ECMA Reflections

Hurricane ECMA has come and gone. I guess now Fredericton can get some sleep.

It was an intense and inspiring weekend, to say the least. And I know I’m not the only one who can attest to that. In discussions this morning, at least half-a-dozen people mumbled regretfully, “four nights in a row was too much. Never again.”

Such hasty promises…

My extended weekend, like many, was filled with bar hopping, line waiting, concert going, friend making, beer drinking, group dancing, Trews chasing, band discover, and coming to terms with the fact that sometimes there is just no viable way of maintaining a comfortable level of personal space.

Joel Plaskett emerged (get it? Joel Plaskett Emergency…) as king of the night at the actual award show, but that was no surprise to me, nor should it have been for any of the 1000+ people who waited in the bitter cold for hours on Saturday night to see JPE and The Trews at The Back Nine.

I didn’t get in, in the end, but it felt more like a victory than a disappointment. Hearing people’s excitement in line to see The Trews was a vindication of what I’ve known for years – The Trews are the new Beatles.

Well, maybe not. But there are four of them, and they are fab.

And although I didn’t get to see the show to see that night, I did get to see a marathon show of all the best east coast bands no one’s heard of at The Capital.

Chucky Danger from PEI was the highlight of my new discoveries. Four dirty boys in tight jeans and vests, jumping around while singing catchy rock that could rival the best of ‘em.

To illustrate how impressive they were, consider this. When they’d finished their set at 11pm, I promptly bought their CD with the last $10 I had on me, leaving me without a penny or a drink until closing time. I feel that’s quite a sacrifice, and one I wouldn’t make for just any average band.

The most important thing I took from the weekend was the realization that the east coast has a thriving musical community that I now feel a part of. And though many of our musicians have moved to Toronto or Montreal etc., they haven’t forgotten how to have an easy-going-east-coast-good-time.

It’s like what Sean Dalton, the drummer for The Trews, said to me as their bassist, Jack, brazenly drank a bottle of beer outdoors, in broad daylight – "you can take us outta the Maritimes, but you can't take the Maritimes outta us."