I read an alarming article on Pitchfork earlier about Final Fantasy (aka Owen Pallett) being denied an Ontario health insurance card since he couldn't legally prove his Canadian residency for the required minimum of 153 days over the past year. Fortunately, the NDP came to his aid and are currently trying to rectify this atrocity. Maybe Michael Moore can help too. Click here for the full story.
Lots of show news to discuss/correct:
According to concert organizers Live Nation, Van Halen's May 3rd concert at the MTS Centre was announced prematurely and they aren't coming...yet. Sorry VH enthusiasts.
The Matthew Good Band is not coming. Matthew Good is coming with his band. Oops.
Rory Block's March 4th show at the West End has been canceled.
K.D. Lang's June 6th show at Pantages is sold out.
Not the happiest of blog posts today... Current rotation: Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
The Matthew Good band, a group I loved when I was 18, are playing The Burt on June 16th. Tix: Friday. Presale Password: MUSIC (starts tomorrow I think).
Queens of the Stone Age play there on May 7th. Tix: Friday. Presale Password: not sure (try MUSIC).
Current rotation: Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
Man, I seriously can't believe some of the strange concert announcements I discovered today.
Here goes...
80s headbangers' Van Halen are stopping by the MTS Centre on May 3rd. Tickets go on sale Saturday and have quite the range: $52.50 - $139.50 (nearly triple!). I wonder if VH is aware of the whole Winnipeg Jets/'Jump' connection? I used to get so excited when the Jets came out to that song.
City and Colour - featuring former co-frontman of Alexisonfire Dallas Green - is playing the Burt on May 31st.
The Proclaimers are playing The Pyramid (??!!) on May 4th. Seriously. I'm not making this up.
Yeah, so I finally got around to hanging my Sigur Ros art print on the wall just behind my desk, and I must admit, it really ties my living room together. As seen above, its placement really projects positive vibes throughout my apartment and even looking up at it right now inspires me to write epic novels, insightful essays, and even self-indulgent blog posts! ha ha.
If you're looking for a song recommendation that'll instantly brighten your day, then you've come to the right blog. I learned earlier one of my favourite "fun" bands, The Boy Least Likely To, have released a new song off their forthcoming still-to-be-titled summer release. Click here for their newest song "A Balloon on a Broken String". It has my guaranteed stamp-of-approval and is an early candidate for my renowned "Best Tracks of 2008" list.
For those unfamiliar with TBLLT, Rolling Stone said it best: "If all your childhood stuffed animals got together and started a band, it might sound like the boy least likely to".
Whaddya think of that track?
*** Winnipeg act The Liptonians are releasing their cd at the WECC on March 9th. Special Guest Patrick Keenan. Tix $10 @ Music Trader.
The Fugitives are at the WECC on March 19th. Tix $10 @ Music Trader.
Paul Kelly is at the Albert on March 27th. Tix $20 @ Music Trader.
Current rotation: The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever + Above Track
While I'm not particularly fond of its title, I do love holidays.
Happy Louis Riel Day Manitobans!
Here's a video that perfectly complements the bright sunshine and the whole "I heart not working nor going to school" attitude currently permeating Winnipeg. I think I'm gonna dance to this song for awhile - it's that kinda day.
Tokyo Police Club, a garage/pop band whose raw, catchy, get-off-your-butt-and-dance sound reminds me of The Rapture and The Strokes, will bring their groovy show to The Garrick on May 8th. Bring your dancing shoes.
Being the director of a music video must be a tough gig. After all, it is the director's responsibility to conjure an appropriate visual accompaniment for a piece of music - a series of images that must complement a piece without outstripping the song's merits.
Often, the video is so terrible, that it's not an issue (as in the case of the Josh Ritter video seen below). That song rules.
And sometimes, the video is just way too cool for the song and people remember the video instead of the song. A great example of this is "Buddy Holly" by Weezer. While admittedly, that's a reverent video, the song just isn't - In fact, I always used to skip over it when listening to The Blue Album.
But sometimes, a video is created that makes me wonder: do I like the song more than the video, do I like the video more than the song, or do I like both equally?
A great example of this is "Tonight, Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins. Before the video came out, I loved the song. After the video came out, I loved the song. Ten years later, I still love the song AND the video. I just watched it and was surprised by the connection I felt to this song and video. I remember, in 96, my sadistic parents forcing me and my sister to attend karate class the same night The Pumpkins were scheduled to perform "Tonight, Tonight" at the MTV Awards. Karate class ran from 5-6 and the proceeding bus ride/walk home from downtown to Transcona took forever and a day. The Awards show commenced at 7; I got home at 7:10. No big deal, I thought. Boy, was I naive back then. It turns out the show kicked off with The Pumpkins...I was understandably crestfallen. This was, of course, before the days of the innovative/highly-advocated-on-this-blog YouTube.
So, thanks to "If I could marry it, I would" YouTube, I got to watch both the "Tonight, Tonight" video AND the Pumpkins performing it during the 96 MTV Video Awards.
Which to post? Well, to be honest, I gotta go with the actual video. Their performance at the awards show isn't exactly inspiring, although I give them full credit for hiring an orchestra to flush out the performance.
If only I could travel back and tell my 15 year-old self that the performance didn't matter after all....
My original intention was to make a Valentine's Day mix of my favourite love songs, but this week's been busier than I prefer, so that didn't happen.
In fact, I completely forgot today was Valentine's Day until sometime this morning. So I spent the rest of the day combing the gossamer depths of my long-term memory and searching frantically through my music collection hoping to find that one perfect love song. What I was looking for was a song with the message:"I assure you, love is a good thing."
I thought for sure The Cure would hold the answer, but I realized most of Robert Smith's work is elegiac and, at times, melodramatic, and that didn't suit today's purposes. "Friday I'm In Love" though, was a finalist.
I then turned to Death Cab. Same thing. Ben Gibbard sure loves his melancholic ballads. And I have no problems with them, but today they weren't what I was looking for.
Next I asked myself "Does the oft-dubbed leaders of the romantic-pop movement, Montreal's Stars, have the answer?" Maybe. I've always felt a strong pull toward "Elevator Love Letter".
But then, it hit me like a sack of doorknobs: That sweet, touching, quirky Juno song. The line "I'm in love with how you feel" is brilliant.
Damn, it's friggin' cold out there. I'm way too fragile for this unrelenting weather.
Anyways,
On April 2nd, The Most Serene Republic are playing the Pyramid for the second time in six months. Opening act is The Diableros. For my thoughts, comments, and insightful dialogue on their November show, click here.
Also, if you want Rush presale tickets through Ticketmaster, the password is MUSIC. Not exactly creative minds over there.
Current rotation: Imitation Electric Piano - Blow It Up, Burn It Down, Kick It Till It Bleeds
At last, Rush tickets for their May 24th gig at The MTS Centre are on sale. If you click here and jump through the flaming hoops, you should be able to snag some presale tickets. I'm not going, so I never bothered with the convoluted obstacle course.
So, better hurry over to their website! Or better yet, RUSH over to it. A ha ha ha....
Regular tickets go on sale Friday through ticketmaster.
It's another friend's birthday today. Happy Birthday Kelsey. Here's a Josh Ritter vid for ya.
Current rotation: Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers
The abridged version: Hayden's show at the West End last night was incredible.
The long version: So last night, I hit Hayden's sold out show at the West End and was enamored the entire evening.
The charming Jenn Grant opened the show with a solo set of simple, yet enjoyable folk serenades. Anyone who willingly stands in front of 300 people armed with just a voice and a guitar automatically earns some of my respect for sheer audacity, but when the songs are actually quite good and they're the opening act, they earn my complete respect.
But I should save some praise for the headliner: Hayden.
Also performing solo, Hayden (no last name...could easily be found by googling, but I don't want to shatter the single-name artist allure) played an entertaining set that included crowd favourites 'Trees Lounge' and 'Bass Song' (the latter is, admittedly, one of my personal favs). While most of his songs are slow guitar/piano ballads occasionally complemented with a harmonica, the intimacy surrounding Hayden 's lack of tricks and confident stage presence easily won over any potential naysayers. In fact, the crowd was so thrilled with his set, that one encore wasn't enough to satiate Haydenites (this includes me). And despite complaining earlier of a headache, Hayden gladly obliged, playing a few more including mid-90s hit "Bad As They Seem", altering the lines:
Girl of my dreams Things are as bad as they seem She is only sixteen That's why she is only a dream
to
Girl of my dreams Things are as bad as they seem She is only twenty-three That's why she is only a dream This caustic sense-of-humour was on display throughout the evening, added yet another layer to this phenomenal show. At one point, a fan yelled several requests during encore one (might have been encore two), prompting Hayden to reply: "This is obviously your first concert." Big laughs followed.
And if it actually was that fellow's first concert, well, then lucky him.
Current rotation: Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism.
Local favourites Nathan, featuring my former O Chem prof on bass, have been nominated for their second ever Juno award. Their latest album, Key Principles, will be squaring off against four others in the coveted "Roots And Traditional Album Of The Year By A Group" category. Pretty specific category.
Duking it out with Nathan in the RATAOTYBAG category (sounds like that animated movie; well, maybe not) is fellow Winnipeger James Keelaghan, for his album Compares with Oscar Lopez. Coincidentally, the duo will be showcasing tunes from it tomorrow at Pantages.
Good luck to both.
Bad news procrastinating Josh Ritter fans - his show at the West End is now sold out.
Well, I'm off to Hayden's sold out show at the West End in a few. Should be lots of fun. Thoughts, observations, scathing review (not likely) and pictures tomorrow.
When I was in my early teens I worshiped the Smashing Pumpkins. One of my best friends and I would track their every move; hunt down singles, b-sides, japanese and uk imports, and live recordings with a fervent passion; learn their songs verbatim on guitar; line our walls with posters of the band; watch their, at times, imaginative videos (I still think 'Tonight, Tonight' is one of the best videos ever). Plus my first real concert was the Pumpkins in 96 at the Arena. I still have the newspaper review.
But then, they started sucking.
Big Time.
Around the Machina era.
Anyways, it is said friend's (Phil) bday today, so I thought I'd post a video for him (and for all of your enjoyment) from a time when the Pumpkins didn't suck. Happy birthday Phil! Enjoy!
I realize this blog is supposed to be strictly music-related, but as the supreme potentate of "Painting Over Silence" (patent-pending), I'm allowed to take occasional liberties - aka dictating.
So
GO PATRIOTS GO!
Totally unrelated...
K.D. Lang is playing the Pantages Playhouse on June 5th. Tickets go on sale February 23rd.
If I had to compose a top five list of bands I coulda seen but didn't, even though they miraculously rolled through town, number one has to be Death Cab For Cutie. I've been listening to Plans throughout the evening and it's reinforced this missed opportunity, so I'm kinda depressed.
That being said, DCFC rule. And, for the time being, I just can't get enough of the track "Different Names For The Same Thing". The title is great, the video is excellent, and the song is exceptional.
The presale password for Tom Petty's August show at the MTS Centre is SUPERBOWL. I probably could've guessed that.
Metric fans - a concert film by local filmmaker Deco Dawson is screening at Cinemateque from Feb. 4 - 7th. Show time is 9:45. Current rotation: M83 - Before The Dawn Heals Us
I read an alarming article on Pitchfork earlier about Final Fantasy (aka Owen Pallett) being denied an Ontario health insurance card since he couldn't legally prove his Canadian residency for the required minimum of 153 days over the past year. Fortunately, the NDP came to his aid and are currently trying to rectify this atrocity. Maybe Michael Moore can help too. Click here for the full story.
