The Tisdale Arts Council presented to Tisdale "Chuck & Albert" on Saturday, March 27th in the Maurice Taylor Performing Arts Theatre. It was no surprise that the theatre was sold out as Tisdale people only get a few opportunities each year to attend a live performance.

Chuck Arsenault and his brother Albert (Al-bear) are outstanding Acadian musicians. Chuck plays guitar and Albert plays an awesome fiddle. Though their music was the and is the core of their show they filled the evening with mime, some jigging and their version of a two man circus. But here is the amazing part of the show. Not one of their songs was in English and even the dialogue was a basic translation sprinkled with Acadian French.

The audience seemed to have no problem that only a few patrons actually had a clue about what was being sung in each song. The reason of course is that the performers were really really good.

They began the show with an instrumental piece that made my head shake because this was the sort of music I associated with "down east" television shows and it was a shocker to see and hear that music being played live. Microphones on the floor were there to capture the tapping and stomping that went along with each and every number.

The mime and novelty acts was carried off with a marvellous level of professionalism and some really outstanding sound affects. Besides the two on stage performers the show included two roadies who made everything come to life while being completely unseen.

Two parts in the second portion of the show really stood out. A volunteer was brought up from the audience to put on a costume that went with the song being sung and that was really well done. The second stand out was the circus act with some mime gymnastics and a large portion of showmanship.

The show ended with a well deserved standing applause as it was clear the Tisdale crowd loved the show, French songs and all.