Big Sugar, Century Casino, Calgary, July 8, 2011

I broke up with Big Sugar on November 7, 1998, the day after attending three shows in a row and nearly six years before the band officially called it quits.  By all accounts it was an amicable split; I still called myself a fan, and I can guarantee the band never noticed my absence.  My reason for leaving at this point was simple: they had changed from a band of and for the fans into a corporate money making machine that had become uncharacteristically predictable.

I had just experienced a trio of shows while the band was on a very cool tour with Gov't Mule.  Big Sugar opened the show on US dates while the Mule swapped places and started the night in Canadian cities.  The catalyst for my breakup with the band stemmed from two nearly identical shows on back to back nights in Kitchener and Toronto.   They were exact replicas of each other right down to the moment Gordie walked across the stage, put his arm around Kelly Hoppe and kissed him on the cheek.  Same songs, same stage banter, same 'unscripted' moments, two nights in a row, in cities less than two hours apart.  For large, veteran stadium bands like U2 or Iron Maiden, this type of behaviour was to be expected.  For Big Sugar, this spelled the end of what I enjoyed about the band.  In the US, Big Sugar delivered a tight, dense set similar to their infamous club shows that developed their fan base.  It was a different story back home. Their follow up record (Brothers and Sisters Are You Ready?) featured the addition of a second guitar player and a profound increase of the reggae vibe the band always kept simmering in the background.  The group I had seen grow from a simple, blues trio into one of Canada's biggest and loudest musical treasures had lost my interest.

Thirteen years later, enter a new album (Revolution Per Minute) and new tour dates.  Ticket prices were steep at $50 a piece.  I seem to recall shelling out close to $10 for the same two bands in 1996!  Needless to say, while I was curious, I was not two nights and over $100 curious.  It looked like the money making machine was still intact, and  I decided to catch the first of the two shows at Calgary's Century Casino.

This casino is without a doubt a shady place.  The internal concert hall on the other hand had great sound and was quite spacious, though the beer queue kept my consumption woefully in check.   Openers Wide Mouth Mason featured Mr. Johnson on bass, having just produced their latest release.  They sounded pretty much like I remember them - great vocals, half decent guitar playing and solid rhythm, but lacking any kind of depth or grit.  I recognized two can-rock hits from their set of mostly new material, and they did not disappoint, nor inspire, rather they just killed some time.

The Big Sugar lineup featured the core trio of Gordie Johnson, Gary Lowe and Kelly Hoppe, joined by new drummer Bodean, rastaman Friendlyness and Meredith Shaw on background vocals.  The guys from Wide Mouth Mason sat in all night, as did Gordie's daughter Lesia Johnson on background vocals.  The latter addition was cute, though a little disturbing considering the subject matter of some of the material.  A good third of their setlist consisted of new songs, starting with the opener "Work It Now".  This was followed quickly by the familiar "Diggin' A Hole", "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "If I Had My Way".
Unfortunately, I was unable to record a setlist, but it was very close to the one found here.   Exceptions that I remember include Joe Louis instead of 54-46, and the encore went Red Rover, Revolution Per Minute, Ride Like Hell.  Overall, light on early material, heavy on the new record and later Big Sugar releases.

The band sounded a little loose and were not as loud as they used to be, but there still is nothing like the sound of Big Sugar.  Kelly Hoppe's hair may be grey, but he can still blow a mean harmonica (even if he did miss the intro to "Opem Up Baby").  Gary Lowe "on the bass line, each and every time" has got to be one of my top five favourite bass players. For my taste, I could do without the reggae 'toasting' and weak keyboard sounds that Friendlyness brings to the mix, but I've always preferred Big Sugar as a quartet.

Gordie's voice was at times sketchy, and low in the mix - a pretty familiar occurrence at Big Sugar shows as his guitar volume easily overpowers pretty much everything.  His guitar playing was his own unique brand, and loud enough to be heard in Okotoks.  As usual his collection of instruments played at the show was impressive, featuring widespread use of multiple doubleneck Gibson EDS-1275s, his own signature SG and the black, P90 equipped Les Paul Custom featured on the cover of "500 Pounds".  My memory is a little hazy, but I don't recall an ES-335 making an appearance - an odd site for those familiar with his choice of instruments from the "500 Pounds" and "Hemi-Vision" era.  As usual, Gordie is single handedly keeping Kyser capos in business with a capo clipped to every headstock of each guitar.

While I was a disappointed in the lack of selections from the first record, and some concert favourites from "500 Pounds", overall it was a great show.  I miss this band, and the country misses this band.  Here's hoping they are able to stick around in the current music market.