The Last Waltz is more than a tribute to the Band

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The Last Waltz — Musical Celebration of the Band are more than just a tribute to the Band, they resurrect the spirit of the Band’s music as you will see at Whoop Up Days, Aug. 27.

The Last Waltz features the music of the Band and more.photo submitted
While the nine piece band, plus guests base their show on the Martin Scorsese movie — the Last Waltz which chronicled the last concert of the rock and roll icons who had been the backing band for stars like Bob Dylan and Ronnie Hawkins, and featured special guests like Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Van Morrison, don’t expect impressions of the guests from the film.


“ If you come in expecting someone to “do” Bob Dylan, you will be disappointed,” said keyboardist and band leader Lance Anderson.


He was asked to put together a tribute to the music of the Band for the Kitchener Blues Festival  in 2010 featuring some of the highlights, and had a hit on his hands.


“Originally it was supposed be a one off concert, but people came up to me and said it was the highlight of the whole festival,” he said adding there ended up being a lot of demand for the show.
“ So I decided to get really good people to play the music of the Band,” he said.


 Among them was Chuck Jackson of the Downchild  Blues Band and drummer Jerome Avis, who coincidentally ended up being the godson of The Band drummer/ vocalist Levon Helm.
“ I heard this kid Jerome Avis playing  drums and singing and didn’t  know who he was. It’s so hard to find a drummer who sings. I put the word out in Peterborough and it ended up his father Bill was the road manager for the Band during the Last Waltz. You can hear them talking to him off stage in the movie,” he said.


 “He started out as roadie for them when he was 17 and graduated to road manager. He used to take Jerome on tour with them and he’d be backstage watching Levon,” Anderson said.
Anderson also has a personal connection the the Band. He produced one of Garth Hudson‘s solo albums.


“He is a genius. I spent a year with him doing his solo album. And just learning to play all of the things he played, he is a genius,” he said.

The special guests are a rotating cast, based around their tour schedules.
“ That’s the most challenging part of it is working around everybody’s tour schedules. We usually do this show in October or November. But this series of shows in Alberta came around for the summer,” he said adding they are  using  two horn players from Calgary for the Alberta dates, and Chuck Jackson has to leave right after Whoop Up Days for another gig, so won’t be playing with them in Calgary the next day.

The Last Waltz in Lethbridge will feature Juno award winning bluesman Johnny Max, Chuck Jackson and a talented up and comer Matt Weidinger.
“ It’s a nine piece band  on stage with guests, so there’s 12 people on stage,” he said.


“There’s the band (including Jerome Levon Avis on drums and vocals, Terry Blersh on guitar, Dennis Pinhorn (The Hawks) on bass, Rob Gusevs (Blood, Sweat and Tears) on organ and Anderson (Shakura S’Aida) on piano and vocals)— guitar, bass, drums and Hammond organ like the Band and four horns. So it’s a big sound,” he said.
“Four members of the Band were Canadian. And the Band were  such a big part of Canadian culture. Canadians don’t celebrate Canadian culture enough,” he continued.



“ They have so many great songs like the “Weight” and “ The Night they Drove old Dixie Down,” but they have so many others like ‘The Shape I’m In,” that people may not realize they sing,” he said, noting they also play  some Bob Dylan, plus Neil Young‘s “Helpless, and Van Morrison’s “Caravan.”
He also said not to expect note for note renditions of the music.


“We’re not a tribute act. We just play the music the best way we know how. The Band never played  song the same way twice. We capture the spirit of the Band,” he said, noting  family members of the band have  been prominent faces  at their shows.
He noted the show attracts a variety of ages.


“You’d think that most of the audience would be people in their ’60s, but more of them are younger. They discovered the Band through Bob Dylan,” he said.


“ And we have people who didn’t want to go to the show because they say they saw the band in 1968 or 1974, but after they see the show, they tell their friends about it,” he said.
“ We’re really excited. We take pride in playing  the music of a band that has been on the cover of Time  magazine. We like to celebrate it.”


 The Last Waltz — A Musical Celebration of the Band performs on Whoop Up Days, Aug. 27 at 9 p.m.. Angel Forrest and JJ Shiplett are also performing that night.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat editor
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