Ridley Bent & Corb Lund: The New Prairie Country Music

The third in my personal Winter Olympics concert series was Ridley Bent and Corb Lund on Feb. 18. Together these two represent the new voice of Western Canadian country music. It's honky tonk prairie style that encapsulates traditionalism and progression, with a dash of cleverness and wit, some old-fashioned heartbreak, plenty of pedal steel guitar, and a footstompin' good time.

Ridley was backed by his usual cadre of players that includes ex-Killer Tumbleweeds guitarist Chris Dunn. So in addition to the music, hanging out with my old friend was another reason to venture into the wilds of Surrey and brave the growing madness that has become the Surrey Winter Olympics Celebration. Ridley has a considerable following in B.C. and last year won almost every award from the BCCMA (BC Country Music Association). His songs are simple, to the point, and readily identifiable by his audience. With some great guitar work by Chris and Johnny Ellis, Ridley rocked the house with the crowd singing along throughout the show. His hits "Nine Inch Nails" and "Buckles and Boots" were the obvious faves. Standing next to me were a couple of female Ridley fans sing/hollering the lyrics to both songs and swooning over his every move. It was classic. Ridley's a heartbreaker and homewrecker. A true country original.

Corb showed why he has become a modern day prairie troubadour. His songs reflect an Alberta sensibility that for both urbanites and farm folk alike speaks to common roots. The majority of his set consisted of songs from his second album Hair In My Eyes Like A Highland Steer. Like Ridley's show, the crowd was energetic and receptive and by this time had swelled to twice its size. I'm not sure if the bigger crowd was entirely for Corb or because beer was available. Either way, Corb satisfied the crowd, at one point sending them into paroxysms of frenzy with a rendition of Stompin' Tom's "The Hockey Song."

Unfortunately, both groups suffered from bad sound. Previous shows I had seen in this venue had excellent sound, the vocals clear, guitars distinct, and a good mix overall. The soundman this night was either deaf or mixing by meter. In other words, not using his ears rather relying on the level meters on his console to mix. There was too much bottom end and the vocals were compressed to the point that they disappeared entirely on more than one occasion. The guitar sound for both bands was lost in a wash of low frequency rumbles that muddied up the sound and annoyed the hell out of me. Luckily the audience was familiar with both Ridley and Corb's material. They could sing along without having that nasty lead vocalist messing things up (I'm being sarcastic here).

It's becoming busier and busier at the Surrey Winter Olympics site. Security was beefed up considerably for this show. We had to empty our pockets and were wanded by a security guard that looked like he couldn't catch a bad guy even if his life depended on it. And in Surrey, it just might. Still, great show all around, sound notwithstanding, and fine Thursday night entertainment.

Here's some video of Ridley Bent performing "Nine Inch Nails."