Posted on Jun 04 2006 07:07 PM
Brian,
Guitar-Fest 2 was a Blast! Here's a brief-ish review:
Stage Nine was starting to fill up at 9:30pm (this is amazing in Halifax where shows generally start at 11:00pm) for openers Six Gun Party. This quartet (feat USK plus Brad Conrad) played about 10 instro tunes from the Fly-rite Boys, Santo & Johnny and more. Rev Hank from USK plays an old 6 string lap steel in this combo. Dancers took to the floor when Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'" was played. The night was off to a good start.
Next up was Halifax's all female quartet, the Stolen Minks. They rocked out on 30 minutes worth of Link Wray tunes. The crowd continued to grow, spilling out on to the club's patio.
USK hit the stage with a tribute to Dick Dale. Playing the familiars (Ghost Riders, the Wedge, Misirlou), we played through many of his lesser know tunes (Death of a Gremmie, Surfin' Rebel, Flashing Eyes, etc). Inky (drums) played like he was on fire, and showed why Dick's tunes can rock even the metal heads in the crowd!
Brad Conrad was next. His all-Freddie King set was a great example of taste, groove & tone. The addition of an organist was a nice touch. Brad is one of the best guitarists out here on the East Coast.
The Fabulous Venturamas featured Inky and Rev Hank from USK, Brad Conrad, and Dave Page (bass) from Halifax ska legends King Konqueror. The idea behind this group was to pick a Ventures album ("The Fabulous Ventures" in this case), and play it note for note, track for track. This was a ball, and gave me a whole new respect for what the Ventures did. It wasn't as easy as we thought it would be. The crowd loved this act!
The final "act of the night featured the members of the Fab Venturamas plus Crash Flagg from USK...yep 2 bassists! The surf "jam" featured "Rawhide", "Batman", "Penetration" & a handful of other "surf hits".
What a great night overall. I would say there were close to 200 guitar fans there that night. Everyone from punks to rockabillys to metalheads to the 40+ crowd to...well pretty much everyone. And everyone on the dance floor. A friend of ours recorded this show. I'll let you know when it's ready.
I'm already starting to plan next years: Guitar-Fest 3
—
Canadian Surf
http://www.urbansurfkings.com/
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