Ayreon Effect

Back in 2019, Fenya and Bobby and I went to see Delain at the Starlite Room, and Anneke van Giersbergen was one of the opening acts. We adored her, especially when she  got a crowd of riled-up metalheads roaring out the chorus to Dolly Parton's "Jolene."

She mentioned working with a live show for something called Ayreon that I was unfamiliar with, and did an acoustic cover of "Valley of the Queens" which was beautiful and haunting. I looked up a few Ayreon songs and enjoyed them, but noticed the majority of their videos came from what turned out to have been a rare set of live performances from 2018.

Ayreon is a music project led by Dutch songwriter/composer/musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen since 1995, but similar to the Alan Parsons Project, was always intended to be a studio endeavour, focusing on rock opera-style concept albums. Their music is a rich melange of sounds, with their Wikipedia listing including descriptions of "progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk, electronica, experimental and classical music." 

Intrigued by the few performances I had seen and the one album I had streamed ("Into the Electric Castle") I finally sat down and watched the entire Ayreon Universe concert, a 'greatest hits' live show from 2017 that included a tremendous range of musicians (most of who are Dutch and only three of which I recognized immediately, including Marko Hietala, formerly of Nightwish.

The entire concert can be viewed on YouTube and is a worthy evening for anyone who likes Nightwish, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and/or 70s-inspired space rock, or if you are just into a comprehensive survey or "Who's Who" of Dutch Rock/Metal Performers. It is wonderfully staged and features an astonishing 16 different vocalists who have all worked with Arjen before, and who vary greatly in style but are all tremendously gifted singers.

Highlights for me included the aforementioned "Valley of the Queens" with Anneke reprising her role from the album while joined by Marcela Bovio (MaYaN) and the incredible Floor Jansen of Nightwish. The harmonies alone on this one are worth the price of admission as far as I am concerned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbebO5BZi-I

The concert's BluRay release was announced with an excerpted video of "Everybody Dies" which includes Hansi Kursh of Blind Guardian as well as Floor, Mike Mills, Maggie Luyten and Tommy Karevik (Kamelot). It is a tremendously upbeat and fun song considering the bleak prognosis of its lyrics:

Doom, gloom, the world goes boom
None will be spared, so don't assume

Not ragged clothes, nor silvers spooned
You're all the same when extinction looms

No food supplies (No water supplies)
No power supplies (Or other supplies)
No compromise (Just say your goodbyes)
And everybody dies!

No explanation (Or clarification)
No information (Or justification)
Forget the whys (Just cover your eyes)
And everybody dies!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AAXtUdM7xE

The absolute standout for 14-year-old me was the raucous "Intergalactic Space Crusaders" (technically a product of a different Arjen Jucassen project, Star One). Not only does this song dramatize the discussion between two characters described as Loner and Idealist arguing between fight or flight regarding an impending space battle, it also includes tremendous backing vocals (one of whom is Floor's sister Irene!) on the chorus and is just too much fun, honestly: 

https://youtu.be/mDjomu33Xzc?si=uSZZwzBgjL8AFQmb

[loner]
I don’t care about your plans and schemes
Don’t give a damn ’bout your righteous dreams
All that I do, I do for myself
I never cared for anyone else

[idealist]
We have to save them, we have to try
We can’t just watch while the innocent die
Let’s steal this ship and start our crusade
Powerful allies will come to our aid

[loner] Seven fighters
[idealist] Navigators
[crew] Intergalactic space crusaders
[loner] Federation
[idealist] Dictators
[crew] No scruples, lethal traitors
[loner] Outriders
[idealist] Invaders
[crew] Intergalactic space crusaders
[loner] Domination
[idealist] Liberators
[crew] Fighting to survive

And not only is this song apparently an homage to the venerable British sci-fi tv show Blake's 7, it is specifically oriented around the second season finale - a tip of the nerd cap to you, Mr.. Lucassen; that is indeed a deep cut!

My final excerpt is "Theory of Everything" because of its amazing instrumentation, from the opening chords on a vintage Hammond B to the headbanging flute solo that surely made Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson gasp in admiration. Transitioning from the crunchiest power chords on guitar to soaring pianos and vocals from Mike Mills and later Marcelo Bovio - it is truly the most operatic feeling piece, at least to my untrained but appreciative ears.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3TxOaCZv0w

There is also a rare onstage performance by the seemingly introverted Arjen Lucassen himself, who says the only thing that scares him more than performing onstage is speaking in public. But this doesn't stop him from coming onstage to graciously and earnestly thank his fans and fellow performers. I think he can list me among those fans at this point too.

Like I said, you can watch the whole thing on YouTube, but I intend to pick it up on BluRay when I am next in the U.S. ($10 shipping to Canada? No thank you!) so I can listen to it at greater volume in surround sound.

If you happen to like what you hear and want to come over for a screening at some point, or want me to pick up a copy for you, just let me know!

Thank You and Godspeed John Bocock

We said goodbye today to a lovely fellow from church whose life was a splendid and tremendous story.

It was a great service, and some people commented on the great photo on the program (taken by his son-in-law Peter), how it was reminiscent of old photos depicting a cocky pilot getting into his aircraft and not a senior citizen mounting a tractor to go to work. Then I learned that John's initial career choice had been pilot, until colour-blindness ruled that out for him.

John Bocock was, on a most basic level, a farmer and fellow churchgoer. I know many farmers, but what made John (and his entire family, really) stand out, was not what he did or how successfully he did it, but what he did with it.

He could be counted on to stand up at every St. Patrick's Day dinner and tell the story of how Sinn Fein came to his father's house in Ireland and banged their rifle butts on the floor to demand food and money 'for the struggle.' I believe this incident is what convinced Bocock Senior to emigrate to Canada.

John also told us how his family would never have survived their first harsh Canadian winter without the aid of nearby First Nations families, something he never stopped expressing gratitude and admiration for.

The Bobcock family was instrumental in the founding of St. Albert United Church. John, along with his brother Bill and wife Jenny, also donated the funds for our church to install a large array of solar panels in memory of Bill's late wife Phyllis. I suspect they were behind many other anonymous donations to the church or to causes the church supported, and his philanthropy in other areas was renowned throughout the area.

We held an appreciation event for John back in 2019, and I was privileged to be asked to emcee. I introduced guest after guest who expressed tremendous gratitude to John and the Bocock clan for their generosity in time, money, and advocacy in areas ranging from Indigenous reconciliation through to environmental sustainability. 

It was in preparing for this event I learned John had sold 314 hectares of land at a deep discount to the University of Alberta (his alma mater) in 2008, establishing the St. Albert Research Station as well as the Bocock Chair in Agriculture and Environment. 

But these are all things I learned about John - I liked him even while ignorant of his benevolence.

I appreciated how he would invite the entire church to his farm for a picnic at the end of every summer.

I liked the methodical and articulate manner in which he spoke, and the deadpan style of humor that I am sure kept many people guessing as to whether he was trying to elicit a laugh or not.

I admired his commitment to environmentalism and ethical food production, and the pragmatism behind it: “It was just sort of common sense really. If you ruin your land, crops don’t grow, and you can’t feed people.”

I laughed when I heard that two political canvassers looking for John's support thought they might make some headway by entertaining the notion that climate change wasn't real. What I wouldn't have given to be a fly on that wall!

John had a lot he could be rightfully proud of, but he maintained his humility. This probably goes back to his encounter with the Moral Rearmament folks he met in the 1950s who explained that changing the world best began with oneself, and how that prompted him to apologize and reconcile with his brother.

To think that these two could so easily have ended up estranged and instead worked and lived alongside each other for, what, six or seven decades, is simply remarkable.

Like I said at the beginning - it is a great story, but all stories must come to an end, as John's did on August 6 following illness and a stroke.

But must they?

John's daughter Rachel today expressed gratitude how, although her father had many fanciful notions in his final days (such as driving a swather while talking to her from his hospital bed), his personality and wit remained the same right up until the end. 

Rachel herself is involved in policy and advocacy through Alberta Municipalities, and I can hear her father's insight, gratitude, and common-sense wisdom when she speaks.

And I know his story has inspired others, like the brother in India who heard John and Bill talk about burying the hatchet and desisted from burning each other's crops from then on. 

I hope John's story continues on, echoing in the hearts and acts of people working to people a safer, kinder, simpler, and more just world. In the meantime, I am grateful to have had the chance to get a little closer to this amazing family and all their stories, if only for a little while.

Folk Fest Find 2023: Nick Shoulders and the Okay Crawdad

I often go to the Edmonton Folk Music Festival knowing very few of the acts, which I once found daunting and now find delightful. Poring over the program book or the very decent EFMF app on my phone and reading the various bios and reviews is a great opportunity to come across both great artists and some sublime copywriting.

Consider this entry for Nick Shoulders: Wielding an ethereal croon and masterful whistle crafted from a lifetime chasing lizards through the Ozark hills, Nick Shoulders is a living link to the roots of country music with a penchant for the absurd.

This was intriguing enough to get him shortlisted, but he appeared on the sidestage Saturday night (as they do while changing the main stage over for the next act), with his 'rat tail' mullet and bright pink t-shirt from "Booger Hollow, Arkansas", he sold a lot of folks on seeing his full set the next day.

The great whistling and yodeling certainly caught my ear, but his banter and clever, incisive lyrics got me by the brain and wouldn't let go. Given how conservative country radio has become, hearing a white fella sing, "I wish ancestral lands belonged to indigenous people/ who didn't have to live in fear of law from the steeple/ does grievance make you strong or does is just make you feeble..." in a homage to Cole Porter's "Don't Fence Me In" was kind of delightful, to be honest.

"Won't Fence us In" https://youtu.be/uaj0ktuUTEw 

A self-described weirdo from Arkansas, Nick invited the thousands of us in front of main stage in Gallagher Park to join him at Stage 2 the next afternoon, and a lot of us took him up on it.

And, again, the musicality for him and his three-piece band, The Okay Crawdad, is pretty great for a retro country and cowpunk lover like myself, but the wit is what engaged me the most. From his earnest belief that much more joins us than divides us and the many problems he feels plague his home country, to the history lesson and amazing mouthbow performance, it was one of the best side-stage performances I have ever seen at the festival.

He is a very smart and opinionated cat as well; his op-ed piece, "Fake Twang: How Conservatism Stole Country Music" (written for In These Times) is a neat read and includes this little nugget:

In New Orleans, I’m privileged enough to two-step and yodel in the most vibrant and least white country-music scene in the United States, and it makes me proud to love this genre, despite the darkness. There’s a ton of work left to do to make this unique music form more accessible and more welcoming to people outside of the white rural experience, but we’ve come a long way.

Like Corb Lund, Shoulders comes to country and roots music after working in punk with his band Thunderlizard, which even I have heard of. And my favourite insight over his entire set was in this introduction to his song "Turn On The Dark":

"If you ever wonder why so many punks and goths and metal heads and weirdos seem to be getting into country, don't forget that the fiddle was once referred to as the Devil's instrument. This genre has its roots in rebellion and we are never going away. This next song is for anyone who ever left a rural area to feel safe..."

So yeah, Glory and I were delighted for the entirety of the performance.

Saving Country Music has a lot of praise for Shoulders as well: 

"It is not a spurious notion to consider Nick Shoulders one of the most unique and gifted vocal acrobats of roots music from this generation or any other. The splendid highlonesome yodels, the exquisite whistling, the occasional run on the throat trumpet, or just the timbre of his voice when he’s singing straight with no frills is something that immediately sets him off against the weary peloton of average performers. With range, control, and confidence, Shoulders can sing whatever he wants, however he wants, and does.[...]

"In previous eras, Nick Shoulders would be a marvel of American music with a handsome recording contract and an open invite on the Grand Ole Opry any night he was in town. They would have written bad Westerns for him to star in just to showcase his voice. Instead Nick Shoulders is self-releasing his second record with no publicist and little praise from the press."

Anyhow, Glory and I both enjoyed the hell out of this fellow and his band, I want to do my part by introducing him to my ten of readers. If you like your western twang served a little sideways a la Orville Peck, do yourself a favour and check out Nick Shoulders and the Okay Crawdad, especially if you can see him live! He is Cremona tomorrow, Jasper the day after and in Grande Prairie next weekend before heading back stateside. (And the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto Oct. 29!).

I am already regretting not buying his t-shirt.

"Whooped If You Do" https://youtu.be/KS11SK-LZYE

"Heart of Glass" (cover) https://youtu.be/07o-R_YGDSs

From Kananaskis to Cabbagetown: Adventures with the Firstborn and Family

As milestones go, moving out on your own is kind of a biggie, even more so when the family unit is as tight as ours can be. But at least we got to have one last camping trip as a family!

After the apartment was procured and shipping container packed and sent to Toronto, we were all set to go camping in Kananaskis for the first time. Bobby and Fenya took the Toyota so they could get some time with his family at their time-share in Fairmont and joined us in Sheep River Provincial Park the day after we arrived.

And this was a good thing, since we are heavy packers and even the Flex would have strained to carry all five of us, plus Canéla, plus all our gear! I swear, if I ever buy a vehicle without roof racks again, please feel free to slap me.

Anyhow, our campsite was only about 20 minutes west of Turner Valley (officially now Diamond Valley, since it amalgamated with its neighbour Black Diamond). A fairly rustic affair, with "vault toilets" (aka outhouses) but very well treed and a comfort station not too far away with showers and sinks.

My trailer-backing-in skills won't win me any awards but it has been a few trips now since I have needed to use the nose wheel, so getting the Bride of Frankentrailer into position on the hitch was fairly satisfying. We had gotten take-out from Cluck n Cleaver in Calgary on our way through (great chicken but not a trailer-friendly location!) so there was no need for cooking on night one, and it took less than an hour for Audrey, Glory and I to have everything pretty much where we wanted it.

The next afternoon, Vera brought Oma and Auntie Alice from High River to the campsite for a visit, which meant they also got a chance to say goodbye to Fenya and Bobby when they arrived from B.C. It was a hot afternoon and we were grateful of the sun shade we had set up. They accepted our invitation to stay for dinner and I grilled up some steaks for us all.

Over the next few days we toodled around Turner Valley and Black Diamond, went to Okotoks (to look for a replacement griddle as I had left ours in the garage) and explored our corner of Kananaskis Country (which requires an additional pass now, like national parks do).

I was thrilled to enjoy a couple of pints with Bobby at Hard Knox Brewery in Black Diamond while the ladies shopped. The Frontier Chocolate Hazelnut beer we shared is excellent (and 9.8% abv!), as was the carrot cake sour he had and the Banana Bown ale I enjoyed.

There is a fair amount to see around Sheep River, including "forest cows", some delightful gorges and a waterfall. The area has an extensive trail network that looked amazing but I was frankly too lazy to countenance.

the "Big Rock" at Okotoks

Sheep River Falls

Glory demanded a "mermaid" picture on this rock

Canéla on the trail...of what?

The rare and elusive forest cow

Mostly though, we enjoyed hanging around the campsite together, playing games, enjoying meals, roasting smokies and marshmallows together and getting in some hammock time.

On our very last night, we endured a truly immense thunderstorm complete with hail. Thankfully the shade held back most of the moisture and the Bride was undamaged, as everyone waited inside for me to cook up some Hamburger Helper on the camp stove.

Afterwards we set up the iPad and a Bluetooth speaker inside the trailer and watched The Fellowship of the Rings while the torrent continued. Sure, the quarters are a bit cramped and not having snacks in a trailer impacts the experience, but you know, I have had worse times for sure.

Morning!

Packing up the chairs, shelter and trailer the next day while still damp was no picnic either, but honestly, still far better than a tent on the ground, and we were ready to go by a little after noon, and headed into Turner Valley for a late breakfast at the Chuckwagon Cafe. It was great food but a long wait, so we ended up killing time at the Eau Claire Distillery a few doors away.

After an afternoon breakfast we parted ways again, briefly, as the newlyweds headed to High River to go see the chuckwagon races with Auntie Vera that night, while Glory, Audrey and I took the Bride back to Edmonton for unpacking and drying out.

That was a little over a week ago. 

On Friday, three nights ago, our backyard hosted a farewell party for Fenya and Bobby. 

Saturday night my sister Tara came for a roast beef supper and we said so long for real. The flight to TO (with Bobby's family going along to help with unloading the Pod!) was early the next morning. It was a positive but very emotional night, because we are a pretty tight unit and we recognize the significance of this change.

And look, if you know me, then you know I am not a guy who does well with change. And the truth is, I have been dreading this moment for years now. But I also recognize the neccessity of moving on and the wonderful opportunities awaiting them at the Center of the Universe (TM).

And we are all thrilled that they have a nice place in an exciting city, and that Fenya received a job offer with George Brown College, so that is one less thing to worry about!

There they are, at the edge of Cabbagetown, sleeping on an air mattress and scrubbing down their new place in anticipation of the Pod arriving tomorrow. Then discovering the wind chime and spirits sampler Audrey had covertly procured on our trip and sent along with them in their luggage.

And I am too busy being happy and excited and proud for there to be too much room for melancholy to get a foot in.

And very grateful to have a family that has enjoyed the camping trips we have taken together (including our most excellent son-in-law), and even more appreciative that we had one last opportunity to go to the edge of the mountains together!