So on September 20th Kath and I were able to see Barney Bentall in concert again. For those of you who don't know who he is(and I think that would be anybody reading this blog) a brief history.
Barney Bentall has been releasind cd's both solo and with his band the Legendary Hearts in Canada since 1988. I've been a fan since the beginning. I met Kath in 1999 and was able to convert her into a fan. Seeing how she is from America she had never heard of him. He had kind of dissappeared for a few years to become a cattle rancher. Kath finally got to see him for the first time in 2004 and last saturday was out 4th Barney show. We were able to talk to him and get our pic taken with him in the past. He's a really nice guy. Here is a link to his 2 biggest singles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkskyqyadVo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FApKN6bkmU
Anyhow the concert was at a place in Hamilton at a place called the Hamilton Downtown arts centre. It was kind of a weird venue. When we arrived the concert hall wasnt open so we were told to go wait in the lounge.The lounge reminded me of a church re room and even had that rec room smell. Then i looked around and realized,we were probably the youngest people there. There were a lot of senior citizens. Later on i saw a few people that could have been our age. I overheard some people say they didnt even know who Barney was they just bought seasons tickets for the shows at this venue. So we finally go into the auditorium and it was smaller than my high schools auditorium. The stage set up was really weird as well. In addition to a mic and a piano and several guitars were various kitchen tables and chairs that looked like something out of my grand parents kirchen circa the 1970's. Oh and there was a small table with a lamp on it--i guess in case Barney wanted to read a book during the show. The announcer who came out to introduce him was so boring and unfunny. He actually said(in a boring voice) Barney Bentall's work with the Legenday hearts was legendary! We actually got to sit in the front row! The show itself was great. He opened the show with a brand new song and announced he was hard at work on a new cd. This was good news because this time it was only a 3 year wait between albums as oppossed to the 9 year gap between albums last night. Something else that was great--he was totally solo this time. We've seen him do the acoustic thing before but he had a couple of other musicians with him. This time he was totally on his own. He did all the old favorites--Something to live for, Come back to me, Do ya, life could be worse etc. He also did a killer version of Hungry Heart and Norwegian wood and even an old broadway song. At the end of the show he announced he would be touring Ontario next summer with The Legenday Hearts. He said he wanted to do another rock tour before he turned into a senior citizen. He's also a grandfather now. I'm hoping for another free show at the sound of music festival. After the show we got to talk to him for a bit,he signed our photo and said he remembered us from Hugh's room. He was cool as usual. I gotta tell ya if i had the cash i would so be at the Hugh's room show this week. Oh it should be mentioned that Kath is a bootlegger now, Her phone has a recording feature so she recorded the show. Wasnt that bad of a recording. My wife is wacky! QUe George constanza voice shouting "she's a bootleggah!" Until next time
Jay
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