Sheepdogs

If you are a fan of indie rock and haven't read the August edition of Rolling Stone, shame on you. That article is the story of the Canadian Dream.....for every young musician who wants to try and have a life in music. In fact, reading it reminded me a bit of a Cameron Crowe movie. With the Pitfalls, and triumphs of a blue collar band looking for direction in a music industry full of roadblocks, monsoons and stolen vans.

So why am I writing this Blog post now? After 4 months of having the Rolling Stone in my magazine rack? Well.....because I had the chance to see the sheepdogs live at Call the Office in London, Ontario of course. Fitting......as I spent the majority of my young adult life seeing bands come through CTO; destination unknown. What a crazy sensation to see possibly Canada's biggest band on their upward trajectory.

I had heard that Sheepdogs were coming but it was sold out as fast as I could even think of booking it. I wasn't at all surprised. Turn on any rock station and you'll hear "I Don't Know" and "Who" played every couple of hours. About 2 days before the show, I get a text message from a friend that they have tickets and one of the holders backed out of the show. Its mine if I want it. I have to get up at 7am the next morning for work.....but in my mind there is only one right answer. There you go, I'm going to see Sheepdogs.

We all take a Van from Chatham to London, 5 of us, all caught up in the cinderella story. Sure we have heard the hits and we bought the album.....but part of the draw is still the legend of the rolling stone cover. I couldn't help but think of what it must have been like back in the heyday of 70's rock, going to see a band like Led Zeppelin in their raw state. Not yet one of the greatest rock bands of all time.....just a damn good band burning up the airwaves.

We arrive in London, and out front of Call the Office is a massive tour bus pulling a trailer. Hmmmmm we thought, is there a rock show tonight? The funny part is......I have been going to call the office for 15 years and I've never seen that. But could it be any other way?

My favourite exempt from the Rolling Stone article:
- The Sheepdogs' nightmare touring stories are epic. "Basically anything and everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong for us," says Gullen. They can't agree on the most dispiriting moment, but the time their van's transmission blew on the way to Calgary is near the top of the list. For the last 4 hours of the drive, they had to stop every 10 minutes and pump in gallons of transmission fluid. They finally ditched the van 15 minutes from town, had friends drive them to the gig, and returned the next day to discover a pile of broken glass in the van's place. Or when they drove 34 hours to Toronto for a big-city club gig and arrived to find that the club was closed that night. (they all peed on the door.) Or the tour when their van was broken into 4 times. Or the multiple times they've booked shows in Halifax, only to have nobody show up, making the 50-hour drive back to Saskatoon even more depressing."

So I ask you....is there any better symbol of success in Canadian indie rock than the "Tour Bus"? I have seen countless artists roll up to Call the Office in minivans or cargo vans. The Dears, Hawksley Workman, Thrush Hermit, Eric's Trip, Sebadoh, Hayden, Wintersleep.....you name it. I think once you have the tour bus you can safely say you are doing something right.

It was also the first sold out show I have been to at CTO for years. It brought back a rush of memories.....having to stake out a spot and send runners to the bar, puffing out my arms and shoulders to keep a pocket open large enough for my friend to return. Drinking Labatt 50, the forgotten ale. Legs sore, back sore......secretly hoping for the night to end before I collapse yet unable to take my eyes off of the stage. Ahhhh those were the days.

The Sheepdogs were fantastic. Absolutely nailed every note of every song, vocal harmonies dead on as well. They played with the urgency you would expect from a young band with their dreams coming true.And they are YOUNG. Could I be any more jealous? I've played that stage before, but never to a crowd like that.

I only hope that somehow the success of Sheepdogs can spark some sort of action in the Canadian Music Industry. There are countless amazing bands out there that you'll never hear. Maybe with this rags to riches story the label execs will look a little further down their noses and give some more young indie bands a chance.

I thought I'd troll youtube for some posts of the show from Dec 8th....and I was able to find one. A nice Jam called "Down By The River". Below that is a nice live clip of "Who" from CBC.