Topic: Bands/Music
Canadian Pacific's Holiday Train made its annual visit to Hamilton recently. Below are some pictures from a really fun night. The train was spectacular and the live performances were great. The whole event had a really upbeat, feel-good atmosphere.
There are two CP Christmas light trains, actually, one that travels across Canada and one across the U.S. This year is the 15th anniversary of the train, and along with the regular tour stops, CP picked three cities to hold "signature events". Extra activities were added to these stops, as well as high profile performers. Hamilton (on Nov. 30) was one of those cities, with performers Great Big Sea, Natalie MacMaster, and Tom Cochrane and Red Rider sharing the spotlight with the star -- the train. Each band played for about forty minutes, great sets by all. In Hamilton, CBC anchorman Peter Mansbridge MC-ed the event. The site was packed, with estimations of a crowd of 20,000 showing up to take in the train and the music. The other two cities holding signature events are Calgary, Alberta (Dec. 7) and Cottage Grove, Minnesota (Dec. 14).
Of course, there are lots more stops still on the train's schedule for this year. So if it comes to your city or town, and you're looking for a fun outing, I'd recommend going to see it. And don't forget to take some non-perishable food items for their food drive.
Information about performers, the signature events, and the full Canada and U.S. train stop schedules can be found here on CP's website:
http://www.cpr.ca/en/in-your-community/holiday-train/Pages/default.aspx
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 Great Big Sea |  Natalie MacMaster |  Tom Cochrane & Red Rider |
Updated: Sunday, December 8, 2013 4:44 AM EST
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I see some people have posted video at YouTube of the rain-soaked Kim Mitchell show I was at a few weeks ago. You can really see the rain teeming down in some of these clips. Just watching them makes me feel soaked to the bone all over again. And reminds me of what a good show it was. 
The quality of the videos (and the sound) varies. Some are short clips, some are full songs. And sometimes it's hard to see him through the umbrellas. 
A victim of the rain, I'm guessing. He scattered a few Max Webster songs through the set, "A Million Vacations", "Paradise Skies", and "Battle Scar". It was great to hear those ones done live again. Fittingly, the only time the rain eased up all night was when he was doing "Paradise Skies". Bassist Peter Fredette -- he of the amazing voice -- sang the Geddy Lee verse in "Battle Scar". The show closed out with "All We Are" (where Fredette's vocals really get showcased), "Patio Lanterns", and "Go For Soda". I thought due to the weather, they might not bother with an encore, but they did come back out (not making people wait long) to do "Lager & Ale". The show finished up at about 11:30.
