The Sheepdogs & Yukon Blonde in Fredericton!

Last night I made it to the Sheepdogs concert down at Boyce farmers market here in Fredericton. I do not make it to live shows often so this was a rare event for me. I lucked into a free ticket through a vinyl trade so I took advantage and decided to try and enjoy myself. I am not a fan of crowds and try to stay clear of drinking establishments since I quit the habit a long while back. So this was a test for me.

 

It was a success!

 

First off I have to say that the farmers market was a fantastic venue! There was plenty of space for everybody and it was nice and open so even though it was a sold out crowd, the air stayed clean and fresh. There was plenty of space for the crazy folks to cram together up front and still lots of room at the back for people like myself to stay in the background and still have a great view of the show!

 

Opening the show was British Columbia’s “Yukon Blonde”. They were worth going to the show alone! These guys really put on a great performance. They had a solid set with some kickass catchy tunes. Highlights for me would be their opening song of “My Girl” and their closing song of “Stairway”. I picked up their new CD “Tiger Talk” and a copy of their 7” single for “Stairway” b/w a demo of “Radio”. The picture sleeve was drawn on with permanent marker by the band which gave it a real personal appeal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will definitely be following this band from here on out. I think that once they get a little more focus from the public, and word of mouth travels from their live shows, they will have no trouble headlining their own tour like this in the near future!

 

Seeing such a great band like this as the opening number was a real treat!

 

Next up was the main event with “The Sheepdogs”! I was curious if “Yukon Blonde” would overshadow “The Sheepdogs” but they were a complete different style.

 

“The Sheepdogs” were such a great live band. They have a solid amount of songs available now that they released their second full length LP that they had no trouble making a great long set list.

 

 

 
It makes me happy that a Rock and Roll band like this can sell out a venue like this. It goes to show that there are some people listening to this type of music still. Good to know that Glee and American Idol didn’t brainwash the entire population.

 

Highlights for me would have to be “How Late, How Long” which is my favorite song from their new LP and “Ewan’s Blues” just for the kickass trombone solo alone.

 

For the first five or six songs I just couldn’t quite remember what band “The Sheepdogs” reminded me of so much. Sure they have the southern rock sound of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers but that wasn’t it.

 

Then it clicked and I couldn’t help but laugh when I figured it out.

 

They reminded me so much of the fictional band “Stillwater” from the movie “Almost Famous”. Just the 70’s style that they nailed and the long hair and beards that matched Jason Lee’s on the movie. Of course the sound was completely different and original. I by no means think that they were cloning them but it was just these few similarities that caught my attention.

 

I picked up their new self-titled LP and haven’t had it off of the turntable since. I really like this album. It is solid all the way through with not a single weak track.

 

It was pressed on attractive yellow vinyl and to my surprise even had a CD copy stuck in the sleeve as well (this is a huge bonus for people like myself who download no illegal music). Also it was nice that instead of shrink wrap it was packaged in a nice reusable poly sleeve. Great packaging!

 

Overall it was a great show and experience. I strongly recommend anybody see any of these bands the next time they pass through, or at least pick up an album!