The Ghost of Osborne Street

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the man I used to call Jesus, years in fact.  When I first moved to Winnipeg in the early 1990’s he was already a fixture on the Osborne Village sidewalks.  He was always dressed for the cold it seemed, ratty old blue parka, beat up winter boots and a heavy beard.

He was always dirty of course, living on the margins of society for so long.  His hair was normally pretty wild and natty.  But for some strange reason I found him to be the most agreeable person on the street those days.  Most panhandlers back then were pretty aggressive.  They would get in your face demanding a smoke or some of the hard-earned change in your pocket.  All the while wearing ratty clothes but somehow the new sneakers gave them away.  They may have experimented with the lifestyle but they sure were not living it the way he did.

Living on the streets for a night or two I think most people could imagine, but this man lived day in and day out on and around Osborne Village for as long as anyone I spoke to could remember.  Rumours abounded that he had a family once, that he had a job, a nice house and a car.  All of those things that society uses to judge us a success or a failure.  Now he just survived.

Gord Downie: Canadian Musical Legend.

For anyone who is a fan of The Tragically Hip the title of this post should come as no surprise.  For the rest of you, sit back as I try to capture the spirit of a Canadian poet, songwriter, musician, wise man and raving lunatic.

 

Gord Downie (Photo – Robert Ogden)

 

I had the great fortune of being offered a ticket to see Gord Downie and his new band The Country of Miracles last night in concert.  For the record I am a fan of The Tragically Hip and have been so since I first heard the song Little Bones, off the Road Apples album in the early 90’s.  The catchy lyrics and rocking beat lead me to other tracks such as 50 Mission Cap,  New Orleans is Sinking

 

Gord Downie Singing a Duet with Julie Doiron. (Photo – Robert Ogden)

 

New York, New York… East Village and Alphabet City

Hey everyone!  Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and a great break before the New Year.

Waking up to the greeting of a ringing phone was not the way I had wanted to start the morning after a marathon concert.  But our tab had to be paid, the sponsoring radio station 92.1 citi fm,  needed an interview for the morning show back home.   After Darlene gave a brief sleepy account of the night before, exclaiming that Bruce Springsteen was the highlight of the evening.  We got our tired bodies ready for another hurried day on the streets of New York.

As the day before, we shunned the hotel “Hot Breakfast” in favor of  bagel sandwiches from the corner shop.  Gaining familiarity with the streets we confidently picked our subway stop and headed south into Soho, bound for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex.  This stop on our trip almost got scratched due to time constraints but I am very glad that we managed to fit it in.  If you are a fan of New York based rock and roll do check it out before it closes early in the new year.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex