Brian & Kevin (Evans & Doherty)

This is an interesting situation. Let's see if you can follow THIS!

Kevin Evans & Brian Doherty are two Irish guys (from Dungarven, Waterford and Omagh, Tyrone respectively). I met them in Newfoundland many years ago, but they live in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Irene & Bill own Hurley's in Montreal and are friends of mine. So, Brian and Kevin were coming there to play. This was a pretty big deal to me being away from home (and not in Toronto or Fort McMurray where all Newfoundlanders tend to flock). Plus, anybody will tell you that there is nothing like a face from home when you're away from home (especially when it's rare).

Brian and Kevin come to the pub and we have a blast for 3 days. When I say 'we' I mean Irene, Bill, Tim, Rocky, other friends and myself. Those were great weekends!

Then, the boys started playing a Montreal weekend followed by an Ottawa weekend...at the Heart & Crown (Irish Village) because Larry (owner of the Irish Village) is from Omagh, as Brian is. Sooooooooooo, the Montreal gang would often hear Bri & Kev in Montreal and then go to Ottawa the following weekend (or vice versa) and do it all over again. This dual visiting would happen every May, September and either December or January (and sometimes both). This was tradition and very normal. Many, many laughs and pints, and pints, and pints, and chicken sandwiches, and crosswords (Bri). Everybody knows everybody, we're all from all over creation, and we have a heap of fun.

Oh, I have to mention The Old Triangle, the pub that Bri and Kev bought in Halifax in (let's see if I can get this right)....2000? Help, friends! Anyway, this new endeavour the boys came 'on the road' much less. We now see them twice a year in Ottawa and that's about it. They also spend time in Ireland more now and we simply see them less.

That's the skinny on how all that happened (and it went on for years). The funny part about it is that it was always the same. Golfing for Bri and Lar, touring Ottawa and watching soccer matches for the rest of us. Lunch-n-laughs, dinner-n-drink, and it would all start again.

It was great for me because when I moved to Ottawa I already had a local. There is only a short one-hour-thirty-minute drive from one to the other. It also provided me with the nice feeling of having the Montreal gang visit Ottawa once I lived there and missed them and my life there so much.

Brian and Kevin (known to the masses as Evans & Doherty) are my favourite musicians. I say that with grace. They’ve been the wonderful musical duo they are ever since Baby Jesus lay in a manger. I know their Web-site indicates how long they’ve been giving us tunes, but I think it’s been about 30 years. These guys are no spring chickens! I really can’t list the songs of theirs that I love…WAY too long. Kevin’s guitar solo in the Stan Rogers song “Mary Ellen Carter” is known across the country. They have a huge sound for two guys. You should hear them to the Pogue’s “Fairy Tale of New York”, and my personal favourite being a Gerry Rafferty song by the name of “Her Father Didn’t Like Me Anyway”. My definition of a great performer and amazing musician (from the viewpoint of an audience member) is when a group can play a song you absolutely hate…and make you like it. They do that with a few tunes (Black is the Colour, Bri).

These two are funny, good-natured, family people. Their sense of humour matches mine, so I find them even funnier. We’re all about these dark one-liners that are very direct (as politely as I can put it, thank you very much). There is no shortage of crack and banter, great stories, awesome music, and new memories. Always.

At the end of their evening in Montreal they like to sing “Goodnight, Irene” which drives Irene up the wall (and why I believe they do it). They will surely sing the traditional song “Farewell to Nova Scotia” and there will be maritimers screaming and singing (that also tends to happen with Barrett’s even though Stan Rogers was from Ontario). They will sing the Ron Hynes song “Sonny’s Dream” and then the Newfoundlanders make the noise.

Pigs eating the wires, ‘there I was in line at the bank…’, Cindy’s wedding shower paraphernalia (very practical), Brian’s famous night on an Ottawa stage (Lar had been the perfect host all afternoon), and reminiscing.