Steve Morse
June 15 1987, Diamond, Toronto, ON, Canada
Night Of 1,000 Guitars a star-studded tribute to rare cultural detente
By Craig MacInnis Toronto Star
Not so long ago, our good friend the guitar seemed a little strung out.
Micro chips and synthesizers were rallying their forces to short-circuit the trusty six-string
in every genre from rock 'n' roll to jazz.
But forget it. Yesterday's Night Of 1,000 Guitars bowled over the new-fangled opposition in an
eclectic, powerful wave that proved the guitar is still man's best friend, a faithful and
surprising companion who never lets a guy down.
It would have been particularly hard to let these guys down, these superstars of the fretboard
who happily convened at the Diamond (along with a sweaty, heated-up capacity crowd) to pay
homage, to celebrate, to indulge themselves in the sheer giddiness of string-bending
brotherhood.
Make that sisterhood, too. Liona Boyd, Canada's classical first-lady, was one of several
stylists to lend her support to the event, a fund-raising fantasy in aid of Guitar '87, the
classical guitar festival that opens Monday in Roy Thomson Hall and runs through June 26.
Evening of snapshots
But Night Of 1,000 Guitars - sounds kind of biblical, doesn't it? - became much more than a
well-conceived promotional stunt. By the end of the first set, led for the most part by emcee
Rik Emmett of Toronto rock band Triumph, a star-studded roster of disparate talents had turned
the night into a monument to cultural detente.
It laid to rest the silly rivalries and petty jealousies that may have existed between rock and
classical, jazz and country, blues and flamenco.
It brought them together, generously allowing each idiom its say before romping on to the next.
It was, more than anything, an evening of snapshots:
* Rik Emmett trading quiet riffs with Canadian jazz great Ed Bickert in a lonesome version of
"Suitcase Blues".
* Rocker Kim Mitchell leaning against the back bar, watching quietly as Emmett tore up the
strings in a rendition of Triumph's "Stranger In A Strange Land".
* Bill Garrett and Curly Boy Stubbs exchanging rustic licks in an old train song.
* And young Toronto virtuoso Gordie O'Brien hushing the raucous crowd with his deft classical
figures.
Finally there was American guitar hero Steve Morse joining Emmett and the band for a burn-down
medley of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Back In The U.S.S.R.".
An older man at the back of the room, likely there in support of the Guitar '87 cause and not
necessarily a dyed-in-the-wool rocker, turned to his lady friend, flashed a big smile, and
said, "Those two play very well together, don't they?"
Summed up the evening rather nicely, I think.
- The Toronto Star, June 16, 1987