Posted by July 18th, 2019 was the first day of the fairly newly annual KemptvilleLive! festival, and the only day I attended, despite the admirable lineup they had scheduled for the rest of the weekend (including Steve Earle, George Thorogood, Fred Eaglesmith, April Wine and more*). And though I only attended the one evening, I had built up a whole weekend worth of excitement for it and I was about ready to burst by the time we pulled into the ubiquitous Ottawa rush hour traffic at 6pm sharp.
The lineup that was tickling my innards so much was an amalgamated doubleshot of KemptvilleLive! hits and misses from the past two years. To wit: The undisputed heavyweight champion of the fest’s 2017 lineup – David Wilcox – was opening for 2018’s crushing last-minute cancellation, the greatly under-appreciated Kim Mitchell.
My goodness, by the time I stepped up to the liquor booth and purchased my first a string of drink tickets I was virtually swimming in rock and roll anticipation!
I only had to wait one poutine and two beers before the show started, and when Wilcox and his two-man rhythm section took the stage I easily strolled right up to the front where the stander-uppers stood up in front of the sitter-downers. As it should be.
David Wilcox absolutely looms when he plays, holding court with the swagger of man who has a thousand shows under his belt. His angular blues-based guitar playing matches his catchy, almost-awkward songwriting; all of it fantastic and all of it his very own. I will quickly admit that the set he delivered didn’t come close to the two shows I’d seen him play in recent years – those had both been clinics in elevating nostalgia to genuine jaw-dropping sonic achievements – but it was a good set nonetheless.
As we sauntered the grounds between sets m’lady remarked that KemptvilleLive! was her favourite festival, and looking around at the small, local affair replete with fun food options, local artisans lazily pushing their wares, rock-bottom drink prices, easy stage access, and surprisingly good lineups all compacted onto a single soccer pitch, well, I had to agree.
And to prove her point, just as Kim and the Mitchell’s were about ready to go on we strolled up to the stage and found a comfy spot just right of centre. I was already jumping up and down when the band emerged, and BAM! Lager & Ale opener! Probably one of the greatest pre-Tragically Hip Canadian party songs and gasp…could it be? Yes, it was! Peter Fredette was back in the band, standing stage left with a bass guitar and the best backup harmony vocals in Canrock.
(Formerly of Streetheart, Fredette was the other voice of Kim Mitchell’s solo career, providing lead vocals on several of Kim’s hits in addition to achieving uncanny hit-making harmonies. When he left the band to join Tom Cochrane back in the day he effectively ended Kim Mitchell’s march to the top of rock radio…Kim basically left his career behind and instead sat as Q107’s drive-home on-air personality. Suffice to say, I was pretty thrilled to see that Peter Fredette was back.)
Anyone that knows me knows that I love Kim Mitchell, but those people certainly know that I love Max Webster infinitely more, so coursing through my joy at hearing solo hits like Rock and Roll Duty and All We Are was a thick stream of yearning for one – just one – Max Webster song.
And he played five. Five freakin’ Max Webster songs! I nearly died.
And oh the songs! Diamonds, Diamonds came first, followed by High Class in Borrowed Shoes. I couldn’t believe it. Then a third Max tune in a row: Waterline. I gushed. Then just one or two songs later they dug back into the old catalogue and played Check and then, finally, the only song that came close to being a hit for Max Webster, Paradise Skies.
Wow.
And while Kim had definite moments of raging his Stratocaster like he used to, there were a few notable tricky bits that were conspicuously missing. Like the fast and wholly unnecessary riff that comes up just before the vocals in Lager & Ale, which he just completely omitted. There was another one later in the show too…was it in Go For a Soda?
In the end it was a great show and I’d love to see Kim play again and again and again. I wonder if I’d have the chance if only he took himself more seriously. An example (though it actually was quite humorous): after playing a song so obscure even I hadn’t heard of it, Kim mentioned that it was on his greatest hits record, though the song obviously wasn’t a hit.
“But what are you going to do,” he added, “Just put Go For a Soda and Patio Lanterns on there?” I guess Kim Mitchell has been rock-shamed so much that he’s begun to believe his own un-hype.
Which is too bad; the guy should be a legend. Even his cheesy stuff is nearly legendary. I mean, if Bob Weir had written Easy to Tame it would be played around campfires to this day. Go ahead, youtube it and imagine…
*In this case “and more” is shorthand for “Chilliwack”.
Todd Man Out 