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Friday, March 31, 2006

keeping with the streak of gig-related posts...

Did you get tickets to one of the 457 Metric shows going on this weekend? Too bad if you didn't. Luckily, since this is Vancouver there are heaps of venues offering heaps of potential alternatives.

An alternative gig of note / band worth seeing this weekend is Lions In The Street at The Lamplighter. LITS are gang of local boys who do the rock revival thing. They position themselves as a no-nonsense rock outfit, but it's a bit more interesting than just that... they have a wall-of-sound feel and aren't afraid to layer over bluesy elements like thick slide guitar.

These guys would pair nicely on a mixtape with the likes of Jet, Kings of Leon, Ambulance LTD, The Dirtbombs, etc. Here are a couple of mp3s:

LITS - Already Gone [mp3]
LITS - Lady Blue [mp3]

The gig goes down on Saturday at 10pm... I have no idea who else is on the bill, but I'm willing to bet you can learn more on their my space space.

elsewhere

the vancouverite's playlist | lc's guide to impressing friends

[ perma-link | ]

Thursday, March 30, 2006

reviewed: Beth Orton at The Commodore Ballroom...

Hmmm...

Well...uhhh... you see... ummm... it's... well... uhhh... ummm... errr... well... ummm... uhhh... you see... ummm... it's... well... uhhh... ummm... errr... well... ummm... uhhh... you see... ummm... it's... well... uhhh... ummm... errr... well... ummm... uhhh... you see... ummm... it's... well... uhhh... ummm... errr... well... ummm... uhhh... well...

In all honesty the Beth Orton gig was kinda MEH* ** ***.

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* It might be of value to note that prior to the show I worked for 10 hours, then ran for 8KM's, and then ate all of 6 bites of food, so my patience and focus might have been a bit compromised.

** Beth Orton was one hell of a talent, however, the crowd just sucked making the overall vibe weird... at best. The ironic thing about the crowd was that it was heavily composed of Beth Orton FANATICS. There was an endless sea of people constantly screaming inappropriate shit at inappropriate times directly at Beth, thinking that somehow they were really connecting with Miss Orton. They weren't, it was embarrassing. Also, the demographic of the gig further compounded this mess. The standard t-shirt and distressed jeans wearing Commodore Ballroom concert go-er was replaced with dudes wearing golf shirts and khakis... clearly these folks don't go to concerts very often - not that there's anything wrong with that - but a lack of concert etiquette was evident and appalling. Case in point: the tool in front of Tk who felt it totally appropriate to create/demand a 4 foot perimeter of open space between him and those around him (keep in mind, it was a packed house), and who later felt it was ok for him to physically lean and rest on Tk.

*** In addition to Beth Orton there were a million other gigs going down that night. Someone give me updates on last night's We Are Scientists, Subways, Karate, and Arab Strap shows. Kthanksinadvance!

elsewhere

download: live serena maneesh | stereogum has 50 free mp3s

[ perma-link | ]

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

reviewed: Rachael Cantu and Vivek Shraya at the Media Club...

You could actually hear a pin drop at last night’s Rachael Cantu / Vivek Shraya show. The crowd was focused, attentive, and actually there for the music (rather than being there for the vodkas). A far cry most other gig’s I’ve witnessed at The Media Club... and... I’m not complaining. It was actually kinda refreshing... much like a can of Ginger Ale.

Vivek performed first, solo and accompanied by only his pair of acoustic and electric guitars. He seemed to be an acomplished singer-songwriter, however, it was surprising how nervous he appeared through out the set... it was misplaced in the room of 50 – 60 people, many of whom seemed to be familiar with his work. Intimate venue + receptive crowd = have no fear and go for it, dude.

Rachael was a total talent and put on a solid set. She’s got pipes and can wail. It’s interesting to note that the track "Saturday" [mp3] - which has gained a bit of buzz over the interweb - is far more uptempo than the bulk of the body of her work. She’s got a delicate sensibility that you might not expect. With that said, she can pull off it off and kept the crowd hanging on her words and syllables and such. Plus, she had fun stage banter... which was only further egg’d on by Tegan from Tegan and Sara (who promoted and hosted the evening). Either way, if you’re enjoying the chanteuse revival that’s going on these days and you like the acoustic-driven songs, you might want to grab her disk "Run All Night".

Also – a quick note about the format and timing of the gig. I LOVED it. A weekday gig with an early start (doors at 6, show at 7)... this works so well for those of us with day jobs. A note to promoters: I pass on a lot of weekday shows because I know that the headliner won't go on until 10:30 - 11:00pm and I know it will wreck my required early morning starts. Weekday gigs set up like this make attendance possible and way more attractive. I’m sure there are lots more folks who share my constraints... it’s just a matter of creating awareness of an early start time through marketing and promotion. I’m just sayin'.

elsewhere

surrey, bc | podcast interviews with Ryan Adams, YYY's, etc

[ perma-link | ]

Saturday, March 25, 2006

reviewed: Art Brut w/ Gil Mantera's Party Dream at Richard's...

Now that was entertainment, motherfuckers.

Apparently, that Isobel Campbell show a few weeks back played a number on me... I walked back into Richard's tonight expecting to be un-entertained, and - hoooooray for everything - I was sadly mistaken. Without hyperbole, this was the best display of rock/energy I've witnessed since The Futureheads circa Q3 2004.

Opening Act: Gil Mantera's Party Dream. Think Andrew W.K meets Siscor Sisters paying tribute to Daft Punk... but much more intense and much more, ummm, gay. It was both baffling and awesome. The cool part about their performance was the fact that they pulled off the classic "unknown band wins over the crowd by the end of the set" thing. A room full of skeptic arm-crossers slowly but surely rushed the stage, hooting and hollering at the slightest robotic, speedo clad gyration the two piece offered. Best song: A cover of Fleetwood Mac's Dreams, done solo by Gil using a super thick vocoder effect. Lindsay Buckingham = kinda envious.

Art Brut: 100% pure awesomeness. A plethora of posturing, posing, and freaking out... ~~fake~~ moustaches be dammed! Each member of the band owned the stage... from the drummer who stood up the entire time while playing (wtf?), to Eddie Argos ditching his microphone, running through the crowd, and personally riling up the floor level crowd while chanting about his fixation with Top Of The Pops. And oh yeah, did I mention that Art Brut opened their set with a tease of Enter Sandman? Hearing Metallica while watching a band in tight jeans and skinny ties can - and will - make your brain implode.

Did I mention tickets were $13?

Belle and Sebastian also played in Vancouver the same night. From what I understand the tickets were upwards of $50, and the New Pornographers weren't opening. Either way, I can't imagine the gig being 1/100th as awesome and energetic as the Art Brut gig.

elsewhere

quinn's review of the show | work hard fly right

[ perma-link | ]

Thursday, March 23, 2006

slush-ville...

Greetings from Edmonton... it's frigging cold here.

It's kinda funny, this place feels a bit like home (i.e. Calgary), maybe it's the red and white license plates, maybe it's the lack of PST, maybe it's the abundance of pick-up trucks, or maybe it's because Ralph Klien is on the TV offering more Prosperity Bonuses to the masses.

Either way, it doesn't really matter. It's not like I'm running around the city all day. I'm here for the day job... and am trapped in a board room, working uber-intensive 12 - 14 hour days. With that said, I have managed to hang with Little J of Leftnutt, uhh, fame. Things are taking off like gangbusters for those kids. They've signed with a boutique label, and in turn will be touring and promoting the hell out their soon to be released 3rd album. I've heard an advance copy of the disk... and well... it rules, it's not high-brow, it's not tortured, it's not post-modern, it's not art, it's just fun, chant-worthy, punk-soaked rock (which features use of the word "slut" upwards of 650 times on the album). I'm pumped for these guys.

A track from the new disk will be featured on the next mixtape. For now, for me, it's back to the work-work.

elsewhere

You can stream the track, Louisiana, from the The Walkman's soon (uhhh... May) to be released disk at their myspace space. Dude seems to be less channeling Rod Stewart these days and has become a bit more Dylan-esque in vocal delivery.
Vodcast de jour: Tiki Bar puts out another booze-soaked episode.
James Lipton: shotgunning beer
Feist news: Hey did ya hear? Feist is putting out an album of new old stuff next month. Also, she'll be playing the Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Regina Folk Festivals this summer. Now the million dollar question: can you put up with an endless sea of hairy, spinny, spacially unaware hippies in order to see one of the most amazing acts Canada has to offer. Well... can you?

[ perma-link | ]

Sunday, March 19, 2006

bits and pieces...

The new hotness: inviting your old roommates over, getting sauced, then letting them loose on a plethora of loud jangly instruments.

Real life has been getting in the way of Internet life as of late. Last week was insane for me, next week will follow suit. Here's a bunch of stuff I had planned to post about...

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As of late, I find myself listening to podcasts rather than actual albums. Not sure why. Stones Throw Record's has started a podcast. The first episode highlights J Dilla's body of production work in handy-dandy DJ mix format. The tracklisting is nuts:

Highly recommended if you're a fan of 90's style hip-hop production, or if you are/were a B-sides/remix completist. note: the mix features mostly mid tempo instrumentals, making it really good background music. You can subscribe to the podcast here, or just stream the mp3 here.

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Speaking of mp3's: yer little sister has Sia covering Radiohead, fluxblog has live Dead Prez, and some random dude has posted The Best of Bill Withers here.

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McSweeny's list: What You Gon' Do With All That Junk Inside That Trunk?.

Related: This.

Yes, I realize that bagging on the Black Eye'd Peas is so October 2005. Whatofit?!

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For Pinder... and anyone else who's gushing over that Phenomenon track off the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs' disk:

LL Cool J - Phenomenon [mp3]

Shudder. That's all I can think of when Karen O goes off. Why on earth they chose to lift that hook is beyond me. Now if they were to give the hook from Hey Lover the art-school meets indie-rock treatment, I'd be tickled pink. Maybe.

[ perma-link | ]

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

vancouver concert listings...

Word on the street is that Tegan from Tegan and Sara is turning into bit of a concert promoter. She's bringing Rachael Cantu to town with Vivek Shraya as an opener. The gig takes place at the Media Club on Tuesday March 28th, plus it's an early show... which is kinda nice for those of us rocking the day jobs.

Interestingly enough, there's a six degrees of Kevin Bacon element to this show... or at least a six degrees of brand extension element to this show... Tegan has been featured on tracks by both Rachael Cantu and Vivek Shraya on their respective albums. The Rachael Cantu track, "Saturday" I heart to no end, and was featured on the last vanmega mixtape. I'm not quite sure what I think of the Vivek Shraya track "Alphabet", as I've only heard it a handful of times via a stream at his myspace space. Thoughts?

Either way, it's cool to see Tegan sticking her neck out playing promoter and bringing bands into town. I'm betting the gig should be pretty interesting. We'll be there, you should be too. Doors are at 6pm. Vivek performs at 7pm and Rachael at 8pm. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Here's that Rachel Cantu + Tegan track mentioned above:

Rachael Cantu - Saturday [mp3]

Also, here's a video of Vivek Shraya covering a Tegan & Sara track. I think we're full circle now.

elsewhere

thanks pinder for the tip | download de jour: stars live in seattle

[ perma-link | ]

Sunday, March 12, 2006

reviewed: Isobel Campbell at Richard's on Richards...

Awful. Boring. Unorganized. Apathetic... among other things.

I’m amazed that someone who’s been associated with Belle & Sebastian, Screaming Tree et al could put on show that bad. Cripes.

elsewhere

podcast de jour: the sound of solitude

[ perma-link | ]

Thursday, March 09, 2006

crap I have learned from wikipedia over the last 72 hours...

I ain't doin' shit this week! Here are some most bitchin' factoids:

RE: Vanilla Ice

"[Vanilla Ice's] manager and financier, Tommy Quon, shrewdly chose a limited release for the [Ice Ice Baby] single, and no vinyl release for the album, so that fans bought the more expensive CD instead; this led to To The Extreme becoming the first #1 album without a vinyl counterpart release. It went on to sell over 11 million copies, making him arguably one of the most commercially successful rappers of his time."

RE: SNL

"Chris Parnell is the only cast member to ever be fired between seasons and rehired later in the season. He was fired along with Jerry Minor by Lorne during the summer between the 00-01 and the 01-02 seasons because Lorne wanted to hire Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Dean Edwards, and Jeff Richards, but did not want to go over budget. Parnell was rehired because Will Ferrell was busy shooting Old School and Darrell Hammond was in rehab. Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan convinced Lorne and NBC to allow Parnell to stay in the cast."

RE: Prince

Under the pseudonym "Alexander Nevermind", Prince wrote "Manic Monday" for The Bangles in 1986. It reached number 2 on the Hot 100.

RE: MuchMusic

The first video played on MuchMusic was Rush's "The Enemy Within".

RE: Time periods in movies

Robocop was set "sometime between 1995-2005". Transformers: The Movie took place in 2005. Yet, still no flying cars or hoverboards in 2006.

RE: Airwolf

After the show was cancelled the modifications [on the Airwolf helecopter] were removed. The aircraft was repainted and eventually sold to the German helicopter charter company, Hubschrauber-Sonder-Dienst. [Post-show] Airwolf, as a plain Bell 222 air ambulance, crashed in a thunderstorm on 1991-06-09, killing her three passengers.

elsewhere

a-reminder | download: polaroids of androids podcast ep #8

[ perma-link | ]

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

ipod ready music video download de jour...

Right-click, save-as...

Broken Social Scene - 7/4 (Shoreline) [m4v]

A few comments...

I like this video (i.e. I have interest in watching it more than once), although the scenes of Feist and Kevin Drew singing back and fourth feel exactly like the scenes of the two of them singing in the Almost Crimes video [m4v] minus the glitchy gray-on-white silhouette treatment.
Hey, I'm all for fashion, but who is Breandan Canning trying to kid?! Playing guitar indoors with a thick & massive scarf on would suck.
Be it resolved: Feist is the prettiest girl in Indie Rock, yet simultaeously she also sports the most over-grown, shaggy set of bangs. Every time I see her on TV You Tube my heart goes pitter patter and my repressed parental instinct wants to drag her to Super-Cuts for a quick trim to get the hair out of her eyes. Yes, I'm retarded.

elsewhere

10 things I hate about local TV news | krs-one = deep end

[ perma-link | ]

Monday, March 06, 2006

regarding: the stills new sound...

Did anyone make it out that Stills show at UBC over the weekend? I'm kinda curious to hear how it was. The Stills have a new disk coming out in May, but initial press indicates that it's quite the departure from their Logic Will Break Your Heart-era stuff. Let's go to the audio:

Then...

The Stills - Lola Stars and Stripes [mp3]

Now...

The Stills - In The Beginning [mp3]

I'm not sure what I think of this new stuff, their first disk had a progressive, brooding feel to it. In contrast, this new track kinda sounds like Sam Roberts circa 2003. Yes, I realize that it's hard to judge a single track without the context of the full album. And let's not kid ourselves, there's a super-ultra-fantastic line up of fellow Canadian rockers contributing to the disk.

I'm interested to see how this all unfolds. Has anyone heard more that this one new track?

elsewhere

deftone | stream the new neko case disk here

[ perma-link | ]

Sunday, March 05, 2006

some bits and pieces about concert tickets in vancouver...

Quickly, 2 things...

Thinking about going to that Yeah Yeah Yeahs show on April 24th at The Orpheum? Tickets are pretty picked over at ticketmaster.ca, however, if you head over to Zulu Records you'll find that they have all the tickets for rows 2 - 11 on the floor. We casually sauntered over to Zulu on Saturday afternoon and secured a couple second row tickets. I just called the store, and they still have a "some tickets" left. Get on it.
I have two tickets for the March 29th We Are Scientists show at The Red Room which I can't use (I'm double booked, yo). I'd like to sell these off to someone at face value ($15 each). Interested? Of course you are. Get in touch.

elsewhere

the truth about the vancouver wine festival | simpsons go live

[ perma-link | ]

Friday, March 03, 2006

reviewed: Matt Pond PA with Youth Group and Robert Wilson at The Red Room

A theory: Matt Pond PA is cursed. Like right fucking cursed. On their latest tour they’ve had all their equipment stolen, their van has broken down, and last night's crippling technical delay nearly sidelined their entire performance.

The reality: The life of a touring band is challenging at best. Shit happens to everyone. Why do you think so many artists whip out songs with the preamble, “This song is about life on the road”? It comes with the territory.

Last night’s Rob Wilson / Youth Group / Matt Pond PA show, despite technical insanity, was wonderful. The fact that vanmega pal, Rob Wilson was opening was unannounced and a cool surprize. Rob was initially having issues with patch cords and pedals, but once he got into it all was kosher. The pairing of Rob’s solo acoustic stuff seemed, conceptually, a bit misplaced with the other two band’s stacks of amps and Fenders. But it worked, and was a nice transition into the rocking and/or the rolling to come.

Youth Group seemed slow to start and took a little while to warm up. Right out the gate, the band was super tight, but it seemed like the lead singer sang the exact same muddled melody and lyrics over the first three songs... just at different tempos. But after those three songs passed, there was a step-change in the performance and the band as a whole was lit. Two songs past this mark the house PA system blew up, killing all the microphones in the process. Kinda strange. But the band was pretty cool about it, they attempted to jam it out instrumentally for a few minutes. I’ve seen bigger bands fall apart over smaller things. So, kudos to those guys for keeping it together.

A half-hour later and house sound guys still haven’t figured it out. Youth Group is on a forced break mid-set. Eventually, they opt to plug directly into their own stage amps and perform garage band style. They end up performing a couple of “acoustic versions” of their song composed of the vocalist and lead guitar guy giving their work the controlled, distortion-free, treatment. It was actually kinda rad.

An hour passes after Youth Group’s set, a new soundboard is brought in and Matt Pond PA hits the stage… completely flustered, and yet at the same time, not remotely surprised about their luck or this evening’s turn of events. The crowd has thinned, but the band appears to be happy to play.

And here’s the thing… Matt Pond PA are really good, really compelling. They have a real flare for pairing melody, story telling, and yes cello, with indie-rock. Best of all they can deliver it live. Get over the stolen gear, the van, the blown speakers… it’ll just make for good fodder for future song writing.

elsewhere

matt pond pa mp3s | 8 must-hear bands from BC that are a-okay

[ perma-link | ]

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

the march mixtape is hot to go...

You know, one of my blogging new years resolutions (what?) was to get back to posting the mixtapes at the beginning of the month and not the middle of the month, as that didn't really make much sense.

I'm happy to announce that 3 months into the year, it's finally been done: A mixtape on the first of the month. Nice work, me.

Click here to access the March mixtape.

I like this mix... it seems to feature a lot of female vocalists. That wasn't planned, but hey I've been down with girl power since the days of Ginger Spice. Sidebar: Sporty was my favorite.

As always with the mixtapes, it's a limited time offer, so get it while the getting is, in fact, good. Or something.

elsewhere

another running map tool | encyclopodia | new stills = rad

[ perma-link | ]

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