Over 30 years of Colin James and he still has Miles to Go before he’s done

Fresh off a 2019 Juno win for Blues Album of the Year, Colin James has thousands of “Miles to Go” before his current tour wraps up, and we were fortunate to get an inside look on his stop in Edmonton’s Jubilee Auditorium.

 

Earlier this year, Colin also took home Entertainer of the Year (again!) at the 22nd Maple Blues Awards.

A simple stage with area rugs, some candles comprised the set decoration for the show … what got a LOT of people wandering to the stage before the concert even started was the collection of amplifiers & guitars (Fender strats to Gibson Les Paul’s to Gretsch and even Danoelectro ) that would get anyone drooling, let alone the gearheads! … But then for a predominantly blues show, you wouldn’t expect the lights, video, and even pyrotechnics now common at rock shows.  He let the music speak for itself.

That being said, he make quite the entrance (one no one was expecting – myself included!) by walking down the isle backlit with a spotlight and the floor lighting to start his set with a 5 minute instrumental riff.

 

That definitely set the tone for the rest of the night.  While technically the past two albums have mostly been covers of Blues classics, Colin tore into the guitar with riffs that left the near capacity crowd simultaneously in awe and cheering for more … and arguably silenced the critics who would argue he’s not really a Blues player because of the commercial pop success of his early albums.

 

 

From “5 Long Years to 40 Light Years” … yes, there are a lot of years in Colin James’ three decades long career in music but the continued mutual admiration between performer and fans came through in the performance. Spent most of his solos literally on the edge of the stage with his toes hanging over … side lights and fog. At one point, seemingly spontaneous if security’s reaction was any indication, unlike the entrance, he seemed itching to get back into the throws of the crowd, hesitating slightly before thinking “screw it” and making his way back down on the floor to be up close and personal.

 

 

 

It’s easy to see why he keeps coming back to Edmonton so often to play in places like the Winspear Centre and the Jubilee … The standing ovation and cheers had him coming back on stage before the band had a chance to clear out for a full band bow … the noise from the audience drowned out the microphone and they kept cheering and standing into the encore … no one left … no one!

Personally, I’d love to see him come back to perform in a venue that would better accommodate fans being able to get up and dance … when a few near the back just couldn’t contain themselves any more they sprung out of their seats and down the isle to the front, quickly prompting several more to get up and start moving along.