Al's Blog-o-Sphere

Well, seven out of eight wasn’t bad. I couldn’t go to the last of the Lockport Molson Canal Concerts for the year. I had to stay home and take care of my wife, who has just gotten out of the hospital.

My son was at work and my daughter was working at the concert with the Youth & Recreation group. So I had to keep my wife company.

If I had to miss one show, I suppose this was the one for me. I’m not a huge fan of Jeff Martin, or The Tea Party, although everyone in this area who listens to Canadian radio – as most Buffalo FM radio stations suck – has heard of them.

I listened to a bit of Tea Party as I sat at home, just to get a sense of what I missed. I guess their music is just a bit dark and bombastic for my taste. It seemed like every song was playing as if the speed on the turntable was turned down 10%. But that’s just me. If you enjoy it, far be it from me to discourage you. If you went to the concert and enjoyed it, let us know, leave a comment and tell us about it. Continue Reading…

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 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.

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…

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…