Canal Concert 7: REO Speedwagon opens for Dave Viterna

Well, that’s the way it unfolded for me, anyway.

Another Molson Canal Concert has come and gone and once again the weather was great, the music was great and the crowd got bigger.

Emphasis on the crowd getting bigger. Continue Reading…

Riders On The Storm

Riders On The Storm rode in on a storm and took Lockport by storm.

While rainy weather threatened to dampen the concert, rain up until nearly the start of the show didn’t stop it from going on. The weather Gods relented and the rain blew by leaving the Ulrich City Center cool and clean as the sun poked through the clouds. Only a short delay of about a half hour as tarps were removed from the stage and the sixth Canal Concert of 2008 was off.

Mo Porter
The number of concert goers was up from all previous weeks, at least judging by the early turn-out. When Mo Porter Band took the stage, they had a sizeable crowd ready for their show. And the crowd was ready for the Buffalo band’s bluesy rock sound. They played a number of original, well written songs. I hadn’t seen them play before, but I was impressed and hope to see thm play again. They have a CD which was available at the show, but I didn’t see any ordering information on their website, so you’ll have to get to a show if you want one. Continue Reading…

NT Concert update

Just a quick post… today the TV news announced that the major sponsor of the Saturday concerts in North Tonawanda, Labatts Brewing, had withdrawn from the concert series. That pretty much seals the deal for ending the shows for the rest of the season.

Well, at least they still have the Wednesday and Friday concerts. That ought to be enough for any city, right?

In fact, that’s downright greedy. There is a certain synergy between these concerts, offering free shows to bring people into a certain place. Buffalo has Thursday at The Square. Lockport has the Molson Concerts on Friday. Lewiston has Jazz on Mondays. Artpark has, well Tuesday and Wednesday… NT had Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Continue Reading…

North Tonawanda scuttles canal concerts again!

That's Just The Way It Is...After the North Tonawanda Police cited vendors at the Gateway Park concert two weeks ago, the State Liquor Authority has pulled the liquor license putting the event in jeparody for the rest of the season and forcing the promoters to move this weeks headline act to Buffalo. [Tonawanda News article]

The story really begins–like much misery in my life–with the overzealous North Tonawanda Police Department. A few weeks back they dispatched an underage, undercover girl to buy beer at one of the Labatt Blue Light canal concerts. The dumbass working the tap sold the girl beer, and as a result, the state liquor authority revoked the promoters’ alcohol license, making it impossible to raise enough money to pay Mr. Hornsby’s appearance fee. While the NT police still haven’t caught the Booby Bandit that has been loose in the city for the last week, they wrapped up “The Case of the Girl We Hired To Buy Beer” lickety-split. [Middleman web site]

Continue Reading…