Moncton is about an hour and a half drive from Fredericton,
and we decided to take the scenic route to enjoy the morning! So we followed
the Saint John River up on the north side until we caught up to the Trans
Canada in Jemseg. . About a half a kilometer before we were done following the
river we pulled over and watched a bald eagle about 15 feet in front of us sit
on a piece of driftwood along the river. Now that’s worth taking the long way!
Great way to start off the morning!
Pulled into Moncton shortly after 8AM and went directly to
the record expo. We always like to get there early to get the full selection of
the vinyl. Usually I just walk around these expos aimlessly and spend all of my
money on the first batch of cool albums I see, but I approached this expo a
little different. I actually made a list to bring with me! So this time I still
walked around aimlessly, looking even dumber with a list in my hand!
The number one item on my list was the “Concert for Bangladesh”
triple lp. I am finishing a book by Chris O’Dell who helped organize this
concert with George Harrison and really wanted to hear this concert (and own
the lp!). I’ll be finishing the book this evening and plan on writing a review
of it very soon, so stay tuned! My entire venture at the expo was based on
finding this one album.
When I first arrived I started going through the unoccupied crate
of records I could find. Turned out to be Kevin Beal’s vinyl! Kevin is the
owner of Black Buffalo records in Halifax and co-organizer of the Halifax
Record Fair! I actually have an interview from him that I plan on posting this
week. Kevin’s table was set alongside Phil MacDonald’s, the other organizer of
the Halifax Record Fair (See Phil’s interview here). It was good to actually
meet these guys. I do a lot of emailing back and forth but never actually had
the opportunity to meet them. I’ll admit
these guys really had some great vinyl, and well-priced! I always find a few
vendors at these events that think their vinyl is gold and charge three times what
their worth, but not these guys. Great fair prices! I bought a few from them.. “Queen Live Killers” and “Dylan’s Pat Garrett
and Billy the Kid”. Great condition! (I am so picky about condition of vinyl,
too picky really..)
No Bangladesh lp’s!
I made it to a few other vendors and picked up some common
lps. Like “The Car’s” lp I wanted. These common records are not usually worth
the shipping on eBay, so I really try to take advantage of finding them at
these events (and of course record stores in general).
I ventured to Birdman Records table! These guys are from
Ottawa (see interview here) and had some great vinyl! A lot of cool colored lp’s
and picture discs. They really had a great selection of high end albums. They
treated me great as well.. I got a nice copy of “Blind Faith” and they threw
in a copy of “Live Cream”.. This was very kind.. especially when I never ask
for a deal.. If vinyl is priced fair I’ll buy it with no bargaining.. If it is
overpriced.. I don’t even bother trying to get a fair price out of them.. If
they don’t realize they are overpriced, they will learn. If they do realize,
stop ripping people off!
Still no Bangladesh lp’s!
Another lp I was looking for was “Queen – self titled”. I
found a great copy of this at Scheherazade Books table. I have bought records from
them before and always enjoy talking vinyl with the owner. Great guy! I also
got a nice “George Harrison” lp!
Still no Bangladesh lps!
Went to a few other tables and picked up a “Leon Russell”
album I was looking for as well as a “Mary Hopkin”.. About ready to call it a
day when I decided to just yell out to the Vinyl God’s above…. “Does anyone
have the “Concert for Bangladesh” LP’s????”
“I do!”…... who is it? None other than the guy who sells at
the Fredericton flea market.. That’s right, my home town!!.. Who would have
thought! He had an absolute near mint copy including the booklet and the brown
paper sleeves!! Cue the fireworks!! the dog catching a frisbee!!.. Somewhere an Angel finally gets her wings!! Whoo Hoo!!
So overall it was a great day for vinyl collecting. My 5
month old Daughter was a huge hit with all the music fans! Marty pulled off
another great record expo and I am already anxious for the fall expo! Good to
see a lot of you there!
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