Luke Doucet seems to see Bluesfest as a family affair; his wife, Melissa McClelland, a formidable solo performer in her own right, plays rhythm guitar and tips in ethereal Emmylou Harris-style backups; last year, his 10-year-old daughter, Chloe, tore up the stage with a couple of big-voiced barn-burners; this year, his Dad, Roland, came over from his Gatineau hometown with a Telecaster to trade crunching lead licks. And after the first two nights of watching some reeeelly big names in the biz pretty much ignore their audiences and make speedy getaways in blacked-out limos, it was refreshing to see a righteous guy who shows a self-deprecating wit onstage, plays and sings like hell, and happily hits the lobby right after the show to mingle with fans. Great concert, great night...
Uh, yeah, makes perfect sense. Why watch kickass blues live, onstage, right in front of you, when you can see the same thing on a really, really tiny screen...?
Where were the Irregulars last night? Coulda been an emergency meeting. Coulda been a stamp club meeting. Coulda been Moondancing....
And I realize the dog is getting all piggy about posts lately. To my fellow ESIs , I say this: I'm gettin' tired. C'mon, YA SLACKER WIMPS!!!! ENOUGH WITH THE CHEAP, SELF-SERVING EXCUSES ALREADY!
Anybody who dips into this chaotic little opus semi-regularly will remember that we've often referred to ESI: The Sock Puppet Movie as 'stalled in development'. So often, in fact, that we were thinking of renaming it that.
We haven't given up, but it's been hell, people. HELL! Stealing Audrey's favourite pink socks for cast costumes. Persuading Conch Shell to rewrite the umpteenth screen treatment. Hiring and firing script writers left, right and center. Trying to line up backers with actual money. Focussing the Independent Don Cherry Observer's lenses on a non-hockey topic. Setting up screen tests. Preventin' the Chair from taking advantage of the Casting Couch. Pryin' Aggie off Facebook, yet again. Gettin' a director's beret... stealin' it back from the Dwarf... cuttin' holes in it so my ears would fit. Doin' lunch 'till it's coming out of our ears. Explaining to Harmony that the mauled cat is lunch, then buying Gravol for her, earplugs for me, and grape Kool-Aid for the Canada Geese. It goes on and on.
Few investors out there seemed for awhile to want to drop their mad-money on the production values that this piece of cinema verite so richly deserves. Yet, perversely, we've had to beat off Brad & Angelina, Jen & Ben, Cameron & Drew, Tom & Katie, Ashton & Demi and even frickin' Paris -- and all of their agents, for gawdsakes-- when it leaked out that we were casting character voices.
Nevertheless! Rising from the chaos! At last! A very-high-quality test clip, based on the never-before-told, unexpurgated story of our adventures in the Caribbean! Only now, can we finally begin to tell you what really happened that night on the fateful three-hour cruise! The dark and lonely lost months afterward! The climb back to bloggy goodness on Elgin Street! Everybody's talking about it! The summer blockbuster of 2007! You can't afford to not to see this! Roger Ebert gives it four paws, straight up, and he hasn't even watched it yet!
('Kay, kiss-kiss mmmmm-wah! You look fabulous! Terrific Botox work! Love ya! Have your people call my people, and we'll do lunch at Hollywood's Number One restaurant sometime. I'll bring my own cat...)
Luke Doucet seems to see Bluesfest as a family affair; his wife, Melissa McClelland, a formidable solo performer in her own right, plays rhythm guitar and tips in ethereal Emmylou Harris-style backups; last year, his 10-year-old daughter, Chloe, tore up the stage with a couple of big-voiced barn-burners; this year, his Dad, Roland, came over from his Gatineau hometown with a Telecaster to trade crunching lead licks. And after the first two nights of watching some reeeelly big names in the biz pretty much ignore their audiences and make speedy getaways in blacked-out limos, it was refreshing to see a righteous guy who shows a self-deprecating wit onstage, plays and sings like hell, and happily hits the lobby right after the show to mingle with fans. Great concert, great night...
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