Time: 8 p.m.

Tickets $25 advance , $30 at door

http://bigsugar.com/

Sunday November 15th the Canadian blues, reggae rock band, Big Sugar will take to the stage in Joe’s Garage. Big Sugar were well known on the music scene throughout the 1990’s, but disbanded in 2003. They re-united in 2010 and have been performing ever since. They are recognized best for their thundering live performance rock shows. There is great variety in their music from the rocking; Diggin A Hole, to acoustic tunes like Turn The Lights On. This special evening will include an appearance by the Belgium band, Trigger Finger who will start things off with their brand of heavy rock/alternative/classic rock music.
The concert will start at 8:00 P.M. Advance tickets are $25.00 and can be purchased on line at www.thejoe,ca, or at Average Joe’s Sports Bar, 420 -6th street south. Remaining tickets the day of the show are $30.00.

3 tracks of languidly-paced, percussion-heavy acoustic reggae. A fragrant spiritual groundation. This heavy, heavy musical statement, runs the gamut from classics like “Turn The Lights On” to brand new cuts “Calling All the Youth” and “Police Bway the Vampire”. Featuring Reggae legend Willi Williams and an extended family of brethren, this is the heartbeat sound of Big Sugar.

It’s like the sound of Negril at night, in Johnson’s words. More accurately, it’s the sound Big Sugar during those long days on the road; a rolling jam session that travels from the bus to the radio station to the backstage lounge. “That place where our entire band gets together on a regular basis,” is how Johnson describes it. “We listen to the drumming and the chanting and we have a moment of mental focus before every show, we burn frankincense and other things, and everybody gets their mental game together, then we walk out and do a rock show.”

It was only natural to gather this alternate version of Big Sugar in a studio, invite all of their friends, sit in a circle with wooden instruments, a deep selection of songs—old ones, new ones, some you’ve probably never heard before—and then press record. It’s a direct transmission from the band’s private realm straight to your ears. “How could that not be a good idea?” Johnson asks. And so followed recording of drumming, chanting, extended family, and electricity-free reinvention. Yard Style is the result.

Willi Williams, the Jamaica born and bred Armagideon Man’s influence is felt all over Yard Style. “He’s a pretty major force in solidifying this thing conceptually,” says Gordie Johnson. Williams is a semi-permanent fixture in the Big Sugar line-up—where he joins bassist Garry Lowe, drummer Stephane “Bodean” Beaudin, one-man horn section Kelly “Mr Chill” Hoppe and toastmaster DJ Friendlyness. The other major force behind Yard Style? Besides the echoes of ocean and tree frogs whistling away in the distance, it’s that omnipresent nyabingi drum. “It’s the first great acoustic instrument,” Johnson says with reverence. “That’s the heartbeat sound, you know?”

Reviews:

” It features reggae legend and longtime collaborator Willi Williams to great effect, as on “Armagideon Time”, while Big Sugar classics “Turn The Lights On” and “100 Cigarettes” are revamped sweetly here. Perfect for summer patio parties and cheaper than taking a trip to Negril.” ~ New Music Canada

“Big Sugar …What’s new? They’ve gone acoustic and it’s fantastic. It’s a slow, chill and stripped down album.” ~ The Adventures of an Urban Flower Girl

“Yardstyle is subtitled ‘The Acoustical Sounds of Big Sugar,’ but don’t expect a Canadian version of an MTV Unplugged album. The album, which features some well-known Big Sugar songs, some deeper cuts, and some new songs, like Calling All the Youth and Police Bway a Vampire, is unashamedly raw and honest in its presentation of a deeply spiritual interpretation of the songs.” ~ Lithium Magazine

“The album is full of great tracks, from familiar songs like Turn the Lights On, 100 Cigarettes, and Little Bit A All Right, to new songs such as Calling All Youth and Police Bway a Vampire. What ties it all together is the percussion-heavy rhythm and the background sounds of ocean waves and tree frogs. It ends up sounding like a group of friends getting together and jamming outside under the open skies.” ~ Hubadub

 Triggerfinger