Where's the spirit of the season?

So, it's Halloween, the day of the year that I look forward to more than Christmas. That's right, I said Christmas! I spent my day at work (sadly), but when I left at 7:30, I had high hopes of seeing many a haunted house and little ghoulie on my drive home. To my extreme disappointment, the only Jack-o-lantern I saw along Hespeler was a garbage bag full-o-leaves; I only saw a handful of little ghoulies; and there were more Christmas lights and dark houses than haunted ones. In the out-of-context words of Jack Skellington, "What's this?" Where were the hordes of giggly children chasing each other down the sidewalk? Where were the faux-cobwebbed trees and loud creepy noises? Doesn't anyone's dad dress up as Wolfman and run out from behind a tree to scare the snot out of all those little candy-seeking munchkins?

When did everyone get so jaded about Halloween???

Sure, you can blame H1N1 for this year's disappointing kiddie turnout, but really, it started a couple of years ago. Halloween Recession has been taking hold for awhile now. This, to me, is terrible. I still toss around the idea of putting on a costume and just roaming the streets in order to participate, but my drive home made me wonder if this holiday is heading for dinosaur territory...

(Photo courtesy of my friend Holly. She always has the best jack-o-lanterns!)

One episode, and already hooked!

So, it's Tuesday afternoon and I'm sitting in the Agency with some classmates. We're all working on various homework assignments, trying to get the jump on the workload that never seems to end--which I suppose technically means you can't get a jump on it because the pile never really disappears--REGARDLESS, one of my classmates declares that we need to take a break that requires music. Fabulous, I think to myself. I love this thing called music. But wait--what is this? It sounds like "Don't Stop Believing"...but it's not Journey...

This was my introduction to my new favourite TV show, "Glee". As the title of this post suggests, I've only seen one full episode, but thanks to my aforementioned classmates, I've heard every song on the soundtrack. That, and a lot of Miley Cyrus (but that's a different story...). All I really have to say about "Glee" is this: if you're not already watching this show, you'd better start; and I couldn't have thought of a better title myself. "Glee" is one hour of glee every wednesday night, right after Criminal Minds, which provides glee of the Matthew Gray Gubler-type. :D

I'm all for having fun, but...

Why is it that every time I go to a concert, I end up with the widest, tallest, drunkest guy in the bar standing in front of me?

I always go to concerts early, and stand at the front of the stage. I do this so that a) I'm not standing alone at the back of the bar and b) I have a prime spot when the headliner comes on and c) lots of times the opening act is pretty good. Such was the case last night when I went to Silverado's to see Bif Naked. I was standing there, with only one shorter girl in front of me, ready to rock out and let the stress of the past week melt away when SUDDENLY this massive man tried to push past me and squeeze to the front. First off, what are you doing, guy? If you wanted to stand at the front, where were you 15 minutes ago when there was no one else here? Secondly, where do you think you're going to go? We're all sandwiched as it is and you're HUGE. There's nowhere for you to go! And thirdly, no one else is going to see anything if you stand in the front. You take up the space of four people! Grr Argh.

The above scenario happens ot me pretty much every time I go to shows. It gets old pretty fast.

So, to all you tall and or large people, please be considerate of the short people who arrive early in order to see the concert, and not the backs of your heads. Or just your backs.

The crazziest squirrel you'll ever see

When my cousin was in Winnipeg over the summer with her family, we all went to the zoo. This is what we saw:



Awesome.

A pet peeve

I love going to concerts. It's a stress reliever for me. Also, I tend to judge bands by their live show, meaning if the singer can't sing, chances are I won't like them. This love of live music lends itself to disappointment: many an American artist doesn't seem to understand the concept of "cross-Canada" tour. I'd like to put all the U.S.-based tour managers in a room with a map of my great country, and show them, "Here's Vancouver. Here's Montreal. Here's all the cities in between, and beyond." I've compiled this list of American acts that (to my knowledge) have never ever been to Winnipeg in the hopes that they'll find this blog and reach a level of enlightenment AKA come visit me--er...us!

1) The Academy Is... - "Santi" is one of my favourite albums of all time! Come visit me dangit!



2) Something Corporate - OK, so technically these guys are on hiatus while the individual members pursue other projects, so that segues into...

3) Jack's Mannequin - Andrew McMahon's other band that I love just as much as SomeCorp. Come with TAI...! It'll be magical!

4) Ben Folds - You are awesome. The college kids love you. You'll sell out the West End Cultural Centre with the greatest of ease.

5) Linkin Park - You guys are one of the biggest bands in the world, so you can't use "poor record sales" as an excuse. What are you waiting for?

6) Rob Thomas - Yes, Matchbox Twenty was here in...let me check my ticket stub...May 2001, but Rob totally skipped us, even though his website listed a Winnipeg date on his "Something to Be" tour in '06. Well, the new disc just came out, Rob. Please don't skip us again!

7) The Killers - This is the first band that actually HAS played here before, but it was before "Hot Fuss" came out and no one knew who they were. Now that they're ridiculously popular, there's no excuse for avoiding a cross-Canada tour.

8) Jason Mraz - I won't forgive you for making me buy "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things" twice until you play me a show. So there.

9) Incubus - Brandon Boyd crush aside...ummm...tour please?

10) 3 Doors Down - The closest they came to Winnipeg was X Fest in Brandon last year. Why these guys have never done a full cross-Canada tour is beyond me. Like Linkin Park, 3DD are one of the biggest bands in the world, and its mind-boggling to me that we've been overlooked.

So there it is. That's my list, anyway. I'm sure you, dear reader, can think of more artists off the top of your head. Feel free to add to this list in the comments section.

How I spent the first week of school

Besides going to class, of course. That one's a given. I skipped Intro Psych once in my first year at the U. of M., but that's another story. I love going to concerts, and I've learned that when indie artists from around the country play a show in your town, you'd better be there 'cause they may never come back (Static in Stereo!), or they may not come back for a couple of years (In-Flight Safety!). So here is the record of my Home-Made Frosh Week.

Monday, August 31: Day One
I spent this evening at Ozzie's. Thankfully it was not Wet T-shirt Night. The Fury and local opening act Living in Red rocked the 10 or so people that showed up. It was clear that most of the attendees had seen The Fury before, but I had not. I went because I friended them on MySpace and the band was kind enough to shoot me a message saying they were playing in my city on their current tour. It was definitely worth it: these guys and girl rock!

Tuesday, September 1: Day Two
Today was reserved for listening to the new Social Code album "Rock 'n' Roll". Love it! (WARNING: The following is a Shameless Show Plug [SSP]:) I can't wait to see them on Sept. 22 @ the Pyramid with Armchair Cynics (HURRAY!) and Rev Theory (I don't even know who this is!)! Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door.

Wednesday, September 2: Day Three
FRANZ FERDINAND!!! They played for 1h45, and it felt like 30 minutes. That's how much fun this band is to see live.

Thursday, September 3: Day Four
My first show by The Liptonians. These local boys are fantastic, and you need to go to their next show. Not even the swarms of skeeters at the Gas Station Theatre patio could chase the crowd away.

Friday, September 4: Day Five
Victoria's Acres of Lions was definitely the highlight of my Home-Made Frosh Week. They are tied with Grand Theft Bus (whom I did not see live this week, not because I didn't want to, but because they didn't come visit) for my new favourite band.

Saturday, September 5: Day Six
This day presented me with a choice: go to a house show in a sketchy area of town to see The Rough Sea, or go to Lo Pub for Hot Panda? Lo Pub won, which is a good thing for me because I just learned that unfortunately the Rough Sea show got canceled at the last minute. Hot Panda reminds me of The New Pornographers.

Sunday, September 6: Day Seven
I worked til 8 p.m. on Sunday, but I had it in the back of my mind that I would go see Jicah and The Fast Romantics at the Pyramid. Then I got home and decided I was going to stay there. Then I logged into my MySpace account and saw that Secret Broadcast had updated their status to say that they were loading in at the Pyramid in Winnipeg. Well, guess what? I went to the show afterall. It was a little confusing, what with Jicah NOT playing, and the show starting late even though the bar had to be empty early (?) 'cause it was Sunday...but it was AWESOME. It's a travesty that there weren't more people there.

And thus concluded my Home-Made Frosh Week, but it in no way signals the end of my concert adventures. Tomorrow: The Tragically Hip.