mark tonin

Wow, only 8 days until this year's festival ... I am stoked! In my quest to clear off some space on my hard drive, I came across this post that I wrote after the May 2003 festival ... I thought some of you might enjoy reading a blast from the past. Peace, Mark

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Wowzie wowzie wow wow … what a weekend! I can’t even begin to put any structure to what happened at Frontier Town this past weekend, so here is my random blast of happy thoughts from what will undoubtedly go down as one of the best weekends of my entire life:

Watching it rain all day on Friday but then arriving at Frontier Town on Friday at around 6 p.m. just as the rain stopped. It didn’t rain once after that, and Sunday was absolutely perfect weather for an outdoor music festival … not too hot, not too cold, lots of sunshine, an almost full moon, twinkling stars …

Talking with the guys from PEI that I met in the saloon on Friday while the sampler disc from the Waterloo Bombshelter show was playing in the saloon. And thank you Esau13 for your kind words about that disc. I appreciate it. It is really cool to meet people that have traveled a long distance to an event. The energy that travelers bring to a party cranks it up yet another notch.

Rose Garland’s great dose of Dead on Friday night in the Saloon, and the positive feedback from the band members and their fans about what was happening at Frontier Town. It was nice to have some new bands and lots of Frontier Town first timers at this CTMF.

Waiting with Meagan for Jomomma to start playing on Friday night. Absolutely hilarious … one of those “you had to be there” moments. Yes it sucked that Jomomma barely got to play, but the wait was probably the funniest moment of the weekend for me.

Diesel Dog > Mark Wilson & The Way It Is > nero > The Wassabi Collective … I was stoked for this all weekend, and I had the BEST time as it all went down. Oh yes, and meeting Paul and Sorena from Highway Freeker on Saturday afternoon at the Bank and again at night in the Saloon while Caution Jam cranked out the tunes like only they can.

Putting the disco ball on top of Wi!!y’s van.

Getting ready to go to bed on Sunday morning, only to run into my buddy Scot, who had just woken up to pee. So we both stayed up and had a great stroll through the campground, laughing our asses off as we walked. Sorry to anyone that we woke up on this journey.

The conversation that I had with Jennifer from Wassabi Collective on Sunday afternoon … my favourite conversation from the weekend … thank you for sharing that time and energy with me. It is easy to support a band when the band members that I talk with give off such great energy. And it certainly doesn’t hurt when members of the band lead an all-night drum jam for 2 nights in a row, in addition to their scheduled set of music!!!

The Slip … I know that some people were disappointed that they didn’t lay down dance grooves, but wow, can those guys play! There were more than a few times when I could not believe my eyes and ears as I watched and listened to them.

Guesthouse playing Loose Lucy … brought back fond memories from a Dead show I was at where that song was played.

Friends of Hefner in the saloon and Acoutissabi around the fire to close things out. It was a treat to have two acts to choose from, and made for some room in the saloon, which was especially nice when things got funky!!!

Dancing all weekend with and among so many people I could never list them all, but here’s a bunch of names to start with. This list includes people that I distinctly remember seeing and being inspired by while dancing (not including band members), and whose names I remember. For those of you that know me, you’ll know that this list would be much longer if I had a brain for names. Not to mention the effect that 3 days at Frontier Town has on one’s memory! Thank you for the dancing inspiration blair, mud, backbacon, studog, adam, loletta, crystal, sunshine, shannon, erin, tungsten, denise, ann, dr. hux, ms. hux, bouche, booche, dave, stapes, willy, rafael, scot, deb, dancing man, super freak, greg (esau), allison, yo, karin, paisley, jason, swifty, swifty’s wife (man oh man I’m sooooo bad with names), and many many many more I am sure. And an extra big inspirational thank you to scottieking!

And it was especially nice to see Bouche, Sharon, KevO, and everyone else that helps with jambands.ca … people are always thanking me for what I do with the site, and to be truthful, at times I feel like I do very little compared to what others do to help the scene. It takes a community of people to make it happen, including the bands, fans, promoters, managers, etc. It is so nice when everyone comes together to celebrate what we have. And what we have is magical and special. I am a lucky man to be involved with this community!

Peace, love and hugs to all!

Mark

I like Mark Tonin too! And Tim Turvey!

Don't take it personally, Tim ... I think it's just a matter of lots and lots going on. Some day, hopefully sooner rather than later, I will make it out to one of these Music in the Moment shows, as the idea sounds like an excellent one, and I'm sure that the music is great.

Peace, Mark

Wow, what a fun night ... thanks to everybody that made it to the show ... class was full and the students were rowdy!

Extra-special thanks to Keri for throwing an awesome party!

As the sun came up on Sunday morning and I walked outside the schoolhouse to take in the beauty of the morning, I felt like I do as the sun comes up at a Come Together Fest. What a magical feeling!

See you all at Izzy's for the Come Together Fest!

Peace, Mark

P.S. And my apologies ... we never ended up doing the seamless transitions between bands, as we didn't end up with enough sound gear to make it happen smoothly.

Hey Douglas, if you haven't heard it, I think you need to hear the song Stay Up Late by Talking Heads. Here are the lyrics:

Mommy had a little baby

There he is fast asleep

He's just a little plaything

Why not wake him up?

Cute, cute, little baby

Little feet-feet, little toes

Now he's comin' to me

Crawl across the kitchen floor.

Baby, baby, please let me hold him

I wanna make him stay up all night

Sister, sister, he's just a plaything

We wanna make him stay up all night

Yeah we do

See him drink from a bottle.

See him eat from a plate.

Cute, cute as a button.

Don't you wanna make him stay up late.

And we're having fun with no money.

Little smile on his face.

Don't cha' love the little baby.

Don't you want to make him stay up late.

Chorus

Here we go (all night long)

Sister, sister (all night long)

In the playpen...woo...(all night long)

Little baby goes, ha! (all night long)

I know you want to leave me...

Why don't we pretend.

There you go, little man.

Cute, cute, why not?

Late at night, wake him up.

Chorus

Here we go (all night long)

Sister, sister...woo...

(with the television on)

Little baby goes...woo! (all night long)

Hey, hey, baby! (all night long)

And he looks so cute (all night long)

In his little red suit (all night long)

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Babies rock!

Peace, Mark

Hey Jen!

Nice to see you posting here, and great to read that you're going to try and make it to tonight's schoolhouse show. I hope that you can find a ride ... my car is full.

And I promise that tonight's class will be more fun than that Grade 9 Business class was!

Peace, Mark

I like Superstack, from what I remember ... they rock! Some tasty raw guitar playing from what I recall, great stage presence, and some very good singing.

I didn't think they had a web site, but they do:

http://www.superstackmusic.com/

Peace, Mark

Two days late, but still wishing you a happy birthday Steve.

I look forward to the next time we see each other on a dance floor!

Peace, Mark

Here comes the sun,

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter

Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun,

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces

Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun,

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes ..........

I'm focusing, Willy!!!

Peace, Mark

Right on Del, it will be good to see you there!

Peace, Mark

No Brothers Past? That really sucks... I was almost as excited to hear them as I was JFJO... Still a good lineup, but losing BP is a real shame.

Hey Del, sorry to disappoint ... I know that you and some other people were very excited that BP was on the bill. Hopefully it won't put too much of a damper on your enthusiasm for the festival. It still is a really solid lineup I think ...

Peace, Mark

...Of course' date=' some of the funniest stories I've heard over the years have been from heads running from security in the course of some chemically-propelled story at 2 or 3 in the morning. Part of the fun, near as I figure.

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please god tell me that's a Mark Tonin story!!! hehehe

Sorry to disappoint you Eric, it's not ... but it sure sounds like one! Thanks for the belly laugh, my friend!

Peace, Mark

In May 2001 I went to my first ever Come Together Music Fest. When I arrived home from that weekend I wrote some thoughts down. Here is a small snippet from what I wrote:

"Absolute magic … I am in a spell. I have never danced so hard in my entire life. I am so revitalized from this past weekend. What else can I say? Three days of sunshine, no rain, great music, sunsets, twinkling stars, huge camp fires, and beautiful people. The Come Together Music Fest was incredible ... one of the best weekends I have had in my entire life!!!"

When I think of that weekend, and all of the Come Together Fests that I've been to since then, and I get EXCITED!!! And now that this year's May Come Together Fest is less than 3 weeks away, I am REALLY EXCITED!!! All of the wonderful friends that I see at shows throughout the year, gathered in one place, outside, listening to fantastic music and tearing it up like Canadians do during the May long weekend. WOW, I am stoked!

On a different note .. I don't know if this has been posted by anybody yet, as it's been a busy day for me and I haven't been at a computer for a good chunk of the day, but here's the info re: Saturday night at the May festival:

Unfortunately, Brothers Past will not be playing at the festival this year. I'm not sure why but that's the message I received.

Fortunately, Smokestack has been booked to replace them. This excites me, as I've seen Smokestack 3 times and have thoroughly enjoyed them every time. Some new music (i.e. Brothers Past) would have been nice, but personally I'm just as happy with Smokestack on the bill.

And even with the change, I think we've got 4 bands from the States at this year's May festival - Vorcza, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Smokestack, and Lazlo Hollyfeld. And yes, let's not forget the fantastic Canadian talent! This will be a wonderful weekend of live music!

Peace, Mark

An awesome family music festival, in my opinion, with a nice variety of musical acts, tasty food, and cool workshops. Plus I love it when they have musical workshops where they combine different acts and musicians ... it doesn't always work, but when it does, it's magical. And the drum circle to start each day in front of this stage is HUGE.

Having said the above, the festival is a bit too big and restrictive for my liking, and trying to book a campsite is an exercise in "guess what the booking rules will be this year" ... they change the rules yearly, without telling anybody.

Peace, Mark

Hey Snail, I meant to say this before ... it's nice to see you posting on this board!

however - every time they play ottawa they tear the roof off. i'd suggest you check out the show from 2003 as well, mark - nero opener.

dave sat in...holy schnikes!

Canned Beats, that's a show I was fortunate enough to be at ... what a special night that was!

I wish that I could make it to moe.down, but the timing of the festival just doesn't work for me ... I like to have at least some of my wits about me when I walk into the school to start a new school year!

hamilton, I agree with your comments about moe., except that when I'm in the mood, I love the heaviness of the band, the barrage of notes, the "pedal-to-the-metal" approach that the band takes when playing rock music that still has some groove to it. It's a style and approach to music that I love at times ... not all of the time, but sometimes ... and moe. plays it as well or better than other bands I've heard.

Peace, Mark

Hey Del, reading your post again, it seems like moe. wasn't doing it for you for a while ...

That restored my faith in them again

... whereas for me, it wasn't really a conscious decision not to listen to them because I wasn't digging them, it was more just a case of me listening to other stuff over the last year.

In any event, I'm enjoying them now, even if it took a show from 7 years ago to get me listening to them again!

Peace, Mark

What's he going to play??He can dance up front with me

Or he can dance up front with me ... just tell him to watch out for that crazy dancer with the long red ponytail!

That's a great pic, Doug ... thanks for sharing.

Peace, Mark

Hey Del,

I have said in the past, both on this board and to others, that in my opinion moe. is the best pyschedelic rock band out there. Hence the reason why I used the phrase "once again" in this line:

I will say that moe. once again gets my vote

But it's been a while since I've had any moe. in my cd player. The purchase of Warts & All Vol. 3 was a spontaneous purchase decision that I'm glad I made ... I'm reminded of how much I like this band!

And I haven't heard last year's show from Ottawa. Come to think of it, it's probably been more like a year (rather than 6 months) since I listened to the band. Where does the time go?!? So much great music, so little time.

Peace, Mark

I was at Encore Records yesterday and picked up moe.'s Wart's & All, Volume 3 (11/13/98 at the Vic Theatre in Chicago). I'm only 3 songs into the first disc and wow, does this band rock! I haven't listened to much moe. in the last 6 months but after listening to the first part of this show I will say that moe. once again gets my vote for the best "pedal-to-the-metal psychedelic rock band" out there.

And holy shite, can Rob Derhak play the bass!

moe. and The Allman Brothers Band at the amphitheatre this summer is going to be intense!

Peace, Mark

Happy (belated) birthday, FairySari ... hope to see you soon!

Peace, Mark

Happy birthday Geoff ... wishing you nothing but the best, and looking forward to the next time we connect in person ... it's always a treat seeing you.

Peace, Mark

OK, now I'm starting to get really excited about this show, as it is going to be one heck of a party! We are going to be setting up two drum kits for this show, so you can expect some double-drum action at times throughout the night. As well, once the bands start playing music, we don't plan on stopping. That's right, seamless sets, with 6 or 7 hours of non-stop music!

Hopefully a bunch of people can make it to this show, as it is going to be a lot of fun!

For those of you that have never been, the picture in the show poster is the actual venue. Think of an old one-room schoolhouse, located in the country. This teacher can't wait for class to start!

Ladies - wear your schoolgirl uniforms and win a prize!!

Break out those uniforms!

And anyone who misbehaves by not dancing, smiling, laughing, and partying will be sent to the detention room.

I never thought I'd be so excited about going to school on a Saturday!

Peace, Mark

Oops, I wasn't clear on that, but I was referring to the nero show that happened as an afterparty to the Soulive/moe./P&F show at the amphitheatre. The amphitheatre show was a disappointment, but the nero show blew me away.

Peace, Mark

I didn't enjoy moe. at the Molson Amphitheatre very much ... I like moe. a lot and have really enjoyed every other show I've seen by them, including the one at the Phoenix, but that Molson Amphitheatre show was a big disappointment for me all-around. I went in with big expectations, and both moe. and Phil & Friends didn't live up to them. The empty seats didn't help matters ... there just weren't enough people in the place to create a big energy buzz ...

Having said that, the nero show at the Comfort Zone still goes down as one of my favourite, if not my favourite nero shows ever ... the energy in the Comfort Zone that night was incredible!

The moe. & ABB show in August is going to rock in a big way, I think ... but I'll try not to get my hopes up too high!

Peace, Mark

... and Toronto is confirmed for Tues. July 19!

Lots of other dates as well:

http://www.zoomatour.com/main.htm

Peace, Mark

Happy birthday, Craig! I hope to see your smiling face soon.

Peace, Mark