With plans confirmed twelve months ago to return to Muskoka for a mid-August long weekend, we were ready for our annual summer music-filled vacation – and even though the festival ‘in-these-parts’ that lures us back to the region was a no-go this year, we had no intentions of changing our plans. Let’s face it, you don’t have to dig too hard to find some great music events at this time of year in Ontario’s cottage country.
So, imagine our delight a few months back when learning that The Jim Cuddy Band would be performing at Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville over the very weekend we happened to be in town. Talk about good timing (even though Jim often sings about Bad Timing) – I’m betting that even esteemed rom-com script writers could not have pulled such a plot twist out of the hat.
Indeed, scouring our archives confirms that it was back in early 2018 when we last caught Jim Cuddy’s show sans Blue Rodeo. Jim was touring his “Constellations” album at that time. For some reason, any dates for his subsequent “Countrywide Soul” tour did not work with our travel plans, so we really were long overdue (and with the release now of “All The World Fades Away,” make that a pair of albums overdue, even). With a pair of great front row seats, we were ready for an evening of music from one of Canada’s best.
“Hello everybody, thanks for coming out,” Jim offered when welcomed to the stage, a slight yet noticeable rasp to his voice. “The elements may be working against us today, but you’re here.” And, of course, ever the professional, being slightly under the weather would not deter Jim and his bandmates from putting on a solid evening of music over the course of one hour and forty-five minutes.
Joined as always by his long-time band – Anne Lindsay (violin/mandolin/vocals), Steve O’Connor (keyboards/accordion), Joel Anderson (percussion), and, of course, Blue Rodeo bandmates Bazil Donovan (bass/acoustic guitar) and Colin Cripps (guitars/vocals) – Jim gave the audience a pretty comprehensive tour across his back catalogue, both solo works and Blue Rodeo tunes, as well as sharing a handful of fabulous new tunes from his 2024 release.
“So, we have a new record out and we’re gonna play you some songs from that tonight,” Jim offered prior to a performance of “Learn To Live Alone.” “My wife and I just celebrated 40 years of marriage, and we both understand that one of the cornerstones of a long-term relationship is for the other person to occasionally go away…” Pausing as the audience responded with laughter to the bait being dangled, Jim would continue his tale. “…and to let you have some time in your own home by yourself. And so obviously my wife gets that a lot because I’m away a lot, but I don’t get it a lot, [so] when she plans a trip, I’m very encouraging as you can imagine. And I plan all these things I’m going to do – I’m gonna play guitar all night, I’m gonna call up my friends, get drunk, stay up all night, and just have a rowdy time that I don’t usually have. And frankly, I don’t have any more friends that will stay up all night. Nobody wants to drink that much anymore, and I play enough guitar. So really, after about 24 hours, I’m bored out of my mind, and I just want her to come home.”
Further tales behind the new songs would follow throughout the night – about how “Impossible” was written for and dedicated to the son of the late John Mann (Spirit of the West); about “Anywhere Else But Home” paying homage to Jim’s days spent growing up in Picton, ON, which [in Jim’s words] may be a cool place now, but never used to be when his family operated a farm there in his youth. And how could you not smile when hearing about “Too Far Gone,” with Jim reminiscing about time spent in Whitehorse, YT, working as a doorman in a bar with the responsibility of ensuring the ‘miners’ do not leave the premises with beers in hand. “It was kind of a useless job,” Jim joked.
Attend any Jim Cuddy concert and you’ll always witness the artist selflessly offer up time for his bandmates to share the spotlight. The performance of “Back Here Again” (from “Countrywide Soul”) was a perfect example, as Jim yielded to Colin for an extended guitar solo, then immediately to Anne for some violin, onto Steve for some rolling keys, then back full circle to Colin, before jumping back in with the closing vocals. Ditto, as always, for “5 Days in May,” where Anne’s exhilarating fiddle solo offers a wonderful alternative to the Blue Rodeo keyboard version, and where Colin naturally takes the lead to close with the lengthy, yet always familiar, Gibson SG workout.
Ask me to choose my favorite tale from Jim on this given evening, and I’d likely select the story behind “Glorious Day,” or to paraphrase, the song about alcohol. “I used to talk about how embarrassed I was when I woke up with a hangover because I’m too old to have hangovers. I should have learned after fifty-so-odd years of drinking not to drink too much,” he shared. “But now our kids are in their thirties, and man, there’s such a difference. When they’re in their twenties, they come down when they live at home or they’re coming home, and you can clearly see they’re hungover. They try to hide it, but by two o-clock in the afternoon they are absolutely fine, and it is so irritating.” Pausing once more as laughter bounced around the room, Jim would continue. “Anyway, once they cross that thirty line, that is no longer the case. Watch them being so much more careful, where they go away for the weekend, and they come back: ‘oh we made these nice dinners that we haven’t had.’ Yeah, because you used to just drink and hurl yourself around and just break stuff. Payback is a bitch!”
Wrapping up the regular set with a pair of popular Blue Rodeo classics, the band were naturally enticed back to the stage by the standing ovation from this packed house. Kicking off the encore with “Try,” the band would add the lively “It Could Happen To You,” before unplugging their instruments and closing the show front and center stage for an a cappella performance of “Wash Me Down.” The Jim Cuddy Band shone all evening – as if we expected anything less – and left us hungry for much more…
Set List:
- While I Was Waiting
- Learn To Live Alone
- Back Here Again
- Head Over Heels
- Sad Nights
- Glorious Day
- Impossible
- Second Son
- All The World Fades Away
- 5 Days in May
- Anywhere Else But Home
- Regular Days
- Water’s Running High
- Too Far Gone
- All I Need
- After The Rain
- Til I Am Myself Again
Encore:
- Try
- It Could Happen To You
- Wash Me Down
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
