......moments after we won the GOLD?
Were you screaming your face off along with the rest of Canada when the men's Canadian hockey team won the Olympic gold medal? It was a little surreal wasn't it?
I was backstage watching the game at the Surrey 2010 Official Olympic Celebration site when the final puck whizzed past the goal line and into the net. It was beautiful, our Canadian hero's had just pulled off a magnificent, nail biting win that prompted the country to erupt with excitement. I barely recall running up onstage with a couple dozen others to film the festivities and cheer along with the crowd of thousands. I stood there holding my camera above my head to capture as much of it as I could and I actually imagined that everyone across the country was cheering in unison with as much passion and joy as this crowd right here!
One quick search on You Tube will show this was very true, there are countless videos taken at exactly the same moment this one was shot........ I almost had a mind to load up 10 different videos from 10 provinces to this blogpost and then was going to invite you all to scroll down the page and click 'play' on them all at once so that you could have the full on cross Canada experience,...... but I figured it would take too long to load them so maybe instead, just watch this one and enjoy the memory of the moment!
I originally went to the Celebration site to watch Randy Bachman and his band close the Olypmics at the Surrey 2010 Official Celebration site, and because the concert happened just moments after our huge Gold medal win the event turned into a mega concert that grabbed everyone who was close by and drew them right in. The crowd was so happy, all we wanted to do was celebrate, dance, sing along, play air guitar, and rock to amazing music and who better to lead the party than the architect of Canadian rock and roll himself, Randy Bachman. Randy welcomed the crowd and we greeted him with open arms, then he and his band put on a Gold medal worthy performance.
I once had a large collection of mixed songs to play in my jeep back in my...ahem....younger days, and strongly represented in my playlist were BTO and the Guess Who, so watching this concert was like taking a musical step back towards a magical time in my life when I listened to music simply because I loved to listen to it, not just because I have to learn it for a gig. The crowd was filled with adoring fans like myself and I felt just so privileged to be there hanging out backstage and in the media pit taking pictures and absorbing all the good energy and excellent music played by the finest of musicians.
Randy Bachman
The crowd loved the guitar solos of course and Randy did a few tricks to impress.
Backing up Randy is his outstanding band who not only record and tour worldwide with him but they also play on their own as Cease and Desist. These boys are amongst my favorite musicians in this city and all of them are multi talented players who are really nice guys to boot. So nice in fact that all of them help out as coaches with one of my personally favourite projects, the League of Rock which is something you only really ever get involved in if you are the sort of person who is willing to lend a hand up to people by sharing your own experiences. Marc La France (drums/vox), Mick Dalla Vee (bass/vox), and Brent Howard (guitar/vox) are all stellar musicians heavily involved in the music industry doing everything from performing
to songwriting to recording/publishing/production/ and promotion
of other artists (like yours truly! Mick recorded/produced my pre-release CD)
When the finale rolled around Randy sang TCB, you know the one, and the crowd loved it and roared the chorus along with them every time it came around. We were so loud I think Langley heard us.
You can find more of Randy every week on Randy’s Vinyl Tap CBC Radio One. The show is fantastic, and I know personally there are countless numbers of musicians who listen to it on the way into their gigs on a Saturday night, I hear about it from bandmates frequently when we are backstage (I was listening to Randy's show on the way in and.........). Also featured in these photos my friend Gene Greenwood who took video of the bands thoughout the Olympics. Gene has some of the hottest footage of some of the best musicians in the city and you can check out his videos here!
So there you have it, a big moment in Canada's history caught on film and a classic concert photo series for you to enjoy. If you wish to see more photos from the concert you can go here! And please do stayed tuned for the release of the new Bachman Turner recordings, I've heard a rumor that Randy and Fred have hit the studio recently and there is a seriously kicking album and single due to be released.
Woot!! New tunes to rock to, can't wait!
Rock on everyone! Rach xo
