Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Rotaryfest Video Showcase (Part 1!!)

Before we resume the weekend concert preview grind, lets at least start to cover videos from Rotaryfest's music stages from this past weekend! By all accounts, the return of the full (midway aside) summer festival after two pandemic affected years was a hit, if under muggy conditions, and there's a lot of pictures, articles, and videos across the expected social media and news channels online! For videos, the widest breadth of bands filmed is via former SaultOnline correspondent Mike Caruso's new YouTube channel, as he had his camera rolling on all three days, especially Friday! You may recall Mike posting videos of every Stage 1 band (except Fusion for one reason or another) in 2011 & 2012 for his old YouTube channel, as well as selections from later years, but no word on why he launched a new YouTube channel outright. From Mike's 2022 Rotaryfest videos, who and what can you see?

For the Thursday video, Mike filmed all four Stage 1 bands at Clergue Park, but the advertised performance order is not reflected in how Mike laid this out (no word on if there were any actual changes). Local funk/hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns open Mike's video, in bassist Al White & drummer Derek Turner's public video debuts with the band. They & guest saxophonist Josh Norling were filmed covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "American Girl" ("Rotarian Girl", if you prefer"), with Christina Speers on lead vocals. While not the hardest rocking cover in their repertoire, it is well performed and the plugged-in, full-band setup is a nice change of pace if you're used to their unplugged quartet gigs! Believe it or not, classic rock trio Flathead Ford go heavier via Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" afterwards (relatively recent cover from what I know of them).

Flathead Ford handle this song alright with good energy, though the vocals aren't as smooth as Freddie's (few are, granted). Rotaryfest regulars The Northern Jazz Ensemble are next with an instrumental performance that I honestly cannot title (jazz music isn't in my wheelhouse), but the talents are on full display, if very stoically! Classic/pop rock cover quarter L!me closed the video and night #1, and their filmed cover is also SMS-amenable, namely their set-opener "Song 2" by Blur. Short choice but always good to make an impact, and Madi's vocals are an interesting take! Solid videos from a good angle, so give all four bands a look below!    

Mike got the bulk of his footage on Friday via this 48+ minute video of that day's six bands! This was uploaded once before but re-posted with edits that you can compare & contrast while the old one is still online, but the songs proper are the same. The immense length is explained by Mike filming two songs from each band rather than one (not sure why, but those bands should be happy!). The opening Friday band on Stage 1 in person and on video are local blues/classic rock cover band Ladies Sing The Blues, who were filmed covering Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools" & Etta James' "The Blues Is My Business", and with Valerie's vocal talents on full display, genre fans won't wanna bypass those! In case the banner didn't give it away, classic rock veterans RPM played next, and Mike shot their set-opening cover of Tom Petty's "Free Falling" plus them doing Bruce Springsteen's "My Hometown". Both are strongly performed and faithfully handled!

Valerie Powley returned to the stage in time for her primary classic/hard rock cover band Obsession's set afterwards, who featured not just teased guest performer Jessica Amadio, but also guest guitarist Dan Belanger, who played with Obsession last year and filled in for That's Chester's reunion sets at Rotaryfest in the late 2010s. Their filmed covers include their set-opener "Everybody Wants You" by Billy Squier and "Roxy Roller" by Nick Gilder, with Jessica on tambourine for the former & singing backup for the latter. I'm unsure if her involvement was just for the weekend gigs or if more will come of it, but she didn't detract from either song, and everyone seemed to be performing at their best on these classic rock staples, so Obsession fans have nothing to worry about! In a rarity for Mike Caruso's Rotaryfest videos, he filmed an original act next, namely local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith!

He and his Dire Setback/Din alum-bolstered backing band were filmed playing their set-opener "If Ever Comes The Day", plus "MorningStar" from the same album. Very neat seeing Mike play these songs on a local stage with a proper backing band at long last, and if he had to wait 2+ years from the original CD release party plans, look at the stage he got! Yes, I am well aware of his own full-set video from that night, check back on Saturday (I hope). Classic rock veterans Mustang Heart were filmed by Mike Caruso next covering Journey's "Stone In Love" and Honeymoon Suite's "What Does It Take", and Marci & crew do a solid job on these classic rock favourites (having a keyboard really helps for both). Nightfall had hit for the Friday headliners, classic rock veterans Angry Joe & The Growlers, who covered Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" & The Wallflowers' "One Headlight".

Similarly strong and well played renditions to end the Friday bill at Rotaryfest, so definitely give each individual song a listen via the above linked titles! We are far from done with Rotaryfest fallout (I haven't even touched on what Mike shot on Saturday yet), but I must put a pause on this topic until Saturday at the earliest, as another busy concert weekend is imminent. Stay tuned for this previews (and late notice show announcements) in the next couple of days, but check out Mike's Rotaryfest Stage 1 videos from Friday below! Thanks everyone!


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