# Wide Mouth Mason - Fort Saskatchewan, Feb. 17 2017



## keto (May 23, 2006)

My son asked if I was interested, hell yeah I was! Despite living in Saskatoon around the time they were getting to be well known, I never did get a chance to see them back in the day.

They played the Shell Theater, a venue I had not been to previously - seems to be about a 500 seater or so. Sound was great. Crowd was seriously strange, I mean lots of people in my age group 50's, but a substantial number of people in their 60's & 70's, who I can't imagine knew what they were seeing. Maybe they sell subscriptions to that venue or something?

WMM played 2 sets with about a half hour intermission. It was the first gig for their new bass player Darren P (aplogies to Darren I didn't catch the rest of the last name). Original bass player is long gone, Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar fame had been their bass player for shows the last several years. Safwan the original drummer is still the drummer.

Let's get this out of the way. Shaun Verreault is a freaking MONSTER player. And stylistically diverse, though rooted in blues no doubt...he played a substantial amount of slide, both on his Strat and on a lap steel on a stand later on. Though I didn't see his pedal board, he's running a huge one as he did quite a bit of tap dancing and had lots of different and interesting tones.

They played all the hits from the first couple albums, some newer tunes (pet peeve: they made as though they were touring to support new material. The album they were supporting was released July 2011). And they played a couple of 'tribute' covers, of Modern Love and Raspberry Beret. They did a lot of jamming during Shaun's extended solos and threw in references to many classic rock tunes. The old hits stand up very well and Shaun still seems to have enthusiasm for them - there was no 'mailing it in'.

Shaun's voice is still beyond excellent, has tons of range and great tone. Their showmanship was very good, they portrayed lots of energy and crowd interaction. Looking at their website, they don't do many shows but if they do one in your area and you are at all a fan, I tell you you need to see these guys.


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

Saw these guys back in the day and was floored. I had their CDs and was really impressed with how they stood up live. All were top notch players. I remember thinking, "these guys are this good and are 'only' this big?!" I realized I would never go anywhere with music at that point.


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## Lord-Humongous (Jun 5, 2014)

I saw them about 15 years ago and was really impressed. They are amazing. And if Gordie Johnson is playing with them, that's an awesome bonus. He's pure rock and roll.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

@keto yes, the Shell Theater sells yearly subscriptions. That would explain a lot of the 60 to 70 year olds 

Sound is great in that venue, and I don't think there is a bad seat in the house.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Yeah, they broke big and toured with the Rolling Stones and ZZ Top, played Montreaux Jazz Festival twice....and kinda just ran out of steam. I admit as big a fan as I was of the first couple albums, I didn't much like the 3rd. But, again, Shaun and (the original bass player Earl Pereira) are monster musicians - the replacement bass player was no slouch but you could tell he was sorta feeling his way with the band, and that may be why he was quite low in the mix, which was my only complaint sound wise, and the drummer is pretty basic but plays what needs to be played and following along with Shaun is obviously hard work - and Shaun is still generating new ideas (the extended jams took some very interesting turns), sounds great both vocally and instrument wise. I can make longer run on sentences, but not much longer.

I would have loved to see them with Gordie, but again Darren was no slouch and it was fun watching him. He got caught off guard a couple of times but hell there was a lot of improvisation going on.

Again, if you have the chance, go see them - they put on a great show.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

I was a fan, I'm in my mid 60's.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Damn, Shaun is a monster. I just watched a thing on fb, that I can’t figure out how to link....go to the WMM page, hit ’videos’, and scroll down to “Cult of Personality”, though many others will show the style, that’s a song I know well. Holy crap. He uses 3 fingertip slides to play a laptop, it’s nuts. No membership or login required. Looks like he posts content prett regularly.

Another WOW!, he did Need Your Love So Bad at Peter Green’s passing, look for “RIP To A Master.....”, what touch.

Inspired by finding their big breakout CD deep in a box long unexplored and listening to it a few times on the road this week. What great tunes.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

I've seen WMM over 20 times. They're a phenomenal live band. Absolutely awesome guys too!


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I'm glad at least someone is reading this. I'm diving back in deep, and think Shaun is an incredible musician AND songwriter. I love the lyrics seen below for their most recent release, Oct 2019. And his 3 finger slide style, I haven't seen it elsewhere, is he an innovator too?

I feel like he should be way more well known.


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## phunkymunky (May 22, 2021)

I remember seeing them at the live lounge in Ottawa and being absolutely blown away. Great songwriting, great guitar playing. Would love to see them again.


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