Humboldt will be host to some high-profile Canadian musicians on April 18, when Harlequin and Alan Frew of Glass Tiger perform at the Uniplex Curling Club. Also performing will be local group 40 oz. Philosophy.
The stop is part of a Western Canadian tour for Harlequin, the Winnipeg-based band that formed in the mid-1970s, is best known for hits like "Thinking of You" and "Innocence", and was inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Like many bands, Harlequin has gone through many lineup changes over the years, but still provides a mix of old and new material.
"Most of the guys are familiar with all of the material," original member and vocalist George Belanger said during a phone interview from Winnipeg. "We like to change it up of course and we have lots of songs to choose from."
In addition to Belanger, the current iteration of the band consists of keyboardist and original member Gary Golden, guitarist Derrick Gottfried, bassist Paul McNair and drummer A.J. Chabidon.
After a hiatus from music that saw him start a business with his wife, Belanger was drawn back into the world of entertainment in 2004 after working on an album with a musician named James Brose. Belanger helped write much of the lyrics to what would be called Harlequin II.
"I didn't write songs for a long time," Belanger said, "but working on that [Harlequin II] got the juices flowing again."
Since that time Harlequin has been touring fairly regularly, though it's far from the non-stop schedule that Belanger, now 63, was used to in the '70s and '80s.
"We do a lot of stuff on the weekends, at casinos or big clubs," Belanger said. "It's a good pace for us. I wouldn't want to go back to that grueling schedule where you didn't see your home for eight or nine months at a time. We were always touring or recording."
As for coming to Humboldt, Belanger said he's visited here before - "I couldn't tell you when, it was a long time ago," he said with a laugh - and that he's excited to perform with Frew, who will be doing an acoustic performance, for the first time in nearly 10 years.
"We really want to see if Humboldt can support an act like this," said Reggie Gaetz, one of the show's local promoters.
"The group's promoter will be happy if we draw 600 people, but I'll be disappointed if we get less than 800."
Gaetz said a lot of the organizational credit has to go to Darren Minisofer of Middle Lake, who did a great deal of the legwork in making the show a possibility at all.
"These are great acts," Gaetz said. "Why go to the city and spend $100 when you can stay here, spend $25 and see Harlequin and Glass Tiger?"
Minisofer and Gaetz have managed to book a workhorse. Even though music has been an integral part of Belanger's life since he was a teenager, he shows no signs of slowing down or losing his enthusiasm for the craft that has given him so much.
"The wonderful thing about it is that you always get reminded of what it means to people," Belanger said. "People come up to me and say, 'This song means so much to me, it's a part of my youth, I grew up listening to your music.' It's not a terrible thing to hear that. It's wonderful."
There's always the possibility that Belanger won't be able to physically handle the demands of performing forever, but as long as he can he'll be up on the stage, and anyone buying tickets to the show on April 18 has nothing to worry about.
"At some point if I can't do it physically I'll have to think about stopping," he said. "But you can always write, coach, or teach. Performing is demanding but very satisfying. At the end of the night people clap, you get paid and they say how great you are. How bad is that?"
Note: Tickets for the show are available for purchase online at obriansevencentre.ca or at the Bella Vista Inn, Center Stage Music, Humboldt Uniplex and the Humboldt Thrifty Mart. A portion of the show's proceeds will benefit the Humboldt SPCA.
