Taste of Fernie 2007 version

The 2007 version of the ‘Taste Fernie' went off as planned on September 15th. In reality, the show really began months before when Troy and the band began discussing the show – effects, songs, and so on. The summer season of playing and touring seems to have come to a successful end with ‘the taste’ show being the closing show of the season.

‘The taste’ was a full on visual treat for the crowd. Jim the lighting guy brought LED flood and spotlights, lasers, and some flashing mirror effects as well as a huge rear projection screen for the various videos Troy had created for the show. Two smoke machines, confetti and many confetti bombs rounded out the visual cornucopia of thrills.

Stage set-up began about 8:15 and the sound check was underway about 8:50. The sound guy had serious problems getting sound onto the stage monitors so the show didn’t start until 9:15 or even later. As a result, the band shortened up the set so that the ‘B Movies’ could begin their show on time.

As the video of toy soldiers began to a classical piece of music, the band went out wearing flashing glasses carrying 6’ balloons. After tossing the balloons into the crowd they took the stage and jumped into ‘3 – Eyed Farm Boy’ while the confetti machine ran at full tilt.

‘Zombies in the Snow’ came next, followed by ‘Sea Monkey Drug Binge’ with lasers and smoke. ‘George Forman Grill’ rocked with Mike on keyboards. ‘Mud Bound in the Prairies’ was followed by ‘Viva Las Vegas’ with smoke and lasers. It was great. ‘Utopia’ and ‘War Pigs’ rounded out the show.

The B-Movies played a hot set, and they were well worht listening too.

Fernie Fest is coming

Rumour has it that the band will be on stage at 9 pm - with an updated set list, videos, lights, and aliens. Should be a great show. I have heard that they'll be using new tempos, new intros, and new instruments....

Don't miss it.

Arts on the Edge - Kimberely

BBT was one of three bands who performed on the main stage at this festival. It was the first year for the venue, and there were some issues - the stage was over home plate of a ball diamond, and the crowd was miles away in the outfield. Troy kept referring to being in a crop circle.

Two small generators supplied almost enough power to run the gear, however the band and the crowd survived the brown outs and power outages.

The audience loved the show, and Troy was great with the audience - including the children who picked up all of the confetti that he shot into the air.

I hope they play this show again. they got great reviews and they generated a lot of interest from up the valley.

The Summer Tour

Well, this little road trip took off like a rocket, and it landed as successful as the best of them. A headline show at Logan’s Pub in Victoria followed by a solo show by Bubba at a singer-songwriters evening in Mill Bay, then another headliner at ‘The Main’ in Vancouver and a final show as a warm-up act for ‘the Buttless Chaps’ at the Railway Club in Vancouver.

The band loaded up the ‘meat wagon’ (the ambulance) the night before and they hit the road early in the morning. They were well prepared for this trip, having spent a lot of time honing their ‘power set’ for these shows. Troy knew that the purpose of this trip was exposure, not income, and so they focused on what was needed to get their name recognized as a band to watch for in the future. Three-eyed Farm Boy, Utopia, Mudbound In The Prairie, George Foreman Grill, Sea Monkey Drug Binge, Squirrelly Monkey, Zeppelin’s a Balloon, War Pigs (the encore song, sort of), and other original tunes were practiced and refined beforehand.

The first gig of the tour was at The Main, a pub in Victoria. They shared the stage with two other bands – David P. Smith opened up the night (and hosted the whole show) with his unique blend of lyrics and accordion sounds, Stitchripper played hard driving country rock and warmed up the dance floor, then BBT closed the show with a nearly perfect set. They had the medium-sized crowd cheering and dancing up a storm. A great night was had by everyone.

Troy traveled up to Mill Bay (Steve drove so Troy could stay after the show and catch up with old friends) so he could be part of a Singer-Songwriters show. The venue for this show was amazing. The host had built a loft-like building in his back yard – with a number of other out buildings as well (all out of found lumber too) and he regularly hosted these shows. There must have been 60 people who showed up from the town – and all by word-of-mouth advertising too! It was a really fun evening.

‘The Main’. A small restaurant/bar, it is fairly well known in the music scene – and it is well known for its high quality Greek food too. They had to wait until the two tables on the stage were empty before they could set up – which happened about 9 PM. The stage was very small – we were as close together as you could imagine. Add to that, it was hot and humid, so their instruments kept going out of tune.

Having said that, the place remained packed, as people showed up specifically to hear them play. And play they did – another bang-on performance was done by the, with Troy doing a great job of interacting with the crowd.

The last show – the big show of the trip - was at the ‘The Railway Club’.

The show went really well. BBT went on first and their set was fast – Troy was nervous and everything was ‘double speed’ – and the crowed loved it. By the end of the show they were standing at the stage and taking photos.

The Great Outdoors and the Buttless Chaps both put on great shows.

All in all a great trip.

Check out the article in 'Fernie Fix' on the tour:

http://www.ferniefix.com/september-07-issue-10#attachments

Roadtrip - Summer 07 tour news

The ambulance is bought. Its been seen around Fernie - including parked behind the stage at the Fernie Fest - and it has the look of a serious touring machine.

The boys have been seen daily hiking down into their 'space'; in Fernie to work on their summer show set list. Seen on the deck have been steve, Mike, Troy, and Andrew, so it looks like the full 5 piece band will be on tour this summer. Mark is likely working away up in Calgary. His drums will be there when the lights go down I suspect.

Rumours abound that the band will be at the 'Main' and 'The Railway Club' in Vancouver, as well as at two sites in Victoria and one up island in Ladysmith. They'll be opening for David P smith, and the Buttless Chaps on this tour, as well as having a full show or two on their own - a definite step up the ladder in the music business I'd say.

Well, I'll be following in their footsteps as they haul ass down to the coast in the ambulance, and I'll let you know how things turn out as I find out.

Their number one fan signs off for now....

Canada Day Weekend Report - late

3 shows, 4 days. The fundraiser was somewhat of a letdown, as the fundraising committee may not have done the best job of promoting the event - so a good portion of the money raised came from the tickets the band sold.

Having said that, the band had a good 'practice' - in front of a very small but appreciative audience. The fellows loaded up Steve's truck and Troy's car and headed to Calgary Saturday morning - where they set up for a wedding (private party) show. The afternoon was marked by the hunt for 220 Volt power - which took too long and involved too many people, but was finally accomplished thanks to the hard work of Mike. Set up on the ample-sized stage was a breeze after that.

The night was shared with a rather overly energetic DJ (who, truth be told, did the job she was hired to do - she got people up dancing).

BBT closed the night with a short but well delivered set of all of the requested songs - to a responsive audience of wedding goers.

Sunday began early with the return trip (Troy MC'd the show in Fernie, so he left really early) to Fernie and a set up for the show at the first annual Fernie Fest.

Now that was a festival that may have a future - BBT's show was short and very tight. Feedback from the audience afterwards certainly showed that the guys did a bang up job on stage.

Summer is on now!!!!!

Canada Day Weeekend

Since I am as busy as everyone else, this'll be a short one.

The band played to a small but steady crowd at the Brickhouse last night - and we did quite well.

No drummer though.

A couple of the local guitar players joined us in a jam at the end of the night - we did Johnny Cash proud, that's a for sure. We had some serious fun as a group of musicians getting together and just playing for fun.

Tonight the band is packing up for the trip tomorrow to Calgary - a private function also known as a large wedding) for use to rock out at tomorrow night.

Sunday night sees the band in action on stage 'B' at 8:00 PM (Fernie Fest). We will be the closing act.

Should be a great show to see - lots of effects to participate in.....