Christine Campbell Live at the Cameron House, Friday, September 22, 2017


2017.9.22
Christine Campbell Live at the Cameron House Friday, September 22, 2017

      Toronto might as well be Western Canada for Maritime performers. Despite southern Ontario’s relative concentration of people compared to down east, it seems many Maritimers get cold feet at the prospect of putting time and money into even a lean tour of this province. Having seen some excellent performers play to nearly empty rooms, the hit and miss nature of playing shows on the road cannot be overlooked. Perhaps a worthy government initiative with respect to supporting live music around the country, could involve subsidizing inter-regional travel for touring musicians.
      Considering this, we should be glad Maritimer Christine Campbell made the trip from her native Nova Scotia to Toronto for a well attended Friday evening appearance at the Cameron House. She led her drummer and guitar player through two sets of blues and rock sounds, playing a mix of classic rock covers by Heart and Led Zeppelin with Chicago blues sounds and her own songs. Her current c.d. is called “Rollercoaster” and she naturally played material from the disc along with other songs. Campbell’s mother got on stage, joining Christine for a duet of “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You.”
      Campbell is a pretty wicked guitar player in her own right, although she shared soloing with her guitarist partner. She played a keyboard for a few songs, but didn’t cut loose on that instrument the way she shreds the guitar when she wants to. To make up for some lost licks, she led the trio through a Led Zeppelin medley of “Rock n Roll”, “Immigrant Song”, “Whole Lotta Love” and “Stairway To Heaven,” all packed into less than seven minutes. Great start to a Friday night downtown.


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