A few nights ago, I was presented with a great opportunity to see one of my favourite bands in a unique setting.
I'll back track for a bit, last week, I was in Florida with my family on vacation and was checking my news feed on the Facebook when I saw that I Mother Earth were having an event at Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto on January 28th to debut their new song, hang with fans, play an acoustic set and hang with fans. Automatically I contacted my friend John (also a big fan) and said we should completely go. Although it was his 10th Anniversary that day, he said he'd see what he could do. All you had to do was email saying you wanted in. It was free!
He was down with going (thanks Jen!) but I was still on the fence due to a prior commitment on the night of Friday the 30th with work friends. When you have smaller children, and both spouses work, you need to pick your spots. So I never committed and I felt kinda bummed but the nice Florida weather and good times with the fam pushed it to the back of my mind.
We landed last Sunday and I got a text from John saying that the drummer of his band was friends with Jag and Chris Tanna, guitarist and drummer of IME, respectively, and his drummer got him and a plus 1 on the guest list as the gig was sold out (or I guess full) already. John asked if I would be the plus 1. Um, yes, of course I would and thanks to my wife for understanding that this event needed to be attended. So we were in.
It's probably best to recount my history with I Mother Earth, as I tend to do frequently with all bands I write about in this space before moving forward.
I know I got into them when "Dig" came out in 1993 or 1994. Rain Will Fall was and still is such a killer song that when I first heard it, I picked-up the album. "Dig" also spawned the Canadian rock staples Not Quite Sonic, Levitate and my personal favourite So Gently We Go.
"Scenery & Fish" then came out in 1996, when we were in 2nd year of University. One More Astronaut had become a pretty big hit on MuchMusic and the radio but "S+F" was an album you could put on and let play. Every song was and still is solid. In 2nd year, we used to play Risk, the game of World Domination, every Thursday night from I want to say January 1997 until April or May 1997 and there were 2 albums that were always played in their entirety - Tool's "Aenima" and "Scenery & Fish". I have fond memories of those days, not because I ever won Risk but because it was a great chance to have some cocktails, strategize, get mad at each other and listen to great music.
One of the best things about Guelph was that Canadian bands often frequented Peter Clark Hall, which was a concert hall (using this term very loosely) in the basement of the University Centre. These were mostly Canadian bands but as the 90's gave us a lot of great Canadian music, this was amazing. I believe the concerts were $10-$15, which is a steal. Additionally, bands often came out after their shows and hung out in the hallway.
I Mother Earth made it to PCH in the winter of 1997 and as soon as it was announced, we were all over it. They rocked it (John tells me that the power cut out during one of the songs, which I vaguely remember) and we were hoping we could meet the band afterwards (we all had our CD booklets of "S+F" ready). The crowd was intense and large though in the hallway after the show so we decided instead to hit the Brass Taps for a few post-show beverages. After a few hours of tipping some back, we headed back to the dorm...only to be greeted by Edwin, then lead singer, in the University Centre by himself. John asked if he was "off duty from signing autographs", he laughed and then signed our booklets. This capped off a great evening.
It was then kind of a shock when in the summer of 1997, the announcement came that Edwin was leaving IME. The band was riding a great commercial peak and seemed ready to explode. I know I was disappointed, but these things happen. Maybe we should have read something into Edwin being on his own when we ran into him at the UC. Edwin's replacement was Brian Byrne, whom I hadn't heard of. The first taste of the new IME was Summertime In The Void. This is a great song which showcases Brian Byrne's vocals well. "Blue Green Orange" was released in 1999 and while I will admit it is the IME album I listen to least, it contains one of my top 5 IME songs ever in When Did You Get Back From Mars? Edwin, meanwhile released his solo debut, which I have and dig a few of the tunes.
IME then disappeared for a bit before resurfacing with "The Quicksilver Meat Dream" in 2003. Like The Sun was the first single and I remember seeing the video frequently on MuchMusic. I picked up the album and was immediately blown away in a very positive way. It is completely different in sound vs. anything that came before it from the band. Progressive, dense but still retaining a strong sense of melody. I love "Scenery & Fish" but I think "The Quicksilver Meat Dream" is my fave IME record. This album is deemed to be "uncommercial" but if one actually gave it more than a single listen, I'm sure they could hear how accomplished and complex it is. It was on "TQSMD" tour that I finally saw IME live with Brian Byrne, at the Opera House opening for Theory Of A Deadman. Yes, ahem, we'll leave it at that. The band put on a 2 hour+ show as openers and Brian Byrne's vocals were on, way on. I have seen over 100 concerts in my lifetime and Brian Byrne is easily in my top 5 live vocal performers ever. So versatile and it seems effortless for him. Then IME disappeared again. Hiatus, which was disappointing given how strong "TQSMD" was/is. Brian Byrne released a couple of solo albums (I only have his debut, "Tuesdays, Thursdays and if it Rains", which is a strong collection of songs), the Tannas went onto other endeavours and Bruce Gordon, the bassist, joined the Blue Man Group.
It seemed like it was over but then a cryptic countdown was posted on their website in early 2012. When the dust settled, IME was releasing a new song (yes) and getting back together for live shows at the Sound Academy (double yes). John and I were all over this. We ended up getting tickets for the 2nd date at the Sound Academy (it was the first date but they had to add another show due to overwhelming demand). The concert was epic, I think around 3 hours and everyone was in top form. Plus the new single We Got The Love was/is fantastic. To me, it sounds like it could belong on "Scenery & Fish" and it blew up at Canadian rock radio.
So now we are up to speed, back to 2015 and I was really pumped to hear the new tune, see the guys play acoustic and potentially get a chance to talk to the band. They allowed us each to listen to the song on our own listening station, complete with headphones. The song is called The Devil's Engine and it comes out on iTunes February 15th, so everyone should check it out. I predict that it will be a pretty big hit on rock radio (John agrees). It's the heaviest song the band have done but again doesn't stray away from strong melody. I'm anxious to hear it again (repeatedly). The acoustic set was great, hearing songs such as Used To Be Alright, I Is Us, Pisser, Good For Sule in an acoustic context is always a positive. Then the band came out to hang with fans once the show was done and we had the privilege of meeting both Brian and Jag, who were both super nice and down to earth. Jag told us that more is on the way from the band this year. Definitely a great night.
You have to hand it to a band for putting the fans first - not a lot of bands would go the extra mile of putting this type of event on, not to mention actually taking the time to interact and get to know fans. So thank you gentlemen of IME for a great evening, thanks to John for allowing me to be a plus 1 and thanks to my wife again for understanding.
One final but certainly not unimportant point, the evening was free but the band did ask for donations to The Unison Fund, which helps out Canadian musicians who are facing personal or professional challenges. It is cool that the band is supporting - it makes sure that we'll be able to hear great Canadian music for years to come. Check it out at http://unisonfund.ca/
Until next time...
