Scott Woods and his band truly did “fiddle up a storm” at the Royal Purple charity concert on Virden’s Aud Theatre stage, June 13 … and they served up more than promised.
The five-piece band had the crowd coming along, clapping, hooting and when it didn’t seem it could get any better, Scott Woods introduced fiddler, Bruce Hoffman, to Virden stage.
It was well into the two-hour show. The crowd had been treated to “Shingle the Roof”, ballad poetry, “Blue Tango”, step dancing and more when Hoffman hit the stage as the band struck up a fingers-on-fire fiddle tune, “Old Joe Clark”.
Chance meeting
On June 13, Hoffman was bound for Winnipeg to rendezvous with the renowned Sons of the Pioneers for their Winnipeg concert, June 14. He wouldn’t be needing his car there and rode the Greyhound bus. It was stopped at Virden to fuel up and Hoffman went to eat.
When the Calgary musician was munching down a Subway sandwich, he glanced out the window and could hardly believe his eyes. A man he knew passed by outside, a fellow musician from Ontario.
He quickly dialed up music colleague Scott Woods and said, “I think I just saw Pete Piticco’s twin. Are you guys, by any chance, in Virden?”
Scott Woods band was indeed in Virden and from that phone call, Woods offered to have Hoffman in Winnipeg the next day in time for his gig if he wanted to skip the rest of the bus ride and join the Woods band for the night.
That is how and why the Virden audience was treated to two of the best fiddlers in Canada in one show. They played one of the most pleasing Old Time tunes “Golden Slippers” among several other well-loved fiddle tunes.
To finish the evening, four fiddlers - Woods, Hoffman, Kendra Norris and 13-year-old fiddler/step dancer Leo Stock struck up the tune, “Maple Sugar” backed by Guitarist Pete Piticco, drummer Bill Carruthers and bassist Pete Sisk.
