Tag Archives: Chuck Jackson

A Night To Remember At The Gayety Theatre

Review by Bill Monahan of Tyler Yarema Chuck Jackson concert Oct. 5th, 2017

With their show last night at The Gayety Theatre in Collingwood, Tyler Yarema and Chuck Jackson wanted to record a live CD that would capture the excitement of their live shows when they perform as a duo.  They succeeded.  The theatre was filled with fans who showered them with an outpouring of love from start to finish.

It was clearly as exciting for the performers as it was for the audience.  They approached the show with the discipline required to assure that it resulted in a good recording but that didn’t stop them from pulling out all the stops to fill the room with energy.

“I’ve been performing for forty-seven years,” said Chuck, whose regular gig is as vocalist and harmonica player for the Downchild Blues Band, while taking a sip between songs, “ and this is the first time I’ve drunk water on stage.”  After a pause, he added, “And the last!”  He also said it’s the first time they have performed with a set list.  Each of them has such a wide-ranging repertoire and they’ve been playing with each other as a duo long enough that they usually can wing it on stage, following their whims.

The Thursday Outlook – Sept. 28 to Oct. 2, 2017

Live music fans have some tough choices to make on a very busy Thursday night tonight.

Meaford Hall presents Measha Brueggergosman tonight on a return visit.  This year she has released a memoir called “Something is AlwaysOn Fire”, reflecting on the ups and downs of her life in opera on the world stages.  Her work is not restricted to opera.  On stage she explores spirituals, gospel hymns and jazz standards, following her own personal path.  Earlier in the year she released “Songs of Freedom”, a collection of songs that, as she told Vision TV, “were born out of a time when my people were oppressed and needed to find a way not only to communicate with each other, but also to express themselves”.  Selections include Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Got Tell It On The Mountain, This Little Light Of Mine, He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands and, Amazing Grace.  With her four-piece band, she usually mixes in some jazz standards like My Funny Valentine. All of these elements will combine tonight to give the audience a sense of the things that are most meaningful to her.

 

Fans of local talent are excited about the CD release party tonight at Heartwood Hall in which Drew McIvor performs his new recording with a 10-piece band, with an opening set by Luke Martin.  Drew will have copies of “Through The Tangle of Trees” hot off the press for sale at the concert.

Piano man Tyler Yarema, who specializes in stride piano and boogie-woogie, will be joining Tamica Herod and The Harbour Street Band tonight at the Harbour Street Fish Bar for what is sure to be a rocking show.  Tyler will be back in Collingwood a week from tonight with a special concert at The Historic Gayety Theatre.  He and Chuck Jackson, lead vocalist for the Downchild Blues Band, play a lot of duo dates together and at next week’s concert they will be recording a live CD in a celebrative event that gathers a number of friends to join them.

This Saturday at The Gayety Theatre, rockabilly fans will be treated to a performance by Robert Gordon, voice of the rockabilly revival that engulfed England in the late 70’s.  Celebrated for his authentic sound, his debut album paired him with Link Wray, a guitarist who didn’t mimic the early rockers but actually was one.  Gordon’s repertoire spans early Elvis, Gene Vincent and others from that era who defined a new sound that disappeared all too quickly for some people.  His show in the town that hosts the world’s largest annual Elvis festival, should attract a cohort of discerning fans.

Be Part Of A Recording at The Gayety with Chuck Jackson and Tyler Yarema

It will be a special event on Thursday Oct 5th when Chuck Jackson and Tyler Yarema record a live CD at The Gayety Theatre in Collingwood.  The show starts with a set at eight which will be recorded for the CD, but the party starts much earlier and goes beyond the recording.

Get Tickets Here

Cocktails at 6:30 get you primed for the show with a chance to talk to other concert goers and to Chuck and Tyler while enjoying the music of Jenie Thai (yes, Jenie Thai!).

The second set after the recording will be a big jam with friends of the duo.  If you’ve seen the shows that Tyler has directed at Meaford Hall or The Marsh Street Centre, you know how exciting these jams can be.  And if you’ve seen any of those shows, you also know that the energy level will be bouncing off the ceiling with the evening’s master of ceremonies, Virgil Scott.

“I think of it as an event rather than just another show,” says Tyler, “It’s a chance for people to be part of something.  It’s just going to be a fun show with a lot of audience participation.”  That means if you’re loud enough you might end up on the CD too.

The Thursday Outlook – Sept. 21 to 25, 2017

At Kimberley Hall, just down the road from Meaford, a special art show is running all weekend and on Saturday night it will include live music from some local favourites.  East Back Line, with Paul Woolner, David Marshak, Beaker Granger, and Tom Thwaits, will be on hand along with Chris Scerri’s new band Horseshoes & Handgrenades with Jon Zaslow, Beaker Granger, Erik Vandeweerdhof and as a special guest, violinist Victoria Yeh.  The music is just part of a weekend-long celebration of local visual artists billed as “Apple and Art”.

If you can time it right, be on Hurontario Street in Collingwood today at 12:30 and you’ll be treated to a special pop-up concert with Tyler Yarema and Chuck Jackson at one of the pianos that are set up on the sidewalk.  This is part of the promotion for a show that these two blues veterans have planned at The Historic Gayety Theatre on Oct. 5th.

Saturday night on Hurontario street it’s the annual Collingwood Art Crawl which includes live music in the evening from the Mike McCarthy Band.