Dave McCann and the Firehearts played for an enthusiastic crowd at the Geomatic Attic,Friday, June 10 as they helped CKUA wind up this season’s TransCanada Music West concert series season.
The band including lead guitarist Dave Bauer, drummer Tim Williams, bassist Tim Leacock and McCann on rhythm guitar and vocals, played a tight set for the live radio broadcast which focused on their new CD “Circle of Light.”
Host Grant Stovel encouraged the crowd to cheer as loud as they wanted to and asked McCann a couple questions to start off the show and mid-way through the set, but stood back and enjoyed the show.
They focused on the more up tempo tracks from the new CD, beginning with “Wooden Wheel,” and “ Beautiful Road, then played one of my favourites “Fireheart” from their last CD “Dixiebluebird” which was also a crowd favourite.
They slowed things down little for “ Lend Myself to Love.”
The ever laid back McCann broke a string and seamlessly switched guitars while Bauer soloed, as the crowd cheered wildly, while John Wort Hannam surreptitiously dashed onto the stage to grab McCann’s guitar to change the string.
McCann told a story about Lance Loree’s 1972 Cadillac to introduce “Broken Bugs,” another crowd favourite from “Dixiebluebird.”
After a quick interview about growing up in Peterborough, McCann played “ Unfamiliar Ground,”another older song and crowd favourite about touring out-of-the way places. It featured a beautifully tasteful Dave Bauer guitar solo which drew sustained applause from the audience.
McCann thanked local musician Leeroy Stagger for producing his new CD and thanked Hannam for changing his string before playing the new CD’s title track “ Circle of Light” He wound down his set with another older crowd pleaser “ Road to Cain” and ended the radio show portion of the show right before 9 p.m. with “Headlights and Halos” from the new CD.
But he returned for one more encore for his fans as Stovel quipped.
“We’re off the air now, you guys can swear now if you want.”
