Similarly to Thursday, Friday was spent mostly in one place.
I started at The Mod Club (lovely venue!) for Wildlife and then local (Winnipeg) favourites Imaginary Cities. I was very pleased to see people around me in the front singing along. I truly enjoy seeing how bands fare in other cities, and it's clear that Toronto loves Imaginary Cities.
Next stop was Cameron House for the Manitoba Music showcase. Sweet Alibi were already on stage when I arrived, but I did not miss my favourite song, "I'll Wait".
Next up was Federal Lights, who have been a favourite of mine since the first time I saw them live a couple of years ago at the Park Theatre. Their sound has grown since Carbon, and I can't wait to hear the new CD.
The Revival played next, and brought the same energy as the night before. Hopefully their new record will get them the attention they deserve with a wider audience.
Ingrid Gatin closed out the night. It was nice to end off with an acoustic set after all the bands.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
NXNE 2013 Day #1
I arrived in Toronto on Thursday, June 13 to attend NXNE for the 3rd time--2nd time with MFM. My room at the Hyatt had a balcony (!). It's exciting because it was the first time I'd ever gotten a room with a balcony!
I spent the evening at the Rivoli to see Winnipeggers The Revival. I hadn't seen them play before, but had heard a couple of their songs online. The energy they have when they play live is contagious.
Next up was Cai.ro, a band I'd heard a lot about, but never listened to before. One of the great things about NXNE is that you get to see bands you'd been thinking about checking out and hadn't yet. These guys and girl were great! They were in a weird place, as far as the line-up, but they owned the stage for their 45 minute set. If you've been putting off listening to these guys, as I did, procrastinate no longer!
Miesha and the Spanks played next. I'd seen Miesha before in Winnipeg, and I was happy to have a chance to see her again. There was a guest drummer joining her on stage for this set, and even though there were times that seemed improvised, it never felt sloppy. More women in punk, please! (I'm on a serious quest to listen to more female-fronted/all-girl bands and solo artists, so please leave recommendations in the comments.)
The night ended (for me) with The Bokononists, a Winnipeg rock band that I'd seen a couple of times before. Their set was a high energy good time!
I spent the evening at the Rivoli to see Winnipeggers The Revival. I hadn't seen them play before, but had heard a couple of their songs online. The energy they have when they play live is contagious.
Next up was Cai.ro, a band I'd heard a lot about, but never listened to before. One of the great things about NXNE is that you get to see bands you'd been thinking about checking out and hadn't yet. These guys and girl were great! They were in a weird place, as far as the line-up, but they owned the stage for their 45 minute set. If you've been putting off listening to these guys, as I did, procrastinate no longer!
Miesha and the Spanks played next. I'd seen Miesha before in Winnipeg, and I was happy to have a chance to see her again. There was a guest drummer joining her on stage for this set, and even though there were times that seemed improvised, it never felt sloppy. More women in punk, please! (I'm on a serious quest to listen to more female-fronted/all-girl bands and solo artists, so please leave recommendations in the comments.)
The night ended (for me) with The Bokononists, a Winnipeg rock band that I'd seen a couple of times before. Their set was a high energy good time!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
New Song Alert: Acres of Lions
Acres of Lions is easily one of my favourite bands around right now. They put on a great live show--regardless of attendance--high energy, entertaining banter, stories behind the songs: all the things you'd want from a concert. These guys should be bigger than they are.
The band has released the lead single, "Bright Lights" from their upcoming album "Home(s)" to be released April 2, and it's just such a good song. I can't stress enough how much I love this song! Maybe more exclamation points? !!!!!! It does exactly what lead singles are supposed to do: psych you up for the record while simultaneously reaffirming why you love them for their catchy melodies and heartfelt lyrics in the first place.
Listen to the song and then go buy it on iTunes, and check out their tour dates for a show near you!
The band has released the lead single, "Bright Lights" from their upcoming album "Home(s)" to be released April 2, and it's just such a good song. I can't stress enough how much I love this song! Maybe more exclamation points? !!!!!! It does exactly what lead singles are supposed to do: psych you up for the record while simultaneously reaffirming why you love them for their catchy melodies and heartfelt lyrics in the first place.
Listen to the song and then go buy it on iTunes, and check out their tour dates for a show near you!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Dare I call it a supergroup?
So this morning my friend posted a video by a new Canadian group called Mounties (so far, they only seem to have Twitter set up). This is a project featuring Hawksley Workman, Steve Bays from Hot Hot Heat, and Ryan Dahle of Limblifter. I gotta say I love this song! I hope an album is in the works.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
New Music: Violent Kin
Saskatoon-based electro-rock duo Violent Kin have released the video for their new single "Talk" from their 2011 release, "People."
Monday, November 19, 2012
Testing Out This Streaming Thing
So I finally signed up for Rdio last week, and so far it's fantastic. I'm not sure of the exact reason I was sort of apprehensive about it, but it probably boils down to me not wanting to be part of the dwindling CD sales problem. Well, that's not an issue; I'll buy CDs until I can't play them on anything anymore (which may not be far away since Apple has stopped putting CD/DVD-ROM drives in their computers, so it's only a matter of time before other manufacturers start doing the same. Are CDs going to start coming with iTunes download cards? HMMM???).
I gotta say, it's pretty sweet having all this music at my fingertips! Or should I say, MORE music at my fingertips! I feel like a kid in a candy store, I'm not even kidding. So far I've only been listening at work, so I've been keeping my choices pretty tame (The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, Royal Wood, Jenn Grant...), and choosing mostly albums I've already heard. I'm looking forward to listening to the new Green Day albums before putting them on my Christmas list (why I've moved Green Day into the "try before I buy" category is a blog post all it's own).
If you're like me, and are on the fence about getting on board with streaming, I like Rdio so far, and I have friends that use Songza, and say that it's also a good way to find new artists.
What streaming services are you using?
I gotta say, it's pretty sweet having all this music at my fingertips! Or should I say, MORE music at my fingertips! I feel like a kid in a candy store, I'm not even kidding. So far I've only been listening at work, so I've been keeping my choices pretty tame (The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, Royal Wood, Jenn Grant...), and choosing mostly albums I've already heard. I'm looking forward to listening to the new Green Day albums before putting them on my Christmas list (why I've moved Green Day into the "try before I buy" category is a blog post all it's own).
If you're like me, and are on the fence about getting on board with streaming, I like Rdio so far, and I have friends that use Songza, and say that it's also a good way to find new artists.
What streaming services are you using?
A Sad Goodbye to 92.9 KICK-FM
This post has been sitting in the "drafts" section too long. I think I wrote it in August. Here it is: my lament for KICK-FM.
I have no pointing fingers, nor conspiracy theories to pass along. I just have a hole on my radio dial where my favourite station used to be.
I started listening to KICK around 2004. I loved it because the music was fresh, and I was (and am) so sick to death of the same-old same-old on Winnipeg radio. KICK renewed my faith in radio as the way to discover new artists. It introduced me to Snow Patrol (the first time I ever heard "Run", I was driving through the intersection of Route 90 north at Silver, on my way home from the U of M), J.P. Hoe, Quinzy, Keane, Bloc Party, Fear Zero, Hard-Fi, Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, and so many more.
Another aspect of KICK that I enjoyed was the DJs, and their obvious love of the music they played. I liked Home Spun and The New Sound, and never missed an episode, if I could help it. KICK was also my primary place to find new local bands that I would then go and check out live.
I had a secret agenda when I enrolled in Creative Communications in the Fall of 2008: I wanted to be involved with the radio station! I hadn't thought of being an on-air personality until I started radio classes, and realized it wasn't so terrifying (I hate public speaking! There, I said it!). No one sees you when you're on the radio. That's public speaking I can handle! Backtracking a little, my OTHER secret agenda was to learn how to run a radio station so that I could grow up one day and manage my own. 'Cause let's face it, Winnipeg radio mostly suuuuucks.
I came to host Home Spun after having noted that for a couple of weeks, there wasn't anyone on-air. I lingered outside Rick the Boss's office for about half an hour trying to build up the nerve to go in and ask him about it. The conversation went something like this: Me, "I noticed there hasn't been anyone on Home Spun for a couple of weeks." Rick, "No, there hasn't. Do you want to do it?" Me, (probably with a bright red face), "Yes." And so I hosted Home Spun for three years. It was awesome because more than anything else, I felt like I was maybe hopefully introducing people to new music, and therefore contributing to what I loved so much about KICK: we were playing different and better music than anyone else in Winnipeg. Thanks for that, Rick the Boss.
I don't know how the station will sound when it starts streaming in the Fall for the new CreComm students, and I don't know who's going to win the coveted 92.9 spot on the FM dial (Please be The Peak!), all I know is that I now subscribe to XM satellite radio because I can't stand the current local offerings (other than CBC, of course). There's a serious need for a station like KICK in this market.
Anyone want to start a radio station with me?
I have no pointing fingers, nor conspiracy theories to pass along. I just have a hole on my radio dial where my favourite station used to be.
I started listening to KICK around 2004. I loved it because the music was fresh, and I was (and am) so sick to death of the same-old same-old on Winnipeg radio. KICK renewed my faith in radio as the way to discover new artists. It introduced me to Snow Patrol (the first time I ever heard "Run", I was driving through the intersection of Route 90 north at Silver, on my way home from the U of M), J.P. Hoe, Quinzy, Keane, Bloc Party, Fear Zero, Hard-Fi, Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, and so many more.
Another aspect of KICK that I enjoyed was the DJs, and their obvious love of the music they played. I liked Home Spun and The New Sound, and never missed an episode, if I could help it. KICK was also my primary place to find new local bands that I would then go and check out live.
I had a secret agenda when I enrolled in Creative Communications in the Fall of 2008: I wanted to be involved with the radio station! I hadn't thought of being an on-air personality until I started radio classes, and realized it wasn't so terrifying (I hate public speaking! There, I said it!). No one sees you when you're on the radio. That's public speaking I can handle! Backtracking a little, my OTHER secret agenda was to learn how to run a radio station so that I could grow up one day and manage my own. 'Cause let's face it, Winnipeg radio mostly suuuuucks.
I came to host Home Spun after having noted that for a couple of weeks, there wasn't anyone on-air. I lingered outside Rick the Boss's office for about half an hour trying to build up the nerve to go in and ask him about it. The conversation went something like this: Me, "I noticed there hasn't been anyone on Home Spun for a couple of weeks." Rick, "No, there hasn't. Do you want to do it?" Me, (probably with a bright red face), "Yes." And so I hosted Home Spun for three years. It was awesome because more than anything else, I felt like I was maybe hopefully introducing people to new music, and therefore contributing to what I loved so much about KICK: we were playing different and better music than anyone else in Winnipeg. Thanks for that, Rick the Boss.
I don't know how the station will sound when it starts streaming in the Fall for the new CreComm students, and I don't know who's going to win the coveted 92.9 spot on the FM dial (Please be The Peak!), all I know is that I now subscribe to XM satellite radio because I can't stand the current local offerings (other than CBC, of course). There's a serious need for a station like KICK in this market.
Anyone want to start a radio station with me?
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