I just spent a day with my fair share of the Juno craze.First, I attended the Songwriters Circle at the Center in Vancouver for Performing Arts. It included a medley of various Juno nominees playing their songs and sharing anecdotes about where the lyrics or ideas originated. Thanks Amyn Uncle for letting me know about this.
I am now a fan of Hedley, among a few other singers I either didn't pay enough attenti
on to or just didn't know about. Jacob Hoggard, the lead singer of Hedley, was at the circle. He sang two Hedley hits- Gunnin and Never Too Late. And his voice hypnotized me. I would have closed my eyes, and just enjoyed feeling the music, but Jacob is pretty cute. Who knew? So, I watched, wide eyed, enjoying both the artist and his music. And it was great to recognize him later at the Junos. He was all dressed up in a suit and went up on stage with the rest of the band to present one of the awards.Thank you Amanda for letting me be your date at the Junos. I would not have even thought about going if it wasn't for you.
Our seats were so close to all the action that we could actually see each of the speakers and musicians before and after they got on and off the stage. We were one of the first to see Russell Peters and his Indian dance entourage as they began the night with a high energy bangra dance.
"Punjabawakis," Peters called them! Hilarious, that guy is. But I have to admit that I thought that Michael Buble outdid Peters there for a bit, in their little off stage skit. I didn't know that Buble was so funny. And though he didn't get a chance to perform at the awards, he definitely got the spotlight outside, after the ceremonies. There were tonnes of people circled around him, trying to get his autograph.
I couldn't see anything over the tops of people's heads at first, but then Amanda said, "That's Buble. I can recognize that profile anywhere." I laughed, but she was right.
I think some of the most memorable voices from the Juno night were of Crystal Shawanda and of course Sarah Maclaughlin. Her voice was spellbinding as it rang throughout GM Place.
And the most excited award recipient had to have been the young and charismatic Lights. What a cool name! She won for new artist of the year. And I have a new admiration for her because of the genuine and energetic way she accepted the award.
And how great it was to see Bryan Adams on stage after all these years. The man seems to have hardly aged. Yay for Summer of '69!
Also, the audience was taken back to the eighties when Loverboy got on stage to receive an award. That was a much needed blast from the past- Turn Me Loose, Lovin Every Minute of It, and Heaven in Your Eyes are some of my favourite of their hits. That portion of the Junos brought back great memories.
The event definitely inspired me to have an even stronger appreciation of music making- the ideas, the lyrics, the writing process, the collaboration, the instruments and their players, and the history behind the beautiful voices. There really is power in music. I think it was Hawksley Workman, at the Songwriter's Circle, who said, "Songs (music) are the key to communities. They bring communities together." The turnout at GM Place for the Junos, the variety of ages and ethnicities, and the support and energy that emanated from the audience and musicians themselves, is proof of the truth behind Workman's statement.
