With the heat of the Canadian summer comes the bikes and the
rallies. First stop this year was at the Thorold, ON Arena for the
22nd Annual Harley Owner's Group (H.O.G.) Rally. I was a hot,
sticky night in an echo-prone arena on the August 1st weekend.
Nevertheless, the crowd was good, the grills were fired up and
the tunes were hot.
This year, Friday the 13th landed in August in the heat of the summer. And
2010 was a great summer for bikes -- lots of sun and very little rain. Not
only was this the 50th anniversary of the Port Dover events (50 Friday the
13ths, not 50 years), but the event was trying to establish Guinness
Records for the most people and most bikes in one day at an outdoor
event, which with an estimated over 20,000 bikes and 175,000 people, the
records were indeed set.
Powerhouse brought their show in twice
this year, fiirst on the Thursday night for a
pre-Friday bash and back the next night to
play in the very crowded, licensed
Budweiser stage area. Even on Thursday,
the crowds were large and with the great
weather, this year was looking like a huge
event. It's not to be forgotten that Port
Dover is a lakeshore town, complete with
miles of sandy beaches on the shores of a
rather shallow, very warm lake. People
were arriving at the event in all forms of
transportation -- although bikes were the
hands-down favourite.
After a full summer day on the bikes and/or in the sun, the crowds in the Port
town were ready to rock ... and Powerhouse was ready to rock them.
The crowd was great. The weather was perfect. Ii was another terrific two nights in Port Dover.
Our summer of good weather came to a soggy end the
following week. The band was on the road to the west end of
Lake Erie to the Leamington Tomato Festival. We took our
three tribute shows: Chicago Transit, Ray Charles and Rod
Stewart on this trip. Unfortunately, the ride down was an
afternoon ride through constant torrential rains. Even as we
arrived in Leamington a few hours before showtime, it was still
raining and going on stage that evening seemed like an
impossibility.
Once we all met at the park and saw the situation, it was time
to sample some of the local cuisine. The food in Leamington,
by the way (at least where we went) is excellent.
Finally, about 15
minutes before our
scheduled start time,
the rain stopped and
we gathered the
band together to
perform 3
abbreviated shows
totaling about an
hour before the rains
came back.
Unfortunately, a day of constant rain had nearly emptied the park and we
played our show in rather chilly, damp weather to about 3 dozen people
made up mostly of family and event organizers. We felt bad for the
event’s organizers as we played to an empty park. Because judging by
the amount of tents and facilities that had sat in the rain all day, their
festival was well-prepared for anything but a day of torrential rain.
Still, it was good to finally play some music after such a long, dreary day
and, from what we could see, we noticed that the town of Leamington had
done an excellent job with their waterfront area.
About a year ago, in July 2009, the band took its
Chicago Transit show to Baldwinsville, New York for
the Islandfest on Paper Mill Island. After the show
we were talking to a couple of new friends, Susan
and Coleen, and they mentioned about a wedding
they had planned a year later and would we be
interested in playing at their reception. Well ... to
close out the month of August, the band traveled to
the far east end of Lake Ontario, to the1000 Islands
Winery near Alexandria Bay in northern New York
State to play for that reception.
We drove down the day before, stayed the night near
the winery and took in some of the local sights the
next day before a late afternoon set-up and
soundcheck.
The 1000 Islands area of eastern Ontario is one of the
most beautiful areas in this part of Canada and the
U.S. and, as luck would have it, the nearest town, Alexandria Bay, N.Y. was having it's "Rockin' the Bay
Festival" this weekend. It made for an enjoyable trip to town on a hot late summer afternoon.
You’re bringing how many saxophones ??
The grounds at the Thousand Islands Winery were quite impressive -- well-kept barn buildings
dotting the property everywhere, vineyards surrounding the main property and the 1000 Islands
Bridge across the back yard a few miles away.
Since it was just the boys in the band making this trip, pictures are limited to pre-show as there was
no one to take pictures once the show started. But rest assured, the 100 or so reception folks who
attended and the band all enjoyed a beautiful late summer night in upstate New York State. And we
wish Susan and Coleen the band's best in their new life together.
The next stop for the band was a few days later
at the Budweiser Midway Stage at the CNE in
Toronto. The boys had not been to 'the Ex' in a
couple of years and this year, they were going
back with their regular Motown/Soul show. Other
than a brief shower a few hours before the show,
the weather held and it was a hot, sticky late
summer night in Toronto.
The Budweiser/Q107 Stage was set up right
beside the Midway. An earlier rain was brief
enough that the crowd was still quite large for the
evening show.
The CNE Midway always looks rather
spectacular at night and it made an excellent
backdrop for playing a few Motown tunes
The band closed out the Summer '10
season at home, playing at Hamilton's
13th Annual Mustard Festival.
According to the Festival website at
http://www.mustardfestival.ca/ , Hamilton
is home to the largest miller of dry
mustard in the world. The Festival,
created in 1998, coincided with the
opening of the first phase of a downtown
renewal project, Ferguson Station, in the
heart of downtown Hamilton. Even
though, once again, a downpour came
in just as the band was about to go on
stage -- clearing many of 'festivalites' from
Ferguson St. -- the rain did let up long enough for the band to do a nearly-full-length show.
The year finished off with a few local club dates, a Frank Rondell Ray Charles show
at Xeno's Bistro in
Ajax and a
remarkably cold
evening at the
Markham Fair at
the beginning of
October. With a
combination of a
very busy
summer season,
economic
problems yielding
few holiday
corporate dates,
the band decided
to close out the
year with some
much-needed
time off.
Sound and Lighting Check
People watchers, bikers
and motorcycle enthusiasts
descended on Port Dover
today for the 50th Friday
the 13th festival.
Elbow room was in short
supply as a litany of sun-
seekers came to look – and
be seen.
Among them were an
estimated 20,000 bikes
sprinkled throughout the
sun-drenched streets.
Although some took to the beach to escape the soaring temperatures, most were
happy to stay in the crowded street where the action was.
Organizers, who estimated more than 3,000 garbage bags would be thrown away
today, expected it to be the biggest gathering in the event’s history, topping
150,000 people. This comes after the founding event took place with a party of
25 bikers.
Said Bill Dainard, who has made it out to every Friday the 13 for the past six
years: “The camaraderie is the best part. There’s no pressure, there’s no
schedule. We just walk around, look at bikes, look at people and meet friends.”
