Stompin' Tom Connors Hits Charlottetown With J.P. Cormier

His voice may be rusty, his once formidable stomp may be little more than a symbolic tap against the plywood and he may forget his own lyrics on occasion. The undeniable fact, however, is that Canadians love their Stompin' Tom.

Judging by the 800 or so fans gathered at his recent stop in Charlottetown, Islanders are no exception to this rule. The night kicked off shortly after 8 p.m. with the multi-talented J.P. Cormier. A gifted songwriter in his own right, he opened the show with an amalgam of his own material and oft-overlooked tunes penned by Connors.

Highlights of this set included his own tunes, "Another Morning" and "Kelly's Mountain," a perilous tale of death and courting (not necessarily in that order). An accomplished fiddler/banjoist/guitarist, he also played a number of instrumentals for the appreciative crowd. After a half-hour of Cormier, it was time for Canada's singing storyteller to enter stage right. With his trademark cowboy hat atop his head, black garb and a slab of plywood in his left hand, he took the stage and promptly launched into a spirited version of "Bud The Spud."

While Connors was in town in part to promote the upcoming release of his latest album, Ode For The Road, he kept the new songs to a minimum. Instead, he performed the songs that his fans have grown to love over the years. Such favourites as "Big Joe Mufferaw," "Margo's Cargo," "The Hockey Song" and "Luke's Guitar" were tempered by newer songs such as "Saint John Blues" as well as a few old school country classics like "Muleskinner Blues."

At 66 years of age, Connors is by no stretch of the imagination a young man. In all honesty, there were moments during his yodeling tribute to Wilf Carter that I thought he was about to keel over and expire right before the eyes of his adoring crowd. What a way to go that would have been, eh?

But in all honesty, I was quite impressed by his performance. In all, the old Stomper was on stage for an hour and a half, give or take. There's a lot of musicians half his age who don't, or can't, put out that kind of performance. Two things marred the show.

First was the venue. While the crowd size was by all means respectable, it didn't warrant a hockey arena. This meant empty seats and questionable sound quality were in full effect. The show would have been better suited across town in the Confederation Center.

Second, the decision to serve liquor at the show led to a few too many drunken middle-agers who thought they were a private audience for the Connors. Off-beat clapping, especially when no music is being played, tends to get on one's nerves. So too does repeated attempts by audience members to establish one-on-one conversations with the man as he attempted to introduce his songs.

But I digress.

Part history lesson, part Canadian nationalist rally, Stompin' Tom concerts rarely leave his fans disappointed. As I left the building I didn't detect one sour face.