LOCKPORT — Now that the 2010 Molson Canal Concert Series has wrapped up, it is time to take a moment to reflect on the concerts.

This year’s coverage included reviews of every concert and exclusive interviews with eight of the nine headliners, making the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal the premier source of information about the series.

This year’s series was blessed not only with a solid lineup, but the weather was also nearly perfect for every single show, quite a feat in this area.

The two longest shows of the seasons were the bookends, series opener Rusted Root and series closer Big Sugar, both of whom pushed the two-hour mark (but Rusted Root played slightly longer). While a typical concert runs around an hour and a half, Rusted Root and Big Sugar both gave the crowd a healthy dose of music, and the crowd stayed until the last note was played.

Largest crowd is a tough one, since all the shows were well-attended, but most people I have talked to say that Our Lady Peace wins for the second year in a row, with honorable mention going to Tears for Fears.

Regardless of the size of the crowd, almost every artist remarked on his website what a great time they had in Lockport.  One thing that is great about the crowds at the shows is that they seem to know the music. In turn, the bands feed off the energy.

Because the lineup is diverse, the crowds are diverse, and they compliment the core group of regulars. Let’s face it, people coming to see Our Lady Peace are not likely to come back for Gretchen Wilson or Three Dog Night, which means there are a lot of different people attending these shows

Picking a best concert musically is tough. Many people mentioned Rik Emmett as the best show musically, and others mentioned Big Sugar. As much as I loved both artists, Rusted Root played an amazing show, only slightly better than Rik and Big Sugar, but better nonetheless in my opinion. There was some criticism leveled at the promoters for opening with the same two acts two years in a row, but in my opinion Rusted Root should open the series every year, since it substantially changes its set from show to show and is still a great draw.

For best concert sonically, Tears For Fears’ sound was crystal clear, but one thing Lockport has on all the other free concerts in the area is sound quality. The sound at Lockport shows is simply fantastic, especially considering that there are some major challenges to overcome, like sound bouncing off buildings in the Ulrich City Center. This year, I ventured around a bit more and was really impressed at the lack of dead spots

Last year, Mrs. Jennings fell in love with Sass Jordan so much so that we paid to see her this year. This year, she loved Gretchen Wilson and left the Ulrich City Centre with a T-shirt and other memorabilia. Special thanks go out to Mayor Michael Tucker for getting Tracy and her friend Laura in to meet Gretchen Wilson. There still isn’t a day that goes by when they don’t talk about meeting her and what a great show Wilson put on.

Blues Traveler’s version of Sublime’s “What I Got,” was simply spectacular and is tied with Big Sugar’s stellar version of the BTO’s “Let it Ride” for best cover song. Some honorable mentions include Gretchen Wilson’s version of Foreigner’s “Hot Blooded” and Rusted Root’s version of Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.” Both Wilson and Big Sugar played “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Three Dog Night gets the award for the funniest moment of the series, when Buffalo Native Cory Wells did a rap version of “Eli’s Coming,” complete with “bling” and a sideways hat. Blues Traveler also pranced onstage with some funny glasses and blinking hats.

The best encores of the series included Kansas’ blistering version of “Carry on Wayward Son,” and Rik Emmett’s “Magic Power.” Thankfully, none of the bands hung out backstage too long before coming back for an encore, and all of the audiences were loud enough to get their attention. Another reason Lockport is such a great venue is that people don’t leave in waves before the end of the show.

Overall, it turned out to be a great series. I had a great time interviewing the artists and meeting a lot of them in person. Special thanks go out to Kathy Paradowski, Dave Taylor, Tim Sorely, and Tucker, all of whom were extremely accommodating.  Each week, it was great to hang out with the folks from Backstageaxess.com, Glena Photgraphy, Dave Cash, Ray Enzina, “Tiny” and Jim McGee, just to name a few.

The real pleasure has been working with night editor Karen Keefe, who greeted me each week with a smile when I stopped by the office before the show, and Joe Eberle, a great photographer who’s fun to work with, especially when chatting with fans in the front row, and Tim Marren for giving me this great opportunity.

Finally, thanks to all the readers and people who support the series. I may not live in Lockport, but there is no place I would rather be on a Friday night in the summer than hanging out with all of you. See you next year.