Take off eh!

My friend Bernie and I made a pilgrimage of sorts this week. As you probably know, we made a few episodes of The Great White North II last year (all 25 episodes available on both YouTube and Video.ca [my preference]). So we went to see Ian and Dave Thomas in concert this past Tuesday at the Jack Singer. It was exactly as I expected it would be - not 5 star comedy, but an entertaining evening nonetheless.

Ian Thomas (for those of you born after 1970 and outside of Canada) is a pop songwriter / performer who had some hits in the 1970's. Pilot, Painted Ladies (the most known single), Liars, Time is the Keeper, Coming Home and others. Remember Hold On? Yeah, Santana did that, but Ian wrote and performed it first. How about Right Before Your Eyes? You may recognize it as a song by America. Ian's too. I've heard it said Ian Thomas is one of the dark secrets of the Canadian music scene in that he never really got his due. I agree. Anyway, he performed a few of his hits that night which was cool. But he was accompanied by his better known brother Dave (of SCTV fame - not Wendy's). The two told the story of their upbringing (in Canada and the US) via funny songs and stories, shared their thoughts on getting old, and improved via some old and new characters.

But of course, what I was hoping for was for Dave to reprise his most famous character - Doug McKenzie. He didn't disappoint. It was a show that had appeal to the Boomer crowd as was witnessed by the obvious lack of the younger generation. Their loss if you ask me. No, there were no frantic curse-ridden rants or wardrobe malfunctions, but they created a kind of wiser, smarter comedy that only a pair of gents who have been there, done that could muster. Brothers forever. The night had some spine tingling moments though. Bernie and I had been chatting outside before the show started and we covered some fairly specific, yet obscure topics. Much to our eyebrow raised amazement, the pair spoke to every one of those topics during the course of the performance.

Weird........