Wednesday 25 October 2023

The Tea Party At MTelus

Our 1990's Canadian rock reunion continued on Sunday night at the MTelus in Montreal with our headliner, The Tea Party.  Though officially hailing from Windsor, Ontario, The Tea Party has always been wildly popular in Montreal, considering it to be a second home.  In return, the Montreal crowds have always supported the band, and this included filling up a crowded MTelus on a chilly October evening.  Eight albums and more than three million records sold, The Tea Party is still going strong.  It was their second album, 1993's Splendor Solis which helped the band achieve world wide fame.  It reached #20 on the Canadian rock charts and earned the band Juno Award nominations for Best Hard Rock Album and Best New Group.  The Tea Party led off their set with the hit single from that album, 'The River', and we were off to the races. They haven't merely rested on their laurels either, they latest EP, Sunshower, was released in 2021.  Back in the 90's, The Tea Party were seen as a progression of some of the great rock bands of the 70's, often drawing comparisons to Led Zeppelin and The Doors.  High praise indeed, but the band more than lived up to such lofty comparisons with great songs, and singer Jeff Martin has one of the most distinctive voices of the era.  It hasn't lost any of its strength over the years either, as he was belting out the tunes on Sunday night despite the lingering effects of a cold. The crowd, already firmly behind them, rallied to the cause and sang along with as much zeal and zest as their under the weather hero as the band and city continued their mutual love affair with each other, a  relationship that has lasted more than 30 years.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 30mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 44mm.  Hear are several more photographs that I took of their performance.

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 28mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 31mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 42mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 65mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 28mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 44mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 41mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 44mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 47mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 41mm
f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 65mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/30sec, ISO 3200 at 30mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 65mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 57mm
f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 55mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 30mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 38mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 31mm
f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 31mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 31mm
f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 53mm

If you'd like to find out more about The Tea Party and their music, you can do so by following the link to their website.  If you'd like to see the photographs that I took of I Mother Earth, who performed earlier in the evening, you can do so by following the link.  A big thank you goes out to Tim Pellegrino and Liam Killeen, who represent Jeff Martin and The Tea Party respectively, for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  It is very much appreciated.  The Tea Party burst onto the scene like a rocket, and despite a little pause along the way, are still a dominate force 30 years later.  They belong among the musical giants that this Country as produced.  They'll be touring Canada until mid-November so head out to see them.

I Mother Earth At MTelus

It was a 1990's Canadian Rock Reunion at the MTelus in Montreal this past Sunday night.  Two of our Nation's biggest rock acts from the era were putting on a show and opening up the evening was I Mother Earth.  Before breaking up in the mid-90's, I Mother Earth was one of the biggest selling musical acts in the Country.  One could argue that their peak arrived in 1996 with their album Scenery And Fish, which was recorded at the legendary Le Studio recording studio in Morin Heights Quebec.  I certainly remember owning a copy of the album and their hit song One More Astronaut was everywhere that year.  It reached #1 on Canada's Alternative Rock Chart, was their first single to chart in the United States and also helped kick off the wildly popular Big Shiney Tunes compilation record series put out by Much Music, by being Track #1 of the very first addition.  The band got back together in 2012, with original singer Edwin Ghazal returning as well in 2016.  While there has been no new songs to speak of, I have read reports hear and there that some new music was supposed to be arriving before the end of 2023.  Regardless of any potential new songs, the building was full of people looking to relive the magical 90's moments and the show opened with three songs from the aforementioned Scenery And Fish album, 'Pisser', 'Used To Be Alright' and 'Raspberry'.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm.  Here are several more photographs of their performance.

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 6400 at 41mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 35mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 6400 at 47mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 6400 at 61mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 6400 at 44mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 45mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 6400 at 41mm
f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 6400 at 42mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 6400 at 50mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 6400 at 50mm
f.3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 63mm
f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 39mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 6400 at 45mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm

If you'd like to find out more about I Mother Earth and their music, you can do so by following the link to their website.  If you'd like to see the photographs that I took of The Tea Party, who performed later that night, you can do so by following the link.  I Mother Earth were once ruled the airwaves here in Canada.  They may not have released any new music of late, but on stage, they are still as great as they were way back when.  Head out and see them if you can.