Excellent performance turns into a shocker

Despite turning in one of their best performances of the tour in North Battleford, Private Sector were greeted by stunning news when they learned opening act Fredrick the Karaoke Cat has ties to terrorist organizations.

The group were informed by RCMP after the show as Frederick was cornered and hauled away in a pet carrier for further questioning.


A shocked Bug Christopher, drummer of Sector summed it up best, "We had no idea what was going on. He seemed like such a quiet cat. This gig could have very easily gone to the dogs."

Donald Barley also expressed his feelings about the new developments as well as former opening act Creeping Jesus- a band of kids who were kicked off the tour after the first gig. "That's what happens when you work with kids and animals."

With the return of Mind the Gap to the opening slot on the tour after a one week hiatus, the band will still search for another solid opener to complement the tour.

The band stops in Saskatoon Saturday.

The last hurrah

Unfortunately for Jill and Amy, the local, dudes in white hats sex offenders registry is not updated in time for Pottahawk.




"This new Bud Lite Lime tastes more like Pottahawk piss water."




"No, seriously Sky, we totally should've like tanned more before we came."




"It's the only way she'll let me touch her breasts."




Until next year....CHEERS!

The T-shirts of 2009 Pottahawk

The Thompson experience

When bands fly into gigs, that usually means they have achieved a level of recognition that is saved for the few.

Private Sector flew into Thompson municipal airport in a twin engine Cessna last Sunday mainly because it was the quickest way to get there.

The performance was to be Monday night, however, the equipment, which had taken the long road of driving into the bush, had still not arrived, leaving Sector scrambling to outfit the show with rag-tag local equipment. As a result, the performance suffered and Sector found themselves playing a mostly unplugged set in between equipment problems and outages. The lighting consisted of a few par cans and two naked light bulbs.

Private Sector had never played Thompson before, blowing out the gig twenty-five years ago when they were originally slated to play there. "Now I can see why", bassist Donald Barley stated emphatically.

The boys head for North Battleford, Sask. for a gig on Thursday.

T-shirts from Pottahawk 2009

Winter comes early

"I can't believe it's so cold here in the middle of Summer," lamented a surprise Bob Stone, keyboardist for Private Sector, but Stone was not a member the last time Sector played in this neck of the woods.

"It was the middle of winter and I'd never been so cold," bassist Donald Barley remembered.

Something from those memories must have crossed over to performance Saturday night, because the show was cold and sluggish, lacking the usual energy of a Sector show. Or, perhaps the knowledge of the next gig in Thompson would take them even closer to the Arctic Circle caused the excitement to fade.

The crowd was still receptive and for the most part enthusiastic, not getting live entertainment very often. Opening act Frederick the Karaoke Cat was a huge hit with the locals and perhaps the saving grace of the entire evening.

Pottahawk overtime

"No seriously, pull my finger."



"Could someone please get these chicks to stop following me."



"Jennifer watch out for that giant seagull."



"Whoa! That giant seagull's shit nearly hit me."



"That's it Strange, you're almost under me now. See how you like it when I drop this beer on your head."

Rage is against the machine.

It was a strange show in Dryden Thursday night as Private Sector found themselves performing to a capacity crowd that was only half full.

Dryden was one of the first gigs on the tour to sell out, yet only half of the tickets sold came through the turnstiles.

Apparently the problem stemmed from a computer glitch that printed Friday's date- the 24th- on half of the tickets.

Last night when those people showed and found they'd missed the band by one night they were none too pleased. The angry mob wasted no time extracting their revenge by over turning cars and looting shops.

Thankfully the band had already moved on to their next tour stop in Flin Flon tonight with new opening act Frederick the Karaoke Cat.

Back by popular demand

Pottahawk....2009....Babes.....need I say more. That's right my friends, Ol' Strange has lovingly ripped off more pics from your favourite day of the year.


"Boy! The water really is cold this year."




"Does anyone need a plumber?"




"I think it's almost time to start using my Koobzie."




The search for Tennile continues.




"Balls? I'll show you balls."




"I'm not supposed to get them wet. I just had them done."

T-shirts of Pottahawk 2009

Opening up to possibilities

Down one opening act already after Creeping Jesus left the tour only one performance deep- Private Sector will lose Mind the Gap who fly home for a gig at the Banshee in Oshawa this weekend.

Still undecided who the replacements will be, Sector has to do some fancy dancing to find another opener in time for performances in Flin Flon and Thompson as the band moves west into Manitoba this weekend revisiting the old haunts they played twenty-five years ago.

It is widely speculated that the band will choose local sensation Fredrick the Karaoke Cat as the opener.

A gig they could sink their teeth into

Finally Private Sector played a show that was more a welcome home than a WTF are we doing here. After a disastrous start to their 2009 tour under unusual circumstances at Pottahawk, Blind River and Thunder Bay, Sector hit their stride with shows in Sioux Lookout- a former stronghold.

Years apart and miles between made no difference as the band lost none of their popularity, or potency and sold out both shows while adding a third Monday night.

Sector drummer Bug Christopher summed it up by saying, "If only they didn't keep the rubbing alcohol behind the counter, I'd move here permanently."

The band was even treated to a good old fashion dust-up in the parking lot afterward as two locals beat the hell out of each other. "It brings a tear to the eye," said bassist Donald Barley.

Private Sector play Dryden on Thursday.

It's all about the Pottahawk babes of 2009

Or valuable chickage. However, I had an unfortunate camera malfunction this year and have had to rely on the kindness of others for the following contributions...which is to say, I have lovingly ripped these pics off from other sites.

So if you haven't seen them- enjoy. If you have- enjoy them yet again.

Let's have a look shall we?




Let the groping begin!




For those who can't afford Sea-doos there are other options.




Hey girls. DUCK!




Nice cans, shame about the face.




Woo-hoo! Our vaginas are stuck together!




Amy, did you just lose a tampon?




And slowly they began to make their plans against us.

Pottahawk T-Shirts of 2009

Amazing yard sale finds

This week I went looking for rare albums only. You'd be amazed at what I found.

The T-shirts of Pottahawk 2009

Pottahawk celebrity sightings

Gerard Butler was spotted at this year's piss-up, apparently pumped as he popped his Pottahawk cherry. "THIS!... IS!...POTTAHAWK!"

Out of the darkness...well, not quite

Private Sector continued their 09 tour at the Jolly Roger Club in Thunder Bay, a place where they performed first over 25 years ago.

Private Sector bassist and spokesman Donald Barley said, "It's great to see the old girl again." He wasn't talking about the club , but the afternoon stripper who graced the stage, Annabelle Star has been a staple at the Jolly Roger for the past 30 years.

Unfortunately for the band the electrical box at the Jolly Roger has also been a staple at the club for the past 30 years and the band found themselves performing in darkness most of the night and having to switch to an acoustic set of unplugged music. It was a performance that seemed even stranger given the beefed up heavy metal appearance of the band.

The band now head for Sioux Lookout for shows Saturday and Sunday.

The search continues

For the perfect opening act to replace Creeping Jesus on the Private Sector- Disputin Rasputin Tour The latest to be considered, but summarily dismissed is:



Meet: Claes Lennarth Club

Where they're from: Sweden

What they sound like: Think Abba with hemorrhoids and anal bleeding.

Claim to fame: Made semi-finals of Sweden's Got Funky Hair.

The Pottahawky goes to.....

The award for best game at Sunday's Pottahawk festivities wasn't piggy-back water fights, it wasn't beer bonging, it wasn't even Piss-water volleyball. My selection for best game this year had to be Toilet seat horse-shoes followed closely by the beer cooler races. Although the cooler races were at the dock and not at the Hawk so they only receive honorable mention.

Just like the old days

If ever there were a documentary in the waiting about the pitfalls of road touring, forget Spinal Tap, Private Sector are a prime candidate.

After what was the Pottahawk debacle, the band continued on their Disputin' Rasputin tour where they revisited all their old haunts from back in the day- this meant a trip to Blind River, Ontario was in order- the place where it all began.

However, when Sector arrived for their gig Wednesday night they found a stage ridiculously small that half the band had to set up and play in the parking lot, much to the delight of the unfortunate locals who couldn't get tickets to see the band in the tiny club.

Sector also continued to search for an appropriate opening act after Creeping Jesus where ejected from the bill after the first performance.

Next stop: Thunder Bay on Friday.

Back to normal by the numbers

The 50 greatest trailers....and by trailers I mean movie trailers, not redneck trailers.....or do I?

The 50 funniest street signs

The 50 most bizarre Google Earth images.

The search begins

With the tour already in chaos after only one performance, Private Sector find themselves in the precarious position of having to find a new opening act to complement the tour.

This meant Wednesday's gig in Blind River had to use local talent and make one, Harry "Washboard" Gilden, a very happy man with his rib-bone on washboard routine. The crowd did not seem as delighted so the search will continue as suitors are already lining up.

Meet: Uber Glasbergen Blitzkrieg
Where they're from: Germany
What they play: Think B-52's beat with a hammer.
Claim to fame so far: Fredrick Von Hubb- Lead singer once ate 28 Oktoberfest sausages.

Pottahawk 2010 it all starts here

I just wanted to be the first to list Pottahawk twenty-ten, the Chinese year of the trouser snake.

I will start the road off with a bunch of awards for the 2009 affair. Today I would like to post, what I feel, was the best sailing vessel of the day and I heard it also impressed the judges at the end of the day.

Cleeborn Southmyre from Deerborn Michigan congratulations for your....whatever that thing is. You`re a braver man than I.

Best day ever....hmmm

So Pottahawk has come and gone for yet another year. The weather, for the most part was spectacular, yet I can`t help thinking something was missing from this year- a sense of living on the edge perhaps....

For those who stayed out at the point on Saturday night, I`m not talking about the pounding the boats received when the wind shifted. I refer to the dangerously risky` nature of the participants that always materializes every year.

Sure their were a lot of people and Broadway was loaded as were many of the passers by, but that sense....the one where you feel something special, something wild, something truly unusual was going to happen, never appeared.

It`s not like we were out of position- sitting dead-centre of the first row at Broken Tree.

Was it the unusually colder water that no amount of urine could warm, I don`t know, but something was remiss.

Over the next X plus weeks I will explore the phenomenon that was this year`s Pottahawk, giving you the best of the t-shirts I spotted there, the Johnny Wad and Boo sightings and any other tid-bits I feel necessary to send your way.