Spring Jam '10 (Niagara area concert)

[mark tonin]

I'm in the Niagara Region today and came across an article about this event in the local paper. Does anybody on this board know about this event? Is anybody going? It looks like a cool event. Peace, Mark

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Inspired by '73

Niagara musicians to re-create legendary concert which featured The Dead, The Band and the Allmans

Posted By HANS NIEDERMAIR, SPECIAL TO THE STANDARD

A group of Niagara musicians will be bringing out the Dead next weekend.

And the Allman Brothers and The Band.

Between Two Lakes, a collaboration of 15 Niagara-based musicians, plus a few special guests, will recreate Spring Jam '73, an outdoor concert held before 600,000 people in Watkins Glen, N.Y., that featured the trio of iconic, now classic rock groups.

The show will be held over two nights at Robertson Hall in St. Catharines, with proceeds going to Canadian Red Cross efforts to provide disaster relief in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Kristie Robertson, who will provide the backing vocals during the Grateful Dead set, said most of the musicians in the group have about 15 years of experience playing gigs in Niagara.

"Between Two Lakes is a musicians' collaborative founded four years ago with the intention of gathering local singer and songwriter talent to showcase their material," she said.

Robertson said every performer in the show -- who range in age from their 20s to their 50s -- has been showcased at Between Two Lakes music nights at The Office in downtown St. Catharines, which take place about once a month on Th ursdays.

"Everyone has been performing locally and we know each other from gigs we've played together in various bands," she said.

"Dustin Mater, a co-organizer, knows each musician personally," added Ron Hoover, who will play lead guitar for the Allman Brothers set. "He seems to know everybody. He's the six degrees of separation guy."

In organizing "Spring Jam '10," Robertson said the musicians were "inspired by what they were able to put together" after performing The Band's concert film, The Last Waltz, last August at Club LaSalle.

"It caught everybody by surprise, the zeitgeist it had," added Hoover. "It went off so well that everyone said, 'What a shame it would be to leave it at that.' "

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The group decided recreating Spring Jam '73 would be a logical follow-up because much like The Last Waltz, the original show featured a "collaborative spirit."

"If you were going to choose a theme to build on that, Spring Jam would be as good as any," Hoover said. "A selling point for me was the chance to play this sort of music. I've played some of these songs before, but this is a chance to sit down and dissect it and really learn it."

"There's a musical inspiration of this sort of music," added Robertson. "These three bands were so inspirational to music today."

Like their rendition of The Last Waltz, Between Two Lakes won't play the songs note by note, Hoover said.

"(The Last Waltz) was more interpretive," he said. "There was an effort to be faithful to the spirit, but it wasn't like Classic Albums Live, where everything is nuanced and every note replicated."

While there are no recordings of the original Spring Jam, Robertson said the group will attempt to capture the mood and pacing of the 1973 show.

"We looked at the original set list and stayed as close to it as possible. We listened to the bands' recordings from those times to learn the songs in the style they were playing them then."

Shortly after plans for Spring Jam '10 were set in motion, Haiti was struck Jan. 12 by a magnitude 7 earthquake that left more than 200,000 people dead, 300,000 injured and about a million homeless.

"At the time the show was being organized, a week later, the disaster happened," Robertson said. "Everyone involved in the show is passionate about community awareness and we've done other events to support Red Cross efforts, such as Shelter from the Storm."

"A lot of us don't have the money to dedicate to the cause, but we thought we could provide the time and effort," added Angela Greer, one of the event's organizers. "I'm feeling pretty solid with the ticket sales so far."

Greer said the show will feature two sets each night. The Band and Grateful Dead sets will be performed Friday night, following a musical prelude by violinist Beth Bartley and guitarist Mark Clifford. The Allman Brothers set and a jam session will hit the stage on Saturday evening.

The Grateful Dead set will feature the show's musical director, Aidan Miller, on keyboard, bassist Chris Diraddo, Damien Smith and Nick Osczypko on drums, James Moore on lead guitar, Jesse Crawford on lead vocals and guitar, and Robertson on backing vocals. Miller, Smith and Crawford will return for The Band set, which includes Jake Zapotoczny on organ, lead guitarist Scott Sockovie, Tom Nemes on bass, and guest appearances by Kerri Michalica and Jesse Stull. Smith, Diraddo and Miller will also be featured in the Allman Brothers set with the keyboardist providing lead vocals, Hoover on lead guitar, Tim Mosley on guitar, and Ethan Mosley adding a second set of drums.

Robertson said there is "definitely more to come" regarding shows in this spirit from the group.

"We'll base it on the success of this one and it'll probably be inspired by another classic rock show," she said.

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WHAT:Spring Jam '10. Niagara musicians are recreating a historic concert to raise funds for the Canadian Red Cross and its relief efforts in Haiti. Niagara artists will pay tribute to the legendary Summer Jam '73 concert held at Watkins Glen, N.Y., which featured The Allman Brothers, The Band and the Grateful Dead.

WHEN:April 9 and 10.

WHERE:Robertson Hall (Folk Arts Centre), 85 Church St., St. Catharines.

TICKETS:905-348-0826, or see www.betweentwolakes.webs.com for more information and a list of venues selling tickets.

[YearsAlongTheSea]

Sounds cool....

[phunkyb]

Sounds really cool. Just grabbed tickets. Going to get a room by the casino and make a night out of it. I don't know what to expect. Anyone of the musicians names ring a bell?

[Northern Wish]

Amy, check some maps- Church St is downtown St Cath- the casino is in Niagara Falls at least 15 minutes down the highway.....

I went to elementary and high schools with Jesse Stull. He used to do a badass Mr Big cover medley. I wish I was kidding!

[hey now]

i know a lot of these musicians from my work at cfbu over the years. they all have chops and many have stayed local to make niagara better as opposed to leaving it to the retirees. this is a real distinct thing about the area. if you go to this most assured you won't be disappointed.

far better off staying off lake st. (st. catharines) at a hotel than niagara falls. the only hotel that close (within walking distance)to robertson hall is on st. paul and it is really quite sketchy...if that's ok with you you won't find any cheaper.

just skip breakfast over there.

Edited April 4, 2010 by Guest

[phunkyb]

I know how far Niagara and St. Catherines are from each other. Still going to check this out as its a super cheap ticket and then drive to the casino and stay there. They have a decent hotel.

[Patchoulia]

What is the venue like? Sit down/no dance?

[Northern Wish]

I know how far Niagara and St. Catherines are from each other. Still going to check this out as its a super cheap ticket and then drive to the casino and stay there. They have a decent hotel.

Was just checking.... But in the meantime it is spelled St Cath-A-rines.

[phunkyb]

Was just checking.... But in the meantime it is spelled St Cath-A-rines.

Hehe, alright:)!

[livedust]

G'day All...

My name is Dustin & I am the producer for Spring Jam '10 being held this Friday & Saturday (9th & 10th) @ Robertson Hall in St.Catharines.

Just caught wind that Spring Jam '10 was posted here, very cool! A big thank you to whoever put this up.

A few details for inquiring minds...

The show are based on the theme of Summer Jam '73, meaning that 1 set of music by the GD, TB & ABB will be played each night followed by an 'all*' jam at the end. This is an interpretive show so they will not be playing note for note (no 1 wants that anyway...!) & will not cover the exact setlists...That said, it is going to be 2 amazing nights of music folks. The setlists are the same both nights, our reason for doing 2 is simple: raise more $ for Red Cross & demand. We did a re-creation of the Last Waltz last Summer & had to turn People away as we were over capacity...

As for musicians, no hacks on this show! All are pro musicians ranging in age from 19 - late 50's & were chosen based on their chops, good attitudes & 'deadication' to the cause!

If anyone is on facebook, search spring jam '10 & check out a few of the rehearsal videos, not great sound / picture quality but you'll see what I mean!

Tickets are selling fast & Saturday is pretty much sold out (maybe 20 left at most). There are a bunch left for Friday, please message me if you would like some put aside... livedust@yahoo.ca

A few more particulars...

Fully licensed (TO's own Great Lakes beer...)

roughly 350 person capacity

big dance floor

seating available too...

food

door prizes

Levon Helm @ Massey Hall ticket raffle

Thanks again & message me directly w/ any more questions.

Cheers.

D

[livedust]

1 more thing...

A few hotels in St.Kitts;

Holiday Inn

Comfort Inn

Quality Inn

Travelodge

a few others, can't think of the names...All are within a 5 minute cab ride from the venue.

Niagara Falls is 10mins away tons of places to stay ranging from very nice to extremely sketch.

Whoever mentioned the hotel on St.Paul st. was talking about the 'Leonard'. I'm quite sure you don't want to stay there!!!

[livedust]

I'll have to ask Jesse about the Mr.Big medley...!

That's funny.

[mark tonin]

Hi Dustin,

Thanks for joining this group and for posting some more info about the show. When I was in Welland last weekend visiting family over the Easter holiday, I came across the article about the show in the Welland Tribune newspaper. I didn't recognize the names of any of the players but I figured some people on this board probably would, and others might be interested in attending. Sure enough, in addition to the replies above, I also got an email from a friend who is going (along with some other friends). Nice! I wish I could check it out, but no such luck ... just too busy with other things this upcoming weekend.

Good luck with this event; it looks like it's going to be an excellent one.

Peace, Mark

[livedust]

Thanks Mark, much appreciated...

FYI - Saturday is completely sold out & Friday is well on its way...

Stay tuned for more shows from the Niagara Region...!

[phunkyb]

Hey Dustin. Nice chatting with you the other day. Glad you joined the community. Looking forward to Saturday. Amy.

[phunkyb]

I went to this last night. It was great. Super talented musicians. A bunch of session guys and locals from around St. Catharines. Not every musician into the Dead, ABB or Band but they played it super tight.

Great vibe in the hall. Made me think of the halls the Dead probably started playing in.

$4 beer was good too. Night got a little fuzzy and ended up in Niagara Falls where we partied on the "strip". Shopping for the day in Buffalo made it worth the drive too.