By Teresa Mallam
Prince George Free Press
April 16, 2008
He’s funny, he’s versatile and he’s talented.
Roots, cajun, zydeco and blues artist Gary Comeau was born and raised in Nova Scotia and feasted on a diet of Maritime Acadian music but when he hits the stage, he has the world of music at his fingertips.
From funky felt top hat, tie-dyed orange shirt and deep dimples, singer songwriter Comeau’s fun-loving style says ‘let’s party.’
He and the Voodoo Allstars took the crowd at Treasure Cove Casino Showroom Friday on a toe-tapping, finger-snapping musical romp down south to Louisiana and the Mississippi Delta.
First he warmed up the engines with great vocals and high-flying musicianship in a song called Saturday Night Fish Fry. Jumping like a jack rabbit from fiddle to mandolin to piano, Comeau was a virtual powerhouse of energy.
He told the audience, tongue in cheek:
“We don’t want to hit you too hard in the first set. (yeah right) and we don’t do many slow songs in our show, so this is your opportunity to get up and dance.”
The number also gave top blues guitarist Tim Hearsey a chance to shine with the band’s slick performance of Lonesome City Blues. Another surprise. Comeau joked he was “bringing out the heavy artillery” then shouldered an accordion, one of the latest instruments added to his arsenal of instruments.
He played like he’d played it all his life. The Vancouver-based band with Dennis Marcenko on bass and Chris Nordquist on drums rounding out the group, spun out Going to New Orleans, one of the best tunes of the night, then kicked it up a notch with rockin’ renditions of Somewhere My Love, Knock Me a Kiss and If It Takes All Night.
Since 1997, Comeau has released three CDs with one more on the hot plate. Friday night, he gave us samples off his musical menu, enough to whet the appetite. The artist may cringe when critics call his cajun-style music swampy.
Call it what you will. Friday night took me back not to the Louisiana bayou but to Le Hibou. A smoky little coffee house in Ottawa where for students who came to ‘groove’ to great roots and blues music, Mardi Gras was every night of the week.
