My most memorable evening at Le HiBou was a Sunday evening amateur night. All us guitar players were waiting for the doors to open; I noticed one particular hick-looking tall, lanky dude with a cheap guitar slung over his back with nothing more than a piece of rope for a guitar strap. The guy in charge of the night's line-up (Dave Nickle?) usually tried to get the cheesy acts out of the way first, so this country hick was one of the first ones up. In his inital shy patter, he described Murray McLauchlan as his musical hero and sang "Farmer's Song". The audience rolled their eyes... his apparent fake southern accent lent a - you know - hick's interpretation to the otherwise folksie song. For his next song, he went on to describe that depending on what drug he was on, he could do an impression of one or another famous singer. He said "I took'em all tonight, so here I go!". Everyone chuckled. Well, he performed the most kick-ass medley of country and folk songs, each one mimicking the song's original performer's voice with perfect timing and comedic intelligence that had the crowd on their feet in uproarious applause. Everyone was looking at each other in utter surprise; we were obviously in the presence of uncommon talent. After a long standing ovation, he strapped his cheap guitar across his back and exited out the door onto Sussex Drive without a single look over his shoulder. Who knows where his next gig was...

I will always remember Lehibou,other places are somewhat blurry in my mind,but that little coffee house place left an imprint on my life forever,Cofee houses seemed to be the in thing back in those days,more so then bars,Just like the cofee houses in Yorkville Toronto,Ottawa poets and musicians and song writers also got thier start here,I will always be gratful ,and will chersh those memories forever,;)

In the 1960s my sister’s friends included Pierre Paul Lafreniere and Peter Hodgson (Sneezy Waters). I started working as a kitchen helper at Le Hibou in June 1967, preparing food, waiting tables for the lunch crowd. By day it was a popular place to eat – public servants, tourists. In the evening it was a happening place for music and theatre. When Joni Mitchell arrived in June ’67 I crept upstairs to her dressing room after the lunch crowd was gone. Her little white minidress hung on a hanger on the door, ready for her evening performance. Did I dare touch it? I’m not saying! My sisters and I enjoyed many a show at Hibou over the years. Corky Kealey of Heaven’s Radio had been in my high school class and I remember Corky on drums at Hibou. I recall grooving to Jim Kweskin’s jug band and getting a kazoo, singing “Keep on truckin’, Mama, truckin’ til the break of day…”. My father brought all his daughters to Hibou to see Woyzeck. Cool dad, he was. Years later I heard a rumour that George Harrison had been in the audience of some show, wearing sunglasses. I don’t know if it’s true but I hope so. Hibou was the scene to be in when I was young.

Oh my goodness, what wonderful memorys come to mind. Denis Faulkner's Cafe Le Hibou had the most amazing Sunday night Hootnannys and of course thanks to Peter Paul Lafreniere, the best sounding PA system ! Thanks Peter Paul, you made us sound great ! My life long friend Tom Gamble, and I used to go and preform at the Sunday night Hootnannys and test out our original material to see how and if, it would go over well. I specificaly recall one of our songs entitled " Never Measure Up To You " went over extremly well with a resounding call from the audience for more. Tom's brother Dan Gamble, wrote the lyric for the song and dedicated it to his fiance Barb. They were in attendence that evening and were glowing in the aftermath of the audiences reaction to our song. Perhaps that was the Turning Point to thier relationship as they went on to marry and have two wonderful daughters Sierra and Shannon. Tom and I went on from there developing our original material and musical skills playing venues throught the Ottawa/Hull region. We were lucky enough to put a Band together in the late 70's called "Small Change". Small Change consisted of myself, Tom Gamble, Micheal Bate, Peter Fredette and his brother Robin Fredette. We hooked up with the late great Le Hibou Star & Legend.... Colleen Peterson, and played with her throught Ontario promoting her 3rd Album. My most memorable Gig with Colleen Peterson and the Small Change Band was at Squire's Tavern on Rideau Street. The lineup to get in to see our show extended from Squire's Tavern (Friends & Company now ?) to King Edward Street. To this day I truly believe that none of that would have ever happened had it not been for those Sunday night Hootnannys at Le Hibou. Hibou was such an incredible place, I've never forgotten that amazing feeling of playing in a place along with the likes of Bruce Cockburn, James Cotton Blues Band, Sneezy Waters, David Wiffen, Richy Patterson, Frank Koller, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, and the latest rumor being George Harrison in the crowd ...just to name a few lol. With all the incredible amount of non ending talent we have all witnessed back then whether it be original music, cover tunes, poetry etc etc, the persona of Le Hibou past stills lives on today. This amazing web site proves it ! Thanks so much for creating it. Over the last decade or so I've hosted a few Open Stages around the Ottawa area in the hope of keeping the persona of those Sunday night Le Hibou Hootnanny Spirits alive. Through those Open Stages I have found that we are so blessed to have so many wonderful local up and coming Artists, it's good to know that some things never die. Many thanks for those wonderful CBC Le Hibou videos a few years back, they certainly proved that old school is still new school. Lastly, thank you so much Denis Faulkner, and Pierre Paul Lafreniere, for creating and continuing Cafe Le Hibou. It truly was/is one of Ottawa's most original, creative artistical venues ever created. I look forward to reading the many many storys to come and all of the sweet wonderful cherished memorys from all of those people who were so fortunate to have experienced the Hibou Experience !

Thank you for the website, and the memories, Denis. Le Hibou played a big part in my formative years of music appreciation in the Ottawa area. Blues is my favorite music to this day, due in large part to the experience of seening live performances at Le Hibou by musicians such as James Cotton, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, and so many other amazing talents! Merci, Denise Woodland Barnes

My favorite evening out of many at Le Hibou was Larry Coryell - with Miroslav Vituous (hope I spelled that right). I turned down an evening of love-making with a beatify person names "Donna" to go and see Larry. It was worth it. He was just making the move to becoming the best jazz guitarist on the planet, inventing jazz-rock, and he delivered the full Monty. Thank you Dennis.

I came from a small village in the Ottawa Valley and a good friend who was attending Carleton U took me to Le Hibou to see Tom Rush. I was familiar with the name but not so much with his music. I was so impressed with that intimate concert that I went out and bought his LP. During his Le Hibou performance when he introduced the band he called himself 'little Timmy Rush'. The same band introduction is used on the LP.

OB introduced his record, Baudy Songs and Backroom Ballads, vol. 1. One of the most vulgar songs, Sam Hall, is even on Wikipedia. In the middle of the song, a very young couple came in. Brand changed the words in mid-phrase to "... Gall darn your eyes, Son-of-a-gun, Shucks." There was some kind of issue about public decency, and Le Hibou was one of the only places he could sing the songs.

I though this needed a link here: http://www.openbookontario.com/news/profile_william_hawkins_few_questions

Worked on and off for a couple of years at Hibou when John and his wife were the owners, hitch hiked miles to get there, loved every minute, i saw so many acts i would never have had a chance to see any where else. i brought a friend once, Joey Probst, he was a great musician and John put him on as an opener to Odetta, he was terrified but she encouraged him and he was great. No amount of money could buy these memories, thanks for them

Dropped by after performing at the Arts Centre decades ago...and, yes, cafes were big in Ottawa, Montreal and TO. How fortunate we're we!

In 1967 I spent many hours at Le Hibou. It was the place to be and I loved every minute spent there.

Denis, Hats off to you for all you contributed when Ottawa was known as a "boring town", where you could throw a bowling ball down Bank St. at 8 p.m. and it wouldn't hit anything; when it was as "White" as snow, and as conservative as Queen Elizabeth II. The subversive offerings of goulash, and Turkish coffee, and the amazing theater performed right in your midst made it memorable. I saw an unforgettable, for a 17 yrs old, performance of Chekov's The Seagull. I regret not having seen Irving Layton perform his equally subversive poetry. I would gladly have stayed in the long line up that winter night. But, I did interview a budding Gord Lightfoot in the late 1960s for the Fisher Park High School Newspaper, at the Le Hibou before he stepped on stage. Like Paul Harris Duncan, I moved to BC. Btw, Paul, I'm in Nelson (p_madertte@yahoo.com) :) Thanks again Denis!

George was most assuredly there that night ..He came to Ottawa to rendezvous and connect with Eric Anderson who was performing at Le Hibou..From Ottawa they both flew back to London where Eric made his first LP under the Apple label, preceding James Taylor's Baby Jane also recorded there ..George was bundled up and wore a large hat..It was not pleasant outside so this seemed unremarkable ...I believe John Rouseau was on that night and delivered an announcement after George left along the lines of "For those of you that may not know......" Also Jorma Kaukonan's brother went to Ottawa U and Jorma visited him while touring with the Jefferson Airplane ..He too would grace those brushed brick walls ...

I remember playing After Hours at Hibou with Child, probably around 1971-72. Although the details are fuzzy (funny how that happened), there was the sense that we really enjoyed it. The sun may have been rising during load-out. We wrote a song titled "Smiling John" and used to do it all over Ottawa and the area. Unfortunately, we never recorded it. Hibou was a unique place in a special time...sadly, now long gone.

When I was a student at Fisher Park High School in the mid to late sixties my music teacher was Russ Thomas. Since Mr. Thomas was a highly respected and accomplished jazz musician in his own right, I was doubly blessed, in that he took me under his wing and mentored me as a burgeoning guitar player. He played all the reed instruments exceptionally well and he could also play guitar. As well as playing professional gigs with Russ on the weekends, he would often take me to jazz concerts in Ottawa and as far as Montreal to hear and sometimes meet great jazz players like, Bill Evans, Roland Kirk, Nelson Symonds and Freddy Hubbard. It was on one of these occasions that Russ (who eventually changed his name to Sayyd Abdul Al-Khabyyr) took me to Le Hibou on Sussex Drive to meet and hear the great guitarist, Lenny Breau. It was the first time I had ever gone to Le Hibou. I remember timidly following my teacher up the stairs to the dressing room in the club (coffee house) where Lenny was preparing for his gig that night. Russ introduced me, a very shy seventeen year old at the time, to one of the word's greatest guitarists, Lenny Breau. I was awestruck. That evening, after getting Lenny's permission, Russ, who had an ebony flute with him, sat in with him. They played two tunes together at Le Hibou: a free blues and The Girl From Ipanema. I will never forget hearing Lenny's cascading harmonics on Jobim's composition as they echoed through the tiny club. I heard several other guitarists at Le Hibou over the years, including Larry Coryell, and I have heard many other guitarists all over the world since, but no other performance was as memorable, or as exhilarating, as my front table seating and first experience hearing Lenny Breau at Le Hibou that night in the sixties. James McCreavy (professional guitarist)