A new Nanaimo music venue & this Friday's show

Eric Harper

Alex Cuba

On October 24th I went to the opening of the Nanaimo Entertainment Centre with my good friend Paul Jay. (A.K.A. the Mountain Man) The inaugural offering was flamenco/pop guitarist Eric Harper opening for the Grammy award winning Alex Cuba.  The Nanaimo Entertainment Centre is a project undertaken by local business entrepreneur Paul Manhas with Joel Spillette as manager for the facility. A great deal of money was spent renovating the former “Caprice” movie theatre into a contemporary convention style centre complete with a catering service and a 375 to 400 seat facility and a second somewhat smaller room as well.  This of course fills a void in the Nanaimo market for a venue of this size.

The entry area was familiar from when the facility was a movie house except that a licensed bar has replaced the concession stand offering a more adult oriented selection of treats. Everything changes once you pass through the double doors into the theatre area. The twin theatres are opened up to one large room with a level floor, fresh paint and decor. Attention has been paid to the sonic quality of the room with acoustic conditioning installed to guarantee great sound. The seating was comfortable and we had no complaints.

Eric Harper did a wonderful job of warming up the audience with his flamenco style guitar playing, interesting stories and great songs. He drew the audience in with his tales of being a youth in Portugal after leaving the USA in his teens. Academic music training and discipline are evident in his performance along with his obvious talent.

The star of the night was Alex Cuba and his trio. Albeit that I found his english a little hard to understand, his music transcended any language barrier. His music was uplifting and performed impeccably on his black Gibson guitar. (looked like a ES335 from our seats) Almost immediately some of the folks had rise out of their seats and into the aisle to move their bodies to the beat.  I think it was impossible to sit still with the infectious beats emulating from the stage. He was quite funny at times including getting the entire band (drummer included while keeping beat with a shaker) laying on the floor playing the song while wiggling their feet in the air.  That after having his band, including the sound engineer do a little dance for the audience. Great entertainment. One of my favourite moments of the night was when Alex Cuba performed a cover of the Blue Rodeo song “Bad Timing” in Spanish.  It was the most moving rendition of the song I’ve ever heard. The music is a Latin influenced pop/funk/soul mixture delivered with style and grace. I was immediately struck by his unusual right hand technique as his approach is generally reserved for bass players. During the course of the show he explained that he had been a bassist who had switched to guitar, but retained his right hand technique.

This Friday the BoodAbooM acoustic duo is opening for Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart at Nanaimo’s “Headliners”. Headliners is near Mrs. Ritchie’s Restaurant in the center of Nanaimo and serves the community as both a live music venue and a performance arts school. Stacey and Mark were both part of Stacey’s brother Steve Earle’s band during the early parts of Steve’s career. After getting married Stacey and Mark left “The Dukes” and began their own musical journey. Several albums and years of international touring have solidified this Nashville couple as an Americana/roots/folk music act not to be missed. Blaise and I are looking forward to opening the show for Stacey and Mark. Tickets are $20 advance and $25 at the door. We hope to see you there.

Remember as you face life’s challenges and rewards, love is the answer. Trying to approach everything from a standpoint of love, patience and kindness go a long way cultivating a life of much less stress.

Until next time, Brother T

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