Prism Doucette
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Prism and
Jerry Doucette
Concert Review
"I hear a voice from long ago..."
November 10, 2010, at Cascades Casino Summit Theatre. Langley BC.
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Jerry Doucette and his band. |
Prism's current line
up: (Left to right) Marc Gladstone (Keyboard and vocals), Gary Grace
(drums and vocals), Al Harlow (guitar and lead vocals), and Tad Goddard (bass
and vocals). |
I didn't manage to get the names of Jerry Doucette's
other band members for this concert, but they played with energy and
enthusiasm.
The low light didn't make for perfect video or photos
(and I didn't want to blind the players with flashes). A few video scenes came
out fairly well though. The tiny microphone on the camera wasn't so good at
capturing the vocals. It picked up some of the audience singing as well: ) So not a perfect recording, but I think it captures some
of the feel of the concert. Regardless, I was there to see and here the concert far more than I was there to get a good
video.
I was at the concert to see Prism, but I was quite
glad to hear Doucette for the first time. Jerry and his band played with energy
and enthusiasm. Their bluesy rock got people to cheer, dance and sing along,
especially to the song "Mama Let Him Play." By the time Prism took
the stage, the audience was well warmed up.
As a fan of science fiction, I appreciate the current
of science fiction themes which runs through much of their music. This includes
the songs "Spaceship Superstar," "Just Like Me,"
"Satellite," "Armageddon," and "Take me to the Kaptin," as well as their 2008 songs "Big Black
Sky" and "Hundred years."
Prisms's signature synthesizer work is a significant part of
why the "Spaceship Superstar" (by Jim Vallance)
was such a success. Keyboardist Marc Gladstone, Prism's newest member, played
the extended synthesizer solo for this song, adding his own flavour to it,
while respecting the sound and styles of those who've played it before him.
The clip from "See Forever Eyes" (by John
Hall & Lindsay Mitchell), also features some synthesizer work.
Al Harlow's slide guitar solo echoed the blues / rock
sound of Doucette's opening act.
The original recording of "Young and
Restless" (by Al Harlow and Lindsey Mitchell) showcased Prism's harmonious
vocal work.
"Take Me Away" (by Al Harlow) is a favourite
of mine. Apparently it was a favourite of many other audience members as well,
as in parts of my video the sound of audience members singing is quite
pronounced.
The song "Tangiers" (by Al Harlow) is from
the 2009 album "Big Black Sky." The live version had more of a rock
feel to it than the studio version on the CD, which has more of a central Asian
feel to it.
A Prism concert standard is that the song "Mirror
Man" (by John Hall) leads into a drum solo. Drummer Gary Grace, who has
been with prism for quite a few years now, had big shoes to fill, following on
the footsteps of previous Prism drummers, including Jim Vallance
and Rocket Norton. He managed to make some amazing music with his drum set, and
showed the audience why he won The release version of "Take Me to the Kaptin"
(by Jim Vallance) includes the following in the
intro: "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I'm afraid that I just can't
stay." They sing a slight variation on this at concerts, "I don't mean
to sound ungrateful, when I ask him could I stay." Al rocked hard enough
to pop a guitar string during this song, but I was changing my camera's memory
card when that happened. The guitar work still sounded good with one less
string.
At some concerts, "Armageddon" (by Lindsey Mitchell) has been played
with a full brass band for the intro and epilogue. I would like to see that at
least once in my life. For this concert they used a recorded track as part of
the intro. The intro track gave Al time to restring his guitar. The song is an
ironic call for Armageddon to bring Elvis back from the dead (conceived at the
anniversary of Elvis' funeral in Memphis). They got most of the audience
singing the chorus "Armageddon, carry me home." If we get enough
people to sing this all at once, maybe Elvis will come back to life.
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Al Harlow restringing his guitar
during the intro to Armageddon |
After the concert we all cheered like lunatics until
Prism came out and sang. "N-N-N-No!" (by Jim Vallance) for an encore. It
was the first time I'd heard it live, and it was well worth a few minutes of
non-stop cheering and applauding.
Information on Doucette and Prism is available at
www.jerrydoucette.ca and www.prism.ca respectively.
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