Big Sugar at the 100th Grey Cup Festival

November 29, 2012 – The 100th Grey Cup was held in Toronto this year. For those outside of Canada who may not be aware (and many of our readers are), the Grey Cup is the championship game of the Canadian Football League. Since the Toronto Argonauts were playing in the game (and won!!), there was an extra special party environment in the city in the week leading up to the game.

Big Sugar

Big Sugar headlined the 100th Grey Cup Festival on Saturday night at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in halls D and E on the lower 800 level. It’s a mammoth 200,000 square foot room. The event was filled with thousands of football fans, a very large percentage wearing their team’s jerseys. This was not a Big Sugar crowd and I don’t think many were familiar with the band.

Gordie Johnson

Demographically, I’d guess a good portion were there to see openers April Wine or maybe Kim Mitchell. Judging by the muted early reaction didn’t understand that Big Sugar was a reggae band. When I suggested to Gordie that Big Sugar had evolved into a reggae band, his reaction was they’d always been a reggae band. But while they’re unquestionably a reggae band, there was still lots of blues in the show.

Gordie Johnson and Garry Lowe

The band came on carrying a bowl of incense that perfumed the air and set the mood for a night of slow extended reggae jams. One thing that was very clear right off the bat, this was a very loud show, not distorted but such strong sound pressure that it forced me to use the ear plugs that I almost never bring and I was very happy to have them. It was much much louder than the openers, which were normally and comfortably loud. The security guy in front of me looked extremely uncomfortable at times. Whatever he made for that gig, I can’t see how it was worth jeopardizing his hearing. If I had more ear plugs I would have given them to him. Frankly even with them, it was still extremely loud but at least I had the option of leaving.

Willi Williams

Unlike many of the older bands these days that tour, Big Sugar actually has the core of the band intact. It’s more than just the Gordie Johnson, long time members bassist Garry Lowe and Kelly “Mr. Chill” Hoppe on harmonica, keyboards and melodica are also still members.

Mr. Chill and Gordie – Diggin’ A Hole

The set contained most of their hits like Diggin’ A Hole, Dear Mr. Fantasy, If I Had My Way, Little Bit Of Alright, Nicotina, Turn The Lights On and The Scene with a little bit of Sly & the Family Stone’s Higher thrown in for good measure. They closed the show with a rocking version O Canada where Gordie showed off the Canadian flag painted on the back of his Gibson double neck SG guitar.