What About Bob (Dylan)?

Our regular monthly show at the Free Times Cafe, on May 16th, was another packed house. In fact we had to employ the 'overflow room' to accommodate everyone. And what a great bunch of singalongers they were, right from the start.

The setlist included a few more than usual Bob Dylan songs in honour of his 77th birthday. We even had a Dylan themed prize draw...this very cool illustrated book, which was coincidentally won by a lovely lady celebrating her own birthday at the show!

We debuted the song 'Today', which recently had a resurgence of requests pushing it to the top of the 'News Songs To Learn List'. In keeping with our 'rule' that songs must be from the official Folk Revival period of 1955 to 1965, we learned the New Christy Minstrels version. I was concerned that the specific phrasing and key changes in that version would be too big a challenge for the audience to sing along to. Those worries were unfounded and they sang it like champs. That's the beauty of Top 40 hits...they're locked in our brains forever!

Speaking of requests, if you know you are coming to a specific show, let us know in advance if there is a particular song from our list that you'd like to hear. We have so many songs now that we can't possibly fit them all in to one show. Here's a link to the current list Where Have All The Folk Songs Gone Song List

Our next show at the Free Times Café is Wednesday, June 20th. Dinner reservations are highly recommended to ensure a table. Call Judy (Free Times Café owner) directly at 416-967-1078. The music starts promptly at 7:30pm and the Cover charge remains $15 (cash at door).  Hope you can join us!

Here's the set list from the show...

Pete Seeger’s 99th Birthday

What better place is there to celebrate Pete Seeger’s 99th birthday than Hamilton?

Our 2018 return to Hamilton at the wonderful Artword Artbar fell on May 3, the actual date of his birth, so it was only fitting to make Pete’s music the focal point of the evening. Local music fans thought so as well, and we had a very enthusiastic near capacity crowd.

Labour songs were a very important part of Pete’s music and are always popular in Hamilton so 'Joe Hill' and 'Union Maid' were especially well received. The audience also sang along passionately to his songs from the civil rights era, 'We Shall Overcome', 'If I Had a Hammer' and 'Back of the Bus'.

It wasn’t all Pete Seeger though. Several songs received their Hamilton debuts including Woody Guthrie’s 'Deportee', Bob Gibson’s 'To Morrow' and Phil Ochs 'I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore'. Two highlights of the night were Michelle’s sultry 'House of the Rising Sun' (the Ronnie Gilbert version) and Sue’s driven 'Universal Soldier'. It would only be appropriate to give the last word/song to Pete Seeger. It seems we’re still 'Waist Deep in the Big Muddy'!

A big thanks to Ron & Judith at the Artbar and the great audience. We’re looking forward to returning in the fall! Check out the compilation video here: Artword Artbar May 3 2018

Here's the setlist from the evening...

Artword Artbar Setlist - May 3, 2018
Green Green		Walk Right In
Turn Turn Turn		Where Have All The Flowers Gone
Michael Row Your Boat Ashore		Goodnight Irene
Tom Dooley		This Land
The Times They Are A Changin’		I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore
House Of The Rising Sun		To Morrow
Universal Soldier		Joe Hill
Waist Deep In The Big Muddy		You Were On My Mind
Back Of The Bus		Un Canadien Errant
Guantanamera		Little Boxes
Deportee		If I Had A Hammer
Puff The Magic Dragon		Go Tell It On The Mountain
Union Maid
We Shall Overcome

Our next show is our regular third Wednesday of the month at the Free Times Café. Wed. May 16th 7:30pm. Reservations are recommended. Call Judy at 416-967-1078 today.