Head Tale

It was a long, inevitable farewell.

After announcing his Early Onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2014, John Mann, lead singer and frontman of the seminal 90’s Canadiana band, Spirit of the West, embarked on a farewell tour with the band in 2014.

Shea and I got to see this show and it reminded me of why, in many ways, Spirit of the West was the most influential band of my life.  They were the soundtrack of my college years, a guaranteed call-to-the-dance floor at most of my friend’s weddings, provided the lyrics I chose to post on my dorm room door during my England exchange to remind me of home, and wrote a song I consider Shea’s and my “song” which is the ringtone I hear to this day when she calls me.

At the time, I wrote this about the concert:

I’m not sure what song it was but at one point, early in the show, my eyes welled up with tears – simply from watching him dance, as he always does, with gleeful abandon, and so many thoughts hit me – how we’re all getting older, we’re all dealing with different serious issues – our own health, the health of our loved ones and everything else that life throws at us – and yet, here was a man who’s just past 50, facing a serious medical diagnosis that will make his brain and memories wilt away and yet, he’s still dancing as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Tragically gone too soon, his songwriting was brilliant to the end:

…but the unbridled joy of his dancing which is how I’ll always remember him (you may have to fast forward to 4:04):