NXNE Day the Last

Since there weren't any conferences on Sunday, C and I went to see "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" to kill the afternoon. I liked it; I'm a huge fan of the games, so I was biased. C's words were, "It wasn't as bad as I expected," so that's saying something!

We went to Rancho Relaxo to catch The Withouts. They were alright; very Scratching Post-esque.



After The Withouts, we headed over to the El Mocambo for Rah Rah and England's Ten Bears. As I mentioned in the previous post, I thoroughly enjoyed Rah Rah the second time. They were full of energy and their songs felt fresher in the bigger venue. Plus, they all fit on stage, rather than spilling into the aisles of the record store.

Ten Bears were fantastic. I had them marked down as a "must-see" after listening to their MySpace page. I was disappointed that they weren't selling any merch; I would have bought their CD even before their set! iTunes only has one song available from them, so I guess they're still working on a full-length.

Thus concludes a crazy awesome NXNE experience! Would I go again? In a heartbeat. I wish I had been able to see more bands, but a) there were so many! and b) I hate leaving in the middle of a set! I also wish there had been a merch table set up in the Hiatt-Regency (where all the conferences were) for all the bands to sell their CDs. There were a lot of acts that I would have bought albums from, even though I didn't get to see them. Maybe someone will read this and agree that it's a good idea for next year.

All of my pictures can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lastsparkfades/

Watching legends OR NXNE Day #4

First off, I can't believe this was over a week ago already!

Saturday dawned with impending thunderstorms to wash out Iggy & The Stooges from Yonge-Dundas Square. Naturally, this was a cause for concern, so on our way to a conference on how to get your band onto summer festival line-ups, C and I stopped at two Shoppers Drugmarts in search of rain ponchos. Weirdly, we found none.

After the conference, we went for lunch and then to Sunrise Records to catch Holly McNarland's set. We were early enough to see Colleen Brown and Rah Rah prior. It's funny to note that there were (apparently) 650 bands playing NXNE shows, and we saw hardly any, and I wanted to see so many, and we managed to see Colleen Brown THREE times! Anyhow, I was less than enthusiastic about Rah Rah's set; I enjoyed the tunes, but something just wasn't right (turns out it was just the venue. Rah Rah were great when we saw them on Sunday at the El Mocambo. I bought both of their CDs).

Holly's drummer didn't make it to the gig, so she played an acoustic set consisting of "Water" and "Beautiful Blue", and a bunch of new songs that I hadn't heard before. As usual, her voice and stage presence were mesmerizing.

Our next stop took us to Yonge-Dundas Square for The Raveonettes, who absolutely rocked! I only knew a couple of songs going into the show, and I came out wishing they had brought merch with them. Iggy & The Stooges were up next, and the crowd was insane. People were spilling out into the street (which thankfully was blocked off for two blocks or so in every direction). The crowdsurfing started two songs in. I stayed near the front for five songs and then I made my way out--not because of the crowd, but because C and I had to leave before the set was over to get to The Rivoli for Holly McNarland's set. We skipped Iggy's encore, which I'm sure consisted of "Lust for Life," and made our way to the next venue.

Colleen Brown Band hadn't yet started when we arrived, so we got to see her plugged in. I'm still torn as to how I prefer her music live. She has a very Sarah McLachlanesque voice, so she was drowned out by the drums and guitar, but the added instruments didn't hurt the songs' melodies at all, and I do tend toward the heavier side of things (how kickass is that new Against Me! single???).

Holly was awesome, but I was disappointed that she only got a 40-minute set, which left no room for old favourites from Stuff or Home is Where my Feet Are.



We saw two songs by Kulas, didn't like them, and left for Parks & Rec at the Painted Lady. Tiniest. Venue. Ever! It was packed with people--because the band is fantastic. Honestly, I only saw two bands that I didn't like during the whole festival, so forgive the broken record of "this band was awesome!" That's why you do research before you go, Kids.

Up next is a recap of NXNE Day the Last.

Capturing a moment OR NXNE Day #3

Think back to the first time you saw your favourite band or were absolutely floored by a band you'd never heard of before live. Remember the tingling in your spine, the joy in your heart, that you'd really found something special. I had this experience on Friday, and I'll tell you about it a little later.

C and I's first engagement was a conference about touring in the U.S.. It was an interesting discussion on where and how to get gigs along the East Coast, and when Schubas was mentioned, I got to lean over and say "I've been there!"

Said the Whale were the first band at Yonge-Dundas Square. These guys are one of my favourite bands (yes I do say that a lot...I have about 100 Top 10 Favourite Bands), and I loved their set. I've said it before, and I'll say it again right now: "Camilo" has one of the cutest music videos EVER. Next up was K-OS; I'm not much of a fan, but his set was decent. Highlights for me were "Crabbuckit" and "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman". We watched about half of Sloan's set before heading into the Hard Rock Cafe for --

MY NEW FAVOURITE BAND: Amos the Transparent! This band kicks ass. They have such intensity on stage, and they really connect with the audience (and I'm not just saying that because they hauled half the audience on stage for one song, either). I could tell they really love playing music. Even the bass player was singing along and trying to get the crowd into it.

After Amos, we saw a few of Hollerado's songs (thankfully including my fave, "Juliette." Super Spike is going to be so awesome!!!), before heading tot he Horseshoe Tavern for Mudhoney. Honestly, how could we not see Mudhoney, right? C went back to the apartment we rented instead of sticking around, but I had a blast. That band's still got it...whatever it is. I had hoped to catch Spirits afterwards, but due to a power outtage all along Queen Street, Mudhoney's set started at 2am instead of 1am and went til almost 3:30.

Needless to say, I was exhausted when I got home with my largest CD stash of the week.

Outlaws and Gunslingers OR NXNE Day #2

Thursday (June 17) began with an interesting panel about US radio formats. Those in attendance were given rate cards, and then a song was played. When it was done, everyone held up a number from one to ten, depending on how much you liked the song (I also played the Guess the Artist Game in my head lol. My apologies to The Arcade Fire for calling them just another band that sounds like The Arcade Fire!).

C and I spent the evening at Lee's Palace for the Outlaws and Gunslingers showcase, which featured artists from Six Shooter Records. Andy Kim started the night with a decent set, but while I think he's a great singer, I wasn't moved by his original songs; his cover of "Sugar, Sugar" was easily the best tune in his set.

The next three sets consisted of three artists playing three songs each (yeah, I know). First up was Danny Michel, Justin Rutledge, and Oh Susanna. I had never heard any of Oh Susanna's stuff, but Danny and Justin are favourites of mine, and it was cool to hear them play on each other's songs.

Royal Wood, Andy Maize of the Skydiggers, and Amelia Curran were next. My second favourite part of the night was Amelia dancing spastically like Andy. To an outsider, one might think she was mocking him, but she opened for the Skydiggers on their recent cross-Canada tour, so it was done out of fun.

My favourite set of the night came from Hawksley Workman, Jim Cuddy, and Colleen Brown, and here's why: Jim Cuddy sang along with "Warhol's Protrait of Gretzky", eff words and all and it was great. Now, I also get to brag that while I was in Ottawa, we went to the art gallery and purchased postcards of Warhol's Portrait of Gretzky, and after the show I met Sir Workman and he merrily autographed said postcard. Best piece of memorabilia ever. It's okay if you're jealous.

The Beauties were up next with their raucous rockabilly set. I had never heard of them before, and I actually liked them a lot. We left after their set for some zzzs.

Day #3 featuring Said the Whale, Sloan, and my new favourite band is on deck...

Sorry this isn't from the show, but dangit, it's awesome.

Not as planned, but just as good

Every June, North by Northeast (NXNE) takes over downtown Toronto, filling its venues with live bands of all genres from around the globe. I spent a good three days going through the original line-up list, giving checkmarks and exmarks and asterisks to the bands I liked, didn't like, or loved. I was pumped when The Meligrove Band finally got slotted in for today (Wednesday) at the CN Tower. The Balconies were also on the bill, a group I'd heard good things about, and Hollerado, whom I love (and whom are playing Super-Spike this year with Social Code).

Sadly, after walking around the CN Tower looking for an outdoor stage of any kind, I found out that the concert was in the Tower's restaurant AND that I had to pre-register to attend it. Disappointed, I decided to return to the apartment I'm sharing with my friend for the week and figure out what to do instead.

Looking through the guide we were giving upon picking up our passes, I saw that Kathleen Edwards and Arkells were supposed to be playing at The Courthouse BUT when I looked online for confirmation, I couldn't find any.

Finally, I agreed to go to the Karen Elson concert at the El Mocambo. This was not a NXNE show at all, but it probably should have been. Afterall, the opening act was from Hamilton, and she's British. This is definitely in line with the festival. I was quite impressed with San Sebastian; they could easily tour with the likes of Social Code or Marianas Trench. I was most impressed with Karen's vocals. She's fantastic. I wasn't sure what to expect, seeing as how Jack White is her husband and she's a model, but she kept the crowd engaged and kept telling us we were "too sweet."

Tomorrow we're off to see Danny Michel, Hawksley Workman, Justin Rutledge, Amelia Curran, and many many more. Stay tuned!

Chicago

Chicago is the fourth American city that I have visited. I can't believe how much I did in 4 days! I only spent time in the hotel to sleep.

About 40 of us Cre Comm students went on a little road trip, and here is the rundown of what I did:

We arrived on Tuesday, May 4 at 4:30pm, and immediately just went walking around. We went to the Hancock building for a few drinks and then some of us walked to the Millennium Park face fountain and the Bean.

Wednesday morning we had passes to the Art Gallery, so I wandered around that til 1-ish and then went for lunch with some classmates. We went up the Sears Tower, and then shopped for a bit.

A friend and I went to see Aqualung Wednesday night at Schuba's. He was soooo amazing! And British. And hilarious. It was a sold-out concert, so people were packed in, although no one was so rude that we felt like sardines. At one point, Matt (Aqualung's real name) said he needed us to use our hive minds to transport a beer from the back of the room to the front of the stage. It was a success; he was very happy lol. I got to meet him after the show and had to explain where Winnipeg was in relation to Toronto and Vancouver.

Thursday morning a bunch of us went on the Untouchables Mobster bus tour. It was cool. Two guys dress up like they're from the '20s and drive a group around in an old school bus that has been painted black. They alternate talking about how it was in the days of Prohibition and the gangsters. It was pretty interesting. In the afternoon we went to Ketchum, a PR firm, to learn about what people do there. At 5, we went on a Pirate Cruise (lol) in which the crew dressed up as pirates and the guide (Dread Pirate Zack) told us about pirates in Chicago...from Sault Ste Marie.

After supper at Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's, 7 of us went to the piano bar next door. It was 11:30pm, and no one was in there. We sat around the piano, and the dude played our requests all night! This included "Don't Stop Believing" to the power of twice! It was great.

Friday morning we went on an architectural boat cruise, and then in the afternoon a couple of us went to the Field Museum. That place is huge!!! I only got to see 3 of their galleries in 2 and a half hours. :( I walked 45 mins back to the hotel, and then we went for deep dish pizza. I

And then we left at 8am on Saturday, stayed overnight in Minneapolis, and arrived home Sunday evening at 6:30.

You can view all my pics on Flickr.

Change of plans

I was going to write a post about how much I love Arkells and why they should win Best New Artist at the Junos tonight, but I've just learned some sad news that should take precedence.

I was checking my Twitter Feed when @AUXTV tweeted about the sudden death of You Say Party! We Say Die! drummer Devon Clifford.

Unfortunately, I missed YSP!WSD! on their recent Winnipeg stop @ the Albert, but I did get to see them a couple of years ago in Ottawa. I didn't know any of their music at the time, just their name and the buzz surrounding them from various indie music circles. I convinced my friend that we should go to the show, and we were glad we did. The band was full of energy, playing to a packed Zaphod's.

RIP Devon. Another life ended too soon.

Dancing to yesterday

At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about the new Hawksley Workman song. There's been an irritating shift for rock bands to put out dance records that started a couple of years ago with Good Charlotte's Good Morning Revival in 2007, and has since spread to the likes of Simple Plan, Hedley, and Faber Drive. (I'm not a fan of all of these bands, but I listen to everything because how can I legitimately say I don't like an artist or band or song if I've never heard it/them at least once?)

I first heard Workman's "Dance to Yesterday" while driving to work one Sunday morning, and I immediately was disappointed that he would jump on such a silly bandwagon. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE his music. But this song was just...weird. Observe:



Now, I have to say that it's grown on me. I really like this song. Why? Well, besides the fact that it's pretty impossible for me not to like everything Workman does, this song rings true for me. I've been listening to a lot of Oldies--'50s and '60s Oldies, not like 1994 Oldies!--and so I AM dancing to yesterday, in that sense. For me, this song is full of nostalgia, and that's been a theme for me lately (see previous post!).

ThunderCats and nostalgia

Here is a fact: yesterday at 5pm CST, TELEtoon Retro began a 24-hour ThunderCats marathon.

Here is another fact: When I got home from my aunt & uncle's place at 11:37pm CST, I put on the marathon and proceeded to fall asleep in from of my TV some 3 hours later.

Here is one last fact: I got up this morning, and put the marathon back on to watch what I missed last night.

This has me thinking back on the cartoons I used to love as a child, and still love to this day. Am I ashamed to admit that I just bought Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs on DVD? Of course not! That show's awesome! Sure, the dialogue is so cheesy I've considered bringing crackers to each viewing, but it's still miles better than the general ridiculousness of today's cartoons. I'm not knocking the superhero cartoons; somehow those ones always seem to maintain their level of respectability (I'm looking at you, Wolverine and the X-Men), but I am knocking such fare as the ten thousandth Pokemon rip-off, and shows like Spongebob Squarepants that don't really teach kids anything. ThunderCats, He-Man, even Saber Rider, all had lessons at the end of the episode. Does Spongebob value diversity? Or talk about sharing? Honesty? Not from what I've seen.

I think TELEtoon Retro should add more '80s cartoons, if only to balance the sad sad state of affairs Saturday morning 'toons find themselves in these days. Here are some of my suggestions:

Pirates of Dark Water:


M.A.S.K.:


Dino-Riders:


He-Man and the Masters of the Universe:


What are your favourite cartoons?

Review of a Canadian supergroup

As promised, here are some of my thoughts after seeing Crash Karma last night (in pretty much the order they occurred to me):

• Why aren't there more people here?
  
• I miss OLP with Mike Turner in it
  
• I wish I had seen IME before Edwin left
• They aren't that bad!
• That's so cool that Mike still has the guitar Oli Goldsmith designed for him!
• Edwin is singing "Clumsy" and it's weird!
  
• Sweet! They're going to sign autographs at the merch table after the show!
• HolycrapI'mmeetingMikeTurner!HolycrapI'mmeetingMikeTurner!HolycrapI'mmeetingMikeTurner!

Yup. I actually liked them a lot. It's too bad they got the biggest response for "Not Quite Sonic", which they played as their encore. I was very happy that all 10 album covers that I brought along were signed with a smile. Edwin even said, "Do I have this many records?", to which I said, "Yes, yes you do." I was very composed and verbose (sarcasm alert!) while my brain was freaking out that I was actually speaking to musicians I'd basically grown up listening to.

A real Canadian supergroup

OK, so I don't think Crash Karma would appreciate me calling them a supergroup--I mean, that whole title is pretty oxymoronish. The fact of the matter are that here is a group comprised of 3 guys whose previous bands were HUGE in the '90s (and 1 guy I've never heard of before), and that qualifies them as a supergroup to me.

You've got Edwin, former I Mother Earth vocalist, then solo artist, then bartender (it's TRUE!), Mike Turner, formerly of Our Lady Peace (you know, before they got all political and Nickelback-y), and Jeff Burrows AKA the other Jeff from The Tea Party all in one band. I rolled my eyes when Chartattack.com rolled out the news of this band's formation, but at the same time, I couldn't help but giggle with glee. Let's face it: these guys have never been as successful on their own or with other projects as they were in the '90s (ah, CanRock of the '90s, how I miss you!).

Tonight Crash Karma brings its motley medley to Silverado's, and for a mere $10, how could I resist the chance to see Edwin sing "Clumsy" or--heaven help us--"Superman's Dead"? Yes, it's true, not only does Crash Karma play their own originals, but they also do "covers" of their previous bands' songs (are they covers if their yours, but you're in a different project? That's a separate debate).

Stay tuned for my review! And hopefully a picture with Mike. :D

Remember these vids?





I can't embed "Psychopomp", but I can still paste the link. Take that YouTube! This is my favourite Tea Party song (and that's saying a lot 'cause I don't like them), so: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMZoiatUQJE

IPPPs and nearing the end of the road

Today was the last day of our Independent Professional Project Presentations. It's strange to go back to class for a month, since it feels like CreComm is done. We had our group hug on stage, we sang karaoke to each other, and we no longer have (arguably) the most stressful part of CreComm ahead of us...

More than anything, I realized today that our time of seeing each other everyday is drawing to a close. As relieved as I am that I'm almost done with school, and can look forward to starting a real job and a new phase in my life, I'm still sad to reach the end of CreComm.

Cheers to the good times. I love you all.

MySpace

Said the Whale recently tweeted "Does anyone give a shit about MySpace anymore?"

It's an interesting question. My answer is easy: of course I do! Not because I find it to be a useful networking tool for myself (my only friends are musicians [SURPRISE!]), but it's absolutely the best place to find new music. I couldn't tell you how many hours I've spent hopping from one page to another, looking for...well, looking for something new that doesn't suck, frankly. We all know that for every 10 bands on MySpace, only 4 of them are worth listening to, but it still beats commercial radio by a mile!

I find the best thing to do when seeking out new ear candy is to go to one of your favourite band's pages, and click through their top friends. Musicians are a tight-knit group, and they will rarely steer you towards utter crap!

Here are a few of the bands I found on MySpace that don't suck:

Elias
Acres of Lions
How I Became the Bomb
Dog Day
The Februarys
We Are the Take
Eve and the Ocean
Paper Lions
Jane's Party
Mardeen

Bonus treat: If you have never seen this video, here's your chance to make your heart sparkle.

Virtually reality television

One of my friends posted this in his Facebook stream, and I think it's equal parts cool and sad. It's truly amazing what technology can do these days to make scenes from your favourite television series' even MORE dramatic, and you may not even notice.

This YouTube video demonstrates all the green-screening used in some of the most popular shows on TV these days.



So what do you think? Awesome? Disappointing? I'm torn, too. Obviously, it's expensive to have a burning ferry cued up to film, but some of those background shots of extra snow seem a little excessive. Someone couldn't just shovel some more snow onto the set? Come on!

My favourite comment on this video comes from Geminii27: "I think there was a real scene shot once in 1878..."

Reading Week

Eight hours into Reading Week (I was done class at noon), and already I'm trying to catch up on all the things I've been neglecting since job placement ended. I'm watching Spider-Man 2 on TV, and writing a new chapter in my Criminal Minds/Supernatural story (too bad fanfics aren't allowed in Creative Writing class. Or are they? I'm not sure if Karen gave an answer to that question, now that I reflect upon it. It should be; it's no worse than using material written last year...or beyond.)

I'm not going anywhere because I have to save my limited money hoard for my trip to Chicago in May, and later for my trip to Toronto and Ottawa in June. Why Toronto you wonder? Well, I'll tell you, especially since it pertains to the overarching theme of this blog: music.



For the first time I'm going to North by Northeast, the week-long music festival that takes over downtown Toronto every year in early summer. The line-up hasn't been announced yet, but I'm still excited. My friend and I already bought our all access wristbands, which get us front-of-the-line entry to all the events and seminars during the week. I don't know how to express how excited I am. This has been one of my goals since I was 14.

Next year: Australia! lol

Shameless plug for one of my fave YouTube channels

My brother has a tendency to send me links to his favourite YouTube videos. Most of the time they are video game fight scenes set to crazy music, but every now and then there's a nugget of gold.

How It Should Have Ended is one such nugget. Basically, this crazy talented team takes a popular movie, animate it, and make it better. Observe:

Spider-Man 3: How it Should Have Ended:



"Spider-Man, we're not idiots." Indeed.

As a fan of crossovers, I think this is brilliant:



One more for fun:



"Can you imagine what it would be like if we'd walked the entire way?"
"Don't be silly!"

I also recommend all of the other videos. Enjoy! Also, you should visit their website.

FREE CONCERT!

The 2nd Annual Manitoba Film & Music Showcase happens today at 2pm at the Centennial Concert Hall. Admission is FREE (I'll emphasize FREE throughout this post so you'll remember and go). 13 bands from a plethora of genres will play a song or two in between film clips and talks from local filmmakers and producers.

Director Gary Yates (High Life, Seven Times Lucky) will be interviewed. There will be screenings of the animated short Runaway, Cubicle Land, and the recently-recorded Live at the West End concerts, which featured The Dust Rhinos, JD Edwards, Julie Biggs, and Patrick Keenan. The Showcase also spotlights Farpoint Films, Frantic Films, and the National Screen Institute. A live aerial silks performance from filmmaker/aerial artist, Talia Pura, whose short film, Aerial Artistry has been chosen to represent Manitoba in the upcoming 2010 Olympics in Vancouver this February is not to be missed. And it's all FREE!

After the event, there will be a chance for attendees to mingle with local celebrity-types from the Manitoba film and music community.

The Line-up (not in order of appearance but appearing for FREE):

The Weakerthans
Domenica
Quinzy
J.P. Hoe
Grand Analog
Romi Mayes
Fred Penner (best website EVER lol)
Nathan
Harlequin
Billy Joe Green
Daniel ROA
Paper Moon
Record of the Week Club with Mike Petkau (Some of the Live at the West End Cultural Centre pics were taken by me! Woo!)

Sounds like a great time to me. And did I mention that admission is completely FREE? Unfortunately, parking is not.

Fire alarms aren't really indicative of trouble, are they?

I have to share my day at work. It was grand. If you think you've had bad days at work, I think this one comes pretty close to taking the cake.

It all started with coat check. It was freezing cold, as it has been for the last week or so because the heater in that area of the casino is broken. For some reason, the heater itself is outside on the roof, and it said we were at 21 degrees, but in actuality it was more like -2. I was wearing a sweater under my fleece jacket, and my fingers were getting wrinkly because they were so cold. We have little heaters behind the counter, but we can only have one running at a time in either plug, or it blows the fuse. So, the valet captain, who works next to coat check, turned on a third heater, not realizing that two were already running. This knocked out the valet computer, the video monitor, the heaters, and best of all, the club card scanner (customers scan their cards to get points and they're entered into a draw for gifts). This took 15 mins to fix.

Then, at 12:30, the real chaos erupted.

A steady beeping sound filled the air, and all of a sudden a firetruck pulled up. Security and casino upper-mgmt were running towards the main entrance.

Patrons continued to play slot machines, oblivious or stupid or both, you decide. Turns out, a water pipe froze and burst over the front offices and was spraying pretty much everywhere.

Security blocked off the main front entrance, leaving only the exit at the back of the casino towards the hotel as a means of entry and exit. Valet was closed again while the water was cleaned up. The water seeped through into coat check, drowning the carpets.

Then we noticed smoke in the air.

It turns out that when the casino fire alarm goes off, the vents in McDonald's close, so all the smoke from their fryers was blowing into the casino. This resulted in McDonald's being unable to fry things until they got the vents open.

It also turns out that when the casino fire alarm goes off, the glass doors into the hotel seal shut, presumably to protect the hotel from the fire in the casino. This meant that anyone wanting to use an ATM had to go outside, around the building, and into the hotel itself, then back again.

At about 3:30 another pipe burst, and was spraying water out of an electrical outlet outside the main front entrance. The alarm was going again and the firetruck returned.

By this time, they had reopened the front entrance and valet, and so they had to decide if they were going to close it again. Apparently it was safe to have the water flowing out of the electrical outlet, so they left the doors open.

And then i went home.

I saw the damage in the front office, and it was pretty bad. There was sand everywhere and it smelled bad. A whole row of those foamy ceiling tiles had caved out, and the rest all showed signs of water damage. There was water running down the walls. Everything was soggy. They're going to have fun returning it to its former glory.

The really sad part is that no one even bothered to look up when the alarm went off. I guess it's more important to keep pressing that spin button than it is to make sure you're not in danger.

...button...button...button...