Dr. Fun and the Painkillers
Saturday afternoon we went to Madeira Park to listen to several bands, one of which was Dr. Fun and the Painkillers featuring Gary Gilbert –a friend of ours. This was the first time we'd seen Gary (lead vocals, harmonica and guitar) and his band play and were in for a real treat especially when he dropped down on one knee and proposed to Tani, his partner of ten years.
We stayed to listen to three bands and had a great time. As much as we enjoy the Jazz Festival in September, the Blues Festival is more our speed and we hope to watch it grow in popularity over the years –people don't know what they're missing.
After one more set, another harp player, we took Gary and Tani to Cambria for a celebratory drink and to show them around. They invited us to join them at the Painted Boat for dinner and to hear Diane Lines,the pianist for Michael Bubblé, play but we declined thinking they should have a romantic evening alone and that the Painted Boat Restaurant was just the place for it. Come to find out, Gary ended up sitting in for a while and having a great time, so we were sorry we missed it after all.
Peter Van Huesen, the head of the blues society and Gary's pianist, gave David a couple of tickets to the Gospel Show up at the School of Music featuring Diane Lines Sunday at noon. It's not a genre of music we listen to, but it was FANTASTIC! Between the deep vocal stylings of Dawn, a gospel singer out of Vancouver, belting out soulful tunes and the amazing piano playing of Diane, who studied with the legendary Cleo Laine, people walked away with goosebumps and were talking about the performance all day. That's one of the great things about music festivals – you're exposed to things that you may not ordinarily listen to.
After the concert, we stopped by the boat for a quick drink before dinghing over to the Garden Bay Pub for the 2 o'clock All-Star Jam featuring locals Tim Hearsey and Arsen Shomakov. Gary Comeau showed up with his mandolin, accordion, and fiddle. And Willie McCalder (one of the founding members of the band, Powder Blues, which went platnuim in Canada and now lives in Vancouver) stopped by to play the piano. We're always amazed by the amount of talent in the area.
Gary and Tani were also at the pub and we sat with them until the had to leave before the third, and final set. We should have left too, but we stayed for Diane Lines and didn't get home until after midnight –roughly 12 hours of music and, sadly, 10 hours of beer. Needless to say, there was a price to be paid for so much fun – both financially AND physically.
0 comments