Review
Rock Me Baby wrapped up its debut weekend with another sold out show at Lake Country's Creekside Theatre on Saturday night. Barbara Samuel and her entourage led the audience through a whirlwind tour of several decades of music from across a diverse set of musical styles.
The vocals were strong from both frontman Samuel as well as from the trio of background vocalists, which consisted of Katie Fletcher, Delphine Litke, and Libby Coulthard. Samuel herself was comfortable in all the genres visited in this revue, and displayed more than enough
power to light the theatre had there been any sort of electrical failure. Her full range was utilized in songs that took her to both extremes of way lower than you would think a female artist could comfortably go, and up into the rafters of church choir singing.
Each of her backup vocalists took their turn in the spotlight, taking lead on songs where Samuel would slip into the spot left open in the bg vocals. (All the harmonies for all the tunes were written by Samuel's partner, keyboardist/guitarist Neal Klassen.)
Strategically interspersed throughout the two sets were a series of short film vignettes about Samuel's musical background and upbringing, which gave her fans more insight as to where her clear passion for music sprang from and what keeps it going.
The sold out crowd was more than a little enthusiastic from the moment the concert started until well after the encore finished and fans were waiting to connect personally with their local vocal hero and, for many, their close friend. While this was an offering
from local musicians, it had the feel of something much more substantial. Excellent vocals across the board, and a band that grooved well for the majority of the show. A couple small bobbles, but nothing that most fans would even catch.
To the delight of all in attendance, Neal Klassen announced that not only was a Rock Me Baby II already in the works, but that tickets went on sale this very weekend. I can't imagine any in attendance not grabbing those up quick, so if you missed out this year, act early
and make sure you're able to attend next year.