Well I celebrated my birthday yesterday by going to see The Good Brothers in Tottenham! It was a great show, and my sister and I thoroughly enjoyed it! After thirty-eight years of playing together these guys show no signs of slowing down, or of being bored! All that shows when they perform is the fact that they are consumate and tireless showmen. They also have a hilarious sense of humour and had us laughing with their quips between numbers!
I didn't time their two sets, but I figure they played for a Good two hours easily. Lots of old favourites, including a number of very impressive original tunes. Watching their Dad and uncles while growing up, it is easy to see how Sadies, Dallas and Travis Good, were inspired and encouraged into the music business. (Dad, Bruce Good, couldn't help but mention his boys, and give their band a plug while he was at it!) So I would like to thank The Sadies for re-introducing me to The amazing Good Brothers!
I also wanted to mention the young man that opened for The Good Brothers, Sean Bourke. Some of you may have seen Sean in the past, singing with a Blue Rodeo tribute band called Casino. Now Sean is singing and playing his own original songs, and is about to record his first CD this summer. I have long been a fan of great lyricists, and God knows we have a boatload of them here in Canada! Sean Bourke has obviously been influenced by some of the best of them, including Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor, Ian Tyson, and of course the great Gordon Lightfoot! I was very moved by Sean's original material, which was both poetic and topical. I made a point of telling him how impressed I was, and that I would be among the first in line to pick up his CD as soon as it was available! (Since I believe it will be an independent recording, produced by Brian Good, I urged him to have an online website created, in order to make the CD available for sale.)
Apparently Brian Good said Sean was 'one of Canada's best kept secrets' but he doesn't expect he will be for long! I hope that Brian is right, as I would like to hear a lot more of Sean Bourke in the future.
In order to acknowledge Earth Hour 2008 the venue (The Tottenham Community Centre) turned out all the lights during the performances, except for some low-wattage stage illumination, necessary power for mics and instruments, and lights in washrooms.
I carry with me the memory of a field I once knew, of a night so full of stars that I was left humbled by it's endless beauty. I know that whatever the cost, life is worth living. So bring it on...I can take it.