LORD OF THE WINGS
Music, food, fellowship a welcome blend at concert series devoted to pub grub
In the words of Gandalf the Grey, it's not for us to decide the times we live in, all we have to decide is what to do with the time that's been given us.
Excellent advice for both hobbits and humans during a worldwide emergency, and the obvious answer for us tall folk is to eat chicken wings and listen to local music.
Such is the premise behind the Lord of the Wings Concert Series, a preamble to next year's full-steam-ahead celebration of wings in all of their tasty glory. Think of it as being like Bilbo's party in Fellowship of the Ring, with last Saturday's concert boasting beer, poultry pieces and musical fireworks supplied by local notables Kimberley Macgregor Band and Orchard Sky.
Much like Mordor, one does not simply walk into the patio at Re/max Field. There's the matter of paying for tickets, either at the door or in advance from Eventbrite. If you're feeling peckish for second or third breakfast, there's a rotating series of restaurants offering wings in their various flavours, with last Saturday's choices provided by a Smokehouse BBQ truck. Alley Kat took care of the beer stand, a tiny stage in the corner housed the bands, three rows of short bleachers and a few tables were set aside for listeners.
Openers Orchard Sky had a considerable back catalogue of songs to draw on from its former incarnation as The Orchard, but Saturday afternoon's debut performance seemed to concentrate on establishing the band's new sound. As such they were all over the place, from straight-up rockers to bluesy stomps, steps in a musical direction unhindered by the past and still in the process of being figured out. For a moment it looked as though the weather was conspiring to wreck their premiere, the sky threatening rain and blustery winds sending unsecured garbage around the patio.
They made it through, however, hunkering down during the pressure drop, guitarist Mitch Smith threading slide guitar lines through the rumble of drummer Peter Joshua and bassist Andreas Wegner. Undeniably talented players, they wavered between tentative and explosive, uncertain and intense, new vocalist
Kat Zel establishing her own space between Smith and the rhythm section. By the time they wrapped things up with a take on Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love you could feel it all coming together.
Headliner Kimberley Macgregor gets a lot of love from the local media, and deservedly so. Even a pandemic can't hide the brilliance of her latest record, Sitting, With Uncomfortable Feelings, and months from a decent practice schedule couldn't wreck the easy rapport she has with her group, the Right Band. Kicking off with the steely
Hard Day (“I gotta pay the bills, I gotta take out the trash”) Macgregor led her group through a set list heavily devoted to her newest effort.
As with Orchard Sky, there were a few slight bumps in the proceedings, but Macgregor is a riveting performer even when a capo is misplaced or a song comes to an abrupt halt.
It also helps that she's ably supported by a sensitive and flexible band, including multi-instrumentalist and longtime sidekick Nathan Burns, whose pedal steel added the requisite amount of spookiness to her loverlorn plaint, I Liked You. Macgregor is at her best when she's got Burns, backup vocalist Lindsay Pratt, and a rhythm section at her back, so it was nice to see her out of the solo and duo mode she's been in during the pandemic.
Lord of the Wings picks up again on July 24 at Re/max with Bill Bourne and the Free Radio Band headlining a bill that includes singer-songwriter Hailey Benedict.
Tickets are $25 and available at Eventbrite or at the door.