KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Hundreds of NATO soldiers got a dash of Canadian music and humour Friday night before a Taliban rocket attack forced a troupe of entertainers to temporarily douse the lights at Kandahar Airfield.
The music and jokes had been flying for about an hour when the first explosion and siren forced everyone to scurry for nearby bunkers.
No one was hurt.
Kandahar Airfield, the main base for Canadian and alliance troops in southern Afghanistan, has been hit routinely over the last few weeks with wildly erratic 107 mm rocket fire intended to harass NATO forces.
The show was interrupted for about an hour before performers retook the stage and carried on.
One of the headline acts was East Coast blues rocker Matt Minglewood, who has spent the last couple of days mixing and chatting with the troops.
It is the guitarist's second trip to entertain soldiers in the war-torn country, and he said earlier Friday that a lot has changed in almost four years.
Reading about the dangers and the casualties wasn't enough to prepare him for a "chilling'' trip to what soldiers call "the bone yard'' -- a storage area at the base for armoured vehicles wrecked by roadside bombs.
"It's just brutal to see it,'' said Minglewood, who traded in his signature cowboy hat for a ball cap and a desert neck scarf.
"People at home, they would never understand until you look in a vehicle where people lost their lives in. It brings the reality smack dab in front of your face.''
Country singer Diane Chase, on her third concert tour in Afghanistan, said she looks up to soldiers and believes most Canadians feel the same way, even if they can't be here.
"People talk about having baseball players as heroes, you know, break world record. That's not a hero, these are heroes.''
Musical comedian Kenny Shaw hosted the show, performed in front of troops from Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia, Portugal, France and Romania.
Chase said she was excited to bring a little bit of Canada to troops, not only from back home but from other countries as well.
"They're just so grateful of us giving up our time to come over and perform for them,'' said Chase prior to the show.
"What we get back is far greater than what we bring them. It's hard to go home and perform for a regular audience after being here.''
The musicians held an impromptu jam with soldiers, some of them just returned from forward operating bases for rest and relaxation, outside of the main Canadian recreation hall on Thursday night.
One soldier broke out his own guitar and started playing, much to the delight of singer Ginette Genereux.
"He was really good, doing the guitar riffs and everything,'' said Genereux, who was the opening act.
The other performers included Celtic musicians Troy MacGillivray and Kimberley Fraser, the Toronto-based rock band Suckerfactory and Alberta country singer Duane Steele.
The tour was organized by Canadian Forces Personnel and Family Support Services.
