Recent Updates from here and there (not there actually - just here...)

Hi there, Jeff here,

I am a huge Todd Snider fan! Anna and I had the extreme pleasure and good fortune to see him twice this week at Bluesfest. Well, I am a bigger fan than Anna so I was happier to see him twice... Seeing the first show (Tuesday at 7:45) was only possible with the help of Craig, who filled in for me at the Rookie Summer Ball practice and Jamie and Carlo, who picked up Noa from Soccer practice, picked up Mateo from baseball practice and entertained them while we were partying our faces off. It takes a village to raise a child has never been more true than with our crew!

I forget the specifics of how we got there (early signs of Alzheimer's, I guess), but I do remember seeing Todd bounce out on stage with just him and his guitar. Priceless. He told a bunch of stories and played a few songs. The highlight for me is the stories that he tells. As with Bruce Cockburn, I could listen to Todd Snider tell stories all night long. Unlike Bruce Cockburn, Todds stories are not just thought provoking, but also extremely funny. Thanks to the wonders of Youtube, you can see / hear for yourself:

1. This one is best if you have heard the song Beer Run. It is a funny song. But even funnier is the following story / song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ke9FhsSgZI&mode=related&search=

2. Todd also told this story and sang this song. Check out this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eOOzs9nuQM

After Todd's show was finished, we wandered around and saw Los Lobos at the River Stage (terrible sound, but what a guest appearance by Elmer Ferrer!).


Wednesday's show presented the following problem: How can we get to Bluesfest (Barney Danson theatre which is quite small) by 9PM, directly from Mateo's baseball game which will probably finish at 8:30 in Barrhaven. We managed to get the game in (let's not talk about that game - my blood pressure is just getting back to normal) get home, drop off Noa and Mateo (who didn't want to go - really) with Nanny (thanks Mom), race to our by-now favourite parking spot, walk/run the 1/2 mile to the festival grounds, fight through the crowds and arrive at the theatre at 9:15. WHEW! OJ would have been proud. We were 15 minutes late - but wait - there had been a fire alarm and the show was delayed by 20 minutes. We went in, found a seat and Todd came out. I felt like Julius Caesar. LET THE SHOW BEGIN!

The Wednesday night performance was much more subdued. Todd told us that he wanted to play songs that he didn't normally play and that was fine with us. He asked for request after request and played each one. He talked about how his dream as a kid was to release a bunch of records and now he finds that it is really hard to remember all those songs. I can sympathize as most of his songs are incredibly complicated (not musically, but lyrically). In all, it was a much quieter set but it was still great. He did "If Tomorrow Never Comes" again and this time told a different story about how he wrote it.

Then after the show, we caught the last 4 songs of Steve Miller - WOW! It was great! What great sound! He sounded as good / if not better than the original recordings. Great vocals, guitar work - a really tight band. It's obvious that these guys have played many years together. It's nice to hear someone play the songs as they were recorded. It must be a bit boring for the musicians, but it is nice when you can play air guitar and know all the licks! We only heard 4 songs - but they were "Take the Money and Run", "Space Cowboy", "Jet Airliner" and "Keep on Rock'n Me (Baby)". They all sounded great. What a great night of music.

Last night we again went out. This time Noa and Mateo wanted to come with us. We rode our bikes down on a beautiful summer evening - the air was so clear and the clouds were massive! We watched a solid wall of clouds roll along the river right up to us. This kind of weather makes you just love Canada! We could see the vertical lines of rain in the distance and thought that this would be the night that we were going to get soaked. We have been incredibly lucky so far. While it has rained almost every day, we haven't been rained on during any of the shows. And last night was no different! The clouds seemed to disappear as they got close to us. We enjoyed a star-filled night listening to Robert Cray and Xavier Rudd (with a side of Blue Rodeo). Noa and Mateo were in full frolic mode. I think that Mateo is starting to miss Noa already - she is off to camp on Monday. They horseplayed for almost an hour - tag, soccer, throw the shoe (you had to be there (maybe not)). Laughing, running, tickling like only a brother and sister can do. It is just wonderful to watch. We then met up with our good friends Peter, Sherri, Dylan and Rylee. The parents chatted while the kids played some more, heading over to the River Stage for Xavier Rudd.

I have to say that the River Stage sound is the pitts. YUCK! Never mind. Note to self - KEEP POSITIVE, Sybil... While Anna, Sherri, Rylee and Noa went to watch Ndidi Onukwulu at the Blacksheep Stage, I had a great time watching Mateo, Dylan and Jean-Luc playing Lemon-tag. For those without kids, this one is an improvised game where the person who is "it" chases to target and throws a 1/2 lemon (obtained from a lemonade and not the garbage - honest) at the target's back. Only occasionally did an arrant throw hit an unsuspecting target. Then "SCRAMBLE"!!! Then quietly start it all over again. We would fit in well at a trailer park. Talk about kids running loose - double-wide blues...

After the show, we biked home under a starry sky - with our new headlights working beautifully! Then into bed and sweet dreams. A bit late this morning, but it was worth it.

Tonight we do it all over again. I am looking forward to seeing Metric. Then Saturday,then Sunday then our precious Noa goes away for a whole week. First Luca now this?!? What are we going to do! Like Mateo, we are all missing her already...