Friday, April 30, 2004
Beer Bad
Even Scoobies get the blues: Nicholas Brendon enters rehab. Lets hope he gets better soon!
NP: Spark That Screams - A Way Out
posted by Hanson |
12:52 PM
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Random Bits
Elliott Smith's final studio album, From a Basement on the Hill, is slated for release this fall. This record is like the series finale of a great TV show: you totally want to see it, but you're also sad because you know there'll be no more after this.
$5 to see Maplewood Lane tomorrow. I just can't pass that up!
Taxes done. I always wait forever when it only takes 15 minutes to do.
School starts again in 5 days, and I haven't gotten nearly enough fun reading done. Bleh.
I'll keep my lucky Caroline Dhavernas picture in my wallet until something really shitty happens.
I STILL haven't seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or the second Kill Bill. I am such a fucktard.
NP: Maplewood Lane - The Gathering
posted by Hanson |
12:02 PM
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
So Who's Stella?
It appears that I had forgotten to write about the stellastarr* show on Sunday. Well, let me keep it short and sweet: Amanda can really work that (b)ass! OK, maybe a little more.
The first opener, a quintet from San Fran called The Evening, started off with a couple of good, messy-Radioheadish song. Then they just lost me amidst their fuzzed out sound and mumbled vocals. I could picture them being good if I were in the right mood, but that night, I just wasn't feeling it. The Killers were up next, all the way from Sin City, Nevada (do they love the Vegas too?). Short but inspired, their set was smoking, full of catchy, danceable indie rock tunes that the crowd ate up. They may have one of the lamest band names in recent memory, but their music is solid.
Headliners stellastarr* were great as always. The band was in top form, and Amanda was probably as hot as I've ever seen her (she's got a near-perfect body shape). They blasted through their 11-song set (encore included) with robot efficiency, hardly addressing the crowd at all. Their dense, Cure-esque sound was tempered by the cutesy background vocals provided by their hot bassist, which acted as an interesting counterpoint to the lead singer's Robert Smith-esque wailings.
Speaking of the Cure, at the show, I noticed for the first time that the beginning "Moongirl" sounds a lot like The Cure's "Love Song." I've been mad-spinning Death Cab's cover of that Cure song recently, and while they were playing "Moongirl," in my head, I was totally singing "however far away / I will always love you / how ever long I stay / I will always love you." Hehe. That's *almost* karaoke.
NP: Electrelane - Take That Bit Between Your Teeth
posted by Hanson |
12:00 PM
Monday, April 26, 2004
Very Tempting
Ooooh. Just got a 2-for-1 offer for Snow Patrol on May 1st. That's $12.50 for two people. Very, *very* tempting. Anybody interested? I think it might be worth the price of admission just for the chance that they *may* do Crazy in Love.
NP: Patty Griffin - Florida
posted by Hanson |
3:06 PM
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Saturday Night is the Night
The BASS boat cruise was ok last night. Predictably, the music sucked, but nobody goes to these things for the music, eh? Afterwards, I headed to Alona's farewell party. After four stops and a BC Hydro disconnect, we ended up at the Arches. See I could've gone to the Au Bar for the boat cruise after-party, and I've been told that it would've been a feast for the eyes. But honestly, the Au Bar is so not me, my peers all being there notwithstanding. All the haughty pretension that comes with a place like that -- and big burly bouncers probably wouldn't have let me in cos I was wearing my regular shoes. And for my (figurative) money, the girls at the Arches were probably much more my (figurative) cup of tea. Not that I knew we'd be heading there when I turned down the Au Bar, but I can always backwards rationalize it like that. Although that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Uh oh. This post has degenerated into a rambling mess.... I think I'd better stop before it gets worse...
NP: Patty Griffin - Top of the World (Impossible Dreams version)
posted by Hanson |
11:34 AM
Friday, April 23, 2004
Surpassing Mediocrity
For the love of Geebus -- the new Melissa McClelland disc is so fucking good! I thought it'd be the same-old, same-old pop-rock Lilith fare, and that after 3 or 4 spins, I'd file it and not listen to it for a long time (like Susanne Little, Julia Darling, Kacy Crowley, etc.), but it just blew me away. She kinda sounds like Chantal Kreviazuk, with folkier, more guitar-oriented songs. Her lyrics are definitely more fun that Chantal's. Bits like "cutting up white powder into pretty lines" and "like fucking without kissing" paired with irresistible melodies, sung in that voice of hers -- magical. She doesn't break any new stylistic ground (other than the cover of Springsteen's "Factory" that sounds like Weezer's "El Scorcho"), but it's hard to imagine a record of this genre being much better. If you like radio-ready, female singer-songwriter pop-rock, do yourself a favour and pick Stranded in Suburbia up. You will NOT be disappointed.
NP: Death Cab for Cutie - Love Song (Cure cover)
posted by Hanson |
12:37 AM
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
He Did It For the Bull
Listening to the Decemberists' EP The Tain has inspired me to read the real thing. For an Irish epic, it's surprising readable, even if it involves way too many characters with similar sounding names. The fact that they are unpronounceable names doesn't help either. That said, the heroics, the treachery, the maiming, and the carnage -- they're all quite entertaining. Not only that, I now know more about Irish mythology than just Finn mac Cool and the Salmon of Knowledge. The next time an Irish mythology question comes up in quiz bowl, I may even be able to pull the answer out of my ass!
NP: The Cure - Love Song
posted by Hanson |
10:59 PM
Back to the Old Routine
Geebus. After being gone for a few days, I come back to a bevy of show announcements. The good news: Maplewood Lane, April 29th. The Decemberists, May 28th. Pretty Girls Make Graves opening up for the venerable Mission of Burma, June 4th. The bad news: Death Cab has been postponed. Ugh. Their official site said it will be rescheduled, but it still sucks.
Oh. And if you buy the new Melissa McClelland CD, don't expect to play it on your computer. Bastards. At least the other copy-protected CDs have embedded players so that I can actually LISTEN to the damn songs!
NP: My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes
posted by Hanson |
12:26 PM
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Back Up North
I'm BACK! Highlights:
- Finishing 8-6 in the tournament
- Discussing music, baseball, and other things with fellow enthusiasts
- Nailing toss ups on Death Cab and Firefly within the first line (yeah, no one was going to beat me to those)
- Seeing American Analog Set in a barn (the place is called The End, but it's really just a shack)
- "Don't hate tha playa, hate tha game"
- Pulled pork
- Dirty rice
- Charlie Daniels museum (the Country Music Hall of Fame was nice, but there ain't no fiddle-playing racoon there)
- Sweet tea
- "Dimples" and other friendly locals
There's more, both in terms of breadth and depth, but I think I'll leave that for when I'm not tired.
NP: Veruca Salt - Shutterbug (live)
posted by Hanson |
8:18 PM
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Goin' South
My exams are over, and I'm leaving for Chattanooga, TN tomorrow (via Seattle, Chicago, and Nashville)! A quiz bowl tournament awaits me there, as well as the bevy of delights the American South has to offer. I might post from down there if I have access to a computer, but if not, I'll be back on Tuesday. And if you're a good little boy or girl, I might even sneak some barbeque ribs back up for you to munch on. Or not :-)
NP: Azure Ray – Across the Ocean
posted by Hanson |
12:40 AM
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Fifteen-Day Dance Party
For the first time ever, I dumped all of my mp3 into a single WinAmp playlist. As it turns out, I have over 375 hours worth of music on my computer. Woah. That's over 15 days worth with no repeats! Hehe. This means I can host a fortnight-long dance party, and not a single track will be spun twice. Of course, a low-quality live recording of Say Yes by Elliott Smith, followed by some Nick Drake and Azure Ray isn't exactly danceable material, but you get the picture :-)
NP: Emiliana Torrini - The Phone Number Remixes
posted by Hanson |
11:36 PM
Gilmore Girls Gone Wild
The Shins, Camera Obscura, and the New Pornographers. Oh, Gilmore Girls -- welcome back! If you don't have access to an Eastern time zone WB feed, you can catch The Shins on an all-new episode of the best not-cancelled show on TV at either 8pm tonight (on a Western WB affiliate) or 9pm tomorrow night (on Global, I believe).
NP: The Shins - New Slang
posted by Hanson |
6:12 PM
Monday, April 12, 2004
Meeting People Is Easy (Studying, Not So Much)
Instead of studying, I logged into Orkut for the first time in almost 2 months (or something like that). It's like Friendster-like website -- except better. For one thing, it loads much faster, either cos it uses .NET instead of J2EE, or because it's user load is smaller. Either way, it beats the crazy-ass waiting time you have to put up with while waiting for Friendster pages to load. Also, it's got cool features like communities, not to mention a much better, more detailed profiling system. And if you know me, there are very few things I love more than filling out profiles! (I'm serious). Essentially, it combines the networking/meet people aspect of Friendster with the community interactions of LiveJournal. Cool, huh? If I were you, I'd join :-)
OK. Enough pimping for me. Time to get back to my much-dreaded studying!
NP: Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
posted by Hanson |
11:50 PM
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Miles to Go
Studying sucks. I just want to make that clear.
NP: Nada Surf - If You Leave
posted by Hanson |
11:02 PM
Saturday, April 10, 2004
Witness to Greatness
Out of the dozen shows I've been to this year so far, last night's Metric/The Organ was probably the best of the lot. The Organ opened with their usual low energy, great performance set. They managed to crank out a good number of songs in 40 minutes or so, probably because they had next-to-no stage banter. Still, that was their charm -- a near robotic demeanour, showing very little emotion. I mean, you don't go to an Organ show and expect giddiness and funny stories, eh?
On the opposite end of the spectrum were the headliners, the ever-amazing Metric -- a band I've dubbed "The Best Canadian Band Working Today." Great songs, amazing energy, Emily Robot Dance: it was all there last night. The new songs were fantastic, and IIRC, they did every single track off Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?. Not only that, every single member of the band worked their asses off -- the bassist, and guitarist, and the drummer showed enough energy to power a small country. And then there was Emily. Mmmm. The robot dancing was in full effect, body parts jerking and shaking in the most improbable of ways. The best move had to be the high-knees-touching-the-shoulders bit; she was the only person I've seen doing that besides me! The stage dive at the end was interesting too. I'm not usually a fan of that since people might get clobbered unexpectedly, but she got one of the big guys in the audience to catch her, and gave the crowd ample time to prepare, so it was fine. Despite being at the very front, I wasn't one of the people who held her up cos she dove *the other way*. Oh well. There's always next time :-)
Their performance last night exceeded even their own super-high standards. Despite the at times spotty sound, the hour and twenty minutes they were up there, singing, dancing, and playing, was one of the best performances I've seen all year (sets by Pretty Girls Make Graves and The Decemberists were the only others that reached the same level of excellence). I can't wait 'til I get to see them again!
NP: Andy Partridge - I Wonder Why the Wonderfalls
posted by Hanson |
1:58 PM
Friday, April 09, 2004
If It Looks Like a Fox...
I rediscovered something today -- Tara MacLean is so fucking hot. I mean, DAMN! It's been a few years since I last saw her in person, and I must've forgotten just how incredibly stunning she was. Tonight was a reminder, and when she walked out on stage, it all came back to me. Aw-yeeeah. *cue aaaaaaasian nod*
Tonight was Shaye at the Media Club. I walked in ten minutes after doors opened to a surprisingly full room. Cool. I spotted a place near the front to stand, and as I approached it, I noticed April sitting on the house couch right in front of the stage -- and on the other end was Terry. Perfect! A spot for me, right dead front row centre in a packed room between two people I knew -- what more could I asked for? I haven't seen either of them since the big cancer benefit last year, but I had a feeling they would be there tonight, as they were both huge Tara fans.
So we were chatting away when I saw this guy with some dark-rimmed glasses getting on stage, tuning the guitars. I turned to Terry and said: "that guy looks familiar! Doesn't he look like Kevin Fox, the guy who plays cello for Sarah Slean and Sarah Harmer?" A few minutes later, a record label guy got on stage and introduced the opener -- one Mr. Kevin Fox. Dude! Me eyes don't lie! The dude-I-pegged-as-Kevin-Fox-who-actually-was- Kevin-Fox proceeded to play a short opening set, complete with a solo cello song that sounded amazing. I didn't know he could sing too! If I didn't have a moratorium on merch purchase, I would've bought his CD.
A few minutes after his set was over, the label guy got up on stage and mumbled something. Apparently, that was the cue for Shaye, as Tara, Damhnait Doyle, and Kim Stockwood hopped on stage, all three wearing similar outfits of black tank tops and low-rise jeans. Tara and Damhnait... man.... and Tara especially! My eyes just lit up. She looked sooooooo much hotter/sexier wearing what she was wearing than all the Britneys and Christinas in the world combined. You know, a cute girl with something simple on beats any pop starlet wearing her skanky skank outfits any day of the week. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
So yeah, they got on stage and opened with Crash Vegas' On and On -- I fucking love that song. And then the banter began. Now, if I thought Danny Michel had grade A banter, then Shaye deserved an A++ for their on stage exchanges. Where should I start? Tara grabbing Damhnait's right boob in mid-sentence? The alternate names for their band -- The East Infection, Atlantic Pussy, or Dare's Tree (d'ere t'ree of them... get it? ah, Newfies)? Juno drinking stories? Damhnait's stripper-esque Kim Stockwood impression? Tara doing the first verse of Like a Virgin? The guitarist shaking his ass to a faux disco beat? Tara saying how she gets all of Sarah McLachlan's trickle-down money? The various tequila shots? Oh, there were just too many. Needless to say, there wasn't a dull moment at all.
The music was great too, obviously. The three of them harmonize really well, and even without percussion, the songs came out lively and boisterous. They played their entire album except for maybe one or two songs. Each person got her own solo song too -- Damhnait doing Another California Song, Kim doing Jerk (a song she said hit #1... in Poland), and Tara doing If I Fall (which got to #3 in Taiwan, of all places).
For the encore, they got off the stage and played -- guitars unplugged and voices un-miked -- ON TOP OF THE TABLE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! Tara was directly facing me, her feet about a foot from my knees. She looked down. I smiled. She smiled back. Wicked. Even without mics, their voices soared. It was like they were playing a living room show -- really intimate. Tara said something about it being like doing a table dance. Well, they were on a table, and they were getting jiggy with the song, so I guess you can call it that. Hehe. Tara doing a table dance in front of me. And they say dreams don't come true :-)
After the show was over, I turned and saw Luke, a guy I know from my Canadian music class. He was with his wife at a table directly behind us, so we got to talking. Apparently, his old band Blackfin broke up in December, but he now plays in a country cover band called Whisky Jane (Scottish spelling). It sounded cool, so I think I might check them out the next time they play!
So, it was an excellent night. I grabbed the setlist from the stage, and I nicked a poster on the way out. Hehe. It was like getting merch for free! I think I'll try that at Metric tomorrow too.
NP: Metric - Grow Up and Blow Away
posted by Hanson |
1:32 AM
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Music = My Crack
Danny Michel was frickin' *on* last night, sharing funny stories and playing those pop-perfect rock -- and country -- songs. His best stories included one about him at the airport after the Junos, and some random guy just shouted: "Danny! You were robbed!" Dude was nominated for a Best New Artist last Sunday, you see, but he lost out to Michael Bubl?. For the rest of the night, the crowd would randomly shout "Bubl?!", and Danny would echo back with a "Bubl?!" of his own. Hilarious. And there was another one about the Juno gift basket that he received. Instead of the really cool stuff that Oscar-nominees get, he got a bunch of coupons to the most bizarre places. One such coupon was $750 for a cosmetic surgery clinic in T.O. Nice. He then stretched out his face with his hands and said something about looking like Paul McCartney. I could go on with his other stories -- like the one about him opening for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings at a bingo hall in Calgary -- but then I'd be digressing. Lets move on.
Oh, and he played some music too. And it was good. He basically did his new album, plus a handful of old solo stuff and a few Starling songs. And covers too -- Johnny Cash's Sam Hall and some other song I didn't recognize. Sadly, he didn't do Straight to Hell. Boo. But he did do Fireworks, a song he didn't do last time he was here.
Speaking of that, I ran into Nicole and her friend -- Claire, IIRC -- at the show. Of course, we talked Sarah Slean all night since she runs the best Sleanster fansite out there. Anyway, apparently, she was at the Danny show last October too -- and she was right near where Val and I were! And I didn't even notice! So yeah, we naturally talked about the crazy-dancing-old-couple that was there last time. Hehe, ah, memories.
S'anyway, Ridley Bent opened. Like Danny, he was hella funny. And damn good too! He's got this talking-singing thing going on that's got a sniff of twang. No, lets call it folkiness. Or both. Twangy, folky singing-talker. Good stuff. He's got a disc come out on MapleMusic that I'll surely be looking for in a few months.
And speaking of discs, I picked up a few today. I went record shopping with Alexis this afternoon, and I spent a little more than I originally planned to. CD stores and me, I tell ya -- they just suck suck suck the money from my pockets. Or bank cards, as it were. I bought tickets to Death Cab, stellastarr*, New Pornographers, and The Shins, plus the Decemberists' Tain EP, Mary Lou Lord's Baby Blue, and a used copy of Liz Phair's self-titled that was stolen by the wankers who broke into my car last year. And afterwards, I hauled my ass over to Chinatown and got Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002 vol. 12. All in all, I've got more stuff now, but less money.
Speaking of bleeding money, Shaye is tomorrow. Woohoo! It has been 3 or 4 years since I last saw Tara MacLean play. I can't wait!
NP: Pedro the Lion - The Poison
posted by Hanson |
1:11 AM
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Miss Twentysomething Wordpower
Caroline Dhavernas was supposed to be on Kilborn tonight, but Wonderfalls' cancellation made NBC pull her interview as well. Bastards. This would've been the first time I hear her out of character! I so want Caroline to be as smart and witty and charming as Jaye. That way, I can keep crushing on her even after she moves on to other projects :-) Lets hope that her appearance on Sharon Osbourne's show doesn't get cancelled too....
In other, better news -- New Pornographers, May 27th, Commodore. I don't think I've mentioned this yet, have I?
NP: Mary Lou Lord - Ron
posted by Hanson |
12:25 AM
Monday, April 05, 2004
Orgy of Sounds
Tomorrow. Danny Michel. Richard's. It'll be the start of my post-442-but-pre-exams musixplosion -- 3 shows in 4 days. And if I decide to check out Iron and Wine on the 7th and The Sounds on the 10th, it could be a full 5 for 5. Right now, only DM, Shaye (8th), and Metric (9th) are for sure -- I&W is unlikely, and The Sounds (10th) are iffy. Who knows though. I'll play it by ear.
Time to finish that one last assignment I have for tomorrow!
NP: Mary Lou Lord - Long Way from Tupelo
posted by Hanson |
5:54 PM
Sunday, April 04, 2004
No No NOOOO!
The best new show of the season has been cancelled. Getting 13.5h of sleep on Friday night has done little to dull the pain. Other than Sports Night and the best seasons of Buffy, very little else on TV tops Wonderfalls for me. This blows. Harshly.
Fuck FOX. If I don't get to see the 9 un-aired episodes, someone's gonna get hurt.
NP: (Win Ben Stein's Money)
posted by Hanson |
2:31 PM
Friday, April 02, 2004
Gaaaaaaah
All-nighters fuck you up. Really. They do. Especially if you can't go home and sleep after you hand your project in. 5:30. Fuck. Fuck.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
10:36 AM
|
