Friday afternoon and evening built momentum with performances from Matt Anderson, Ashley MacIsaac among many. It all ended in exhaustion but smiles at 2 AM.
Friday afternoon I attended a session on publishing where I learned it’s a matter of nickels and dimes, lots of them. Publishers, if you can find one, sell your songs to everything from iTunes to movies and the money is in the long tail.
We discovered a nice restaurant that proved a whole week’s meal money can go in one shot. Two Hours Traffic parents shared the next table, PEI celebrity families.
Back at the Playhouse, we cooled our heels in the entryway between acts. Security checked green, yellow and red passes while I proffered the Super Bathroom Pass when nature called.
Samantha Robichaud proved once again that a cute blonde girl and a fiddle make a great combination. Sam’s family now since we traded quips in the elevator. Guess who was playing guitar for her – Chris Colepaugh. Chris produced her recent CD. His appearance was a treat.
I’m watching Chris’ guitar wizardry and I realized – hey he’s playing my old Gibson J45 the one my ex wife took to Ontario in 1980. That was my fave guitar. What’s with that?
Have you seen Matt Anderson? He is one awesome blues singer guitarist. Alan Buchanan, celebrity father of Chucky Danger alumni Colin Buchanan, offered that Matt looked great. He rocked us out with his awesome guitar playing and powerhouse singing. As a blues aficionado for 4 decades, my only quibble is he needs to get that laid back feeling the mature bluesmen exhibit. He gave me an idea for a follow up to Rene’s Song.
Dave Gunning was new to me and a pleasant guy to listen to. He reminded me of Valdy in ways, rootsy, sincere, down to earth.
The star of the night was Ashley MacIsaac. His bad boy reputation is like the outsized life of the Hollywood Brat Pack. Ashley’s entertainment is enthralling. From the patter to the playing, Ashley held the audience in the palm of his hand and played us like a fiddle. Toes were a’ tapping. People wore big smiles of enjoyment. It easily was the most enjoyable performance of the ECMA’s to date.
Back at the Crowne Plaza, we rooted around for something interesting to hear and ended up listening to Gyspo Philia, sort of Tom Fun with jazz. They had a nice Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli sound going. I bought their CD.
The night ended with the 9 piece R&B Downtown Blues Band who got the placing doing the frug and bugaloo. It was good fun music that everyone grooved to. I did my Funky Munky one more time before I dropped.
Somehow there was a Damhnait Doyle poster on my bed when I got back to the room. What’s with that? 
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