North Star- Scotland Sings Canada

It was the last night of the Southern Fried Festival and I have to admit that i was a little sad that it was soon all going to be over.  However it looked set to end on a high note with an extended concert of Scottish musicians playing tribute to another country that punches above its weight musically speaking, Canada.  I have long been a bit of a Canadaphile watching Delegrassi Junior High growing up and about as big a fan of Neil Young, The Band and Leonard Cohen as you can get. That's before you even factor in the awesome Rush.  What about the voice of Geddy Lee?  How did it get so high?  Would they play my favourite The Band song "The Weight"?  I was eagerly anticipating the answer to these questions and more as I took my seat and tonights bandleader and compere the nimble fingered guitarist Stuart Nesbit took the stage.

He was joined by a veritable whose who of Scottish music including singer-songwriter Rab Noakes, Justin Currie formerly of Del Amitri, folk singer Karine Polwart, and Emma Pollack of the Delgadoes.  We also had Cyndi Cain who I had been so impressed with at the Chuck Berry tribute representing her home country of Canada.  We are entertained with so many songs that again it is very hard to pick favourites but it's kind of my job otherwise this article would take as long to read as the concert took to watch.  On the whole I tended to favour the songs that were familiar to me partially because it is now impossible to see them performed by the original artists.  Leonard Cohen sadly passed away at a ripe old age last year.  Not only did The Band officially split in the late seventies and anyway everyone but Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson have now gone to the great gig in the sky.  So this is the closest thing you are ever going to see to the real thing.

Rab Noakes reading of Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love" certainly impresses, it is a beautiful and lyrical interpretation.  The real stand out for me in the first half is Emma Pollock.  The moment she puts on her electic guitar it becomes immediately obvious that it's louder than everyone else's.  "Mmm, Neil Young perhaps?"  When she say it's a little known song about the Manson murders it becomes apparent that we are going to hear the truly bonkers "Revolution Blues" from "On the Beach".  It's a song that I've always wanted to hear Neil Young play live but one that he doesn't dust off much thanks to its controversial subject matter.  The band, with Stuart Nesbit taking the "Youngian" guitar, solo really commit to the song and it really was the highlight of the festival for this die-hard Neil Young fan.

During the interval I had a lovely conversation with Lynette an American visiting Perth all the way from Tucson Arizona.  I discover that we share a love of Neil Young and The Band and we talk about the shows we have attended at Southern Fried so far.  There is still much more to come though and in the second half guitarist James Grant is the real stand out for me with a Hank Snow track and another of Young's heavier rockers in the form of "Cinnamon Girl". He achieves a cracking approximation of Young's guitar tone and lead style.  Justin Currie does a really nice cover of "After the Goldrush" with an added Velvet Underground inspired glockenspiel solo.  Cyndi Cain once again shows she has impeccable choice when it comes to material and as always has the voice to back it up.  In her hands Bobby and the Vancouvers "Does Your' Mother Know About Me" sounds like something Curtis Mayfield would have released on his Curtom label in the late seventies.

The encore consists of the entire ensemble taking the stage and performing The Bands defining song "The Weight".  They trade verses just like in the concert film "The Last Waltz" and my new friend Lynette and I sing along to ourselfs.  It was a great end to a great festival.