Saturday, February 12, 2000
By Stephen Cooke NIGHTCLUB NOTEBOOK
The Halifax Herald Limited
Entertainment
Metro B10
Mail B10
TWO OF CAPE BRETON'S most reknowned musicians performed Whiz Kids together in the film New Waterford Girls, but on prominent Saturday night they're performing on opposite sides of Halifax Harbour.
The island's best known rock and roll gypsy, Matt Minglewood, brings his hard-driving band of East Coast musicians, including New Minas bassist Grant Leslie and Saint John drummer Neil Robertson, to Dartmouth's Penny on the Park on Saturday, while the fiddler who put Creignish on the map (whether Creignish likes it or not), Ashley MacIsaac, finally makes a Halifax appearance at Your Father's Moustache, playing traditional tunes with Howie MacDonald as part of an informal Maritime tour.
Penny on the Park is a few shades different than Minglewood's Symphony Nova Scotia gig last weekend at the Cohn Auditorium, where he actually took over the conducting reins from Scott Macmillan when the maestro had to fix a faulty guitar pedal in mid-song.
Minglewood was in good form, and even offered to do his Ashley impersonation when Macmillan asked him to stall for time while he looked for his next score. When Minglewood jokingly asked, "Any requests?" someone yelled out "Dorchester!" Of course, since it wasn't on the program, it wasn't in the cards, but no doubt all requests will be honoured on Saturday. It'll be worth going to hear how well the old favourites fit in with the new songs off his Drivin' Wheel CD, recently released on Norton Records. As for MacIsaac, who included his duet with Minglewood on his recent Helter's Celtic CD, his tour with MacDonald starts tonight at Sam's in Stellarton, moving on to the Engine Room in Truro on Friday, and then Saturday at the Moustache. These shows should be the fiddle equivalent of Frank Zappa's Shut Up and Play Your Guitar albums and a rare chance for us mainlanders to finally hear MacIsaac sit down and fire up some tunes. The tour continues around the province on Wednesday, Feb. 23 with a stop at Topsails in Bridgewater, followed by The Edge in Kentville on Thursday, Feb 24 and Mount Allison's Tantramarsh Pub in Sackville N.B. on Friday, Feb. 25