Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy -- what was the hole in the right knee of your jeans all about?

You folks, the Rankin Family, have sold more than two million records in 10 years -- a helluva lot for a Canadian group -- and you can't afford a good pair of jeans?

Come off it, Jimmy. Your sisters looked so casually elegant on the big stage at Western Fair grandstand last night and you looked as if you didn't know them.

You're not in a grunge band, for heaven's sake.

I'm making a big deal out of this picayune thing because it was hard to find any holes in your family's concert, other than the obvious one at your knee.

There were questionable things, matters of personal preference, but nothing that fell flat.

For years, Western Fair booked acts that were either on the way down or completely washed up, but there's been a vast improvement in recent years, thanks to groups like yours.

You're still hot on the charts and you have so many ways of reaching out and grabbing an audience. There's the Celtic thing, of course, but also country, pop and rock things happening.

I dug the rawness in your voice when you ripped the vocals like a rock star on Let It Go, that tune from your new album, Uprooted.

The fiddle tunes John Morris played on the piano were a delight.

Cookie, Heather and Raylene conjured up their beautiful harmonies on those haunting Gaelic songs as if they came from some magical musical mist.

Their stepdancing, performed in the traditional style with legs madly flailing and arms straight, really got the crowd whooping and hollering.

Cookie's powerful rendition of Bruce Cockburn's One Day nearly lifted the grandstand roof. The crowd really showed its appreciation after that one, although I thought it was too over the top for a poignant, touching tune.

It was impressive to see and hear the five Rankins live with four other musicians and discover what great band members you are.

With everybody surging and receding when their moments came and went, there was a strong feeling of a band at work throughout the entire performance.

Howie Macdonald's fiddle playing was a real toe-tapping crowd-pleaser for all of the Scottish and Irish grandparents in the crowd and, hey, everybody else.

You guys can rock and certainly left the audience satisfied when you closed with the rousing bump-and-grind song Saturday Night, which had people on their feet, waving their arms and carrying on as if they'd had a few too many.

I felt your encore took something away from what was otherwise a captivating performance. It was generous time-wise, but the introduction was too long and the whole thing was too rambling from my point of view.

It seemed improvisational and was undoubtedly a lot of fun for the band, but it left me scratching my head and wanting another song like Roving Gypsy Boy, North Country, Fare Thee Well Love, Moving On or Forty Days and Nights.

Don't sweat what I say. The Rankins are worth the price of a ticket and I'm sure you'll win more Junos and country music awards and sell another two million CDs.

Bruce Guthro, the guy who opened for you should be so lucky. He did a yeoman-like job with only a piano player and his guitar as accompaniment for his singing and songs. I wonder what he'd sound like with a band like yours behind him?