The day after 'The Day After Tomorrow'

movie review: The Day After Tomorrow

Hollywood special effects blockbuster as social commentary? Whereas, other Hollywood 'disaster' films tended towards cataclysmic events that were either out of our control(eg. Armageddon, Deep Impact, Twister) or were born out of rather contrived movie making(eg. The Core), The Day After Tommorow is predicated on the quite relevant issue of global warming. Global warming is quite within humanity's grasp to manage but whether humanity is willing to take the necessary steps towards preventing a bleaker future for our children and our children's children remains to be seen.

But of course with any Hollywood blockbuster, it's all about the special effects and The Day After Tomorrow succeeds overwhelmingly in this respect. The natural disaster segments such as the tornadoes, tidal waves and 'The Storm' were spectacular. But even moreso, were the film's depiction of New York City as it was transformed from the city it once was to one enveloped completely in snow and ice. Seeing Dennis Quaid's character(who plays a climatologist) walking over a frozen New York Harbour into downtown Manhattan, itself completely enveloped in snow and ice, was very dramatic. The film uses recognizable landmarks such as The Statue of Liberty in New York City or the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles to add a sense of familiarity.

On the other side of the coin, The Day After Tomorrow delves into the personal lives of the characters, but moreoften than not the acting is entrenched in cliche or melodrama. The film features several recognizable actors such as Dennis Quaid who plays a climatologist, Jake Gyllenhaal who plays his son, and Sela Ward who is Dennis characters wife. The actors are quite adequate but the screenplay was just atrocious sometimes, especially when Dennis Quaid's character decides to travel to New York City to find his son during "The Storm". If you see the film, you will see how preposterous Dennis Quaid's character's actions were.

The scientific basis of the events in the film were adequately explained and convincing although there was still an element of fantasy that remained. I doubt anyone leaving the theatre was convinced that anything in the film could actually happen in real life on the same scale, especially within our lifetime. However, I wouldn't have been surprised if some people came out of the theatre and pondered whether they themself do enough to help the environment, or more specifically reduce harmful ozone emissions. Considering the number of cars in the parking lot(myself and my friend included, in separate cars no less, tsk, tsk), it'll take more than a movie to get people to reduce automobile use. On purely cinematic grounds, the film succeeds visually but fails in the screenplay department. More importantly, it'll make you think, at least for a moment.

The Toronto Star: Noise is `toxic' but we love our poison (May 29, 2004) - Invest in some ear plugs for the next loud concert you go to, and your ears'll thank you in the morning.

Let's Push Things Forward

Just some news updates and some commentary today. Slow news day overall...however with the fairly nice weather we've had today, I've been thinking and have decided that "Pacific Theme" by Broken Social Scene is the PERFECT summer song! [song sample here]

Controller.Controller have added some more dates to their 'shows' page, including a couple more in Toronto, June 2 at The Gladstone Hotel and June 12 at Studio 99.

The Streets and Dizzee Rascal are touring together, including a Toronto stop on June 25 at the Mod Club[news courtesy of Pitchfork]. I just got the The Streets new CD "A Grand Don't Come For Free" and it's interesting, although it took me a few listens to really get into. It's definitely mellower than the first CD "Original Pirate Material", which I never made the leap to purchasing the CD from the burned copy I was listening to all last summer/fall... Oh, remembering the drive to Montreal(from Mississauga) last summer when a couple of friends and I were going to the Pop Montreal festival, barrelling down the 401 with the refrain of "Let's Push Things Forward" blasting through my car speakers. Memories.

Just got the NME 'Heroes' issue today which features Morrissey interviewing Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes interviewing Lou Reed, and The Ordinary Boys talking with Paul Weller. [Mind you, these hyperlinks are just excerpts, so do yourself and pick up the magazine, you cheapskates!] Haven't had a chance to read it yet except for some excerpts at the NME site, but just reading that Julian Casablancas was a "bundle of nerves" before interviewing Lou Reed de-mystified the whole, 'rock stars are cool' stereotype. Rock stars are people too. ;-) Now, if Julian had shit his pants, that would have been funny. :-)

So Yahoo has this story today about a blogger who's supposedly a Hollywood actor but is posting anonymously about being an actor in Hollywood and the 'cult of celebrity'. My guess is it's John Cusack(I could so picture him doing something like this)...but then the blogger(pseudonym 'Rance'...as in 'Rants') said in one of the posts that he(or is that she?) lives in Los Angeles, so I could be totally wrong if Mr. Cusack doesn't reside there. Actually, come to think of it, I think Mr. Cusack might live in Chicago. But still, my only plausible guess is that it's John Cusack. He's tolerant of Hollywood, choosing to act in Hollywood films from time to time, while at the same time seeming very cynical about the industry. ...Well, decide for yourself and check out the blog here.

I Have Seen

concert review: Zero 7 @ The Opera House[Toronto, Canada], Monday May 24, 2004

Downtempo music can be downright boring at times but when it's good it's really good. I will attribute the latter to the Zero 7 show at The Opera House just this past Monday. I got to the venue just after 8:30 and was disappointed that security wouldn't let me bring in my digital camera[the security guard said it was the policy of the promoters] so I trodded back to my car to put my camera inside my car and I went back to the venue. At least security were nice about it and the security person from the first time remembered me, waved me in without having to search me again and said "thanks" for co-operating. Although considering some of the camera flashes that went off during the concert, I think they missed some people. Oh well. It was all the more disappointing considering I had a fairly good view of the stage upfront. :-(

The worst thing about concerts sometimes is getting to the venue too early and having to wait for the show to start. And after what seemed like an eternity, a guy sauntered onto the stage and started to work the turntable that was set up off to the right side of the stage. I originally thought it was a roadie setting up for Zero 7 but realized that he was DJ and was opening the show. He spun a great mix of slightly-downtempo, jazzy, funky beats and it was a perfect segway for an evening of Zero 7's chillout tunes.

I was slightly unprepared for Zero 7 in a couple of ways. Firstly, I was only really familiar with their first CD "Simple Things" and secondly, I had never made an effort to find out what the band looked like. In a way, not knowing what the band looked like, held a bit of mystery for me. So to my astonishment, when the members of the group walked onto to stage, I realized how unassuming they looked. There were no co-ordinated wardrobes, nothing really interesting to look at, just a bunch of Londoners(?) in their street clothes. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how attractive the three female vocalists were: the sultry dark-haired Sophie Barker, the playful Sia Furler[vocals on "Destiny"!] and the newest vocalist, Tina Dico, who was quite the cutie with her straight blonde hair, and wearing blue jeans and a sleeveless shirt. Oh yes, there was also one male vocalist named Mozez, who's just a really cool dude.

As the evening progressed, it was interesting to see the vocalist changes and their different styles. Mozez rocked the mic on the awesome "I Have Seen" and got the crowd pumped up with his bouncing and flailing on stage. A highlight of the evening was my personal favourite Sophie Barker and an acoustic performance with just her sultry vocals, over keyboards and guitar; sorry I don't know the song but it was absolutely mesmerizing. Sia Furler brought "Destiny" to life with her purring vocals. Sia was quite playful on stage initiating a child-like dance routine with Tina Dico, which was totally fun to watch and was greatly appreciated by the crowd. Tina Dico was just so amazing to watch sing because her impressive vocals just did not seem like they should have been emanating from her. The band itself was quite impressive as well. The men behind Zero 7, Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker, one on keyboards, the other either on keyboards or some sort of sampler, were located on opposite sides of the stage and were quite content in giving the spotlight to their vocalists. Another gent on keyboards rocked the place with his extended funky keyboard solo which brought out some thunderous whoops from the crowd. The guitarist, bassist and drummer, fleshed out the sound quite adequately. The band came back for two encores, both times to thunderous applause. Although considering that the band left the stage the first time only about an hour into their set[way too early for the evening to have ended], and that by the time the band finally left the stage after their second encore, another half hour had just passed, I'm thinking the whole 2-encore set-up was planned. Sneaky but dramatic. When the band finally ended their second encore, all the members of the band gathered on stage, arm in arm, and bid farewell to us. Awesome show!

There was no merch table and I wasn't able to bring in my camera, but other than that it was a totally memorable show! And in related news, Tina Dico will be making a solo appearance at the El Mocambo on June 15, 2004, so I'll definitely consider getting down to that show! Check out the song samples at her site.

In other news, the Beastie Boys will be making an appearance at the 2004 Muchmusic Video Music Awards!

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart [DVD] is a wonderful and insightful look into one of America's finest bands, Wilco. Beautifully shot in black and white, the documentary shows a band that is clearly in transition both personally and professionally. It's understandable that the decision was made to film the documentary at the time of the making of the album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" as this was the album that would finally 'make or break' the band[in terms of financial success]. What's strange about the timing of the filming of the documentary were a couple of key events that occurred. There were the record company woes with Reprise deciding to pass on releasing Wilco's finished album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and eventually being dropped from the label [only to be picked up by Nonesuch Records who belong to parent company Time-Warner who happens to own Reprise]. There was the 'amicable split' of member Jay Bennett from the band, who in the documentary admits feeling that he did not have as much of a role in the band as he wanted to. In retrospect, it's hard to imagine whether this documentary would have had the same impact had these events not occurred. The documentary also touches on Jeff's experience with migraines as it shows him hovered over a toilet with an episode of nausea. With Jeff's recent emergence from rehab, the anticipation of the new Wilco record "A Ghost Is Born" being released, and Jeff's generally positive outlook on life which has come out in interviews, it's all more bittersweet, looking back at all the turmoil that the band(and specifically Jeff Tweedy) has gone through over the last several years. After seeing this DVD, I appreciate the band even more and am looking forward to seeing them at Lollapalooza this year.

ps. The musical segments(both during the documentary and on the bonus DVD disc) make this a DVD package worth returning to!

Altered States

Some long weekend. It rained virtually non-stop from Saturday to Sunday but we've got some relief this afternoon as it's cleared up quite nicely. I finished watching Wilco's "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" DVD this morning[I'll save my thoughts about that for another time]. Saturday, I was able to finally watch the film The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys which I can finally cross off my to-watch list. Check out the review below, and comments are appreciated.

movie review: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

On the surface, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys could have been a standard coming of age film. The film, by my guess, takes place in the late 70's/early 80's. It touches on such common themes as first love, childhood friendships, and children's mistrust of adults. The film is about a group of friends, centering on Kieran Culkin's character and his friend played by Emile Hirsch, who attend a Catholic school run by priests and nuns. On the one hand, is the strict disciplinary environment that the boys are raised in and on the other hand is the rambunctiousness of youth. Boys will be boys. The boys spend their time away from school hanging out, riding their bikes, reading comic books, drawing, and talking about girls. The boys discuss the idea of creating their own comic book, but this is only mentioned as a matter of fact rather than something they ever really get off the ground.

However, as the film progresses, an animated storyline(that's strictly of the good vs. evil comic book variety) takes life and loosely parallels the emotional undertow of the boys' lives. The film alternates between the boys' lives and this animated storyline and its interesting to see the parallels. It's easy to see Kieran Culkin's character in the superhero character(in the animated story) whose able to become a skeletal man, because as mentioned by Culkin's character, nothing can harm a skeleton; later on in the film this sort of invincibility will be explored. The villain in the animated storyline is a more sinister-looking version of the nun(played by Jodie Foster) who's also their teacher.

There's a dark, sombre tone to the film overall and is light years away from the weary-eyed nostalgia of say The Wonder Years. There's quite an unexpected sad ending(that's all I'm gonna say) and part of me wishes for the happy ending. But one ending is the start of a new beginning and this concept is perfectly illustrated by the animated storyline at the conclusion of the film.

Off to see Zero 7 at The Opera House!

Monster Mash

movie review: Van Helsing [2004]

Starring Hugh Jackman as Van Helsing and Kate Beckinsale as some Transylvanian Princess, Van Helsing is a modern reworking of the Dracula, Frankenstein and Werewolf characters. Van Helsing, working on behalf of the powers that be(The Order) in Vatican City, hunts down these "monsters". The Order work covertly to protect humanity from Evil. The beginning of the movie introduces Van Helsing as he is on the trail of Mr. Hyde(alter-ego of Dr. Jeckyll).

Van Helsing manages not to be a bore, but what it accomplishes in visual effects, it lacks in story. Well there is a loose story that manages to tie together the various 'monster' characters. The acting is adequate if sometimes campy[which I'm not sure was the intention of the film]; the Dracula character lacks any of the depth you may have seen of the portrayal of vampires in other films eg. Interview with the Vampire, even Queen of the Damned. There's some comic relief in the film(easily the best thing in the film next to the visual effects) with Van Helsing's reluctant sidekick, who is a Friar, and who works with The Order developing weapons to aid in the protection of humanity against Evil hunting down monsters. Kate Beckinsale's character provides some slight romantic overtones, but other than that is quite useless [other than providing some appealing eye-candy]. (Kate Beckinsale was so much better in Underworld [yes I thought Underworld was a good film] in which she was playing a vampire.)

Van Helsing will entertain you visually but you'll leave the film feeling like it could have been so much better. I vaguely recall talk of a sequel. Hopefully it'll be an improvement.

Super Falling Star

Has anyone caught the new television show The WB's Superstar USA? Muchmusic[in Canada] broadcast it tonight and it's like watching a car crash...it's so excrutiating to watch but then you can't turn away. The premise of the show is that it plays out like American Idol...hopefuls audition in front of a panel of judges[including Tone Loc and Vitamin C] in hopes of performing well enough to get to the finals. The catch is that the 12 WORST singers are being picked, unbeknownst to the contestants, to compete to be the 'Superstar'. I'll agree that some of the singers are just god-awful but isn't there an element of cruelty to string these contestants along? Apparently, the hoax will be revealed to the 'winner' of the competition on the last show. Can this show be real? Can people be so cruel as to make fun of people on national television? In the back of my mind, I'm thinking that the whole show is a setup, everyone's an actor, and the joke's being played on the television viewer. Anyone willing to make a wager? :-) And if I'm wrong, then there had better be one big $$ payoff (a la Joe Schmo[season one]) for the contestants at the end. Or else someone at The WB will deserve a beating.

Ted Leo finally has the mp3 (demos) up on his site as he promised including a take on "Me and Mia" (which I've downloaded and sounds great!)...but as I write this, trying to insert the hyperlinks, Ted's site is down. Hope it comes back up soon because there's a couple more demos that I think are available. ...note: Ted's tagged the 'artist' of the mp3 as 'The Homsars'...anyone know what that means?

I finally purchased the Franz Ferdinand CD, not only because of the fine music contained therein, but also because Sunrise Records was offering a free DVD music video sampler of different artists, which included the video for Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out". For a limited time only with the purchase of selected titles...[Although, I played the DVD at home and 1)there's no onscreen menu and, 2) there's no shuffle capability between videos. There's about 15 videos on the DVD which means that the only way to get to each video is to 'fast forward' to it which is a pain in the ass...maybe it's defective...but then it was free so why should I complain.]

Counting Down the Hours

Another Ted Leo update at his official site. He's tracked the following songs:

- Heart Problems
- Counting Down the Hours
- Bettter Dead Than Lead
- Shake the Sheets
- Me and Mia

Ted has mentioned that he has posted a couple of demos, but there is a Flash problem that is preventing access. I can't wait to hear the new songs!

A recent update at the Luna site, fuzzywuzzy.com, mentions that the Galaxie 500 DVD "Don't Let Our Youth Got To Waste" can be pre-ordered, with the first 500 pre-orders coming with a FREE limited edition yellow-vinyl 7" which includes the songs "Snowstorm" b/w "Pictures" Live at Club Lingerie, LA March 30, 1990. It's a promotional single and will not be available for sale ANYWHERE. (Just a note to Canadians and international customers: I went through the online checkout process, and there was only one shipping method available which added a whopping $14.99 US to the price of the DVD which is $22.00 US...with the exchange rate, it would cost me at least $50 CDN...I think I'll pass for now)

If you like, you can pre-order it here.

Vit Wagner of The Toronto Star today has an article on Jeff Tweedy's emergence from rehab for addiction to pain killers. It's good to read that Jeff's doing very well now, as expressed by a couple of quotes from him like "I just have so much energy. It's just great. It just feels effortless now." and "I can't believe how much better I feel".

The official Metric site has a brand new look!

Michael Moore is at it again.

"Don't Steal Our Sun (You're Just Killing Fun)"

I had a burst of writing energy today, but don't expect nearly as much in the future. :-) Actually, some of the items below were info that I came across last week that I had not had a chance to mention, so forgive me if it's old news.

Is it uncool to like The Thrills, especially when post-punk sounds currently rule the alternative music airwaves? I don't nearly hear enough about the band in the media and I guess that is why they slipped under my radar until now. I got my first taste for the band when my buddy and I went to Coachella. While my buddy took some shelter from the heat that day, I went exploring the Coachella grounds and the airy melodies of the band drew me to the tent they were playing. There were just too many people in the tent for me to get myself close enough to really enjoy the concert so I stood near one of the side entrances of the tent and watched the band for 2-3 songs. They had a country-rock sound, with Beach Boys-influenced vocal harmonys, which was thoroughly enjoyable and perfect music that afternoon.

I think maybe it was having missed out on The Cardigans' show in Toronto this passed Thursday which got me looking for a fix for my live music craving. So then I came upon the info that The Thrills were playing in Toronto(yesterday) and I remembered that I liked what I heard from them at Coachella. I did some research on the band, checked out there website, read some reviews, listened to some song samples, saw some streaming videos, and I convinced myself to go see the band live. No regrets whatsoever. So read my review below:

concert review: The Thrills w/ Matt Mays and El Torpedo, Phoenix Concert Theatre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) May 15, 2004

This was an early show. I still find it strange to walk into a concert venue when it is still daylight outside. I walked into a surprisingly sparse crowd. The openers, Matt Mays and El Torpedo, had not yet come on so I bought a drink and fiddled with my digital camera. It wasn't long before Matt Mays came on. I hadn't even know he was going to open the show because it hadn't been published in the paper. I had found out that Matt Mays was going to be the opener when I had passed the merch desk on the way in, was looking at some of The Thrills' merch, saw the Matt Mays CD and the guy at the desk(who definitely worked for The Thrills) asked me if the Matt Mays CD was good and I had expressed that it was a good CD of 'country-rock'. Matt Mays opening up the show was an entirely logical choice.

Not much to say about Matt. If you like early Wilco, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, you'll dig the music. I think I'd have dug the music even more if they added some pedal steel guitar now and then, but that's just my opinion. I think I'll pull out Matt's CD and listen to it again. Matt did tell a story about him and the band driving from Ottawa and their van breaking down...partly due to all the gadgets running off the van battery at various times(eg. DVD player, Playstation One) but also getting caught in a traffic jam on the 401). Poor guys.

So then a lengthy intermission followed as The Thrills' roadies set up the stage and gear. Once the roadies finally finished, to everyone's surprise some half-naked,chubby, pasty caucasian dude in a towel came onto stage and gave the audience a look like he had made a wrong turn somewhere. But then he started to banter with the crowd[some girl in the front row took some pictures of him], told some jokes and I realized it was all part of the show. So after some brief laughs he made the perfect rock n' roll introduction as he introduced the band and the band came on stage. Perfect.

The Thrills played a great set of slightly-countrified rock songs, sort of a countrified Teenage Fanclub, with hints of Wilco, Grandaddy(mostly in the vocals), Beach Boys, and some might say The Eagles[does only knowing "Hotel California" justify me making this comparison ;-) ] The vocalist enthralled the crowded and didn't miss an opportunity to thank the fans for welcoming the band back to Toronto for the second time within six months. One of the guitarists had an anti-Bush T-shirt, although the band never brought politics into their stage banter. If I remember correctly, the band returned for one encore, playing a new song as well as their 'sunny' "Don't Steal Our Sun". Thoroughly enjoyable concert!

I think this was the first concert I ever left, when it was still light outside.

Check out my pictures here. [they're kinda crappy, because I didn't use my flash(except for one picture)...oh well]

BTW, I bought The Thrills CD "So Much For The City" today at Futureshop. It was priced $10.99 but when the customer service rep scanned it at the register, it scanned at $13.99 and she told me that it was store policy that if an item scans at a higher price than stickered, they will knock $10.00 off the stickered price. So she sold it to me for $.99, plus tax. Hey, I told her I don't mind paying the $10.99, but she insisted, so who I am I to complain?

Hey, I finally found out what song that was that I've been digging for the past month or so but was never able to catch the name of until now. It was "Darts of Pleasure" by Franz Ferdinand. While I was at HMV today they were playing the CD, and I was in the store long enough to hear about half the CD, including "Darts Of Pleasure". Now I know what all the fuss is about! I didn't purchase the CD today, but it's on my wishlist!

The Fall Media Project is hosting two The Fall related items for download:

- a concert(in mp3 format)
- an .avi(of decent quality) of the band performing the song "Walk Like A Man" (live in Irvine, Magnum Leisure Centre on 20th February 2004)...Mark E. Smith has aged apparently, but then haven't we all.

Now, if The Fall would come to Toronto...I'm still pissed off ever since they cancelled their last planned Toronto tour date from a couple of years ago.

King Cobb Steelie is set to release their fifth album "Destroy All Codes Now" on June 29, 2004 through Outside Music. A Canadian tour for the summer/early fall is being planned.

Did ya' hear? Mandy Moore has signed to Sire Records. Currently Sire Records hosts bands such as The Distillers and The Von Bondies. Sire was also The Smiths label in the past. Yes, Mandy Moore, of "I'm missing you like candy" and A Walk To Remember fame. Actually, it's not too surprising that Sire Records has given her chance since Mandy Moore has eclectic taste in music, as seen by her recent(well not that recent; more like fall of 2003) "Coverage" CD which features covers of songs by the likes of XTC, Blondie, Joni Mitchell and The Waterboys.

So Close and Yet So Far

No Cardigans show for me yesterday. And I'm really bummed about it. I went bowling with some co-workers yesterday and then after I headed downtown to Lee's Palace around 9 pm to see if I could pickup a ticket from a scalper for the Cardigans show yesterday. While driving down Bloor St., I saw the lineup for admission into the venue, which I assumed was for ticketholders only. I figured I'd go kill some time at Sonic Boom across the street from Lee's Palace before looking for a scalper to buy a ticket from. Hey, I was ready to spend at least $30-40 to get a ticket[for a ticket that had a face value of $18.50]. I figure I spent more time at Sonic Boom than I intended to because it was almost 10:30 pm before I headed towards Lee's Palace. The lineup into Lee's was inside by then, and I couldn't find any scalpers [althought there were several people outside Lee's asking if anyone had any extra tickets]. So in defeat I gave up and headed home. (The only consolation was that I was able to purchase Wilco's "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" DVD for a decent price of $30.99 CDN.)

But to my horror, after catching some comments at Chromewaves today, I read that Lee's Palace had some tickets for the show available at the door. WTF!? Apparently, there was a sign outside the venue which indicated that some tickets were being sold at the door. Well, I either missed that sign, or that sign must have been taken down by the time I got to Lee's around 10:30 pm yesterday. What f!*kin' bad luck I have some of the time! So to all who got in to the show yesterday, hope you had a good time.

Going to buy myself a rabbit's foot.

There's a new update at Ted Leo 's site today. He had been posting comments about his recent tour in March of this year and he had posted comments for gigs up to March 17, 2004. And now he's decided to put the tour diary on the back burner, which means I guess he won't be posting anything about the March 25, 2004 show which I was at. It could have gone something like this:

Man...Toronto was just so awesome! Canadians rock! That's why I've decided to come back for a second Toronto gig in June. I wish all my fans were as enthusiastic as my Canadian fans. When I get back to Toronto, everyone gets a free t-shirt and CD at the show!

Now how hard could that have been Ted. ;-)


...A slight consolation, is that Ted mentions in today's news update that in the future he hopes to post a daily diary of the upcoming recording process for the new album as well as posting some song demos in mp3 format!

...Hey, while were on the topic of Ted Leo, I just thought I'd remind you that Sharing The Groove has at least one Ted Leo show that is available in lossless format for download at this very moment. I'm currently downloading the Ted Leo and the Pharmacists 08/15/2002 SouthPaw show. Did I mention that Sharing the Groove is such an awesome site?! I feel like a kid in a candy store everytime I go there.

Long Gone Before Daylight ... aka Live and Learn

I'm not having any luck tracking down tickets for The Cardigans' show tomorrow in Toronto at Lee's Palace. Rotate This is out of its stock of tickets and Ticketmaster.ca also says that the show is sold out. I know, I know. I should have bought my ticket sooner. But then I just came back from Coachella and I wasn't sure if I'd be in the mood for another concert. It's surprising how fast I've adjusted back to Canadian life(from that California good-life). (or maybe it's just the recent warm weather which has made the transition smoother) My question is, WTF are The Cardigans doing by playing such a small venue as Lee's Palace, especially since 1)they haven't released an album in five years and there are alot of Cardigans fans just itching to see them live, and 2)IMO, The Cardigans could easily sell out a larger venue such as The Opera House? And then a glimmer of hope today; the Lee's Palace web site indicates that the show is 'almost sold out'. I've gotten nowhere trying to call Lee's Palace on the phone to inquire if there are still tickets to the show because they don't answer the phone. And to add insult to injury, I made the trek down to Lee's Palace after work only to find that 102.1 The Edge employees setting up for a concert tonight and there weren't any Lee's Palace employees around that I could ask about The Cardigans show tomorrow night. Anyone think there'll be scalpers tomorrow?

Anointed One

What's this? Is this my first scoop [not that many people are reading this blog ;-) ]? ....The Ted Leo site has a bunch of new tour dates in June including a show in Toronto on June 21, 2004 at the Horseshoe Tavern. Sweet! The Ted Leo show in Toronto back in March 2004 was an eye-opener and he's so much better live. If you think his Dirty Old Town DVD live performances are good, you gotta catch the real thing.

The music equivalent of a psychic connection, it's funny that I've been listening to Supergrass' 'Life on Other Planets' CD recently and I just purchased a used copy of Supergrass' Supergrass CD over the weekend, and now Tiny Mix Tapes reports that the band is releasing a best-of CD entitled 'Supergrass Is Ten - the Best of '94 to '04'' on June 4, 2004. The best-of will include two new songs, including the new single 'Kiss Of Life'.

...ps.The Supergrass official web site is interesting if you have the time to explore it but is a little bit of a headache to navigate if you're trying to find information. Hey, at least it's better than the Radiohead site [someone must have been on drugs when that thing was created.]

"Don't Mess With The Death Cab"

article: Toronto Star: Why The O.C. sounds so good to us: Non-mainstream music peps up mainstream TV

mp3: The Guided By Voices site recently announced the release of Robert Pollard's newest solo album entitled 'Fiction Man' [#30 in the Fading Captain series]. An mp3 of the song 'Their Biggest Win' is available for download. Another winner!

tour diary:The Belle and Sebastian 'Diary' section was recently updated with Stuart's thoughts of life on tour. I haven't made it through his most recent post dated May 4, 2004 which covers the month of April and up to May 1. However, his post dated May 3 is quite the charmer, as he reveals his crush for Christina Ricci! Good taste my man! He also comments on jumping on stage in an animal costume during The Flaming Lips Coachella set!

Modern Nature

I'm still trying to gather the strength to write up a rundown of my trip to California. I estimate sometime next week I'll be able to post some thoughts. At least I've unpacked my luggage and started to weed out some of my digital camera pics which weren't up to snuff[ie. the pics which came out crappy]. I'm still thinking whether I should be complaining or be thankful for the rainy weather this weekend[in the Toronto area]; that heatwave in California since April 29/04 was just brutal.

Boohoo :-( ... the Sondre Lerche show today at the Horseshoe is sold out! And speaking of Mr. Lerche, according to his web site, he will be performing on Late Night With Conan O'Brien on May 11, 2004, so don't forget [something which I tend to do alot!].

In the meantime, check out Ted Leo's site as he continues to post his thoughts of his late-winter 2004 tour through the U.S. [I'm still waiting for his thoughts on the March 25/2004 Toronto date!; as of today he's only posted his thoughts for his gigs up to March 17, 2004]

Coming back from Cali

I'm back from a whirlwind tour of California! My buddy and I spent two days at the Coachella festival(Pixies, Radiohead, The Cure, etc...), 2 days in San Diego(one night seeing Belle and Sebastian), and the whole trip was book-ended with stays in Los Angeles doing mostly tourist-y things. Combined with having to stay at 4 different motels over the course of 6 nights and driving a rental car between cities, I'm pooped. I took alot of pictures(concert as well as tourist-y), some coming out good, some well..., and I'll try to post a rundown of my trip some time in the future, if I can muster up the strength. For now, more sleep beckons!

First to Finish, Last to Start

The main man Ted Leo's been posting his thoughts of his recent mini-tour (see his 'news' update dated April 26, 2004) which took him down through the U.S. to SXSW and then back up to Canada. He's posted some thoughts for gigs up to February 16/04. Can't wait for his thoughts about the Toronto show on March 25 which I went to. I personally was euphoric about the whole experience! He also mentions that he is in the process of finishing up some new songs for the new album which he'll be recording in 3 weeks. ....Note to Ted: Your news update yesterday promised that you'd finish posting your thoughts on your mini-tour 'tomorrow'...umm...'tomorrow' is now 'today'...and no update...inquiring minds want to know! :-)

some article links below about a couple of decent bands (I'm being lazy today with the links; but I will mention that Trash Can Sinatras are severely underrated and underappreciated; I only wish that they would play a show in Canada!):

- PopMatters: "Say to Me, Where Have You Been?": The Pixies Roar Back After 12 Years(April 21, 2004)

- PopMatters: THE "C" WORD: The Trash Can Sinatras Are Back(April 12, 2004)

I feel like I should mention the Guided By Voices breakup but then you probably already know. I will say that I have seen GBV live three times [once opening for Urge Overkill, I believe around 96', and twice headlining within the last 3 years, most recently in November 2003]. GBV never fail to impress me live. Most GBV fans'll probably wince but I I like their CD 'Isolation Drills' the best, just because it's the one CD of theirs that I have listened to the most. Ranking a close second is 'Bee Thousand', which I do not own on CD but do have on vinyl; coincidentally, 'Bee Thousand' was the first vinyl record of an indie-rock band which I purchased, back in the mid-90's. The saddest part of the whole thing [and I'd also liken this to, say, my favourite television show ending eg. Seinfeld, X-files] is knowing that the likelihood of another band coming close to the genious of GBV is near impossible. So I'm sorry to see the 'band' go, but happy to read that Mr. Pollard'll still be recording. Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da, life goes on.

Pixies come alive!

Your prayers have been answered if you were kicking yourself for not getting tickets for the Pixies show at Arrow Hall[Mississauga, Ontario, Canada] on Wednesday November 24, 2004 because a SECOND SHOW HAS BEEN ADDED FOR THE DAY AFTER! As per 102.1 The Edge site the ticket info is as follows:

when: Thursday November 25, 2004

who: Pixies
where: Arrow Hall (in Mississauga)

other info: All Ages/Licenced • Doors 5:30pm • General Admission

Tickets: $35.00 (incl. GST - Plus applicable service & handling charges) on sale this Thursday @ 10am, available at all Ticketmaster outlets

You can thank me later. ;-)

ps. I can't wait for the bootlegs to make their way onto the 'net and people's reactions when they read 'Live In Mississauga' and ask themselves...where the f*!k i s Mississauga?! ... Well, it's my hometown and I can't believe our dumb luck that we're getting the Pixies!

phew!....just finished my taxes. I do my own taxes every year...and every year it's a head ache. But I'm getting a refund of about $600.00! Woohoo!

Slack, Motherf*!ker

controller.controller spring tourdates are up at the official site. The mostly Canadian tour will also include an opening slot for Franz Ferdinand [what's their deal? I still really haven't heard their music] as well as several dates in New York City. I hope the band receives a warm response in the Big Apple. ...[That Franz Ferdinand opening slot(in Toronto no less)....I smell an upstage. :-) ]

A couple of days ago, Pitchfork mentioned yet another Jay-Z 'Black Album' mashup...and this time it's with Pavement's classic 'Slanted and Enchanted' lp. And what's more is that both albums have 14 tracks each and the resulting mashup has been done track-by-track using the original album track order. Does it work? Well you be the judge. The album is available via BitTorrent from the official Slack Album website. ... If anything, it's interesting.

Thanks again to mishie, Wily Filipino and Largehearted Boy who added me to their audioscrobbler friend's list. And I've returned the sentiment by adding them to mine. Check out their blogs because they put mine to shame...hey, give me time and my blog'll look all nice and pretty once I can stop procrastinating and develop the ol' HTML skills. :-)

I'd like to post some thoughts about Kill Bill: Vol II which I saw last Tuesday but I've encountered a mental block[not uncommon for me ;-) ]. Stay tuned for a review in the future.

Going back to Cali

The music gods have answered my prayers because when I checked the Ticketmaster web site and checked for Belle and Sebastian tickets for the San Diego show, there was a 'Canadian will-call' option available. A 'will-call' option! Yes, God Almighty, yes! I could purchase tickets and pick them up at the will-call window. [You don't know how much stress I went through when I couldn't purchase tickets yesterday ; see yesterday's post] I don't know how familiar with Ticketmaster's online ordering process you are, but after choosing the number of tickets you would like to purchase, the next screen is a 'word verification' process whereby you must type in a word that appears in this box; this process is a preventitive measure from persons using automated programs to block other people from purchasing tickets]. And you know what the word was for me? ..."BEAMING"... How ironic. 'Beaming' was exactly what I was doing as I placed my order for 2 tickets to see Belle and Sebastian in San Diego! So Coachella on May 1 and 2. Belle and Sebastian on May 3. This is shaping up to be a great trip!...What will I do next?...I'm going to Disneyland! [ok maybe not ;-) ]

I added the audioscrobbler plugin for Winamp so check out my profile page if you are so inclined. [For future reference, a link to my audioscrobbler profile page will be in the right side bar, under 'Listening to'.]... If you happen to find alot of top-40, r'n'b, or mainstream hip-hop songs, well those are likely as a result of my 12 year old nephew listening to his mp3's while he and his friends have some 'deep' conversations on MSN Messenger about whatever 12 year kids talk about these days :) ... Thanks to mishie and her blog post yesterday about audioscrobbler for finally convincing me to sign up. Thanks also to Wily Filipino whose blog originally informed me about audioscrobbler.

Ticketmaster is Evil

Ticketmaster is evil...ok not quite. No, I won't go on a rant about high service charges but I'd like to comment on the following two issues:

1) the customer service reps who answer the phone and apparently are inadequetely trained, and,

2) the inconsistencies of delivery options of tickets available for Canadian residents vs. the rest of the world.

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#1

First, I'm willing to give customer service reps a break...I, myself work in customer service within a government department and have had my share of bad days taking phonecalls[not to mention speaking with people in person]...but the idiots at Ticketmaster or at least the two reps I spoke to today 1) sounded like the most disinterested individuals ever, 2) didn't seem to have a clue to how to respond to my questions; I basically asked them whether as a Canadian resident, I could somehow qualify to receive tickets through ticketFast, their new tickets-by-email option; I did read the FAQ on the website and it apparently said that if the concert was in the U.S., then the ticketFast option would NOT be available to Canadian residents; when I asked the Ticketmaster reps if they could verify that, they seemed to have no clue about what ticketFast was. I was actually hoping if there was a possibility for me[as a Canadian resident] to use the ticketFast option, but f!*k, they didn't even know what ticketFast was! I was almost quoting the FAQ to them, and that just seemed to confuse them even more.

#2

So as I tried to order tickets through the Ticketmaster website, the only delivery options available at this point in time, were a variety of mailing options for U.S. CUSTOMERS, and the 'will call' option for INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS. So I figured, I can order my tickets as an international customer, and then pick up the tickets at the 'will call' window of the venue. But then I realized when I tried to input my billing address, that 'Canada' was not included in the 'country' drop-down box on the web site. Then I read the 'delivery methods' information more closely and it said that 'international will-call' is for customers outside of the U.S. AND Canada...I know Ticketmaster had a mailing option for tickets ordered by Canadian customers as recently as last week, but I think that option is not available now because Ticketmaster cannot guarantee to deliver the tickets in time anymore. ....My big beef is two-fold: 1)why can't the ticketFast option be available for Canadian residents trying to order tickets for a U.S. concert, when if the concert was in Canada, U.S. residents would be able to use ticketFast and, 2) why are international customers still given the option of 'will-call' but not Canadian residents.
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I'm pissed off.

My main concern was that I was trying to order Belle and Sebastian tickets for their gig in San Diego on May 3, 2004. As, I mentioned in previous posts, my buddy and I are going to Coachella, but when I found out that Belle and Sebastian were playing in San Diego the weekend after Coachella, I wept tears of joy[ok, not really but I was excited]. But alas, there is no way for me to reserve tickets for the show. It is a slight consolation that Belle and Sebastian will be at Coachella [although I anticipate their set length not being as long as a regular show]. My only other alternative is that when my buddy and I fly in to Los Angeles on April 30, that we purchase the Belle and Sebastian tickets for the San Diego show through a Ticketmaster outlet right away. I just hope it doesn't get sold out. My fingers are crossed.

You can't, you won't, and you don't stop

• music: The official Beastie Boys site is under construction but you can sign up to receive site updates by e-mail. Check out the snazzy scrolling image of the old New York waterfront! And with the new album titled "To the 5 Boroughs" I can't help but think there's a "Gangs of New York" [ie. Five Points] concept behind all this.



• concerts: The first week of May could be just about the best week of concerts in my whole life if I manage to go to all of them:




• May 1-2: Coachella [Indio, California] -> my buddy and I are going and I'm totally psyched! Concert tickets are purchased. Plane tickets booked. So far booked a motel for the evening of Sunday May 2. Still looking for lodging on May 1. Don't want to sleep in a rental car. That reminds me; I still have to book a rental car. Thank God for expedia.ca [how's that for an endorsement! please make cheques out to Michael ... ;-) ]



• May 3: Belle and Sebastian [San Diego, California] -> I saw B & S the first time they came to Toronto a couple of years ago but I missed their last show in Toronto last year. Hey, since I'll be in California and San Diego is only two hours or so away by car, I'm strongly considering catching B & S' show.



• May 6: we're catching a plane back home to Canada.



• May 7: The Dears [Toronto, Ontario] -> I have a day off work [although you don't think I'd actually go to work on a Friday after being on vacation for a week, do you?]. But then The Dears are playing at Lee's Palace in the evening! BTW, The Dears website news update today says that they "...are putting together live concert recordings, due out this fall. It features a 20 minute, border-line un-listenable first half of Pinned Together, Falling Apart." Woohoo!



• May 8: Sondre Lerche [Toronto, Ontario] -> Sondre Lerche is playing at the Horseshoe Tavern! ... and it's my b-day!




• TV: I just finished watching a bit of the television show, "Scare Tactics", and man, that is totally f!*ked up. There was a young woman babysitting a girl, and the girl was frightening the babysitter by startling her dressed in a black hood and white mask. So she told the little girl to stop scaring her. The young woman went back to the living room to read a book, but then a knock at the window caught the young woman's attention, she saw a figure in the window wearing a black hood and white mask, and the woman assumed it was the little girl playing a trick on her. Then the girl came from her room and asked if there was someone knocking on the door. Then all of a sudden this masked person crashed through the window holding a long knife! At that point the woman freaked out! ...As I said, this is one f!*ked up show. And with friends setting their friends up for this show, who needs enemies.

That girl...again

While I was out this afternoon, I passed by a Goodwill and while browsing the CD's [most of which were unknown to me or crap], I came across a 4-track sampler of songs from the soundtrack of the film "Down With Love". I've actually had the DVD of the film for several months now and have not got around to watching it. So it was a big surprise to me to find out that there is an Esthero song on the sampler and soundtrack [although, according to the discography section of estheronline, not included in the actual film] called "Every Day is a Holiday (With You)", which was co-written with Sean Lennon. Nice song, sort of Bacharach-ish with some subtle electronic noodling.

That Girl

Muchmusic was playing the the Black-Eyed Peas video for the song "Weekend" which features guest vocals from Canada's own Esthero. And then that got me thinking. What ever happened to her? She was and still is my favourite 'urban' music artist to ever come out of Canada. Her "Breath from Another" CD [which was actually more of a collaborative effort between Esthero [vocals] and her parner-in-crime Doc [production] is an amazing blend of trip-hop, hip-hop, drum n' bass, and pop. So after a little bit of searching on the 'net, estheronline [which I came to vis-a-vis the message board at Sirens of Song] reports that a new album will be released soon! Sirens of Song reports that the new album is entitled "Wikked Lil Grrrls" and should be released by April [hey it's April now, but so far no news of a release date?!].....so I'm crossing my fingers this just isn't hearsay, or the release date isn't pushed back. Hey, Nelly Furtado proved that urban music can cross-over to a mainstream audience...I'm hoping that Esthero has similar success.

Hit the North!

The Fall [yes, the one and only!] are touring the U.S. as we speak. Tour dates are below:

Apr. 7 Ottobar, Baltimore, MD
Apr. 8 Knitting Factory, New York, NY
Apr. 9 Knitting Factory, New York, NY
Apr. 10 Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
Apr. 12 First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
Apr. 13 Black Cat, Washington, DC
Apr. 14 Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
Apr. 16 Echo Lounge, Atlanta, GA
Apr. 17 40 Watt, Athens, GA
Apr. 19 Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
Apr. 20 Southgate House, Newport, KY
Apr. 21 Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
Apr. 22 Brewhouse, Pittsburgh, PA
Apr. 23 Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
Apr. 24 Metro, Chicago, IL
Apr. 25 Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL - MES reading
Apr. 26 Creepy Crawl, St. Louis, MO
Apr. 28 Mojo's, Columbia, MO
Apr. 29 The Conservatory, Oklahoma City, OK
Apr. 30 Tree's, Dallas, TX
May 1 Emo's, Austin, TX
May 2 Fitzgerald's, Houston, TX
May 5 Plush, Tucson, AZ
May 6 Old Brickhouse, Phoenix, AZ
May 7 Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA
May 8 Blank Club, San Jose, CA
May 9 Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
May 11 Galaxy Theatre, Santa Ana, CA
May 13 Tangiers, Los Angeles, CA - MES reading
May 14 Echo Lounge, Los Angeles, CA
May 15 Echo Lounge, Los Angeles, CA
May 16 Casbah, San Diego, CA
May 27-29 Primavera Sound festival, Barcelona.

And once again, no Canadian dates. :-(

I was checking out the Gigology [2001 to present] section of The Fall site and according to it, the last Canadian dates that were scheduled for Toronto and Montreal on July 2 and 4th, 2003 respectively were cancelled because the band would have had to pay $500 (£500?) for a visa to enter Canada and the tour was "operating on a shoestring". Although, speculation at the time blamed it on SARS. [damn SARS!]

Also, being that my friend and I are attending this year's Coachella festival and will likely be spending the next several days after hanging out in L.A., I'll also just be missing The Fall's L.A. gig on May 7, as I'll be going back home on the 6th. ....When it rains, it pours.

Ch-Check it out!

There was a bit of bad news with the annoucement of Wilco cancelling the first 8 dates of its U.S. tour, including the Coachella date, especially since my friend and I are planning on going and I was really hoping to see them live for the first time.....So how are my Coachella plans going? Well, I've already bought the concert tickets. The plane ticket and car rental should be no problem, but the hard part is finding a motel/lodging[and its my own fault for leaving it only two weeks before the departure date]. There seems to be no vacancies for May 1 and May 2 within the vicinity of the Coachella festival. Hey, I was almost considering camping, but then I checked out the Coachella site, and even that is sold out. I swear that before the weekend has ended, I'll have booked everything. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I don't want to have to sleep in a rental car.

The Beastie Boys site has had some recent updates including 1) the announcement of the title and tracklisting of the new record and, 2) that the new Beastie Boys' single "Ch-Check it Out" will debut on "The O.C." . ....Y'know, what...I got to check this show out, because first I heard a Clinic song on one episode, then I read that they've played Death Cab for Cutie on the show, and now the Beastie Boys. Is the show nearly as good as its soundtrack? I will be the judge. [I also heard a New Pornographer's song on yesterday's episode of "Gilmore Girls"; who said television is bad!?]

p.s. check out the snazzy Beastie Boys banner I added to the right!

What the Hell, boy?

Not knowing anything about the comic book, Hellboy [the movie] is quite entertaining on its own merits. I don't have much to say and I don't want to overanalyze it but here's the rundown. It's around the time of WWII, when the Nazi's are testing a machine which can apparently open a vortex to Hell, supposedly to summon dark forces to aid them in their conquest of world domination. The Allies have managed to covertly locate the Nazi's whereabouts and been told by the paranormal scientist accompanying them that they must stop the Nazi's from opening up the vortex. Well too late. The Nazi's do open up the Vortex, the Allies attempt and succeed to stop the device, but according to the paranormalist, the vortex has been open too long and there is the possibility that something may have come through. Lo' and behold, they stumble upon a young demon that has managed to come through the vortex. They name him 'Hellboy'. Fast-forward to present day and apparently Hellboy has been trained by a covert government agency to aid them against paranormal activities.

The movie is directed by Guillermo Del Toro, who also directed Blade II. Hellboy has a similar stylized look as Blade II and is a an eye-pleasing film to watch. Where Hellboy succeeds is that it entertains the viewer; the movie provides a minimum amount of background information to bring the viewer up to speed, incorporates elements such as a love story to develop the emotional depth of 'Hellboy' without ever drowing itself in over-explanation, and primarily the film flows from scene to scene without ever losing your interest [well at least in my opinion].

'Hellboy' is a multi-faceted character; masculine, hard-headed, cigar-toting', muscle-bound he-man. But then quite self-conscious and vulnerable when it comes to his romantic attraction to Selma Blair's character.

And I can't remember a time when Selma Blair was cuter. :-) [Hellboy movie stills]

[ I took the following quote of Ms Blair's from Askmen.com, and it only makes her more sexier:

"I've always felt like a tomboy but especially beside Christina [Applegate] and Cameron [Diaz]. God bless anyone who looks at the three of us in one frame and still finds me sexy."
-Selma Blair, on her The Sweetest Thing co-stars. ]

I guess I broke my promise about over-analysis. ;-)

Super-Electric

concert review: Stereolab w/ Clearlake @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, Ontario - April 10, 2004

This was an early show so apparently Clearlake went on shortly after the doors opened at 6pm [my guess is they went on around 6:20 pm]. But by the time my friend and I got to the venue, it was about 7 pm and we walked in just as the band were playing the last few bars of 'Almost the Same' which ended their set. Too bad I missed their set. Coincidentally, I just saw the video for and heard the song 'Almost The Same' the day before on The Wedge and I was totally in love with it; hints of brit-pop but with more shoegazer-ish guitar[although not as feedback-ridden], maybe a touch of Morrissey/or is that Martin Rossiter of Gene in the vocals.

Had I seen the recent articles in Eye Weekly and Now, maybe I would have made more of an effort to catch Clearlake's set. Maybe next time.

[Download the mp3 and video for 'Almost the Same' from Domino Records.]

After about half an hour, Stereolab took the state to the applause of an enthusiatic Toronto crowd. This was my first time seeing the band live[after having wanting to see them live for at least the last 5 years] and they did not disappoint. They played songs off their newest CD 'Margerine Eclipse' and the band was surprisinly(and pleasantly) very danceable at times. It was nice to see Laetitia on stage, somewhat, grooving to the music. I couldn't possibly name all the songs they played but a couple of the highlights for me were:

- 'Cyberle's Revenge' which reached an awesome conclusion as the band reached the peak of a crescendo and then ended the song;

- 'La Boob Oscillator' which was is one of my favourite Stereolab songs, and Laetitia's french vocals on this song were absolutely sublime.

Technical problems did occur with one of the keyboards just before the start of one of the songs. The band congregated around the keyboard and for the next several minutes, proceeded to check every knob and every cord connected to it. At one point, Laetitia picked up a cord, looked out across the audience, presumably to the sound guy and asked "Does this have anything to do with it?"; I couldn't help but chuckle. :-) But then things were fixed, and this drew some hootin' and hollerin' from the patient crowd.

So overall, I found that the band chose a good selection of melodic tunes, rather that the drone-y, more repetitive ones. The background screen visuals also kept things interesting as on-stage banter was really kept to a minimum. The background visuals ranged from a stormy sky, to a cartoon, to a scene from an art-y film, and to some psychedelic imagery. It was all really, in a word, cool.

Stereolab played for a good hour and a half, and came out for a one-song encore. So in the end the $24.00 I spent to see just Stereolab, was well worth it. In any case, my friend and I are making the trek to the Coachella festival in California at the end of the month where we'll get to see Stereolab again and a whole bunch of other awesome bands!

Good Friday

• Being it Good Friday, I don't usually do anything except relax at home, watch a movie, read the paper, eat something of the 'fish' variety and so on, but I saw the following concert listing[for tonight] in the current issue of Eye Weekly which takes 'gimmick' to a new level:
  
  LIVE TRIBUTE: THE PASSION OF THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN feat Death From Above, Nassau, The Pariahs, The Disraelis, Audiobomb, Space Elevator, Snowy Owl, Another Blue Crew, The Two Koreas, The I Spys, more. See This Week. Silver Dollar. $6.
  
  The play on words; I love it!



• I've decided to change the title of my blog to 'For the records' [get it...records...music...get it ... ;-) ]. I see that 'For the record' has already been used by several people... and honestly I can't think of any thing better at the moment.



• Looking forward to seeing Stereolab live tomorrow at the Phoenix in Toronto!

If it feels good do it

• Here's a couple of Sloan tour date announcements I've copied from the Sloan Net Yahoogroups e-mail list and pasted below for your convenience:
  
  
  
  • Upcoming Shows
    
    Date Location Venue Event/Tour
    
    Apr 22, 2004 Oshawa, Ontario Le Scratch
    Apr 23, 2004 Peterborough, Ontario Club Vibe
    Apr 28, 2004 London, Ontario The Drink
    Apr 29, 2004 Kitchener, Ontario Element
    Apr 30, 2004 Ottawa, Ontario Capitol Music Hall
    May 01, 2004 Montreal, Quebec Club Soda
    
    May 05, 2004 Bowling Green, OH Howard's Club H
    May 07, 2004 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
    May 08, 2004 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
    May 09, 2004 Philadelphia, PA T.L.A.
    May 11, 2004 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
    May 13, 2004 Washington, DC Black Cat
    May 14, 2004 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
    May 15, 2004 Atlanta, GA Cotton Club
    May 16, 2004 Nashville, TN Exit / In
    May 18, 2004 Cincinnati, OH 20th Century
    May 19, 2004 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
    May 20, 2004 Grand Rapids, MI Intersection
    May 21, 2004 Buffalo, NY Infinity
    May 22, 2004 Chicago, IL Metro
    May 23, 2004 Detroit, MI St. Andrew's Hall
  
  
  also:
  
  
  • Sloan & Sam Roberts with Buck 65, The Stills, Death From Above and The
    Constantines
    Saturday, August 7, 2004
    Olympic Island
    Toronto, ON - Canada
    show time: 1:00 PM
  
  
  
  
  
• Yahoo! News: Beastie Boys Get Political with New Album -> I'm just hoping that no song on the new album is as weak as their anti-war song 'In A World Gone Mad'.
  
  On a related note, check out the recently posted 37 QUESTIONS WITH ADAM YAUCH over at the Beastie Boys official web site.



• videos.antville.org is basically a blog for users to post links to interesting music videos. New users will have to sign up[for free] but from what I've seen, it is definitely worth it as there's a great selection of links to choose from. [I just saw the video for The Rapture's, 'House of Jealous Lovers']

The 90's: Don't Call It A Comeback

By now not breaking news, but Pitchfork reports that the Pixies have announced some more North American tour dates including a stop over in my neck of the woods at Arrow Hall in Toronto's west end on November 24, 2004. Woohoo!....I can only imagine that this one'll sell out in record time(just like The White Stripes, Radiohead, and a shitload of other concerts I've missed). ...ps. first caught wind of the news at Chromewaves

It's two nights after the Junos but I just had to comment that I'm really glad Sam Roberts won at the Junos this year...kudos also for him mentioning in one of his acceptance speeches, bands like Broken Social Scene, The Dears, and The Constantines!

Sub Pop gets a nod in today's Toronto Star as they mention from its initial successes with Nirvana and other grunge bands, the label is experiencing recent successes with such non-Seattle bands such as Postal Service, The Shins, and Hot Hot Heat.

Yahoo! News posted a Reuters article on April 5 that Matt Sharp(of The Rentals and ex-weezer) has released a country album. An mp3 of his song 'Just Like Movie Stars' which is from the new album is available at the official web site[check news item dated 2004-03-23 under title "NEW MP3 AND SHOW"]. You can also download a couple of video files of Matt Sharp And Rivers Cuomo performing live at Cal State Fullerton on 12-02-2004. ...Almost brings a tear to my eye to see them perform together again...so when's the official Weezer 'reunion'?

The New Music had a special episode dedicated to Kurt Cobain yesterday. (I missed the show but I'm sure they'll repeat it.) In the meantime, check out The New Music web site which includes some video segments which did not make it into the show. Well all day yesterday I was listening to my Nirvana CD's[MTV unplugged, In Utero, and Nevermind] and I listened to them in reverse order from most recent to the their debut. Honestly, I have not listened to my Nirvana CD's in ages, and yesterday, listening to those CD's was just my way of paying my respects. To hear Kurt's vocals on 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night'[off of MTV unplugged] as the end of the song reaches a crescendo was thrilling. I also forgot how much of a 'fuck you' to the record label that 'In Utero' was; it had its share of melodic songs but it had quite a few 'thrashers' that probably had DGC shitting in its pants at the time. I'm still more partial to the melodic songs off of 'In Utereo' but I also quite like the song 'Very Ape'. And finally, 'Nevermind' is and will always be a classic 'pop' album

ps. The New Music host George Stroumboulopoulos wants to know your favourite Nirvana song so email him at muchmail@muchmusic.com.

In the meantime, here are my favourite Nirvana songs as of yesterday's marathon listening session: Lithium, On A Plane, Serve The Servant, All Apologies, Heart Shaped Box, Polly, Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle, In Bloom, Very Ape.

Reach Out and Touch Someone

Yesterday, I added the referrer's system to the site [see sidebar to the right]. Hey, I see I've had some visitors today! Anyway, drop me a comment or sign the guestbook while you're here. Later!

Ten Years After...

Yahoo! News: Ten years after death, legendary Cobain lives in memory -> Tomorrow will be the 10 year anniversary of the death of Kurt Cobain. I was 22 years old then. The 'where-were-you-when-this-happened' syndrome will always hold true for me for certain events: the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, and the death of Kurt Cobain. I'm not the biggest Nirvana fan. I never even attended a memorial at the time of his death. But I recognized the fact that alot of my generation at the time were very sad of Kurt's passing and that sadness was instilled in me. As a music fan, I appreciate that, in the 90's, Nirvana brought a new generation of 'alternative' music to the mainstream. Bands such as The Cure, The Smiths, and Depeche Mode were the heavy-hitters in the 80's, but as popular as those bands were [at least amongst its loyal fans], they hardly made a dent on mainstream radio. Nirvana really changed all that in the 90's. Nirvana, as well as Sonic Youth, were signed to DGC[a major label] and brought alternative youth culture to a mainstream audience. 10 years later people are still questioning whether Kurt's death was suicide or murder. I prefer to leave the past in the past. Remember Kurt, remember Nirvana, remember the music. Pull out your old Nirvana CD's, listen to your favourite Nirvana song, and remember happy times.

Ease Their Pain

• movie review: 21 Grams
  
  A movie comes along once in a while, with little or no hype other than the prerequisite critically favourable reviews [but without the box-office numbers to match] and totally blows me away. And this time it is 21 Grams. I just saw it on DVD and it is quite emotional, even on the small screen.
  
  The movie involves three separate characters whose lives become intertwined due to a tragic car accident. Sean Penn's character is suffering from a bad heart and can barely lead a normal life, yet alone a relationship with his girlfriend. Benicio Del Toro is an ex-convict and born-again Christian with a loving wife and children of his own, and he finally seems to have gotten his life back on track. Naomi Watts is a typical upper middle class woman with a husband and two daughters living a typical upper middle class life.
  
  In a fraction of a second, a car accident will set a series of events in motion that change the characters' lives forever. I'm tempted to go into more detail but I would not want to spoil this movie for anyone.
  
  21 Grams is driven as much by its dialogue as it is by it's non-dialogue or quiter moments; in the camera shots of a run-down motel room, in the camera shots of Naomi Watts swimming at the local recreational centre pool, in the sadness of the facial expressions of the characters are just several examples
  
  21 Grams also relies on non-linear storytelling, a la Pulp Fiction. But where in Pulp Fiction, non-linear storytelling was maybe more of a gimmick, in 21 Grams it seems very natural. In 21 Grams you see events happen and find out HOW they happened as the film progresses. But this technique is not merely plot-related; it has alot to do with the emotional undertow of the film. The film would establish certain plot developments, regardless of linearity, but it is the emotional responses towards these plot developments which seemed more important. I felt the emotions of the characters much more strongly because of it.
  
  The main theme that I could pinpoint within the film is that each character is trying to ease his or her own pain. The film is a bit of a downer but offers a glimmer of hope at the end. The loss or pain that each character experiences has changed their lives forever and going on with their lives will take a series of 'baby steps'.

Something Bigger, Something Brighter

• concert review: The Constantines w/ Pretty Girls Make Graves, Mahjong @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, March 31, 2004
  
  It's strange, at least in my opinion, that this was an all ages show. I could understand if it was Blink 182 or some other pop, punk, alterna-whatever band that the kiddies are into these days. But the bands on this bill were by far not your average 'Edge 102.1 FM' bands. So to see so many teens in attendance was on one hand actually quite surprising. On the other hand, I generally prefer 19+ shows. [I've said in a past post that years of seeing concerts at Molson Park have generally soured my opinion towards all-ages shows].
  
  So the first band of the night was called Mahjong. I think they're from Toronto but I could be wrong. They are an ensemble comprising of a female vocalist/bassist, and the rest of the male members of the band taking the reigns on drums, keyboards and horns. There's something quite exciting about the ensemble or collective [for example Broken Social Scene, The Heavy Blinkers]. So I was disappointed that my expectations did not pan out. Mahjong specialize in a dirge-like, soul-punk-blues hybrid of music. The vocals at times would tend towards screaming but I thought the band was more successful when the vocals were toned down and they let the music shine through. This wasn't more apparent than on their cover of George Gershwin's 'Summertime'; I think the screaming vocals were just a tad bit inappropriate. One song the band played where they were more successful was a soul-influenced song which reminded me alot of Otis Redding. They played a short set and I'm quite interested in what this band will come up with next.
  
  Next up was the band du jour, the next big thing, everyone's current favourite indie band, Pretty Girls Make Graves! I've been listening to a burned copy of their CD 'The New Romance' over the last several months and I was quite eager to see this band live. They were even better live than I expected! They have great energy on stage, particularly the vocalist's hand gestures and fist pumps [so punk rock!] and the bassist just rocks out and screams his background vocals. It's hard to define PGMG's soundl; it's sort of a combination of post-punk influences with american indie rock. There's quite a dynamic to their music; it can be quiet and very intricate and then brash and loud. However, overall there's a melodic undertow as well as bright vocals which really hold the songs togther. Yes, the vocals, I love her vocals! So I'm happy to say that I bought a legitimate copy of their CD 'The New Romance' at the show to replace the burned copy that I was listening to. It feels good to support a band that is most deserving!... As an aside, members of The Constantines joined in to play tambourine and maracas on one of the songs!
  
  And now the motherf*@kin' Constantines were up next! I decided to stray closer to the stage and at that point I decided that it would be a good idea to pull out the ear plugs. After seeing Electrelane last week and fearing I might suffer permanent hearing loss for standing too close to the speakers, I will NEVER take that chance again. I've seen The Constantines twice before and they haven't failed to impress me yet. What can I say that hasn't been said before? The Constantines will make you boogie, they will take you to emotional highs, they will make you feel like saying ''Hallelujah". The Constantines transcend any one genre; there are hints of post-punk, Neil Young, Springsteen, country, and punk. And these guys are Canadian[who'd have thought?]. Every other band[with the exception of maybe King Cobb Steelie] should bow down to the awesome experience that is The Constantines!