Wrecked Alive…..

Big Wreck/Nickleback/ Millennium Night Club/March 17th 1998

People are amazed at how I remember dates, set lists etc. Well truth be told I kept newspaper clippings and ticket stubs of shows that me and Tbone had checked out over the years but after DaBrun mentioned about doing a Big Wreck review it triggered in my OL noggin about the time me and Tbone caught Big Wreck and openers (wait for it) Nickleback at a local sleaze bar in Tbay!

I had no ticket stub of the date but advertised also between openers Nickleback the new Van Halen album 3 would be played in its entireity before Big Wreck! That’s how I remembered the date of this show is due to the same day release of Vh3! So of course there’s Nickleback pre Silver Side Up by about 3 years plugging who the hell knows what. To mine and Tbones ears they sounded like everyone else at the time so to be honest in the left ear out the right! But hey at the time they were just 4 long hairs from Alberta! Of course 2001 rolls around and well you know there deal…..

So VH 3 is played to the 200 plus packed out sleaze bar and except for me and Tbone no one really notices it being played! Me and Tbone were talking to our buddy Oinks as we seen him there and were chatting him up about VH 3. Come to think of it me and Tbone were like a couple of greasy ol used car salesmen trying to sell a inferior product(Vh3)  to a unsuspecting customer(Poor Oinks)! Me and Tbone were fooled,manipulated and were duped by Eddie and Alex Van Halen in regards to Vh3!

Live and Learn…..

Aaaah here’s Big Wreck climbing the Canadian charts with there debut album ((In Loving Memory Of ) and the Wreck boys slam out of the gates with Fallin Through The Cracks and of course with it being  there only release they played it all. That Song,Under a The Lighthouse,Oh My,The Oaf …and one thing became clear early on as these guys especially Ian Thornley(lead singer/guitarist) and Brian Doherty(guitarist) were changing up guitars after each tune it was like a guitar factory in action! The bass player (Dave Henning) played a 12 string bass for his part and with Forrest Williams slammimg the drums proving these boys had the chops!

The encore was pretty cool as when Big Wreck sauntered back up to the stage they said they were bringing up Nickleback to jam with them!

Thornley said to the crowd ‘ah man what are we gonna play?”Some drunk biker chick infront of me and Tbone hollered “Ozzy!” Typical shout out so I got in the mix and hollered  “Freebird!”…

At which point Thornley said into his mic “here’s a Skynyrd song!” Tbone basically sprayed his beer about 5 feet out of his mouth in all directions and we hollered like a couple of schoolboys at my guess….

WreckBack (the two bands jamming ) played Simple Man by Skynryd ..ahhh I was close with my guess, but close only counts in horseshoes and grenades!

Still it was a great laugh….

Big Wreck=Great Band!