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Great Lake Swimmers at the Folk Exchange, Winnipeg

Great Lake Swimmers Winnipeg concert photo

Great Lake Swimmers at the Folk Exchange, March 23 2009. Mike Latschislaw photo

Great Lake Swimmers at the Folk Exchange, March 23 2009

-review by eugene osudar/photos by mike latschislaw

blackbird singing
great lake swimmers
into the light

listening to cbc fm
driving home
into the night
after the great lake swimmers
(your rocky spine song poem)
at the folk exchange,
an instrumentally
rearranged
jazz version

switching mind channels
from beatles and paul

margo timmins
tony dekker
cowboy junkies
great lake swimmers

Lost Channels
an album
not just songs
not just three great songs
and filler

an
al(bum)mmmmmmmmmm
rivers and ghosts
waves and dreams
reading the future
forgiving the past
his voice and his birds
those haunting words

switching channels

verna’s
caribbean food
alt music venue
1980s

my lost channels
flowing in the swirls
of verna’s stucco
ceilings waves
of meringue and
that obscure object of desire
(luis bunuel)
rank and file
soul asylum
54/40
memories of
loud fast rules!

and seeing the junkies
only one album
margo’s voice
downbeat tunes

the swimmers have four
cds
Lost Channels
is a great album
unfair to compare
and there is
up/
tem/
po
with the soft caress
of the slowdown
heart songs

“stars were meant to shoot/
waves were meant to crash”

“i have seen you in various stages of undress
i have seen you through various stages of madness.”

his voice is a love song
margo’s too
whispering close
to your ear
so near
you can feel their heat
these words
these angel wings
these birds
that he sings

“when the wind takes you
it takes me too”

“when you change colors
i’ll change mine too”

“when you let go
i will let go too”

oh singer
oh voice
oh instruments
oh musicians
oh audience
oh dancer

“there is a light in you
that i have fallen in to”

and so i go
to him
after the show
he’s wrapping cable
around his arm

my hand extended
(into the light)

eyes meeting eyes

“your rocky spine
is such a beautiful poetic image
a beautiful song
and of the 6,311 songs
on my itunes
it is in the top 25 most often
played.”

his hand flows

to his heart

“thank you.”

soon, these are lost channels too,
in
the future
recaptured
in free association
when
the angel’s voice
sings,
“she comes to me in dreams.”

a great show.
as if you didn’t know.
by the transparent love
in these wrapped
around words.
for the 45 lucky ones
to see/hear/feel
the great lake swimmers
in the relaxed
intimacy of the
Folk Exchange.
winnipeg.
monday night.
march 23rd.
kate maki opening.
a singer/songwriter/teacher
singing songs
for teachers and audience.
with a dash of john prine in her,
and some tom waits too.
beautiful.
thank you,
musicians.
and i danced.
and changed my sweat
soaked
tee
shirt.

Kate Maki concert photo

Kate Maki at the Folk Exchange, March 23 2009. Mike Latschislaw photo

About Eugene Osudar

“born, august 16, 1963. i’m 45, and yes, i’m getting too old for this. bring out the rocking chair. my first concert, november 1978, elvis costello and the attractions. i was 15. their blisteringly brilliant 65 minute set only served somebody to affirm my new direction in the musical parallel universes, new wave punk alternative, oh sanctity oh celebration (!Freedom!) college radio! i’m old, i’m used up and i’m free. i see 50something Full sets of music every month and dance most of them. and when i dance, i mean to say, I Dance and Celebrate, 2/3/4 hours a night. The Gaslight Anthem. The Boss. The Weber Brothers. The Wind Ups. i’ll dance with Los Campesinos. i’ll move to The Long Winters. The Replacements. Husker Du. The Pogues. oh elvis costello, oh Clash! i could go/go/go Gogol Bordello forever. L(eonard) Cohen. come, Dance With Me (Old 97s) wherever you may be, sincerely, eugene
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