Forever Young, Forever Timeless.
A reflection on the Neil Young tribute at The Groove Kitchen.
By Stephanie D.
There are certain musicians who possess an enigmatic quality, a mysterious way about them that draws people into their world.
There are certain musicians who hold incredible songwriting ability, not just to the point of catchiness, but to the point of penning the songs that forever
stay tucked into the corners of our mind and right at the center of our hearts. There are certain musicians who start young and have the power to
command their songs to grow with them, as their audience grows along. And there are certain lucky musicians who fit into every category mentioned above.
Neil Young is one of those musicians.
After being out of the loop for a while, due to unforseen circumstances, I was unfortunately too late to join the bill for the Neil Young tribute that
took place at The Groove Kitchen on Saturday March 1st. But consolation was surely mine as I was not only able to attend and be exposed to such
diverse presentations of one of my favourite musician's songs, but also given the opportunity to write about it.
For those of who you were there that night, you know how vivid and magical it turned out to be. But it's always nice to revisit,so here goes nothing.
And for those of who who weren't able to attend, all I can say is I'm sorry.
I'll try to paint an accurate portrait, but the colours won't be as vibrant as they were in person.
Nevertheless, I shall do my best.
Let's start with the lovely Miss Gillian Stagg, promoter and event planner extraordinaire
(also known as local legend Lucas Stagg's sister), who tirelessly organized the tribute.
Of course, someone willing to put this much work into such a cause must be a loyal Neil devotee, right?
Affirmative."Neil Young is a fabulous, casual and comfortable songwriter", muses Gillian.
"His songs have a lot of memories attached to them for me, personally. Its like you can almost see the images and hear the sounds...and his guitar style can sometimes blow my mind."
And as for any drama during the making of this event, look elsewhere. According to Gillian, "The craziest thing that happened was that out of all the songs
that were performed, there was only one song that was bid on by multiple artists. I anticipated that the set list development was going to be somewhat of a
rat race but everyone that performed has their own style and is drawn to different songs for different reasons. It made my life a lot easier but seemed very
freaky at the same time. (The song was Old Man, bid on by Marcia & Jesse and Craig McNair. Marcia & Jesse eventually weren't feelin' it and gave it up
so McNair ended up getting it and made it his own)".
Indeed he did, as did every performer of the night, each one moulding and shaping their chosen Neil Young songs and bringing their own artistic
personality to them, yet maintaining the core beauty of every note.
First up was Matt Storch and his Usual Suspects. Matt's raspy, thick vocal chords are about as different from Neil's as you can get, but they lend
themsleves beautifully and bring a new kind of soul to songs like "Coupe de ville", (complete with crawling, effortless saxaphone), the anti sellout rock|
anthem "This Note's For You", and even the sunny love song pop of "Beautiful Bluebird". A more perfect opening for the night would not be possible.
Next, Craig McNare wowed the audience with his pure vocal tones, spot on, chilling vibrato and sky-high harmonies courtesy of the aforementioned
Lucas Stagg on the harmonica laced "Comes A Time". Add that to his hushed, breathless version of "Old man", and a spine- tingling rendition of
"Cortez The Killer", and the wow factor is off the charts.
Jesse, Marcie, and Bob rocked the room with velvet coated voices that blend like a dream as their country/folk roots carried "Only Love Can Break Your
Heart", "Sugar Mountain",and the tense, driving darkness of "Ohio", not to mention a glorious, distortion heavy "Cinnamon Girl".
And here we are at the evening's final act to pay tribute to Mr.Young.
None other than Lucas Stagg himself.
Armed with harmonica acoustic guitar, and every single performer who graced that stage on this night, Lucas assaulted the mic with the gigantic
sing-along feel good smash, "Downtown". He continued to move us with Mr. McNare and Tanya Philopovich by his side, delivering passionate, harmony
filled versions of "Tell Me Why", "Unknown Legend" and "From Hank to Hendrix".
As wordy as I can be, I find it difficult to do this experience justice with syllables and letters,
You'll just have to close your eyes and imagine, or re-imagine the whole thing.
I'll wind things down with a few words from Matt Storch.
"The songs of Neil Young usually remind me of some old friends and some great times. When I was living in Sault Ste. Marie,my friends and
I would always be listening to Neil at someone's camp on Lake Superior.
To this day his music relaxes me and inspires me to write music of my own. Looking around at the crowd that was here on that night, it is clear that
artists like Neil Young have touched many people from the past three generations. There was a pretty even mix of people in attandence from under 19 to over 60."
Matt is absolutely right. Like I said at the very beginning of this story, Neil Young is just one of those musicians.
And the fact that a slew of such talented and original musicians were able to pay tribute to him by sincerely making these incredible songs their own, while simultaneously honoring the heart and soul of them, is a testament to both the artists and to Neil Young himself.
Kinda makes you want to keep on rockin' in that free world of ours, doesn't it?
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SCHOENAU, Kenneth
- Passed away, suddenly, on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, in his 51st year.
Beloved son of Anne and the late Terrance Schoenau; loving brother of Stephen, (Pam) of Cambridge and Michael (Monique) of Edmonton;
dear uncle of Tyler and Sarah. Dear friend of Cathy Narejlco. Mr. Schnoenau owned and operated Preston Music Studios for over 20 years at
Macaulay’s Music. He had taught music to many people in the Cambridge area over the past 30 years. Mr. Schoenau is resting at the Lounsbury
Funeral Home , 1766 Franklin Boulevard, Cambridge on Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. with Vigil Prayers being held at 8:45 p.m. Cremation
has taken place with interment at New Hope Cemetery. Those who wish may make a memorial donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Condolences/donations/directions 
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