Grapes Of Wrath- Acoustic Duo, Live In Winnipeg: March 26, 2026

 

Sometimes the lure of nostalgia is a powerful incentive of expectations of what once was and the hope that you won't be disappointed. The Grapes of Wrath was a Canadian band that had a respectable run of some really fine albums in the late 80's and early 90's. Led by singer/guitarist, Kevin Kane and the Hooper brothers, Tom (bass) and Chris (drums), the band produced a satisfying jangly, folk-rock sound that was commercial enough to get some radio play (CBC...), yet not too popular to be annoying and they were one of the few Canadian bands I liked at the time. I saw them once in 1989, but for some reason missed them the other times they toured through town. 

 

 

On this recent Grapes of Wrath tour, the principle singer/songwriters Tom Hooper and Kane traveled light, bringing only acoustic guitars (along with a harmonica for Hooper) for stripped down versions of their best known songs. It was a pretty mellow show, with lots of interesting storytelling, even if it wasn't about the song at hand and the duo's harmonies were still bang on. Here are some notes:

•  The show at the Park Theatre was sold out. It was a seated event, rush seating which I always dislike because you have to arrive early when the doors open to get a decent seat. I don't like being too close to the front, so I chose to sit maybe 3 or 4 rows from the back in front of the soundboard and dead centre, so the stereo sound is balanced.
• The setlist touched on all their studio albums and performed two new songs. I Live For You (Hooper) and Blanket In The Sun (Kane). They played a request, which meant they bumped a "well-known popular song". I'm guessing it must have been, O Lucky Man, one of their best songs. The first encore song, You And Your Sister, is a Chris Bell (Big Star) cover. During the song I was thinking about how much they remind me of the Posies, or at least when Ken and Jon perform duo acoustic sets (the Posies play a lot of Big Star covers and played in the "reunited" version of Big Star). Both groups key strengths are their harmonies, though the Posies can rock a lot harder.
• The recording sounds really great! The sound at the Park Theatre is always good, at least when I've been there and the vocals and guitars are crystal clear. I wish I set the levels a bit higher, as it's quiet at times so you have to turn the volume up, but be forewarned the applause is loud! The good thing about seated, acoustic concerts is that people don't talk during the songs, but people still shout out stupid stuff between. 
• Overall, I wasn't disappointed. Acoustic shows are okay, though I prefer the full band performances, but as a performer it must be nice to connect with your audience and not have your ears blasted night after night. With a majority of the crowd around my age or older and lots of white hair around, at least I didn't feel like I was the oldest in the room. Yikes!

Enjoy! 

 

  

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use.

Please share!

 

 

Grapes Of Wrath
Park Theatre
Winnipeg, MB
March 26, 2026

Audience Master
Acoustic Duo

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> SD card> 24 bit wav> 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC

SET 1
01. Intro.
02. Do You Want To Tell Me
03. You May Be Right
04. Misunderstanding
05. I Live For You
06. A Dream
07. Mexico
08. Blind
09. I Can't Find My Home
10. Backward Town
11. What Was Going Through My Head

SET 2
12. Good To See You
13. Isn't There
14. Stay
15. Blanket In The Sun
16. Like A Fool
17. Peace Of Mind
18. I Am Here
19. All The Things I Wasn't
ENCORE
20. You And Your Sister
21. A Very Special Day

Kevin Kane- vocals, guitar
Tom Hooper- vocals, guitar, harmonica

 

GRAPES OF WRATH- 2026-03-26, Park Theatre, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar

 

Grapes Of Wrath- Walker Theatre, Winnipeg, MB. October 25, 1991

 

 

It's already March and I finally attended my first concert of the year, this past Saturday at the Park Theatre, The Fuse, a local treasure, that are celebrating their 50th anniversary. For the past decade or so, The Fuse have played an annual fundraiser (once a year) usually in March and I make an effort to attend. I've also bought a ticket and a flight for a concert in Vancouver, in April (more details on that in a later post), which I am very excited about and I return to the Park Theatre this week, March 26 for the Grapes of Wrath Acoustic Duo show. With this spattering of shows this early in the year, my hope is that 2026 will be my return to watching more live music. I've had a bit of a dry spell the past few years and I really do enjoy watching concerts and the next two I definitely need to record!

 

To get you warmed up for the Grapes of Wrath event this week, I dug up a live recording (not mine) from 1991, when the band was arguably in their height touring These Days, before Kevin Kane left the band in 1992. They've reformed and released more records since, but their heyday was definitely in the late 80's/early 90's, with classic albums, Treehouse and Now And Again. This recording is almost 35 years old and the historic Walker Theatre, has since been renamed the Burton Cummings Theatre. I don't usually buy "bootleg" live recordings, but I found it in the used CD bin of a local record store several years ago and I was intrigued, because I've never seen or heard this before (why didn't I go?). I saw the band during the Now And Again tour in 1989, when the opener was a somewhat unknown, Sarah McLachlan. The sound quality here is excellent, as it's a radio broadcast (probably CBC) and the show is a good length, my version is 2 CD's. I don't know exactly what to expect with this recent acoustic tour that lands here on Thursday, but I will try to get a good recording, stay tuned!

Enjoy! 

 

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use.

Please share!

 

 

GRAPES OF WRATH
Walker Theatre
Winnipeg, MB
October 25, 1991
FM Broadcast> CD> FreeRip> Wave> FLAC

Disc 1
01. Away
02. Stay
03. The Most
04. You May Be Right
05. Thru To You
06. I Can Tell
07. I Can't Find My Way Home
08. Backward Town
09. The Time Is Near
10. All The Things I Wasn't

Disc 2
01. Travelin'
02. Days
03. I Am Here
04. Peace Of Mind
05. A Fishing Tale
06. What Was Going Through My Head
07. Miracle
08. Oh Lucky Man
09. See Emily Play

GRAPES OF WRATH- 1991-10-25 Walker Theatre, Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar

 

Grapes Of Wrath- "Just Concerts" CBC Broadcast 2000 (NEW Link!)

 

I had a request a few weeks ago to re-up the link for the Grapes Of Wrath show I posted in 2013. The link wasn't working, but it now works! So I thought I would re-post to remind you to listen to this great sounding recording from this excellent Canadian band!

Enjoy!

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use.

Please share!

 

 

GRAPES OF WRATH

Railway Club

Vancouver, BC

March 4, 2000

CBC "Just Concerts" Broadcast

FM> Audio CD> FreeRip> FLAC> rar
FM Master

01. Intro
02. You May Be Right
03. Do You Want To Tell Me
04. Hitchhiker
05. Black Eye
06. Peace Of Mind
07. All The Things I Wasn't
08. I Am here
09. Unsatisfied (Replacements)

(Thanks to LeonD for updating the proper date of the show!)

GRAPES OF WRATH- 2001 Railway Club, Vancouver, BC FLAC. rar

The Grapes Of Wrath Are Back!

I can't remember the exact date, but I'm pretty sure it was in 1989 (I actually can't find the ticket stub), as they toured in support of their album, Now And Again when I last saw The Grapes Of Wrath at Le Rendezvous. The Rendezvous wasn't a great place to see a band, it had this cavernous, warehouse feel to it, like a social hall or large bar that never had great sound, but it hosted some good shows. The size of the venue was larger than a bar (The Albert, Spectrum), but smaller than a theatre or concert hall, a middle-size venue that featured mid-range popular bands or bigger-name alternative bands. I saw some good stuff there, Mojo Nixon, Guadalcanal Diary, Scruffy The Cat (opening for 54-40, who I didn't care for), Wilco and the last band I ever saw there, The Weakerthans.

When I went to the Grapes Of Wrath I arrived in time to catch the opener, since I'm always interested to see who the headliner brought along on tour. To be honest in those days (in my pre-taping days), I didn't make a huge effort to arrive early as I didn't care how close I sat/stood to the front. Once I started to tape concerts it was crucial to stake out the venue before the show or during the opener to find that sweet spot that combined a balanced mix, close enough to the front to see the band clearly and enough volume to partially drown out the chitter chatter around me (usually the music doesn't drown out the chatter). Anyways, the opener for this Grapes Of Wrath show was emerging singer/songwriter, (and soon to be superstar) Sarah McLaughlan who didn't impress me in the slightest and continues to not impress me not even a little bit. McLaughlan went on to surpass the Grapes in popularity, record sales and probably disposable cash flow. McLaughlan has continued to milk her success through the strength of a couple of huge selling records, Lilith Fair and has become somewhat of a musical icon here in the Great White North...kudos for her...

The Grapes Of Wrath released another album after that tour, These Days in 1991, then broke up when Kevin Kane left the band to go solo. In 1999, Kane and Tom Hooper (vocalist/bass) reunited to play some shows and release an album, Field Trip under the Grapes Of Wrath name (without original drummer, Chris Hooper). They sporadically played together during the 2000's, but a reunion that included Chris Hooper didn't happen until July 2010, the first time the trio played together since 1992. The love continued on to include recording new tracks for a compilation album and a brand new album of all new material, High Road released in March 2013. Hopefully this new record will lead to more live dates this summer and maybe, just maybe they'll head back to Winnipeg, but not at the Le Rendezvous, which is long gone and replaced by condos.

Enjoy!

Heres's a CBC music stream of a concert with the reunited Grapes Of Wrath from the Mod Club in Toronto on October 30, 2012 with guests.

As a bonus, I dug up a recording I taped off the radio in 2001 (?) from the Kevin Kane/Tom Hooper reunited Grapes. Excellent sound with some songs from Field Trip along with some classic tracks. It's almost worth the listen alone for the Replacements cover!

GRAPES OF WRATH
Railway Club
Vancouver, BC
March 4, 2000
CBC "Just Concerts" Broadcast

FM> Audio CD> FreeRip> FLAC> rar
FM Master

01. Intro
02. You May Be Right
03. Do You Want To Tell Me
04. Hitchhiker
05. Black Eye
06. Peace Of Mind
07. All The Things I Wasn't
08. I Am Here
09. Unsatisfied (Replacements)

(thanks to LeonD for the proper date!)

GRAPES OF WRATH- 2001 Railway Club, Vancouver, BC FLAC. rar

Note: the previous link expired (sorry!) This is a new link that should work! (Oct. 1, 2022)