Missing Canadian Music Week 2020 because of COVID-19 was a giant bummer. We've been fortunate to be at a lot of shows and do interviews and take photos and make memories over the last six years or so, and we're thankful for that. So, in this edition of my live music memories, I've got three Canadian Music Week (CMW) shows that stand out for their own reasons.
Over the years we've been to big shows, packed with people and little showcases with a dozen fans and industry insiders looking to find the next big thing. We've seen pop, rock, country, hip-hop, folk, punk, and more from Canada, the US, Brazil, the UK, Australia, and all sorts of other places that are not Toronto. And we've loved it.
The experience is hectic and takes scheduling gymnastics, but it's always worth it and we hope that 2021 brings some of that back to us.
Today, I've picked a show from 2015, 2016, and 2017. That wasn't on purpose - those three shows/sets just stand out for me, so that's what's on the list.
Honourable mentions include Lindsay Ell, JJ Shiplett, The Used, Judah & the Lion, Matt & Kim, SATE / Julien Taylor Band / Bleeker / Poor Young Things, Aussie BBQ Showcases, and more.
Let's go!
Scott Weiland
The Mod Club, May 7, 2015Jim Beam Rock and Roll Night at CMW 2015 ft. Scott Weiland
being gone is still sad. Rock and roll misses him. But, I remember the night we saw him at The Mod Club at Canadian Music Week and it was great.
Leading up to the show there was a lot of talk about Weiland's state as a performer and as a person. There was the show in Texas that had some real down moments and that had us wondering what we were going to get when Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts hit the stage in Toronto.
AND THEN THEY WERE AWESOME!
Scott Weiland was a hell of a performer throughout his career and we got to see it live that night in 2015. He strutted and was theatrical and sang. The place was packed. We got classic Stone Temple Pilot hits like Vasoline and Big Bang Baby.
I couldn't have asked for anything more.
And then we got to meet him.
It was a wild, fun, exciting night that included my chance to meet a star for a photo and a smile.
I'd do it all over again tomorrow!
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Meghan Patrick
The Phoenix Concert Theatre, May 3, 2016CMW 2016 Spotlight: Meghan Patrick
Meghan Patrick played as part of the Boots & Hearts showcase at CMW 2016 and owned the stage in a big way. We'd seen her before at Boots with The Stone Sparrows, I'd seen her in small songwriter circles, and just one before we saw her in the back room at the Supermarket playing a showcase that would lead to some great things for her.
At the May 2016 show, Meghan had the chance to play songs from her debut album, Grace & Grit that just been released a week before, and the crowd got into it just as much as she and the band were into it.
The stand out moment came when she played Bow Chicka Wow Wow, which had been released as a single earlier in the year. The crowd knew it. They loved it. Everyone got in with singing and dancing and stomping and energy. It was wonderful.
We've seen Meghan live a bunch in the years since that show but it is great to look back on her emergence as a Canadian country music star on her way to Female Artist of the Year trophies and finding the #1 spot on the charts!
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James Barker Band & Friends
Boots & Bourbon Saloon, April 21, 2017CMW 2017: Game On, James Barker Band Release Party with Andrew Hyatt, Dan Davidson and Friends
At Canadian Music Week 2017, James Barker Band took over Boots and Bourbon for their Juno award-winning Game On EP release party and it was one of the hottest tickets of the entire week. Even our media passes didn't secure us a spot in the venue, and we ended up getting in the door as the music was getting started with Dani Strong.
The place was packed with fans and other artists (Jess Moskaluke, Washboard Union, Leah Daniels, Kris Barclay, Ben Hudson, Karli June, Vanessa Marie Carter) who came to see the show. Everyone was all-in on the Canadian country music party with JBB and friends.
The 'and friends' in this show matters for this memory because the whole thing was great. Dani Strong kicked things off to a big early crowd with songs and laughs and the crowd loved it all (including her Maple Leafs t-shirt). The Reklaws (pre-HUGE radio and industry breakthrough) were next and showed us a step forward we were very happy to see. Dan Davidson took the middle slot and was a ball of energy that we've seen on stages big and small more than once since then. Andrew Hyatt was next and put on the kind of show that left him dripping with sweat and the fans in a frenzy waiting for the headliners.
And then the James Barker Band hit the stage and everyone got what they came for.
The boys played tracks from their new (at the time) EP, they were entertaining and fired up. They knew this was special. We knew they were breaking through to another level. And all of that has stood up in the three years since then with more success and star power and songs from the band.
Chills had just gone to radio three weeks before the show and would go on to be the band's first #1 (followed by Keep It Simple in 2019). Lawn Chair Lazy and Just Sayin' were already favourite and had charted well, and it was great to see these rising stars getting brighter and brighter in front of our eyes.
This was a good night and a good show.
