The Horseshoe Tavern 70th Anniversary Party featuring Hey Stella, Matt Mays, Damhnait Doyle, Stephen Stanley, Peter Dreimanis of July Talk, Peter Elkas, Devin Cuddy, Justin Rutledge, Dallas Good of The Sadies and more - Concert Pictures

The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern has always had a special place in my heart, filled with great memories of concerts in my younger days like Lowest of the Low, Amanda Marshall, Tony Springer, Teenage Head and many, many more. That's continued right to this very day and the virtual pages of this site are filled with amazing concert experiences over the past several years. I know I'm not alone in holding so many great memories of those nights in Toronto, on the checkerboard floors.

Music industry leaders and music fans alike gathered last Tuesday night, December 5, for a private party celebrating the 70th anniversary of The Horseshoe Tavern, a local landmark for live music that continues to deliver great shows by amazing artists in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

On this night, Hey Stella provided the backbone. They were the house band for a number of fantastic Canadian musicians. We got to hear some great stories from the venue's past. Local politicians and the CBC came by, too. Performers included Matt Mays, Damhnait Doyle, Stephen Stanley, Peter Dreimanis of July Talk, Peter Elkas, Devin Cuddy, Justin Rutledge, and Dallas Good of The Sadies.

If you haven't been by to take in one of the amazing 70th anniversary shows at The Horseshoe, it's not too late. They run through the end of the year. Hopefully, I'll make it out to one or two more before 2017 comes to a close.

Thanks to the owners and staff at The Horseshoe for keeping emphasis on amazing music in Canada, for delivering great shows with a friendly vibe, and for letting me cover so much of the fun. All the best for the next 70 years!

Cover Me Impressed Set 2: Sam Cash and the Romantic Dogs, SATE, The Elwins, Brendan Canning, Andrew Cash, Jim Cuddy, Devin Cuddy, Sam Polley - Concert Pictures

Collective Concerts and Indie 88 presented the second annual Cover Me Impressed show at Lee's Palace on Boxing Day. It's a charity show for SKETCH Working Arts and the Daily Bread Food Bank. I'm writing a post for each of the two sets performed that night. The second set featured the host band Sam Cash and The Romantic Dogs, SATE, members of The Elwins, Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene, Andrew Cash, Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo, Devin Cuddy and Sam Polley. In case you missed it, check out my post on the first set.

Sam Cash and The Romantic Dogs started off with Carol King's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and Tom Petty's "The Waiting".

Sate came out on stage next to unleash her powerful performance on the crowd. For this show she covered Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits", Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and a tune I knew was going to be incredible, a powerhouse rendition of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs". Both Sate and the band put out such an incredible performance. Amazing. Sate is playing The Horseshoe on Friday, January 22. Do yourself a favour and go to that show.

Three members of The Elwins joined Sam Cash and the band next for renditions of "Keep Fishin'" by Weezer, "When Did Your Heart Go Missing?" by Rooney and "22" by Taylor Swift. These guys are always fun and everyone seems to love a Taylor Swift cover.

Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene and many other bands was up next. He performed Wilco's "Passenger Side" followed by a great rendition of the Gordon Lighfoot classic "Sundown". For his intro of his third tune, Brendan paraphrased Bono from The Unforgettable Fire, "The Barenaked Ladies stole this song from Bruce Cockburn. I'm stealing it back." Unfortunately, the reference was lost on most of the audience so he just launched into Cockburn's "Lovers in a Dangerous Time".

The next part of the show saw the biggest names on the bill take to the stage, and it was extra-special because of the father-son duos. Sam Cash was joined by his father Andrew Cash and Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy brought along his sons Devin Cuddy and Sam Polley.

They started off with Andrew Cash leading the well-covered "Eve of Destruction" and Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding".

Devin took lead vocal duties for "It's Money That I Love" by Randy Newman. The setlist has The Flying Burrito Brothers' "My Uncle" up next but my memory is failing me on whether they actually played that tune. There was an awful lot of music going on.

They then played Hank Williams III's "Crazed Country Rebel" with Sam Polley on lead vocals, "Oliver's Army" by Elvis Costello with Jim Cuddy on lead vocals, who continued with Jackson Browne's "Doctor My Eyes" and they invited everyone who had played through the evening up to the stage for the finale of Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone".

The second annual Cover Me Impressed was such a great night with so much amazing talent, all for a good cause. I'm looking forward to next year already.