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When I was in University a good friend of mine became President of the Student’s Association. A year ahead of me, this guy was on my residence floor in first year and we all watched with giddy pride as he ascended the ranks from campus bar manager to President of the Residence Association to a two-year stint as class president. And as class president he got The Blues Brothers back together for a reunion show at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre. Not too shabby.
Dan Aykroyd had gone to Carleton University and somehow my friend and his cohorts had convinced him to get the band back together and do a benefit show for our campus. Just like in the movie. I wonder if they found Matt Murphy working in a diner?
Regardless, on October 15th, 1994 pretty much the whole band was assembled onstage, with the wonderful addition of Paul Shaffer as musical director and keyboard player. Before the show began we watched as local(-ish) boy Dan Aykroyd pulled up to the venue on a Harley with a bunch of his buddies riding alongside. Inside and in costume, Elwood Blues kept the show moving the whole night; the dude is a bona-fide bluesman. The late, great John Belushi was (barely) replaced by his brother Jim, my friend gave me a ticket to the afterparty (which was fairly lame – as I recall none of the performers dropped by – but there was free wine) and the whole show was a dream come true. I still have the t-shirt.
In a classy move that became almost signature, my friend had booked a pair of adjoining rooms in Ottawa’s fanciest hotel, the Chateau Laurier across the street, and as the after-afterparty swelled a bellhop knocked on the door and rather than shut us down he trucked the many crates of wine, champagne and liquor down to the ballroom, where we continued to party in an almost-civilized fashion.
At one point Jim Belushi showed up. I watched as he stepped out of the elevator, said hello to our little group standing there, put his arms around two pretty women simultaneously and stepped back into the elevator with them, never to return. He had made it a total of ten feet into the ballroom.
And that was just one of the many semi-surreal memories from this night.
Of course it comes as no surprise that my friend continued his ascent through life, buying a Porsche and a nice house at a relatively young age as well as running his own company or two, and eventually finding himself in a top position within a major worldwide corporation. And he’s a great guy taboot.
Frankly, it’s a good thing he’s not actually evil, or he might be quite dangerous.
Todd Man Out 