Don MacLean and Big Dave McLean are making a beeline to St. Albert with their sixth annual National Steel Bad Boy Blues Tour.
They are two of Canada’s biggest blues personalities on a coast-to-coast 60-stop adventure and they’ll be stopping by LB’s Pub on Tuesday, Oct. 11.
Never one to follow the mainstream path, this duo is barrelling into town piloting a big ’ole 1994 Lincoln Town Car with honking speakers on the roof.
“When we drive in, we’re blasting the fact that the blues are in town,” says Big Dave. “And people eat it up. We have kids on bicycles following us.”
Dubbed “Canada’s biggest little blues and roots tour,” it’s definitely a gritty ride with few bells and whistles. These are just two guys in a car hauling their own gear, singing songs on acoustic guitar sand telling outrageous stories.
Big Dave is a Stony Plain Recording artist with an extensive list of Junos, Maple and WCMA awards. The Canadian singer/songwriter was strongly influenced by Muddy Waters and took lessons from John Hammond Jr.
Doc instead is a blues vagabond who has travelled the south and writes from the dark side of the blues highway. Singing to both princes and pirates, the Delta blues man at one time was an accompanist to the legendary jug band pioneer Sam Chatmon.
McLean and MacLean, who first met at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in the 1970s, last toured in the 2009 National Steel Century Blues tour where they played 104 back-to-back shows and set a benchmark for blues musicians.
Using a laptop and mobile phone, Doc is the tour co-ordinator.
“I like working with Dave because of his absolute honesty and authenticity to music. He’s a trooper. He’s been at it all his life. He’s the real thing,” says Doc.
He adds, “I need a partner in the blues that can connect on an emotional core and deliver stories. Dave can nail it down and he’s absolutely reliable.”
And for the duo with a combined 80 years experience, no venue is too big or too small.
“It’s the small communities that are more liberal. It’s the small communities that help support the arts. We do a show in a small town and everyone comes by. In a big city everyone wants to see if you sell 100,000 records before they go see you,” says Doc.
This time around the duo isn’t flogging a joint album. However, Big Dave just released a new 14-track on September 8. Outside the Box isn’t your traditional blues. Big Dave has added a didgeridoo, trombone and sousaphone.
“I wanted to do traditional blues, but I wanted to reinvent it. And I’ve written more songs than any other album I’ve recorded. Everything fits like a glove,” he said.
At LB’s Doc and Big Dave will perform a solid country blues show. “Come on down. We’re going to play the blues the whole night,” said Big Dave.
The evening starts at 9:30 p.m. LB’s Pub is at 23 Akins Dr. Admission is $20.
