told him “I just picked it up.†Joseph knows her as one of the most “passionate followers of other people’s music†and because of this he believes she “deserves lots of support herself.†Thomson recorded the version of the song heard on the CBC website with local recording artist Bruce Ley in October for this competition. If Thomson wins, she will record a studio version of Hat Trick Hank with Canadian musician Joel Plaskett and her song will be broadcasted at the beginning of Hockey Night in Canada. “I don’t know where it will go from here. I think I have a chance. We’ll have to wait and see,†Thomson said. Listen and vote for Thomson’s song “Hat Trick Hank†on the CBC website before the end of Thursday (Dec. 19) to advance her to the top 10 list where she’ll continue to the final round. Visit http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/Anne-Thomson to hear the song.

Nice to read that you crazy cats had a blast and made it to and from the show without incident. Ok, maybe there were some incidents but I'm glad none of them involved ending up in a ditch or multi-vehicle pile up.

Big time earth shaking ... confirmed.

I really enjoyed the set of music Toadhouse played the last time I heard them (opening for Fat Cats this past Halloween in Hamilton). Tomorrow night is a sweet double bill ... wish I could swing it. Peace, Mark

Easy-peasy! It's definitely a fun, catchy song, and your voice sounds great!

Super funky news!

It looks like I'll be shaking my bones at this show!

Somehow I didn't process the self-wedding'd posts earlier in this thread ... awesome news ... congrats!!!

I'm new to Old Crow ... it's only been during the past six months that I've really started listening to them. Loved their set in Simcoe. Great energy and the sound was sweet. I also enjoyed the Mumford and Sons set and Edward Sharpe. We were camped at Long Point and made the drive in for the evening on Friday and Saturday, so I can't speak to the whole festival experience, but what I experienced was solid. Kudos to Simcoe and Norfolk County for embracing the event. So cool that a festival of this magnitude happened in Southwestern Ontario.

I thought Reed Mathis did a solid job, but I had a hard time hearing what he was doing for the first part of the set. It did seem to get dialed in better as the show progressed, and I also ended up moving to a better sound pocket. Sorry I missed you edger. It looks like I missed a number of people. I did get hooked up with a pit pass, which was really cool, as I enjoyed the view from up close. But after 3 or 4 songs I ended up moving back to get into a sweeter sound pocket. Liana stayed up front for the whole show though, and totally dug it, as I knew she would. Right up her alley with the drumming, the vocalist, and the brain imaging stuff.

Grrr, just lost a rather lengthy post. Here’s the condensed version. I really enjoyed this show. It was cool seeing Mickey’s brain image projected on the screen. Crystal Monee Hall has an awesome voice that sat nicely on top of the deep rhythms that the band was churning out. It brought a smile to my face to see my deadhead friend introduce the band. Bravo to Mickey to for continuing to push boundaries with his music. It was a treat to hear his interpretation of Scarlet Begonias, Bertha, Samson and Delilah, Fire on the Mountain and Brokedown Palace (I think I got them all), along with his original material. I enjoyed it enough to buy Superorganism (I almost typed Superorgasm, likely because of the thread started by edger). I’d go again. But if I had a choice, I’d go to see Phil instead.

Mark Wilson has put together a solid lineup for this year's Labour Day weekend event. Check in out: After Funk Ascot Royals Brothers Inc Caution Jam Codner Dead City Soul Revue Diesel Dog Elmo Combo Flat Five Gypsy Ghosts Killing Time Band Kirby LumberJunk Mark Wilson & The Way It Is Motion Grove Must Stash Hat Scott Donnelly Trio Sun Sol Urban Monks Wax Mannequin Wormwood Scrubs More info about the festival can be found here: Come Together Music Festival

Let your backbone slide!

Sad news - my condolences.

Had an awesome time! Here are some highlights and comments from the weekend: Phil Lesh with Scofield, Medeski, Russo and Kadlecik. Are you kidding me? I knew it would be good. I was wrong. It was better than that. My favourite post-Jerry musical experience by any member(s) of the Grateful Dead. Phil Lesh for president. Steve Kimock featuring Bernie Worrell and Friends. Super groovy. I like to dance. This band made me dance. Big time. I'd love to see this band again. John Scofield Uberjam. I picked this over Galactic and ended up right up front. It was a wise choice on my part, and I am a big fan of Galactic. I remember when the record Uberjam first came out and it lived in my cd player. It was a treat to see this music played live. Wow. Stellar musicianship meets modern technology. He's got a new Uberjam record out. Boogie Stupid is the name of one song he played from it - sums it up nicely. The Black Crowes. Sometimes I forget how much I like to hear a good rock band. These guys are better than that. They rock big time. I hope to see them again before too long. Kung Fu and Deep Banana Blackout. The late night funk was raging! Railroad Earth. I really enjoyed floating around the festival grounds while these guys played. Dark Star Orchestra. Yes they are a cover band. And more than that. And, in my opinion, they are the perfect Thursday night band for this festival. They set the stage for a fantastic weekend. The venue (Seaside Park) was excellent. We were camped close to the stages (under 10 min walk) but it didn't feel too close or busy. Really good sound. Fairly low sketch factor from what I observed. On the ocean with a nice beach. Clean restrooms and portable toilets. Excellent food options and lots of cools vendors. I would definitely go back to this venue for a festival. Edger, c-towns and livingstoned. My travel crew. Excellent. High fun factor. No hassle factor. Thanks kids! Bands that I really enjoyed but that I wish I took in even more of: Blues Traveler, John Butler Trio, Funky Meters. Some bands that I missed that I wished I had the time and energy to see: Galactic, Tedeschi/Trucks, Fishbone. All-in-all a fantastic festival! The negatives are too few and too small to mention. I'd go again! Peace, Mark

Phil Lesh with these guests ... wow ... still grinning when I think about the 2 nights at GOTV

Thanks for posting Chris - glad it went well for you given the crazy weather. I thought about Jackson a couple of times when we were at Gathering of the Vibes ... thinking about last year's rock/dance out with him at All Good puts a huge smile on my face!

Wickedly heroically awesome ... makes me shiver inside ... wow

Managed to dodge and weave the weather craziness during our stay in Chicago. Made a decision not to attend the Friday Chicago Phish show (partly based on the weather forecast) but ran into a number of very wet, dazed and confused fans at the House of Blues afterparty show. Velvet wasn't one of them (But I did run into him the next night.) Walked to the show and stayed dry during the walk by huddling inside a building doorway as the worst of the storm passed overhead. It rained during Saturday's 3 set show. Nothing too serious though; we got a wet but not soaked and we managed to stay warm. Whatever you do take care of your shoes. Mine managed to stay dry for the entire weekend. Sunday it really started coming down right at the end of Bathtub Gin. Fortunately we managed to head for a big "oasis tent" (capacity 500 ?) that they had set up at the very back corner of the venue, and stayed dry as the rain poured down for the end of set one and during set break. By 9:30 the rain stopped, the temperature was perfect, and we danced around some puddles and found a great mud-free spot on the lawn to get down and boogie. Managed to get back home and then to Toronto in time for the makeup show! Oodles of familiar faces ... lots of hugs and hand shakes and high fives ... I just wish I had more time and energy to soak it all in. Pun intended. Really enjoyed the show, but to my ears, the sound quality wasn't as pristine as it had been in Chicago. I thought they had the sound dialed in nicely at the end of set one for Ocelot and Suzy. Mike's bass sounded phat throughout the show, as did the kit. Page came through well ... I ended up Page side for the Chicago shows and for Toronto and maybe that's the key to hearing him in the mix ... he impressed the heck out of me! But I wish Trey's guitar was more present in the mix in Toronto. Maybe it was just my location. Or maybe it was just my desire to have my face melted with guitar. The vocals also seemed muddy at times. In Chicago I could clearly hear song lyrics and stage banter; in Toronto it was hit and miss. But it's hard to complain and I most certainly would do it all over again if I could! Thank you Phish for the makeup show and for the long Toronto second set with a 3 song encore! That felt special. Had a blast phishing; time to get ready for a trip to The Vibes!

I just did the same thing for the back of 202. Not a fan of StubHub' date=' but one purchase in a blue moon for under face is easy to rationalize (or so I tell myself!). Now here's hoping the show doesn't get flooded out![/quote'] Ditto. Was going to buy $75 seats when the recent block of seats became available via TM/LN but opted instead for cheaper Stubhub seats at the back of section 203. The ironic thing is that I would have paid $75 for these tickets if they had been available when tickets first went on sale. Looking forward to a fun night!

The whole ticketing situation for this show has been ridiculous. Few good seats available when tickets first went on sale, good seats available for below face value on Stubhub, and lots of good seats released close to show time. Does this now happen at most big Live Nation shows? Or is Phish a special situation? Would love an explanation from somebody who understands how this business works ...

Thanks for the tip c-towns!

Thanks for the reviews and hopefully this festival idea will carry on into future years ...

Thanks for the suggestions Jaimoe!

Thanks for the link skelter - that looks like a cool spot. I figured I'd get at least one heady "Grill cheese for a buck, what the f@ck" suggestion. Any other suggestions close to the amphitheater? Cheers, Mark