Advance Roll Call: The Spades @ Cameron House (Toronto) Dec. 27

[bradm]

If anybody is in Toronto and will be looking for something to do on Wednesday, Dec. 27, James McKenty And The Spades will be playing (the back room of) The Cameron House. And,

It will be an early night

2 - 45 minute sets starting at 10pm

Done by somewhere around midnight.

I'll be in Toronto until Thursday, so this'll be a fun way for me to end my holiday break. Anybody else interested?

Aloha,

Brad

[DevO]

yeah, i'll be there. i'm not sure what i think about this early night business though!

[zero]

Actually this sounds sort of good I'm in town.

[bradm]

i'm not sure what i think about this early night business though!

Frankly, I like it a lot. I'm staying with my family out in the east end (past the east end of the subway line), and given that the last train comes through Spadina station at about 1:50am, if a show at Queen & Spadina goes until last call, it means I'm either taking a cab (expensive) or the blue light 24-hour bus routes (long) back. The Run With The Kittens show on Tuesday ended at about 1:00am, and I loved it. (In Ottawa, it's a bit different, because the core bus routes run until 2:30am or 3:00am through downtown, so having a show end at last call or later isn't a big deal for me).

Actually this sounds sort of good I'm in town.

Sweet! We can talk abut Run With The Kittens. (Actually, I don't think I've ever heard you talk about The Spades, zero; I'm interested in what you think of them, their show, and their music.)

Aloha,

Brad

Edited December 24, 2006 by Guest

[DevO]

yeah brad, i see what you mean. i guess an early night won't kill me.. if i'm geared up for something more, i'm sure i could find something. (LIGHTBULB) could maybe catch a bit of 'crazy strings' if its not too late and if their wednesday night gig is on that night!

[TheGoodRev]

Kookycanooky and myself are going to try and hit this up. A warning: the back room at the Cameron only legally holds 65, and they absolutely won't allow more people in. Last time I was there I think there were about 45 people or so and it felt packed, so make sure to get there with plenty of time.

[bradm]

Kookycanooky and myself are going to try and hit this up.

I dare you to bring your pedal steel.

A warning: the back room at the Cameron only legally holds 65, and they absolutely won't allow more people in. Last time I was there I think there were about 45 people or so and it felt packed, so make sure to get there with plenty of time.

Noted. I was aiming for a 9:30pm arrival, so I'll make that 9:30pm latest.

Aloha,

Brad

[TheGoodRev]

I dare you to bring your pedal steel.

Hey man, I'd love nothing more than to sit in on steel with the Spades...but they'd have to ask me first

[Dr. J]

In.

Lookin' forward to getting back to T.O. and seeing everyone.

Love the Cameron House.

[M.O.B.E]

Spades are here in Oshawa on the 29th. I wont be missing that.

[bradm]

Bump. Tonight, kids.

Aloha,

Brad

[DevO]

So nice to see and hear The Spades again last night!! The room was fairly full, at about 50-60 or so people I'm guessing. I think this was my first time seeing the band outside of Peterborough, and the tame Toronto audience was a new thing for me... Used to more noise and more dancing taking place. Theres nothing like seeing The Spades at the Montreal House.

Maybe it was just the room, or maybe just me, but to me it seemed the tone of James' guitar has changed since I last saw them 1.5 years ago.. More reverb maybe? I like the new tunes a lot. Highlights for me included Silver Ships, Preservatives > I'm Bored > Preservatives, Powerlines, Vampire Blues. I didn't recognize I'm Bored (Brad's got it down as an Iggy Pop cover) and I was loving that one. The new tunes sounded promising. 49 Tons rocked as well.. I dig how they build momentum with each successive verse in that song, switching up the rhythm and style. Chachi sang an "Eleanor Rigby" encore with haunting conviction.

That back room at The Cameron House is a solid venue too. It was great to finally meet you Dr. J and The Rev. And to re-meet Cully and Snelly. And good to see ya Luke. I was pretty sauced by the end of the night. A few Amatos slices and we were headed back to Hamilton.

[bradm]

Here's what went down:

Set I

------

Ultrasound #2

Apple Of My Eye

Joints And Cigarettes

Mafia Sting

Silver Ships

Gorilla Thought

The Next Round

The Rising Sons >

Preservatives >

I'm Bored[1] >

Preservatives

Set II

-------

The Protester

The Snub Harbour Falcons

On My Mind

Sound Off

Subterranean Homesick Blues[2]

In The Movies

Restless Soul

Powerlines

Vampire Blues[3]

Please Stand By >

49 Tons Of Diesel Locomotive[4]

Encore

--------

Eleanor Rigby[5]

[1] Iggy Pop cover.

[2] Bob Dylan cover.

[3] Neil Young cover.

[4] Fred Eaglesmith cover.

[5] The Beatles cover.

I don't know if James is using more reverb or not; maybe he's just letting it "ring" out more? I know that when he starts "The Protester", he can his the opening notes pretty hard, and he leaves enough space in his playing to let you really feel them.

Aloha,

Brad

[Dr. J]

Yeah good times for sure.

Nice to see Snelly again and Brad, Cully and the Rev and everyone and to meet KevO and Zero (who promptly informed me that all the Principals he knew were pricks...did my best not to add to his list ).

and the tame Toronto audience was a new thing for me... Used to more noise and more dancing taking place. Theres nothing like seeing The Spades at the Montreal House.

Know what you mean, Kev. Lookin' forward to New Year's. Couldn't help but think that Luke would enjoy himself more with a MoHo crowd as well

Still there's something about the Cameron House that I really like and I think the crowd there is only a show or two from busting loose. (I can see why the Golden Dogs did a series of shows there). Hell even i got stuck in a corner at the back for the 2nd set the other night.

That ain't gonna happen again!