Julian Auston and Michele Wright at the Blossom Festival

We had looked forward to seeing Julian Austin for quite a while and the news that he would be appearing in Niagara Falls with Michelle Wright was too good a chance topass up. We had been to a previous production at the same location, Victoria Park (across from the falls) earlier this year when we attended a Robyn Pauhl/Jim Witter show for the Festival of Lights. There is perfect view of both falls from the park and the mist does lend a mystical glow to the lighting when it starts to get dark, so with loads of camera gear in hand we headed out to time our arrival about an hour before show time. Good thing. There was already quite a crowd on the grass in front of the stage and cameras were everywhere. We grabbed a spot and prepared to wait, noticing the crowd was getting larger by the minute. By 7:30 the sound techs began making an appearance to do the last minute checks before Julian and his award winning Austinators took to the stage.

At exactly 8 pm the band took their places onstage along with some of the Spirit 91.7 crew who were the MC's for the show. Doug Rollins and Brian Salmon did an admirable job of getting the crowd riled up for the arrival of Canada's country arms of steel, Julian Austin, who burst onstage and launched into the first of many crowd pleasing songs. With the crowd now on their feet he led right into "Good At Being Bad" off of the newest CD, a somewhat autobiographical song that shadows his life pre-music.

As he announced that the crowd was in a big honky tonk without a roof on it he asked if it was full of crazies, which brought a howl of agreement from the crowd. With his trademark black hat, tight black tee shirt and black jeans he clutched his cream coloured guitar (which has many undecipherable autographs across the front) and strode back and forth across the stage, pointing to members of the crowd and making faces for the cameras.

After this bit of rowdiness the band sobered a bit for the next song, a tribute to a fallen Canadian rodeo champion who passed away at age 30, Glenn Keely. A tribute the band had performed since March it's a poignant reminder of Julian's own mishap last year. "Holdin' on for 8" tells of a lifestyle that few will ever experience. Doffing his hat at the end of the song in memory of this champion who left us too soon you had to admire Julian's dedication and respect for those who choose to make a living the hardest way possible.

Julian shared the fact that his label-mate, Michelle Wright, had taken a crazy east coaster on tour with her 4 years ago for his first tour. He thanked her for taking the chance and launched into "Little Ole Kisses". Next he wished aloud that he'd written a song that was now over 20 years old, and headed into "Take The Money and Run". The crowd was encouraged to sing the chorus by Julian and the band before they finished up to a rousing cheer. With the set coming to a close he announced that they'd have to get off of the stage and said, "It sucks to be us." The 45 minute set ended with an early hit, "Diamond". Yelling for more worked, and the crowd was rewarded by an encore that Julian dedicated to his grandfather Percy Quigley back in NB. "Copperhead Road" was an excellent piece of work by the group that I, for one, would go anywhere to see again.

At 9:25 Michelle Wright stepped on stage to a roar of welcome from the very large crowd. She started her set with one everyone knew, "Safe In The Arms of Love". Wearing a long sleeved V-necked top and form fitting black pants, her long hair flowing down her back, she looked amazing. Always elegant and with a smile for everyone she could spot through the mist and lights, she headed into the second song, the slightly rockin' "All You Really Wanna Do" from one of her earliest albums. Michelle always puts on an energetic show, running around the stage and making sure that everyone on each side gets a bit of attention. As she thanked the Niagara Parks Commission for giving them the chance to do their first show of the summer season the first bars of "Take It Like A Man" struck up behind her.

Introducing her band before the beginning of the next song she pointed out that Lee Warren (as she pulled him forward) was from Toronto, which prompted a cheer for Lee. Regardless of the fact that probably over half of the crowd was American (judging by the parking lots) the crowd at this point was happy to cheer for just about anything. Next up for a little attention were the camera people at the front of the stage. Pointing to one she asked if they were from CMT. Told they were from the Niagara Parks, she moved over the second located almost dead centre of the stage. When they admitted they were from CMT she delivered a sly smile and struck a provocative pose, bringing a laugh from the crowd (and her band).

"This Is What Love Looks Like" was the groups' next number and as the lights were going from blue to purple to red and reflecting off of the mist the song took on almost a video-like quality. You couldn't buy effects like that. Michelle told the crowd a bit about the latest album and her co-writer of many of the songs on that album, Tony Sims, before she began some of the latest releases. "I Surrender" in particular is a beautiful song and one of Michelle's latest videos. The video shows a different side of Michelle, a softer more romantic side and it was described by a growl at the start of the show by Spirit 91.7's Doug Rollins.

The concert was capped off at the end by a fantastic fireworks display that went on for about 5 minutes, making everyone jump when the first one went off. We were standing over by the trailers at this point talking to some of Julian's Austinators and we all paused to watch this unexpected treat. The people in Niagara really have it all
together when it comes to putting on these special events and they do us justice in light of the number of tourists that flock to them. If you get a chance take in one of their events. They usually have concerts with different types of music on different days so there's something for everyone. Let in on the secret that the organizers weren't sure how booking a country show for the Saturday night (the prime spot) would go over at first all were pleased to hear that it placed second in attendance over the two weeks of the Blossom Festival. Excellent show and we will be looking forward to next years' country night. Keep an eye out for it next year and make a point of going, you'll be lending support for some of Canada's hardest working entertainers and they will be very glad to see you!

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