Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Just a quick update, I'm pretty much finished with this site. I've purchased mtroads.com and will be getting something up there soon enough. I just have to sit down and figure out what will go there. Thanks to everyone that read my opinions here and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you from my permanent domain.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
oh yeah, I finished 0-for-9 in Roll Up The Rim To Win. Technically the contest isn't over but with the warmth experinced today, I don't see myself buying another coffee or hot chocolate while the contest is still running.
I'll take a diet shake to go
After not seeing any shows in a while, I managed to catch a couple on consecutive nights and I figured that I'd give you a brief synopsis of both night's activities.
First up is a concert that I've been looking forward to for a long time. Sunday night's trip down to the Kool Haus yielded a quality show of two up-and-coming bands, one definitely more well known than the other.
Quick name a band from New Zealand. I wouldn't be surprised if you came up empty and before Sunday night, I would've joined you. However, on Sunday night, I got to experience a Kiwi band that left a good impression on me. I missed the first two songs of this band because I was stuck at the merch booth picking up a T-shirt of the headliners but once I got back to the hall, I began to take in the quirkiness and beauty that is the music of The Brunettes. I had heard nothing of them going into the show and after hearing a clarinet dominate the sound of their first song from outside, I was a little skeptical but the simple, love filled lyrics and endless clapping won me over in the end. This the Partridge Family meets the B-52's or a sane, less twisted version of the Danielson Famile. Aside from the standard drums/bass/guitar/keys, The Brunettes have three other members dedicated to rotating through a plethora of instruments. I stopped keeping track after seeing the Alto & Tenor Sax, Trumpet, Cello, Banjo and Triangle. There were a couple other instruments used but at the point I didn't care. And since there were so many people up on stage, if one of their instruments didn't have a part in one piece of the song, they would clap or add some la-la-la's. The songs all had a light, poppy feel to them and it was refreshing to hear.
After they had left the stage, the headliners took the form of the latest Pacific Northwest to experience some success on the Sub Pop label. These guys were the reason that 1500+ people jammed into this club on the lakeshore of Toronto on a Sunday night. No doubt buoyed by the name dropping and revelation of their talent in the movie Garden State, The Shins were treated to a sold out venue that they didn't seem entirely comfortable with. The band was extremely tight and the vocals were the best that I've heard in a long time. I had two real complaints with the show. First of all, everything seemed to be note for note from the CD. Normally this isn't a problem but it would've been nice to hear a different intro here, a different solo there but I could've turned up my mp3 player and kept time with the band. The keyboard player had some funny inter-song banter and Chris Parnell-like antics but the lead singer seemed remote and wooden. A little more emotion or movement from him would've done a lot to loosen up the crowd. Which brings me to my second point, The Shins were on the stage for just over an hour. I know that they don't have a lot of material to draw from with only two full length discs to date and most songs clocking in around 3 minutes. They threw in a cover of a Magnetic Field's song and still ripped through most of their repitoire in 75 minutes. They would've been great if they were the opener but you expect a little more from the headliners. Again, these two points weren't meant to detract from the fact that I enjoyed the show immensely, it's just room for improvement. I really have to stop creating unfair expectations for a band just on the cusp of breaking through. It almost seemed like they hadn't quite made the successful transition from opening band/headliner at a small cafe to that of a decent sized club. I'm sure that after a year or two, they'll feel a lot more comfortable on stage and will be the top notch show that I expected on Sunday.
I was going to type this all last night but then last in the afternoon, I got word from JMeister that he had an extra ticket to a private show starring Canadian favourite, Barenaked Ladies. This event was part of Bell Canada's 125th Anniversary celebrations that had events in 6 cities across this great nation. After sitting through 90 minutes of company bonding time ("It's so great to work for Bell. They pay me so much money and the people are great"), I felt like Homer Simpson when the Movementarians convert him. All that it was missing was the low-protein gruel and group chanting. Actually, the chanting came later.
I love Bell. I will not cancel my land line and go elsewhere for Voice-Over IP. I love Bell
Anyways, after being inundated with Bell paraphernalia, The Barenaked Ladies hit the stage just after 9:00 pm. I'm not the biggest Barenaked Ladies fan but I'm a sucker for a good guitar driven pop song and I happen to think that Gordon is one of the greatest albums put out by a Canadian band. They kicked it off with a number of newer songs stopping only to admire themselves on the video scoreboard and ham it up as their known to do. As the show went on, they slowed moved their way back into their catalogue, ending with the trio of Old Apartment, If I Had A Million Dollars and Brian Wilson. They were tight, funny and entertaining as always and it was nice that they decided to play songs spanning their entire career. You can really see how they began to mature as song writers. Anyway, I experienced perhaps the nerdiest thing that I've seen at a concert. During a couple of the songs, a couple people took out their cell phones, turned them on and waved them like they were lighters. I'm not going to say anything more. The event reached a climax during If I Had A Million Dollars when they enticed the crowd to sing and appeared to be building towards the end. It's an odd experience to here 15,000+ people over the age of 25 singing along at a concert, I guess this is what it's like seeing Celine Dion, ABBA or The Rolling Stones. After a brief intermission while local C-list celebrities came out and cut a cake signifying the event, they ended the show with Brian Wilson. A great song and a great way to end it. I was a little disappointed that Be My Yoko Ono didn't make the set list but hearing a two hour set from a great live band for free is always a very good thing. Thanks to Bell for putting on this show and Joel for providing me with the ticket.
After not seeing any shows in a while, I managed to catch a couple on consecutive nights and I figured that I'd give you a brief synopsis of both night's activities.
First up is a concert that I've been looking forward to for a long time. Sunday night's trip down to the Kool Haus yielded a quality show of two up-and-coming bands, one definitely more well known than the other.
Quick name a band from New Zealand. I wouldn't be surprised if you came up empty and before Sunday night, I would've joined you. However, on Sunday night, I got to experience a Kiwi band that left a good impression on me. I missed the first two songs of this band because I was stuck at the merch booth picking up a T-shirt of the headliners but once I got back to the hall, I began to take in the quirkiness and beauty that is the music of The Brunettes. I had heard nothing of them going into the show and after hearing a clarinet dominate the sound of their first song from outside, I was a little skeptical but the simple, love filled lyrics and endless clapping won me over in the end. This the Partridge Family meets the B-52's or a sane, less twisted version of the Danielson Famile. Aside from the standard drums/bass/guitar/keys, The Brunettes have three other members dedicated to rotating through a plethora of instruments. I stopped keeping track after seeing the Alto & Tenor Sax, Trumpet, Cello, Banjo and Triangle. There were a couple other instruments used but at the point I didn't care. And since there were so many people up on stage, if one of their instruments didn't have a part in one piece of the song, they would clap or add some la-la-la's. The songs all had a light, poppy feel to them and it was refreshing to hear.
After they had left the stage, the headliners took the form of the latest Pacific Northwest to experience some success on the Sub Pop label. These guys were the reason that 1500+ people jammed into this club on the lakeshore of Toronto on a Sunday night. No doubt buoyed by the name dropping and revelation of their talent in the movie Garden State, The Shins were treated to a sold out venue that they didn't seem entirely comfortable with. The band was extremely tight and the vocals were the best that I've heard in a long time. I had two real complaints with the show. First of all, everything seemed to be note for note from the CD. Normally this isn't a problem but it would've been nice to hear a different intro here, a different solo there but I could've turned up my mp3 player and kept time with the band. The keyboard player had some funny inter-song banter and Chris Parnell-like antics but the lead singer seemed remote and wooden. A little more emotion or movement from him would've done a lot to loosen up the crowd. Which brings me to my second point, The Shins were on the stage for just over an hour. I know that they don't have a lot of material to draw from with only two full length discs to date and most songs clocking in around 3 minutes. They threw in a cover of a Magnetic Field's song and still ripped through most of their repitoire in 75 minutes. They would've been great if they were the opener but you expect a little more from the headliners. Again, these two points weren't meant to detract from the fact that I enjoyed the show immensely, it's just room for improvement. I really have to stop creating unfair expectations for a band just on the cusp of breaking through. It almost seemed like they hadn't quite made the successful transition from opening band/headliner at a small cafe to that of a decent sized club. I'm sure that after a year or two, they'll feel a lot more comfortable on stage and will be the top notch show that I expected on Sunday.
I was going to type this all last night but then last in the afternoon, I got word from JMeister that he had an extra ticket to a private show starring Canadian favourite, Barenaked Ladies. This event was part of Bell Canada's 125th Anniversary celebrations that had events in 6 cities across this great nation. After sitting through 90 minutes of company bonding time ("It's so great to work for Bell. They pay me so much money and the people are great"), I felt like Homer Simpson when the Movementarians convert him. All that it was missing was the low-protein gruel and group chanting. Actually, the chanting came later.
I love Bell. I will not cancel my land line and go elsewhere for Voice-Over IP. I love Bell
Anyways, after being inundated with Bell paraphernalia, The Barenaked Ladies hit the stage just after 9:00 pm. I'm not the biggest Barenaked Ladies fan but I'm a sucker for a good guitar driven pop song and I happen to think that Gordon is one of the greatest albums put out by a Canadian band. They kicked it off with a number of newer songs stopping only to admire themselves on the video scoreboard and ham it up as their known to do. As the show went on, they slowed moved their way back into their catalogue, ending with the trio of Old Apartment, If I Had A Million Dollars and Brian Wilson. They were tight, funny and entertaining as always and it was nice that they decided to play songs spanning their entire career. You can really see how they began to mature as song writers. Anyway, I experienced perhaps the nerdiest thing that I've seen at a concert. During a couple of the songs, a couple people took out their cell phones, turned them on and waved them like they were lighters. I'm not going to say anything more. The event reached a climax during If I Had A Million Dollars when they enticed the crowd to sing and appeared to be building towards the end. It's an odd experience to here 15,000+ people over the age of 25 singing along at a concert, I guess this is what it's like seeing Celine Dion, ABBA or The Rolling Stones. After a brief intermission while local C-list celebrities came out and cut a cake signifying the event, they ended the show with Brian Wilson. A great song and a great way to end it. I was a little disappointed that Be My Yoko Ono didn't make the set list but hearing a two hour set from a great live band for free is always a very good thing. Thanks to Bell for putting on this show and Joel for providing me with the ticket.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Roll Up The Rim Update
I guess that it's time for an update to my progress in this annual contest. I've been linked to by Brian Jones specifically because I posted my first two results, so I guess that it's time to update. Also Dave has linked to me a couple of times, mentioning that I was doing this.
Not much to report. I don't nearly as much coffee as the two people that I mentioned above but I can add another three "Please Play Again" results to my tally. That makes the running total 0 for 5. It would be nice to win something, even a free donut or muffin. Oh well, maybe I wasn't meant to win. I'll probably head the cup's advice and play again sometime on the weekend. Hopefully, I'll get some better results.
I guess that it's time for an update to my progress in this annual contest. I've been linked to by Brian Jones specifically because I posted my first two results, so I guess that it's time to update. Also Dave has linked to me a couple of times, mentioning that I was doing this.
Not much to report. I don't nearly as much coffee as the two people that I mentioned above but I can add another three "Please Play Again" results to my tally. That makes the running total 0 for 5. It would be nice to win something, even a free donut or muffin. Oh well, maybe I wasn't meant to win. I'll probably head the cup's advice and play again sometime on the weekend. Hopefully, I'll get some better results.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
They Rally Round tha Family! With a Pocket Full of Shells
Tractors on Parade!
Sorry for the bad pun but I think that the bastardized lyrics will suit the situation that I'm about to describe. I'd like to take credit for the originality but this one was Dave's.
In Toronto today, a large number of farmers were gathering at Queen's Park, the provincial parliament building for a demonstration to bring light of the many crises that face the family farms. Being an ex-farm boy, I decide to check out the rally and lend my voice to the throng.
As I neared Queens Park, I noticed a Budget van rental sitting in the middle of University Avenue and it seemed to be evacuated. To add to this, there were a few cops that had started marking off the area with caution tape. After seeing so many action movies, this scenario brought one conclusion to my mind, Bomb Threat. I didn't think too much of it and continued to explore the grounds and look at all of the tractors that made the journey from the sticks into the middle of the mega-city. As I reminisced among the Green and Yellow hues broadcasted by the numerous John Deeres, I started to notice the movement of the news cameras from the demonstration to the boundary of the police caution tape. Also, a number of farmers and bystanders started to join the TV cameras and local correspondents in rubbernecking around the yellow tape. If this was really a bomb threat, you'd have to assume that the police would cordoned off a larger area. So I walked back to the area to see what was causing the commotion.
When I returned to the scene, I saw that the van, indeed had and occupant and there were now five police cars and a fire engine inside the boundary. I then over heard that the man inside had doused himself with a large amount of gas and was threatening to light himself of fire. As I stood there, I watched the police cars line up and block off the avenue to prevent the van from driving away. Naturally, this spooked the driver of the van even more as he started to maneuver the van to try and break free from his new prison. While this was going on, he wound down the window and shouted to the superior officer that he didn't want to hurt anyone. This went on for a couple of minutes before I decided that I really didn't want to see the man light himself on fire. Plus if I wanted to grab something to eat, I would have to do it quickly to still make it back to work in time.
As I left, I saw a suit arrive with a walkie-talkie, that I assumed was a negotiator, and an ambulance pull up. After grabbing lunch, I headed back to work, only to find that the driver of the van had indeed set himself on fire and that the fire fighters got to him quickly to put out the fire and that he was taken into custody. This clip should be shown on all Canadian news channels tonight, so I won't link to it. Quite an experience today, this ranks up there with the "Accidentaly Winding Up In Harlem" story as one of the most extreme things that I've witnessed in my life. The story may have been more impressive if I had witnessed the entire debacle, but I really didn't want to be that voyeur.
Tractors on Parade!
Sorry for the bad pun but I think that the bastardized lyrics will suit the situation that I'm about to describe. I'd like to take credit for the originality but this one was Dave's.
In Toronto today, a large number of farmers were gathering at Queen's Park, the provincial parliament building for a demonstration to bring light of the many crises that face the family farms. Being an ex-farm boy, I decide to check out the rally and lend my voice to the throng.
As I neared Queens Park, I noticed a Budget van rental sitting in the middle of University Avenue and it seemed to be evacuated. To add to this, there were a few cops that had started marking off the area with caution tape. After seeing so many action movies, this scenario brought one conclusion to my mind, Bomb Threat. I didn't think too much of it and continued to explore the grounds and look at all of the tractors that made the journey from the sticks into the middle of the mega-city. As I reminisced among the Green and Yellow hues broadcasted by the numerous John Deeres, I started to notice the movement of the news cameras from the demonstration to the boundary of the police caution tape. Also, a number of farmers and bystanders started to join the TV cameras and local correspondents in rubbernecking around the yellow tape. If this was really a bomb threat, you'd have to assume that the police would cordoned off a larger area. So I walked back to the area to see what was causing the commotion.
When I returned to the scene, I saw that the van, indeed had and occupant and there were now five police cars and a fire engine inside the boundary. I then over heard that the man inside had doused himself with a large amount of gas and was threatening to light himself of fire. As I stood there, I watched the police cars line up and block off the avenue to prevent the van from driving away. Naturally, this spooked the driver of the van even more as he started to maneuver the van to try and break free from his new prison. While this was going on, he wound down the window and shouted to the superior officer that he didn't want to hurt anyone. This went on for a couple of minutes before I decided that I really didn't want to see the man light himself on fire. Plus if I wanted to grab something to eat, I would have to do it quickly to still make it back to work in time.
As I left, I saw a suit arrive with a walkie-talkie, that I assumed was a negotiator, and an ambulance pull up. After grabbing lunch, I headed back to work, only to find that the driver of the van had indeed set himself on fire and that the fire fighters got to him quickly to put out the fire and that he was taken into custody. This clip should be shown on all Canadian news channels tonight, so I won't link to it. Quite an experience today, this ranks up there with the "Accidentaly Winding Up In Harlem" story as one of the most extreme things that I've witnessed in my life. The story may have been more impressive if I had witnessed the entire debacle, but I really didn't want to be that voyeur.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Roll Up The Rim Attempt 2
March 2nd, King & John, medium Hot Chocolate = Please Play Again.
0 for 2 so far.
March 2nd, King & John, medium Hot Chocolate = Please Play Again.
0 for 2 so far.
