Motown in the Falls

We went to the "new" Casino in Niagara Falls with my brother and sister-in-law to see "the Magic of Motown" in the Avalon Ballroom. We stayed in the Embassy Suites hotel in a nice room with a very good view of the Falls.

A great venue for a band like this: not-too-big, with no bad seats that we could see. We were in the second row, stage left!

This band was very tight, with the three remaining members of the band still pulling their weight - specially Bob Babbitt, the bass player. The people they've added to fill in the roster are all excellent, too. The two lead singers - a guy and gal - were outstanding, easily covering all of our favourite songs by Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, the Four Tops, etc.

Half-way through the show they brought out one of the original Supremes, Mary Wilson, who looked and sounded terrific (she's 63!!!), and who led the band in a wonderful 7 to 10 (?) song set of classic Supremes songs !

We did some shopping the next morning around the outlets, etc., then took a very nice drive out along the "River Road" from the bottom of Clifton Hill towards Niagara-on-the-Lake, where we did some people-watching, and shopping in the Greaves Jams store, as well as the bakery, and the fudge shoppe. We had another excellent lunch at the Angel Inn (Guinness Beef & Onion Pie for Fran, and Bangers'n'Mash for me - both perfect).

All-in-all, a very satisfactory trip, and one we can recommend to everyone!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Funk_Brothers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtvBdgyDH8U&mode=related&search=

http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com/index.htm

http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com/funksbio.htm

Samples (audio only, unfortunately...go get the DVD!) from the DVD:
http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com/soundtrack.htm

Great pub-food at the Olde Angel Inn: http://www.angel-inn.com/

Mary Wilson (of the Supremes) http://www.paradiseartists.com/artists/mary_wilson/index.html

Amy Winehouse in Rolling Stone

The June issue of Rolling Stone has a good piece on my favourite singer: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/amy_winehouse_back_in_black_rehab_married_soul_beehive_diva/page/1

Savannah and Charleston

Just returned from our week down south at Hilton Head Island. Had a very nice time with our family (Fran's sisters, their husbands and kids). Fran and I also visited Savannah, Georgia which we really loved : http://www.savannah-visit.com/tour.asp We also went up to Charleston, South Carolina: http://www.charlestoncvb.com/visitors/tripplanner/seedo_attractions.html?type=1&category=2&sub_category=12 We plan to return to spend more time in Savannah and Charleston, but would also consider returning to Hilton Head, which was very beautiful in its own way...and would be a real golfer's paradise, I think.

Hilton Head Island

We're heading off (by car) to Hilton Head Island with the family (Fran's side) on Friday for a week! Looking forward to it...this http://www.resortquest.com/portal/page?_pageid=795,1079217&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&pmsSource=Legacy&complexID=46394&placeID=108&submitPage=null is the link to the place we've rented. I'll let you know how it was once we get back.

Cowbell

One of my favourite SNL skits. "I gotta fever...and the only prescription... is more cowbell!"
Click here: http://www.ojaiwan.net/audio/cowbell.wmv

Luke Mulholland Band at Healey's

Show was just "OK", unfortunately!

We (brother-in-law Brian, and my buddy Doug) had a good time anyway, as we started by having beers at my place (Bay and Dundas), then walking over to the newly-renovated Spadina Garden Restaurant (best Crispy-Ginger-Beef and Cantonese Chow Mein in the world?) on Dundas just west of Bay, then walked down to John and Richmond and stopped in to Smokeless Joes little downstairs beer-bar where I selected an "Innis & Gunn" beer from Britain...this place has a staggering selection of beers from around the world. Then continued on down to Healey's which is now located directly across the street from Gretzky's.
The place is a very good size, the food looked good (we were too stuffed to try it) and we played a couple of games of pool while waiting for the band to come on. They put on an acceptable show, featuring covers of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix, and others, as well as a few original songs which weren't too bad. The kid can sure play, but his stage presence is not very good yet, and his voice is still a bit weak, I'd say.

All that being said, we had quite an enjoyable evening...you know, it's always good to get "out-with-the-lads" and even just shoot the breeze over some good food and beers and live music, right?

Molly Johnson Concert

We went to the (Danforth) Music Hall last night to see one of my favourite jazz/pop singers, Molly Johnson. She is touring to support her most recent CD Messin' Around She is very ably supported by her band: piano player, stand-up bass player (and song-writing collaborator), drums, electric guitar and a multi-woodwind instrumentalist who plays three different saxes, two clarinets and a flute or two! Her music is very easy-to-listen-to, and her personality is one of a really neat artsy friend you may have known in high school or college. This is one of her best songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL699yVUSj0 and this one is from her new cd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rd91kB9A-0&mode=related&search= and this one is for Thomas the Train fans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r67Kejw74Mw&mode=related&search=