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John Hiatt is touring again. This time with lead guitarist Doug Lancio, bassist Patrick O’Hearn and longtime drummer Kenneth Blevins and together they are called John Hiatt and The Combo. They came to Vancouver on Aug 30, 2010 to perform at the PNE 2010. The Los Lobos was the opening act and they played for about 45 minutes. Then the stage was cleared and re-arranged for 20 minutes before John Hiatt and The Combo came on.

In the just less than one hour concert, John Hiatt sang many of his own songs that earned this Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter a loyal following over the years including Slow Turning, Thing Called Love (made famous by Bonnie Raitt who included it in her Grammy-winning album Nick of Time), Tennessee Plates (part of the soundtrack in the Hollywood movie ‘Thelma and Louise’), The Open Road, Have A Little Faith in Me and others. The Monday night concert confirmed again that John Hiatt is on a come-back trail to prove that he still matters.

VIDEO 1 John Hiatt and The Combo – Have A Little faith In Me

VIDEO 2 – Thing Called Love & Slow Turning

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The songs of Vancouver-based Spirit of The West are very easy to like. Some you only have to listen to it once and you’re hooked. Like Sadness Grows for example, which is very catchy and that Celtic instrumental sounded great. Another everybody’s favorite SOTW song is of course Home For A Rest, which lead singer John Mann let the audience sang part of it as he picked his guitar on stage. The third track is Save This House that completes VIDEO 1.

In VIDEO 2, Spirit of The West played two more of their popular songs that are actually quite different from each other. The first is a pub number that Geoffrey Kelly sang about being Scottish. In Political, John Mann made a political statement that is more felt than heard. It is not a protest but something that came from the heart. Any future concerts by this Vancouver-based folk alternative band is not to be missed.


[All songs were recorded on Aug 29, 2010 at the PNE 2010 in Vancouver.]

VIDEO 1 – Sadness Grows, Home For A Rest & Save This House


VIDEO 2 – The Old Sod & Political

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If you liked watching Dawn Chubai in Breakfast Television on Citytv Vancouver, you would love this pairing of Chubai and the Dal Richards Orchestra. Before TV, Chubai was a singer. In just one afternoon, Dal Richards got to dance ‘Cheek To Cheek’ with Dawn Chubai, Sway’ with Jennifer Hayes, take “All of Me’ out of Bria Skonberg and had his way with four girls on stage (Diane Lines, Bria, Jennifer and Dawn) with an orchestra reacting to his every whim. That big band sound with Jamie Croil and trumpet and saxophone players. Hey, if you lived passed 90+ and had been with the PNE for 71 years, you can have it all. Don’t you wanna stay health, guys?

Heaven, I’m in heaven…did the conductor think that or was it the TV personality?

VIDEO – Dal Richards & Dawn Chubaidancing Cheek To Cheek

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Marianas Trench, a Canadian pop punk rock band performed at the PNE 2010 centennial celebration on Aug 28, 2010. Although they have only released two albums, their fans support for this local Vancouver band is incredible. Everytime lead singer Josh Ramsay opened his mouth to either sing or say something, the crowd went totally wild. And the audience sang along too every opportunity that they can get. The night’s concert included many fan favorites including Cross My Heart, Masterpiece Theatre 3, All To Myself and Shake Tramp. The last two are featured in this video.



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As a guess appearance with the Dal Richards Orchestra on Aug 26, 2010, Rolf Harris brought his Aussie hometown charm to Vancouver’s PNE 2010 to help celebrate 100 Years of Fun. With an accordion around his shoulder (the strap sometimes felt too tight and he complained), he sang a number of Australian songs he helped made famous. Two Little Boys is about two young friends who grow up together and go to war later. As one laid dying in the battlefield, the other came to his aid. There is a sad family history mirrored in this song for Rolf Harris whose father and uncle both went off to World War One and only Harris’s dad returned. As for Waltzing Matilda, many still think that should have been the Australian anthem. Maybe the officials Down Under thought the song was too folksy to be sung as a national anthem. But no matter, it is very catch and easy to sing too.

The song was written by American composer Theodore Morse and lyricist Edward Madden in 1902. It became a surprising hit when Rolf Harris recorded it in 1969 after hearing the song during a visit to his home country. Harris was a British entertainer at the time and the song reached #1 on the singles chart that year. Even British PM Margaret Thatcher picked the song as one of her favorites. In October 2008, Rolf Harris re-recorded the song backed again, this time backed by North Wales’ Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir, to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I. Just before Rolf Harris sang the tune at the PNE 2010 Concert Stage, he said it was the best anti-war song in his opinion. Some in the audience seemed already familiar with the song and sang along. It’s all recorded in this video.

VIDEO – Rolf Harris, Two Little Boys & Waltzing Matilda

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Considering that Jett’s mother passed away just days before the PNE 2010 concert was to began and Joan Jett and The Blackhearts didn’t cancelled the appearance had many of her fans admired her courage, dedication to her profession as a performer and never letting her fans down. In the Aug 27 concert, the American rock band played many of their hit songs including I Love Rock n Roll, Bad Reputation, Crimson & Clover and I Hate Myself For Lovin’ You. The last two was featured in this video.

VIDEO – Joan Jett and The Blackhearts at PNE 2010

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Wayne Newton, Mr. Las Vegas came to PNE 2010 on Aug 26, 2010 to perform a concert and he put on a Vegas-style show complete with blues and gospel singers with himself showing the many musical talents that had earned him a deserved reputation as a premier showman over a 40+ years career. Newton sang his signature song Danke Schoen, Lionel Richie’s Lady and some old-time rock and roll tunes such as Chuck Berry’s Go Johnny Go and little bit of Jerry Lee Lewis’s classic Great Balls of Fire with himself on the piano too. He picked the guitar and banjo and played the violin like a bluegrass fiddler would. All under a cloudy sky that forecasted for rain which did came late into his concert. Not pouring down, but enough to get many in the audience wet and left the PNE fairgrounds a bit earlier than they would have liked.

VIDEO—Wayne Newton at PNE 2010

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If you haven’t seen the Peking Acrobats, they will amaze you. At the PNE 2010 centennial celebration, you can see them perform daring maneuvers atop a pagoda of chairs, incredible gymnastics to seemingly impossible contortion and balancing acts that has made this group of acrobatic group famous around the world. They are experts in gymnastics and somersaulting where they seem to defy gravity. Peking Acrobats alumnus Shaobo Qin has appeared in Ocean’s 12 and Ocean’s 13.

VIDEO – Peking Acrobats at PNE 2010

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Famous Australian and British TV entertainer Rolf Harris came to Vancouver in 1961 and he had since then returned to this westcoast Canadian city again and again. In fact, Harris wrote a song called Vancouver Town as an ode to the city. At the PNE 2010 fairgrounds on Aug 26, 2010, with Dal Richards conducting his orchestra, Harris sang an updated Vancouver Town version to include current events and politicians such as the unpopular HST, Mayor Gregor Robertson while some older favorites such as Jimmy Pattison, Grace McCarthy stayed on. The BC Lions was down under and that ain’t Australia either. Oh yeah, The Canucks and Stanley Cup too. English Bay was praised, the venerable Lions Gate Bridge was not. First Nations and native affairs provided satire while heritage buildings, Skytrain, SeaBus and Canada Line all helped paint a colorful setting for the city that Harris liked so much. Harris’s Aussie humor was so hilarious that he grinded down the microphone almost to the ground. I am not kiddiing.

VIDEO—Rolf Harris Updated Vancouver Town Song

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This year’s RCMP musical ride team consists of the full troop of 32 Mounties (both men and women) and a head horseman in charge of the unit. These Canadian Mounties wear their traditional scarlet uniform and broad-beamed Stetson hat. They come from all over the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The RCMP riders did the revolving turnstile, star, ring, clover leaf and other well coordinated moves. Seeing one of Canada’s most distinctive and endearing icons in action as the Mounties perform their cavalry drill movements in full sight and sound is one PNE experience that won’t be easy to forgot. In fact, it is one of rare acts that keep fairgoers coming back to the Pacific National Exhibition year after year just to catch that fine equestrian performance by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police known around the world as the RCMP Musical Ride.

VIDEO – RCMP Musical Ride at PNE 2010

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