Pace on Earth

Snowed In

The Saturday show at the Back Nine did not get out until after 3 so my ECMA Sunday started a little slowly. When I did come around it was in just enough time to get myself cleaned up, spiffed up, and whisked up to the Industry Awards which were the precursor to the main Awards Gala starting at 8. My date, of course, was my all-access pass benefactor, Meghan "The Godsister" MacAfee. The highlight for us, beyond the food and drink, was Dolan's Pub being up for an ECMA for venue of the year. Before the ceremony Terry Dolan, former rugby player and lifetime Loyalist, told me that if he didn't win he was going to go apeshit and start flipping tables; I immediately started rooting against him. He didn't win and proved himself a liar; he hardly even shook his head. Probably for the best I suppose, but not for my entertainment value.

After a couple of bottles of wine Meg and I were primed for the Awards show to get started and were introduced to host Mark Critch (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) who crossed the line just enough and kept us in stitches all night.

The show opened with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and, although I don't know myself to be a fan of classical music, no performance moved me more during the awards show. Incredibly talented bunch. They, deservedly it would appear, took home the award for Classical Recording of the Year.

As the show wore on there were some local winners; Thom Swift and Tom Easley for Blues Recording and Jazz Recording respectively. The Divorcees, self-described outlaw country rockers from Moncton (1 from Freddy), picked up the Country Recording of the Year.By far the biggest winner though, and the guy that stole the show, was Joel Plaskett (and the Joel Plaskett Emergency). He won 6 of the 7 awards he was up for including the big ones like Recording of the Year, Single of the Year, Video of the Year. He did not win Entertainer of the Year which the fans voted on and gave to George Canyon for the fourth straight year despite the fact that he has bailed on the East Coast and moved to Alberta. Boooo...

In between his many acceptance speeches Plaskett took the time to play this song(a much better version I might add). After his last award the Trews closed the show with a flurry.

That term was particularly appropriate because when we got outside of the Aitken Centre we were reminded of where we lived with a blast of winter. Undaunted we headed straight for the after party at the Delta and were happy to see that it looked like most everyone else came too. Hurricane Bardsley joined us for a birthday beer and we tucked in to catch the Divorcees play a set. They are what they claim and rocked the joint with just the right amount of twang. Very cool sound...classic country. The next band was billed as a "special guest" which I figured would be an outsider. It was not; it was Chucky Danger. I couldn't understand why they were billed as a "special guest" until about five minutes into their set, when they started really ripping. They slowed only once, playing like their hands were on fire the rest of the time. It was the most intense show I saw all weekend and I really look forward to seeing them again. The last performance of the night was by traditional Celtic band Shanneyganock. It's never quite been my bag but I was truly impressed that these guys could pull off a great sound in a big room without having to resort to some of the schtick of a Great Big Sea. And by the looks of the dancefloor when they played they were a crowd favourite for sure.

At that point I dragged my weary body out of the Delta which was still going strong. The whole place was a free-for-all; they were actually serving drinks in the lobby. At 3:30 I declined the offer from the bartender and got in a cab to call it a weekend.

And an incredible one.

Pace out.

Labels: Chucky Danger, ECMA, ECMA Recap, Plaskett, The Divorcees

posted by Vitamin S @ 10:58 p.m.