Friday night explosion at the Canadian (photos)

As I crouched in front of Grady front man, Gordie "Grady" Johnson, and busied myself snapping photos of the guitar virtuoso, I wondered where this mystery liquid I was getting misted with was coming from.

I looked around for the jerk who thought it would be cool to spray the crowd with beer.

Turns out that jerk didn't exist.

Not at this concert anyway.

I soon realized the mystery mist was sweat spraying from Johnson's guitar strings.

The same sweat that left permanent stains in the finish of his beautiful red Gibson SG.

That's the definition of a hard working guitar player.

Grady's Friday night appearance at the Canadian Night Club marked the long-awaited, highly anticipated return of Johnson to the Sault after building up a sizable loyal following through his numerous visits fronting the now-defunct Big Sugar.

"C'mon Sault Ste. Marie! I know you can rock better than that. I've been here before," he said, coaxing the shy audience out of the shadows to the front of the stage.

"I didn't drive all the way from Austin, Texas to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to play an empty swimming pool."

With that, the front of the stage was packed and Grady exploded into 90 minutes of some of the fiercest cowboy metal known to man.

Notorious for changing drummers more often than changing a baby's diaper - he even joked about this with Crank Sound Distribution guru George Ravlich prior to the show - Johnson recently recruited the tiny and unassuming Nina Singh to man...er...woman the skins.

But don't let her petite stature fool you, folks.

Drumbelina, as Johnson affectionately dubbed her, hammered out the beats with demon-like force.

I guess the age-old adage is true.

Behind every rockin' man is a wicked, wicked woman.

Long tall Texan, "Big Ben" Richardson on bass capped off the decibels almost to the point of sound system failure.

With two Grady albums to draw material from, 2004's Y.U. So Shady? and 2007's Cup of Cold Poison, Johnson also selected a few choice Big Sugar tunes for inclusion in the evening's set list.

However, most fan requests for Big Sugar numbers were met with, "No, that band broke up," or "Sorry, we don't do that song," and "We're not a cover band."

He seemed genuinely tickled that Chili Cold Blood, a Grady original from Cup of Cold Poison, was greeted with the loudest audience reaction of the evening.

Big Sugar officially disbanded in 2004 and Johnson has moved on.

I suppose it's time his fans do as well.

Any fan of Big Sugar will appreciate Johnson's transformation from the sharp-dressed Hugo Boss blues guy to the cowboy hat and boot-clad southern gentleman determined to carve a fresh genre.

He has always had a knack for leaving audiences dumbfounded with his live performances.

It was nice to see they continue to be second to none and I couldn't be happier with my baptism by sweat.

Gordie Johnson is the greatest Canadian export since Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and instant mashed potatoes.

Sault Ste. Marie's own Wishbone kicked the night off with a solid set of original rock material.

They were followed by a surprisingly spirited set from Murder City Sparrows whose 2005 E.P. was produced by Johnson.

With a debut full-length album slotted for release this fall, expect to hear more from the Toronto-based indie rock band.