Everything seems to take more advance planning than it used to, from booking travel to accommodations, and concert tickets are no exception. If you don’t jump on board immediately, the FOMO blues won’t be far behind.
Case in point, comedian Urzila Carlson whose Casino Nova Scotia show sold out the day tickets were announced. Who knew the South Africa-born, New Zealand-based performer had such a devoted following here? (I didn’t, which is why there are no tickets currently in my possession, despite being a fan of her many appearances and self-titled sketch comedy show on Australian TV.)
So, I suspect, will be the case for the return of Troy fiddler Natalie MacMaster to her home province with husband Donnell Leahy and their seven children for the Celtic Family Christmas … Party! shows at Sydney’s Centre 200 on Friday, Dec. 4 and Halifax’s Light House Arts Centre on Saturday, Dec. 5 and for two shows on Sunday, Dec. 6.
As an added bonus for Sydney fans, the show at Centre 200 is a double feature, with Scottish-Canadian soul-country crooner Johnny Reid’s holiday show as part of the whole package for a total Christmaspalooza.
Reid’s catalogue of hits and undeniable skill as an entertaining showman would be value enough, but add the talent and charm of the MacMaster-Leahy clan – including rising star Mary Frances who has been successfully charting her own course for a few years now – make this event a highlight of the season.
For more on the Halifax shows (and a Moncton show on Dec. 3), visit www.sonicconcerts.com while Sydney tickets are available (hopefully) at the Centre 200 box office and centre200.ca.
***
If you’d like to catch Mary Frances Leahy a little sooner than December, she’ll be part of the musical lineup for the Cape Breton Pro Rodeo at Centre 200 this weekend.
Mary Frances performs on the rodeo’s kick-off night on Thursday, Sept. 24, with Nova Scotia rocker – and writer of the Cape Breton-shot feature film Little Lorraine – Adam Baldwin, and the mighty vibes of Sam Roberts Band.
On Friday, Sept. 25, the rodeo goes for a sound appropriate for bronco bustin’ and cattle ropin’ with top Canadian country bands High Valley and Doc Walker. And if you want a rousing finale to the musical portion, what better way to say happy trails than with a set by Great Big Sea’s Alan Doyle on Saturday, Sept. 26.
The Cape Breton Pro Rodeo itself comes to a close on Sunday, Sept. 27 with an afternoon session starting at 2 p.m.
And since we were already looking ahead to December at Centre 200, it’s worth noting that the Sydney arena is also home to the only Atlantic Canadian stop to date for rock legend Gene Simmons of KISS fame on his cross-Canada tour, on Dec. 12.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself, “Sure, Gene is well-known for his thumping bass work, fire-breathing and blood-spitting, but aren’t all the best KISS songs sung by Paul “Star Child” Stanley?”
To which any KISS Army member will say nay, and respond with shouts of Gene-specific songs like God of Thunder, Calling Dr. Love and Plaster Caster. There’s also Simmons 1978 solo album – when all four KISS members released their own projects simultaneously – which featured the single Radioactive, plus his cover of the Walt Disney film favourite When You Wish Upon a Star from Pinocchio.
Plus, Simmons also had a 2004 solo album titled “***hole” with celebrity guests like Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro, Frank Zappa and family, and even his wife, Newfoundland-born Shannon Tweed. And given the fact that he is a well-known Beatlemaniac, you might get one of the Fab Four’s harder rocking tunes like Helter Skelter or Come Together added to the mix.
At any rate, it’ll be a rare opportunity to catch an original member of KISS onstage in Cape Breton, and maybe you can grab a discounted DVD box set of the Gene Simmons Family Jewels reality show.