BlueSkies Music Festival
Clarendon, Ontario
by Ken Brown
Alan Gerber
2001
The local culture is that Saturday's closer be always a sizzlin' hot band that make people wanna dance.
Alan Gerber and his band provided well. Drums layin' it out, mountain of a bass player welded to the groove, killer electric guitar, and over it all this Chicago blues piano doin' the strut and jive.
You may remember Alan Gerber from Rhinoceros (yes, that Alan Gerber). Well, he's obviously put in some serious stage time between now and then. From the get go he had the audience in the palm of his hand, and he wouldn't let 'em go until he was good and ready.
Lady J heard the call and swung on down the hill to dance. I started to feel cool, a strange sensation after the heat of the day.
Nope, no jamming for this boy tonight. I heard the last two numbers from bed.
2002
As we're dealing with logistics Alan Gerber takes the stage for a solo set. I catch a few seconds of him grooving on plucked fiddle before I get taken away. Sounds of rocking piano waft over to where we're warming up. Later I will hear that Alan mopped the place up when his two kids came and joined him for a six-handed boogie. I'm glad he's back.
