Lion Bear Fox have been enjoying their tour of Saskatchewan.
The trio played Watrous on Nov. 9 and Humboldt on Nov. 12.
Through the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils, Watrous was the fifth stop and Humboldt their seventh in their tour that started in Macklin on Nov. 4 and will wrap up in Biggar on Nov. 25.
All together, the band will be playing 17 different shows and Ryan McMahon, the Fox of Lion Bear Fox, says that every community on this Saskatchewan only tour so far has been unique unto themselves.
Previous tours of Saskatchewan took Lion Bear Fox and McMahon to bigger centres like Saskatoon and Regina, maybe Moose Jaw as well. This tour has shown the band where the “heart of Canada beats,” says McMahon.
“You can play Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, big centres and there’s 100 clubs or live music options in that city. You go to La Ronge or Humboldt, that’s the option in that town that night. You really get to the marrow of what the community is.”
This was an echoed sentiment from Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery Director, Jennifer Fitzpatrick, who loved the intimate setting of the concert.
“They could really connect. There didn’t seem to be a barrier, which sometimes there can be in a very large space between the artists and the audience.”
At some points in the concert the band went off microphone which added a new element to the show.
Especially with the band playing their own original music, there is always a story behind how the song came to be. Lion Bear Fox took the time to tell those stories, says Fitzpatrick.
“Anytime it is that kind of experience, we get to know the song more, we understand the lyrics a little better.”
So far the most memorable stop for the band has been La Ronge where they were able to give them some comfort as they go through some difficult times.
“We shone a little bit of light on that, we spoke about it. There were tears and hugs and that is what this job is all about is bringing people together.”
The camaraderie of the band is what really keeps them together, says McMahon, especially with a couple of fathers in the band.
“Tours are difficult on the families but it’s also difficult on the bands as well. We love the shows themselves but it is also just tricky being away.”
Being together as a band, the band mates can really lean on each other and share the families joys and pain with the other members, says McMahon.
One thing that McMahon has not been able to bring on the road with him is good food, saying he is suffering from too much pizza and the horrors of road food.
With Irish and Italian ancestry, he misses being able to cook his own homemade spaghetti sauce.
So what is the secret to great sauce?
“Nothing canned, except one can of tomato paste, maybe two,” says McMahon.
The next show for the Watrous Area Arts Council will be Andino Suns on Nov. 26.
The next show in the series in Humboldt is Eric Harper who is an award winning flamenco guitarist who will be at the Humboldt and District Gallery on Feb. 4.
Fitzpatrick would like to thank the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils for helping them bring such diverse and professional acts to the Humboldt area, as well as Friends of the Museum and Gallery and the Humboldt Journal for sponsoring the concert series, and HSA for sponsoring the Lion, Bear, Fox concert.
