Orchestra London's Red Hot Weekends Series: Canada Rocks!

And We do. Believe it.

It's not often a collection of pop songs created by Canadian artists are performed in a group. When it happens it shows that our contribution to the culture that surrounds Pop music is huge.

The show opened with an energetic and engaging performance of Michael Bublé's song 'Haven't Met You Yet' by Aaron MacDonald. Saying that MacDonald placed his individual stamp on the piece would be understating the fact. He also filled in some of the spaces with with some sweet playing on the saxophone. Peter Brennan augmented his work with some really tasty licks on the electric guitar. After that the highlights were pretty much non-stop.

Aaron MacDonald injected new ideas into everything he performed. His rendition of Neil Young's 'After the Gold Rush' couldn't have been farther removed from the way Young originally performed it, yet it worked. His performance of 'The Weight' by the Band was one of the really high points of the evening. The backup vocalists for the show, Lis Soderberg and Katalin Kiss delivered some of their slickest work of the night on this piece. It was also one of the few numbers where the orchestra didn't have such an active part. No worries though. They had plenty to do most of the time and probably appreciated the break.

Neil Donell blew the doors off the place with every number he sang. He absolutely nailed 'These Eyes' by the Guess Who. He brought the Gordon Lightfoot classic 'If You Could Read My Find' to life in magnificent style. His rendition of 'And When I Die' by David Clayton Thomas would have had Thomas himself cheering. That piece received an impromptu introduction incidentally. Concertmaster Joe Lanza stood up played a few bars off the top before they started. Donell's range is incredible and he likes to clown around. And he pours everything he has into every piece he sings. That makes him a lot of fun to watch as well as to listen to.

Kathryn Rose delivered excellent takes on two pieces by Leonard Cohen. Her rendition of 'First We Take Manhattan' gave a nod to both Cohen's original ideas and the version Jennifer Warnes released several years later while serving as a springboard for hers and Peter Brennan's ideas about the piece. Her performance of 'Hallelujah' was stunning. She brought back a lot of fond memories with Max Webster's 'Let Go the Line' and in many ways, outdid the original recording. Her reading of Shania Twain's 'You're Still the One' was astonishing. It could make converts of people who don't care for Twain's music. She was that good.

Flautists Annelie Metrakos and Margaret Voorhaar did some fantastic playing during the performance of Moe Koffman's 'Swingin' Shepherd Blues'. They were so tightly knit they often sounded like one player as opposed to two.

Peter Brennan was full of surprises this time out. For one thing, he spoke. He doesn't do that often. He should. His ease on stage coupled with his sense of humour make him a natural and engaging MC. He led a great arrangement created from the music of Lawrence Gowan. He wasn't about to say it but Jeff Christmas made sure everyone knew it was Brennan's creation. The orchestra did a fabulous job or performing it. Joe Lanza played the cadences Brennan wrote with a flourish. Like everything else in the evening the piece and the performance was wonderfully fresh.

Everyone was loose for this show. Under the baton of Conductor Jeff Christmas and the leadership of Peter Brennan the orchestra and the Jeans 'n Classics ensemble played as if they were one large band. The rhythm section formed by drummer Dale Anne Brendon and bass player Mitch led the charge nicely. Keyboard man Don Paulton laid down fabulous nice melodic lines. The arrangements that Brennan created made extensive use of both ensembles while creating highlights for both.

The show closed with 'Hear that Guitar Ring' by The Powder Blues Band and an encore performance of 'One Fine Morning' by Lighthouse. Brennan adapted the guitar part in the Powder Blues piece for the saxophone and MacDonald took full advantage. Brennan did too incidentally— he played some of his sweetest notes of the night. Keyboardist Don Paulton (a member of Lighthouse) led the vocals on the encore while Donell and MacDonald sang the remaining verses. Kathryn Rose complimented Kiss and Soderberg with excellent backup work of her own.

It was a great way to end a fine show.

This show was performed at Centennial Hall in london Ontario on Friday January 14, 2011. It receives another performance on Saturday January 15, 2011. This review was done with the intent of conveying what it was like to be there.

Brian Hay: Saturday January 15, 2011

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