Mom drove down from Edmonton yesterday and she joined Stuart and I at the Ironwood Stage & Grill. It was the first show of The Skydiggers 25 Anniversary Tour and I'd managed to snag us some of the last few seats. We arrived early to have dinner first, since the food there is quite edible. Mom had something with portobellos and pasta, Stuart had what he described as the best (hottest) jambalaya he says he's ever got in a restaurant and I had a lovely flatbread pizza with chicken, caramelized onion and apples.
I also popped up before the show to buy a copy of Northern Hills Deluxe. Mostly I buy my music online these days, but iTunes only had the regular version available. This way, I could get the four disk version without paying shipping. As an added bonus - Andy was setting up, so I got to have a chat with him and he signed it for me. :D I have to admit that even though I know that musicians, actors, writers, etc. are just people, I still get ridiculously shy and tongue-tied. I held my own ok this time, but I did use the excuse of the lady waiting behind me to scurry away. I know some people who'd have stood there talking until the show was ready to start - given half the chance.
The opening act was a man by the name of Scotty Hills. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't very interest catching, either. It's always hard to open for someone with an established fan base, but basically everyone was talking over him. His voice was average with a tendency to mumble, his guitar playing was average and his songs mostly sounded the same with no hook at all.
The Skydiggers came on right at 9 and Andy made his usual style of halting but funny remarks. He started out by saying that this was the 25 anniversary tour, but that since none of us were old enough for that to be true, it must be the 2.5 anniversary. I agree, much better! They did a fantastic mix of songs from all the albums, including "Slow Burning Fire" as the last song of the encore, after I started a round of shouts requesting it. The band members have swapped around since the early days, around the core of Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson, but the essential sound and aesthetic which I've always loved is still the same.
They did a very short encore and I think we left around 10:30. It was a little after 11:00 when we got home - which is way late for me on a school night! I did ok this morning but about 1:00 this afternoon, I could feel myself wilting. However, as a bonus, I managed to snag second row tickets for John Cleese in the fall, so I'm tired but very happy!
I also popped up before the show to buy a copy of Northern Hills Deluxe. Mostly I buy my music online these days, but iTunes only had the regular version available. This way, I could get the four disk version without paying shipping. As an added bonus - Andy was setting up, so I got to have a chat with him and he signed it for me. :D I have to admit that even though I know that musicians, actors, writers, etc. are just people, I still get ridiculously shy and tongue-tied. I held my own ok this time, but I did use the excuse of the lady waiting behind me to scurry away. I know some people who'd have stood there talking until the show was ready to start - given half the chance.
The opening act was a man by the name of Scotty Hills. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't very interest catching, either. It's always hard to open for someone with an established fan base, but basically everyone was talking over him. His voice was average with a tendency to mumble, his guitar playing was average and his songs mostly sounded the same with no hook at all.
The Skydiggers came on right at 9 and Andy made his usual style of halting but funny remarks. He started out by saying that this was the 25 anniversary tour, but that since none of us were old enough for that to be true, it must be the 2.5 anniversary. I agree, much better! They did a fantastic mix of songs from all the albums, including "Slow Burning Fire" as the last song of the encore, after I started a round of shouts requesting it. The band members have swapped around since the early days, around the core of Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson, but the essential sound and aesthetic which I've always loved is still the same.
They did a very short encore and I think we left around 10:30. It was a little after 11:00 when we got home - which is way late for me on a school night! I did ok this morning but about 1:00 this afternoon, I could feel myself wilting. However, as a bonus, I managed to snag second row tickets for John Cleese in the fall, so I'm tired but very happy!
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