{"id":669,"date":"2014-02-02T01:16:58","date_gmt":"2014-02-02T06:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/?p=669"},"modified":"2014-02-02T01:16:58","modified_gmt":"2014-02-02T06:16:58","slug":"blackie-the-rodeo-kings-the-river-run-centre-24-jan-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/?p=669","title":{"rendered":"Blackie & The Rodeo Kings @ The River Run Centre – 24 Jan 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BARK_Jan14_03\"<\/a>
Blackie & The Rodeo Kings
River Run Centre, Guelph
24 Jan 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So I’ve been somewhat negligent with my website responsibilities of late.\u00a0 Sorry about that.\u00a0 New year, new stuff to write about.\u00a0 I went to my first concert of 2014 last week.\u00a0 Canadian roots-rock “supergroup” Blackie & The Rodeo Kings came to Guelph to the River Run Centre.\u00a0 That is a great venue to see a concert.\u00a0 I’ve said for ages that we need more shows like this at the River Run.\u00a0 It works for Centre in the Square in Kitchener.\u00a0 Let’s see more like this here.\u00a0 But I digress.<\/p>\n

For those not familiar with Blackie & The Rodeo Kings (BARK for short), they are often referred to as a supergroup.\u00a0 Colin Linden, who now resides in Nashville, has played with or produced a long list of awesomeness; Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett, Colin James, Rita Chairelli, The Band and some guy named Bob Dylan.\u00a0 Stephen Fearing has had a very successful solo career and some very talented folks have played on his records like Josh Finlayson, Richard Bell and Ian Thornley.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tom Wilson is, in my opinion, a national treasure.\u00a0 His amazing songwriting aside, that distinctive voice of his…oh yaaa.\u00a0 Tom was a founding member of the Hamilton rock band Junkhouse which also featured Blue Rodeo’s Colin Cripps.\u00a0 After Junkhouse Tom released a solo album in 2001 which contained the hit “Dig It”.\u00a0 Simultaneously to BARK, Tom created another project called LeE HaRVEY OsMOND which he styles as an artist collaborative.\u00a0 The line-up constantly changes but originally was a collaboration with members of the Skydiggers and Cowboy Junkies.<\/p>\n

So BARK have embarked (haha, pun intended) on a Canadian\/American tour to promote their new album South.\u00a0 Guelph was the fourth stop on the tour.\u00a0 They played two sets with no opener which was nice for a change.\u00a0 BARK were backed by renowned drummer Gary Craig and a bass player who’s name I can’t recall.\u00a0 The first set saw Tom, Colin & Stephen seated around a kitchen table for their take on the distinctly Canadian kitchen parties that are especially a part of Maritime culture.\u00a0 Both sets were “acoustic”.\u00a0 I say acoustic in parentheses because Colin played a resonator guitar with a slide most of the show.\u00a0 Thanks to his pedal assortment (and talent) he made that thing sound like anything from an acoustic to a Les Paul.\u00a0 His solos were just blazing!\u00a0 The setlist covered the breadth of their catalogue but obviously the emphasis was on the new material.\u00a0 The title track “South” and its single b-side “North” were highlights and perfectly capture the feel of the whole record.\u00a0 My favourite was the Colin penned number “Summertimes’ Over” which they described as the anti-surf song.\u00a0 The encore closed with “Price Of Love” in tribute to their hero, the late Phil Everley.<\/p>\n

The show was fantastic.\u00a0 I had seen BARK several years ago opening for Blue Rodeo at the Molson Amphitheater in Toronto.\u00a0 I’ve been a fan for years but had not managed to see them for quite some time.\u00a0 I missed BARK when the came through Guelph on the Kings and Queens tour so I’m glad I caught them this time.\u00a0 Here are a few pictures I took at the show.<\/p>\n