The Guardian: The Best Of Out And About 2012
By Todd MacLean - The Guardian
Prince Edward Island "The Guardian" highlighted it's top entertainment of 2012. John's solo performance of Jack and Diane (accompanied by the whole crowd) at the Credit Union Place, in Summerside made one of the top picks.Plenty of wonderful performances to celebrate from the past year
Happy 2013, Out and About readers!
Here’s hoping that everyone had an absolutely fantastic holiday season.
And as we gear up for what’s bound to be another fabulous year of out-and-abouting
on the Island entertainment scene, here is a brief glance back at the cream of
the crop of last year’s shining highlights.
It was indeed a stellar year of amazing shows — and so, without further ado, I
give you the Best of Out and About 2012 (in no particular order, of course):
Best saxophone solo: Barrie Sorensen on alto sax during Mustang
Sally — Remembering Christian Event, Fishbones, May.
Best unplugged acoustic performance: John Mellencamp in a solo
performance of Jack and Diane (accompanied by the whole crowd) — Credit Union
Place, Summerside, June.
Best drum solo: Rick Vautour’s performance of Led Zeppelin’s
Moby Dick — Classic Albums Live Led Zeppelin III, Homburg Theatre, January.
Best acoustic guitar solo: J.P. Cormier, Harmony House,
October.
Best bluegrass performance: The Spinney Brothers zipping
version of Bill Monroe’s Let the Light Shine Down — Harmony House, April.
Best rock electric guitar solo: Dom Polito’s solo in Since I’ve
Been Loving You — Classic Albums Live Led Zeppelin III, Homburg Theatre,
January.
Best owl call: Gary Schneider calling the barred owl at the Owl
Prowl, MacPhail Woods, April.
Best impersonation: Wade Lynch as Queen Elizabeth in the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Tour — Orwell Corner, April.
Best slow-air fiddle performance: Natalie MacMaster, in “high
bass” tuning — St. Mary’s Church, Indian River, June.
Best fast reel fiddle performance: Ashley MacIsaac playing Big
John McNeill — Festival of Small Halls’ Fiddle Summit, Dundas, June.
Best traditional whistle/pipe performance: Matt MacIsaac,
playing two harmonized whistles at once — St. Mary’s Church, Indian River, June.
Best piano performance: Frances Gray (along with Morgan
Saulnier on flute and Natalie Williams Calhoun on cello) performing Mozart’s
Trio in G Major — A Treasure of Trios, Steel Recital Hall, September.
Best Celtic song performance: Lucy of The Barra MacNeils
singing Caledonia in the pouring pitter-patter of rain — Highland Gathering, The
College of Piping, Summerside, June.
Best interlude storytelling: Dave Gunning telling his Stompin’
Tom touring stories — Harmony House, December.
Best cover song performance: Paper Lions with its versions of
Peter Gabriel’s Solsbury Hill and The Beatles’ Two of Us — Trailside Café, July.
Best acting performance: Melody A. Johnson in Miss Caledonia —
Victoria Playhouse, September.
Best step-dancing performance: Gordie MacKeeman at Christmas
with Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys — The Mack, December.
Best overall dance performance: Jo-Ann Sundermeier with the
Winnipeg Ballet in her dance of Hallelujah — Homburg Theatre, November.
Best classical violin performance: Christina Bouey in the first
movement of Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major — Homburg
Theatre, November.
Best choral performance: Christmas Candlelight Service Choir
singing We Three Kings — Holy Redeemer, December.
Best jazz performance: Oliver Jones with Jim Doxas on drums and
bassist Eric Lagacé — P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival, Homburg Theatre, August.
Best standup comedy performance: Godfrey in Just for Laughs’ Relationship
Edition — Homburg Theatre, November.
Best country performance: Tracy Lawrence and Mark Chestnutt’s duet performance
of Texas Tornado — Homburg Theatre, October.
Best blues performance: Bad Habits — CD launch at Fishbones, October.
Best indie rock performance: Matt Mays — Victoria Row, July.
Best overall female vocal performance: Rose Cousins singing Dance If You Want To
— Victoria Playhouse, July.
Best overall male vocal performance: David Myles singing Turn Time Off — The
Mack, February.
Best overall entertainers: The Mellotones — Shellfish Festival, Charlottetown
Event Grounds, September.
There we have it! And here we go — onward to another sure-to-be spectacular year
of music on P.E.I.
And for me, it all starts this weekend, when I’ll be checking out Heat the Hall
in Poole’s Corner tomorrow night.