Lucky Peterson is a blues musician I had never heard until a couple of weeks before the show. I began to research him as the show approached and found out that Lucky had been performing since he was five years old. Performances such as The Tonight Show with Ed Sullivan in 1964, the same year that The Supremes and The Beatles made their first appearances. The earliest performance I could find of Lucky was when he was seven years old playing a Hammond B3 electric organ. Tonight almost 40 years later he would play at the Epcor Centre in Calgary with his wife Tamara Peterson.
We filed into the theatre at around 7:30 for the 8:00 show since tickets we general admission. I managed a seat in the front row and once I was settled I started to wonder what an incredible inconvenience hauling around this enormous vintage Hammond B3 organ must be. Quietly thanked god that I am in University and that loading and unloading this organ was not my problem. Five minute warning was given in the lobby, the Engineered Air theatre quickly filled to capacity and then the lights dimmed.
A spotlight beamed down when a woman was standing at a microphone, she thanked the sponsor PCL for their generosity and thanked Music Centre Canada for a last minute donation of “the use of a Hammond B3” for Lucky’s show. Right then I realized we would be a part of a very special show that evening. Lucky Peterson was introduced came on stage with a beaming expression on his face. Clearly Lucky was excited to play the Hammond for us.
Upon entering the stage Lucky smiled and waved as he sped over to the organ sat down said “Hello” and began playing immediately. The first eight or so minutes were purely instrumental and quite honestly, amazing. The percussion line is played via the pedals on the organ, bass line via left hand and melody via right hand. It is incredible to watch, maybe more so for me since I have a heck of a time getting my hands to tap and two different speeds. Lucky played a couple more songs on the organ and then switched over to his guitar and played “Three Handed Woman”. Lucky called his wife Tamara on stage, she gave him heck for bringing her out on stage right after that song since the chorus is “She’s a left handed, right handed, underhanded woman”.
The Hall's dome was 145 feet wide and set on a cylindrical base 200 feet wide. It seated 4,000 guests and had an enormous stage capable of supporting a full orchestr...
"Chet Douglas, leaning against the side of the Prize Table, continued to blow musical figures for his own enlightenment." -Narrator -127
The venue was a small amphitheatre with wood paneled walls and a wooden stage with the piano situated in the middle. The chairs were covered in blue fabric. I would estimate that the venue was about one-third full, and the crowd consisted primarily of college students (although I did see two senior-aged individuals in attendance, as well). It appeared that attending the event was a requirement for a specific class, although I did not ask anyone about this directly. There was a young man sitting outside handing out some sort of attendance slips. Everyone was dressed quite casually, with jeans and tee shirts being the norm among the male population, especially. Before the performance began, the venue was very brightly lit and it was quite noisy. When the performer stepped out onstage, I was very surprised that several of the audience members were whistling and hooting, since I had read that that was improper decorum. Once Mr. Anvar took his seat and the lights went down, the crowd went silent. Between performances the crowd generally applauded, but there were always a handful of people yelling out, as well.
Started out as an avid fan of artists such as Michael J. Fox, Freddie and Albert King and Lightnin' Hopkins, John Mayer is known to have played songs with the guidance of his talent in guitar playing. The gifted artist has continued
The show opening was not your normal “seating lights off, stage lights on, start the show”...
This song tended to sound like a bossa nova piece with a mixture of hard bop included. During this performance, the trumpet player, Josh Holland, tends to vibrate at the ends of the notes, which seemed to have a slight vibrato, with a linear tone to it. The drummer, Ryan McDaniel, used the technique of ‘drum bombs’ in the performance as well. The pianist, J. Paul Whitehead, played with his right hand giving the ‘oom-pah’ sound and his left hand doing the comping. There were solos played by the trumpets, pianist, bass player, and drummer, in that order. This piece of jazz tended to get us in the feel of era of music they were
Each one of them had their own instruments and everyone did a great job. There was a man playing the guira and another playing the tambora. Also, one person was playing the saxophone, which I found very interesting because it seemed to be an instrument hard to play because they had to put so much effort to play it. Moreover, there was another person playing a second drum that was not the tambora. Lastly, the other person playing an instrument was Fefita, whose instrument was the accordion. I have to admit and mention one more time that she was excellent playing her instrument and singing at the same time.
It was the 5th of May and it was a concert in honor of Mexico's independence. It was all free and sponsered by channel 23, montero beer, GM motors, and other big companies. It was a beautiful day to be outside, and the stage was huge. By 3 o clock when I arrived it was packed, and people kept coming in more and more every hour. I managed to get to the front, which wasnt an easy task when you have people pushing and shoving. When I arrived to the front I noticed all of the different musical instruments that where on the stage. It was such a weird variety of instruments ranging from the acordian, clarinets, drums, all types of guitars, trumpets, a tuba, a saxophone, and other instruments.
As I watched and listened to them playing their instruments, there were low and high sounds. Half of the people would play at a low sound and the other half would play at a high sound. That was sort of relevant to what I saw in this video. However, in the video it was more of orchestra and symphony meaning there were violins and clarinets; but there were half musicians playing at a low sound and the other half playing at a high sound similar to the band
Teachout, Terry. "John Hammond's jazz." Commentary 122.3 (2006): 55+. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
Because I came a little bit earlier around 7:25,so I went in the waiting room where I started to scan the program notes just to get an idea what was going to be performed and when the time has come for us to get in.The room looks okay and the decoration was simple. The theater stage design was uncomplicated. The large size of the words: Forbidden Broadway was written in a part of the curtain. The only thing that made me feel weird, but not uncomfortable is that because I was the only black around all of these white people and this feeling of weirdness went away when I saw only three other back people in the room, so in total we were only four black
As the mass of band members entered the field with their assortment of instruments and wild west props, the suspense in the crowded stadium grew. The process of setting up the props and the front ensemble with its arsenal of keyboards added to the excitement in the air. When the band was in place, the drum majors climbed their podiums and the audience fell silent. The stillness was broken when a small group of brass players
Before the actual performance began music was played. I thought nothing of it assuming it was music to simply hold the crowd. And also I under was the impression that this would end once the show began but to my surprise this featured music was ...
It was magnificent. The first thing to catch my eye was a monstrous chandelier that hung from the 50 foot ceiling. It was awe inspiring. As my eyes surveyed the room, it was hard to miss the antique maple pews that provided seats for approximately 300 people. Plush emerald green carpet was the grounding to the room. It's path led directly up to the stage which was home to a variety of items. The band, pulpit, arid baptismal were the most obvious. Above the stage was a huge dome, it was colored in shades of blue, mauve, white, and several other soft accents. A bright light was right in the center of its point. Our gazing was soon interrupted when the official greeter returned. This time she was quick and to the point. She collected our cards and informed us that service was about to begin. Within a matter of minutes, a middle-aged man stepped up to the pulpit and asked us to stand.
Without warning, the lights went dark. This was the moment I had been waiting for. My adrenaline went through the roof. The time had finally come that I would get to see and hear my first live concert.