Remembering that Time Garth Hudson Sat in with The Sadies

Back around 2010 I went to hear the fantastic Canadian rock band The Sadies at Bowery Ballroom on the lower east side of Manhattan. They were playing a great raucous live show—in their singular vein of old-timey mind-blown electric country folk featuring two colliding electric guitars in the hands of brothers Dallas and Travis Good plus a hard-driving rhythm section including a stand-up bass—when they suddenly introduced Garth Hudson and his wife Maud to the audience and invited the couple to join them on stage. I recall Garth was in a wheelchair, but he got wheeled in front of a keyboard, and played a few songs with them while Maude struck a tambourine. What a thrill it was! I had seen Garth play with The Band at Watkins Glen in July 1973, in a famous weekend-long extravaganza which also featured The Allman Bros. and the Grateful Dead.

I had a very primitive cell phone in those days, but got this pic, which I was able to put my hand on today when I heard dear old Garth had died, age 87. #RIPGarth #TheBand #TheSadies #CanRock