First off, it seems as if Toronto is becoming a hot spot for jambands. In the next few months we will be seeing String Cheese Incident, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Vinyl, moe., Ominous Seapods, Burt Neilson, New Deal, Jorma Kaukonen, Santana, Brittney Spears and of course Phish on July 6th at the Molson Amphitheatre. Never before has Toronto had so many great acts come through in such a short span and it is due to the support of the fans. So, let me just take this moment to thank the fans in the Greater Toronto Area for being so supportive and enthusiastic of the jambands scene and making it what it is today.

Jazz Mandolin Project Make First Canadian Visit Memorable
February 18, 2000 The Opera House, Toronto

Set 1: Barbers Hint, Open Sesame> Spiders, Ballad for Trio, New Tune?, Xeno Blast
Set 2: Dromeday, Jovan, The Phoenicians>Cuica Jam>The Phoenicians, Nimbus, Oh Yeah
Encore: The Milliken Way

This JMP show could be summed up in two words: Xeno Blast. The first set closer was just amazing and had the very talkative crowd silenced with their jaws to the floor. It is just a sight to see when three musicians who are so individually talented mesh so well together and feed off each other's respective talents. Danton Boller is an extremely gifted bassist and communicated quite well with Jon Fishman, and Jamie Masefield makes the mandolin a great jazz instrument which I never thought possible. The show started later than expected, about 10:30 in the uncomfortable Opera House. Most of the crowd had never heard JMP before and were there to see Jon Fishman. About twenty minutes into the first set, you forgot that Fishman was even in the band although he did lay down a few beats that sounded like the 2001 jam. The band was changing pace often and seemed to have problems finding the groove in the opening. As the set progressed, they became tighter and obviously had found that groove that they were searching for. The first set ended with a blazing performance of Xeno Blast. According to the bands official website, this was possibly the best Xeno Blast ever played. The band and the crowd were both going nuts and the set couldn't have ended any better. During the second set, Masefield told the crowd that it was the bands first visit to Canada and they were really psyched to be here (he actually said the word psyched about six times). The second set rocked with few, if any, breaks between songs. The jam during The Phoenicians was the highlight as the band veered off into really diverse territory. The encore blew me away, The Milliken Way was just pure energy and the band seemed to give everything they had.

Overall, it was an excellent show in a really poor venue. The Opera House is to cavernous like most Toronto venues and sometimes the sound wasn't great but the fans didn't care. The talk before the show was about Fishman, as they were leaving they couldn't stop talking about Jazz Mandolin Project.

Burt Neilson Band Display Maturity and Creativity with New Album

Since the release of their self titled debut in 1997, The Burt Neilson Band have been relentlessly touring Canada playing countless gigs. During this time, the band has been able to develop their sound and mature as musicians. Their maturity and creativity is clearly evident on their new release Orange Shag Carpet. Recorded in London, Ontario at dB Studios, and produced by Ben Kaplan, the album consists of 12 tracks and clocks in at just over an hour. The band brought in some additional musicians, Bryden Baird and David French who play trumpet and tenor sax respectively on five of the twelve tracks.

The songs, written mostly by Jeff Heisholt and Mike Filipowitsch, are extremely well crafted and focused and the band itself, have become exceptional musicians. The band has become much more diverse on this album, exhibiting their abilities to play a great rock tune such as the lead track, Yellow Pants and a great funk tune like the appropriately named Funkin' Shoes. Each song carries unique characteristics that are different on each track. The album flows really well and is really upbeat, much like the bands live performance. There are not many jambands out there that can write great four minute songs as well as nine minute songs that aren't drawn out. The Burt Neilson Band has grown leaps and bounds since their initial release and have become one of the top touring acts in Canada. Orange Shag Carpet is a great album that clearly exhibits the talent and growth of this band. With Orange Shag Carpet, The Burt Neilson Band have established themselves as a great band on record and an exceptional band on stage.

For more information on The Burt Neilson Band and ordering information for Orange Shag Carpet click on www.burtneilson.com.