On stage with Joel Plaskett

I was on stage with Joel Plaskett last night at his show for Canada Day. No, I didn’t run up on the stage like a raving stage-diving out-of-control fan. Nor was I up there singing some amazing harmonies to his songs, like I do when I’m driving alone. Those scenarios will have to wait for another Canada Day.

Last night we were shooting concert footage of Joel, getting his hometown crowd and the city skyline in the background, for a Nova Scotia Come to life vignette featuring the man himself. Famous hometown boy who has chosen to live his life and to build his recording career and a recording studio right at home in Dartmouth.

When we arrived to set up, I was poking around backstage, looking for his tour manager just to get the thumbs up on our shoot plan. I ran into Joel himself, alone, and digging out and starting to tune his famous four string tenor guitar that he uses on “Happen Now” and “Rolling Rolling Rolling”. He’s a lot taller than I expected, but as down to earth as I expected. Pretty focused and to the point.

I knew he needed to get ready for his show, but I had to tell him that we’d met before, and he said I looked familiar. Then I pointed out I had met him back in 1990, when he was about 12 and I was 22, both living in Lunenburg. At that moment in time, he was with his dad, Bill, enjoying an ice cream cone on a harbourside deck, and Bill and I were discussing old British folk guitar heroes like Bert Jansch and John Renbourne.

All these years later, it’s Joel who is one of my singer-songwriter guitar heroes. I’ve never known another songwriter who writes more catchy, hook-filled songs full of great turns of phrase that are both folksy and modern all at the same time. This guy has yet to break out in the big way he’s destined for. We can all say, “we knew him when…” But hopefully he’ll still be plying his craft from a Dartmouth neighbourhood, and doing a free concert every summer…