An evening with Jim Cuddy

Heritage Minister James Moore has introduced a new kind of event into Ottawa's social circuit: Canadian culture evenings.  Pretty much every month while the House is sitting, Moore invites an eclectic, all-partisan group of Parliament Hill denizens to special performances by some of the country's most accomplished artists.  Moore hosts these evenings as unabashed acts of Canadian-cultural boosterism and they've become marquee, must-attend occasions in Ottawa. 

Last night was an extra-special one. On the same day that his band, Blue Rodeo, received the news of its induction into Canada's Music Hall of Fame, Jim Cuddy was the headline performer for Moore's cultural evening at the National Arts Centre. Also on the bill were the popular Quebec singers Marie-Eve Janvier and  Jean-François Breau. 

The performance took place in NAC's intimate studio, which seats only about 300 people. As we were getting ready to take our seats, we noticed a lot of men walking around talking into their cuffs -- a sure sign of an imminent PM arrival. And yes, right after U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson and his wife Julie filed into the room with their security detachment, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Laureen came in and took their places about three or four rows up from centre stage. That of course fed some speculation that we might see a Cuddy-Harper duet of some kind before the night was out, but (spoiler alert) that didn't happen. 

Cuddy, who had spent the day wandering around Parliament Hill with Moore, told the crowd that he'd been struck by how much talking and arguing is part of the job here. He wondered why we couldn't all get along better (he was joking) and he called Moore "a gentle giant" of a host. In what was an obviously deliberate decision -- Cuddy congratulated himself at the end of the evening for pulling it off -- there were almost no direct references to the PM in the crowd. Instead, Cuddy kept accusing someone in the front row (I'm not sure who it was) of nodding off, and made several musical attempts to either rouse or soothe him into deeper sleep. 

Of course, Cuddy is no stranger to politics. His brother, Loftus Cuddy, actually ran as a Conservative candidate, against Jack Layton, in Toronto-Danforth in the 2004 election. But, as the above-linked article notes, Jim voted against his brother. "As you can imagine, it made for some difficult family events," he's quoted as saying. (If memory serves, Cuddy backed Layton.) 

So what do you sing to a political crowd, which includes the top politician in the country, the U.S. ambassador,  at least a couple of dozen MPs and  journalists from most major media outlets? 

First song was "Watch Yourself Go Down." Second song was "I Could Never Be that Man." And then, along the way, songs from Cuddy's solo albums as well as some of the favourites from Blue Rodeo.  

For his final song, before the encore, Cuddy chose: "It Could Happen to You." This is a political song: at past Blue Rodeo performances, I've heard it dedicated to politicians, including Jean Chretien. It was written in support of the building squatters  forcibly evicted by New York mayor Rudy Giuliani back in the 1990s -- the same inspiration for the best-selling musical, Rent.  

Was there a political subtext in Cuddy closing the session with that song? Here are the lyrics -- I'll let you decide. 

They broke off the locks and they opened the doors 
Pushed up the windows and painted the floors
Grew a little garden outside in the rust and sand
Raised up the roof till it touched the sky
Picked up the pieces that were left to die
Brought this building back with a healing hand

When you see trouble
You're bound to move in on the double
Cause you leave your mark upon everything
In your head those Liberty Bells still ring
But we know that you don't even mean
A thing you say

So you brought in the army to do your job
Of kicking in doors and swinging their clubs
Back in the morning to watch
Themselves on the news
You're doing the bidding of the money man
If it turns out right they'll call you friend
One little favour how could you really refuse

Oh my heart is sinking
Same old useless worn out thinking
You live your life in the court of kings 
Bow to the ruler and kiss the ring
But we don't even understand a thing you say

It could happen to you 
It could happen to you
It could happen to you sometime
When you least expect it 
Done by the ones that you never suspected
All your bills come due
It could happen to you

You really got to wonder what you did it for
Cause you don't need an army 
To move out the poor
You brought it out once I know
You could bring it again

Oh my heart is sinking
Same old useless worn out thinking
You live your life in the court of kings
Count your money as the Raven sings
Safe and sound when the wrecking ball swings
But all your riches won't mean a thing someday
Oh it could happen to you
Oh it could happen to you 
Oh it could happen to you
Oh it could happen to you

 

P.S. Last night's show and receptions (before and after) were sponsored in large part by Quebecor, owner of Sun Media. Additional sponsorship came from private-sector firms and organizations. So fear not -- this wasn't a taxpayer-financed extravaganza. It was, as Moore promised, an incredible celebration of Canadian music. Go see Jim Cuddy when you get the chance: it could happen to you too.

PPS: Sorry about the picture quality. It was taken with my BlackBerry. We were told to put them away for the night, but this being Ottawa, no one seemed to manage that feat. 

Comments

[Anne Peterson]

Well, you know, as a person who is fighting to save CBC funding and perhaps the CBC itself, it doesn't make me deleriously happy to know that Quebecor is wining and dining Canada's top politicians. Don't these tickets qualify as gifts? Especially to the Minister of Heritage? Things get very foggy in Ottawa, don't they?