The Dodge Provincial Rodeo Finals

Saturday September 8, 2001

As last year’s finals were held in the same place it wasn’t too hard to find this time, and the Ray Twinney Recreational Complex was decked out the same way with the trucks parked like an honour guard outside, the indication that they were sponsored by McIver Chrysler Dodge. This year the show would feature Newmarket’s own Jaclyn & Cassandra, Chad Slade & Young Country, Megan Morrison and Donnie Wallace. When the doors opened for the dance/concert at 9 PM the people began flooding in and in no time a good sized line had formed by the beer table. The presence of quite a few TV cameras led you to believe this was no ordinary Rodeo Finals dance and it wasn’t really…due to the presence of the ‘couple of the hour’ from the television show “Matchmaker”. They had chosen (for their ‘date) to go to the Rodeo Finals and to the dance afterwards and it turned out to be quite an eventful time for the couple.

We’d already had our own ‘encounter’ with this couple and the show’s producers when we went out for dinner earlier in the day with a guest (and friend of ours). Long story short, we feel it’s very necessary at this time to thank Jonathan, the manager of Montana’s for the excellent dinner and service. Everyone involved really appreciated it, even though it was above and beyond the call for Montana’s.

They were brought in as special guests of the Rodeo, accompanied by organizer Bill McCartney of McIver Chrysler Dodge and Bill Bown from 820 CHAM. Eva and Josh seemed to be having a great time and had been set up by a mutual friend for their date. The show features the couple going on their date while that friend watches via the camera’s from back in the limo waiting outside. Pretty sneaky huh? Right off the bat, a ‘contest’ was announced from the stage by the sponsors, McIver Chrysler Dodge – the first five couples on the dance floor would get their drink tickets for the evening for free. And they had no shortage of contestants.

Young Country, with their charismatic front man Chad Slade, would be up first. They delivered a rousing version of “Hillbilly Shoes” for the ready and waiting crowd. Another real crowd pleaser was “Who’s Cheatin’ Who” with another Montgomery Gentry tune, “Couldn’t Change Me” next up. For a change of pace they next served up the old Conway Twitty tune “Tight Fittin’ Jeans” with one of my favourites, “Bit By Bit” after that. (Gotta love that Canadian country, that’s for sure). “The Dance” was followed by “Two Pina Colada’s” and that was the ‘Garth’ tribute part of their set. Their version of the Tim McGraw hit “Something Like That” brought out lots of screams and the last song of their first set would be “I’m In Love With You Baby (And I Don’t Even Know Your Name”. You would be hard pressed to find a more energetic bunch than Chad & Young Country.

Following this the pair of Bills returned to the stage to give away the first of many prizes to the crowd. Among the giveaways were many drink tickets, T-shirts and it was announced that 820 CHAM would give away a pair of Alabama tickets to some lucky winner, bringing on a multitude of screams.

Megan Morrison was up next and if you’ve never been to a show where she’s been featured you really must take one in. This beautiful young lady is 13 years old and has the stage presence of a seasoned pro, with the vocals to match. This young woman easily tamed the powerful Faith Hill tune “What’s In It For Me”. “Too Hot To Handle” was followed by “Goodbye Earl” with the incredible crowd pleaser “That’s Who I Am” coming afterward. “Breathe” had dancers out there by the dozen and “Can’t Fight The Moonlight” from the Coyote Ugly soundtrack was another winner. An original song from her upcoming CD would be next and “How Many Frogs (Will I Have To Kiss)” is a very good song even if the title strikes you as being a little ‘different’. “Kiss This” takes a different approach when sung by a female and “Pour Me” is delivered with the same power you’d expect from Heidi of Trick Pony. “Sin Wagon” is a real ‘energy burner’ song and was going to be her last song but Bill McCartney asked her to stay up there for one more so she chose “Hole In My Head”, the Chicks being a favourite of everyone.

Jaclyn & Cassandra were up next after an incredibly busy day. They’d been to the Rodeo early on in the day to perform the national anthem and headed out right afterward to perform at the Lincoln Fair in the ‘wine region’ of southern Ontario. They then flew back to Newmarket to appear at the Rodeo dance and did a great job of “Lucky Star” as their first song. “Country’s Coming Out In Me”, the title track of their recently released CD was the next song and they got a great cheer for coming out to the dance. It was over all too soon. They are simply adorable and we always love seeing them.

Donnie Wallace, who’d had a great showing last year at the same event, was up next. He has had an extremely busy year too, with his CD “For The First Time” being released in the spring of 2001 and a heavy promotion/show schedule following. Some of the favourites from the CD he performed were “Here Comes Love”, which I like very much. A lot of folks must agree with me ‘cause he got a lot of screams from the crowd. “Liza Jane” lost nothing in the translation and Vince Gill would have enjoyed it too, I think. “Jodie’s Mine” and “You Owe It To Yourself” from his CD were more crowd pleasers. “ Fast As You” was a great job and “Go Rest High On That Mountain” was brilliantly done too. Good job Donnie. More tunes from the CD followed with my favourite, “For The First Time” getting a full dance floor as a tribute. A few more songs followed and they were all very well done and enjoyed by the crowd. It’s always great to see Donnie and his lovely wife Vicky and we wish them all the best during this exciting year.

The dance continued for quite a while but at this point we had to head out, having another busy day planned for the next day. We would like to thank Bill McCartney for another incredible show and for his always-enthusiastic welcome and hospitality. Thanks also to 820 CHAM and Bill Bown for the warm welcome, the friendship and for making us laugh…can never have too much of that. Special thanks to Bill Picard and his team from Professional Audio Services for the advice, the friendship and for the hugs…and for the great sound! Very special thanks to all of the performers – Donnie Wallace, Megan Morrison, Jaclyn & Cassandra, Chad Slade & Young Country. You all work incredibly hard at your chosen profession and the quality of your performances is proof of that. It’s always great to see you and we will forever appreciate your efforts – “Thank you for the music!”

Written by Kim Jamieson

Photos by Wayne Tozzi