Tuesday, July 14, 2009

July 1st, 2009

Well, after a long hiatus, the boys were back on stage. Two shows.

The afternoon saw them - the 4 man version - rock out at the Canada Day celebration in Prentice Park in Fernie. 11 songs, and not a swear word !

What was cool was the look. Everything was pink - even one of the band vehicles (ok, that looked like a 'brain').

They sounded great, being run off a front-of-house sound station.

That night saw them - the full 5 man version - at the Brickhouse, where they played 3 sets, then they got called back up for a 4th set, as the bar re-opened for a later 'last call' in response to the crowd demand for more Bubba.

They were on - loud and in the groove. The bottom end was very thick that night.

Some old fav's showed up - down in the Boonies, 3-Eyed, George Foreman, and more.

A great show.

I for one can't wait for a live CD to arrive!

July 16th sees the band open at the Arts Station, and August sees them travel to Vancouver for a show.

After that, it looks like "Taste of Fernie' in September is their next show.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Fernie's First Annual Zombie Walk

Now there was a concept - stage a 'zombie walk', and invite Bubba Tres to provide the music.

Sure, nothing out of the ordinary could happen.....

The posters went up. The flyers went out - including instructions on how to make Zombie blood....

March 20th dawned quiet in the little town of Fernie. Unbeknownst to most, in the basement of the 'Underground' a show was being prepared for. Confetti blowers. LED lighting, more speakers and amplifiers than in the rest of the East Kootenay....

Nine PM rolled by... 'Good Neighbours' from Montreal opened the show with their worthwhile brand of mood music. The bar began to fill up with.... Zombies. first 3, then another 5, then there were 20 - 30 - 40 - 50, and the undead kept arriving... the room was packed....

On the stage there appeared Captain America, Batman, Thor, a Zombie drummer, and Big Bubba himself. With volume the band launched into Peanut Butter Tongue, drove right through Baba O'Riley, Utopia, War Pigs, George Froeman Grill, and about 30 other loud driving dancing songs. All done at '11' on the volume scale.

The Zombies never stopped.

Ok, they did take a break near midnight for the first annual Zombie Walk.

Romour has it they swarmed a van... I watched them walk down the street - right out of the movies.



The undead .... aim for the head - you need to take out the brains, or provide them with great music apparently, as the band brought them back inside for another hour of dancing and loud music.

The collected wisdom said that this was a top - 5 show for Bubba Tres.

If you haven't seen the boys in full flight, I highly recommend the experience.

Next show?????

Wee Fest 2009

Is late better than never? I hope so, as this post certainly is seriously late.

Wee Fest '09 has come and gone. A full house (100 or so people) was on hand for this year's blast, and everyone got a pink construction hat to take home with them after the show.

This Wee Fest was the best yet, with 8 acts, ranging from solo folk acoustic through blues and into electronic duos, and David P. Smith (from Victoria) on his accordion.

Special mention must be made of 'Good Neighbours' a trio from Montreal who were in Fernie skiing the winter away. They used samplers and effects along with an electric guitar and bass, as well as keyboards and melodians to make what I would best describe as wonderfully engrossing mood music. (They opened for Bubba Tres on March 20th - see the next post)

Bubba Tres closed the show with confetti blowers, large balloons, claymation videos, costumes, drunken bunnies, and great music - ending their show by sharing the stage with David P. Smith for a couple of great songs. The audience went home truly satiated by the evening's entertainment.

The Arts Station theater was buried in a thick layer of yellow confetti from the show.

A must see for sure.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

New Year's Eve 2008

What a night – I was some seriously glad to be at the Red Tree Lodge (Fernie BC) on New Years Eve 2008!

According to the staff, there were nearly 200 people there to see the boys bring in the New Year. The audience filled the lodge to the rafters – rafters hidden behind silver, helium-filled balloons and silver streamers. There were a lot of people from England, and a few from Ireland (they were staying in the lodge, so it was an easy night for them) as well as the growing number of regular Fernie fans like me there.

Bubba Tres walked through the crowd just before 10 PM dressed as Batman, Captain America, ‘Evil’ Santa, and of course Troy in his usual "bigger-than-life” self.

They quickly fired up with one of their newer tunes – ‘Peanut Butter Tongue’, which they followed up with ‘Mud Bound In The Prairie’, ‘Frontline of the Dead’, and more original tunes.

Granted, it was clear that the crowd didn’t get it – at first – but then after 4 or 5 songs, the groove worked its magic, and the crowd warmed up and started dancing. I’m sure that the frequent explosions of high-powered confetti didn’t hurt either.

Yep, for sure this was no 1980’s rock cover show… alternative music with a beat – a driving hard beat - was what this night was about.

The boys used a few covers to keep the crowd energy up – Do You Really Want to Hurt Me (Boy George), Like A Virgin (Madonna), War Pigs (Black Sabbath), Houses of the Holy (Led Zeppelin), and a new one – Baba O’Riley (The Who) which brought the house down amidst a huge crowd roar of approval!

Loud? You bet! Rockin? Yessirree Bob.

The New Year was brought in with U2’s ‘New Year’s Day’ and ‘What A
Wonderful World
’.

Down In The Boonies was back in the set list – and as it is one of my favourites, I was pleased to hear it played again – and as a special treat, Troy took on one of the guitar solos!!!!

Other Bubba Tres tunes played at the show included Zombie On A Chain, George Foreman Grill, Fall From My Back, Weasel Mountain, Painted The Clown’s Cell, Suit of Bugs, and a bunch more I hadn’t heard before.

By the end of the night, with costume changes (including silver sports jackets) confetti storms, flashing lights, inflatable aliens, the crowd found themselves in 2009.

I gotta say that even though the lodge had plumbing issues, that did not dampen the crowd, or the band – this was one of the best shows I’ve managed to get to in the last few years. I hope to see more of the same high energy from the guys in the future.