A Note

Still writing
Just on paper these days
It's more comfortable for me
The ride hasn't stopped.

Until The Morning Light

i'vemissedwritingandreviewingandwanderingthoughts.
andsleeplessnightsobsessingoverdetailsandemotions.
theyallmeantoomuchtome.
thebreakwasneededandi'veuncoveredafewmoretruths.
friendsloversstrangersandthieves.

thankstotonighti'vedecidedtostartwritingagain.
it'sabouttimeitoldmyself.
let'sgetcaughtup.

I fall down. You get up. Not a sound between us.

MG Show #25 - Monday September 17 - Matthew Good @ McPherson Playhouse, Victoria

Off to Victoria to catch MG Show #25 for me. I've been fortunate enough to catch Matt several times over the years without having to leave Vancouver...so I figured now would be a good time to venture out for a little change of scenery.

Tickets...check. Bag...check. Car with gas...check. Excitement...check.

Accident inside George Massey Tunnel on the way to the ferries...crap! It was a big one. I avoided an accident to get on the highway, but this would slow me down. Found out later that two semi-trailer trucks were involved with the accident inside the tunnel, which meant a lot of delays. I was stuck in traffic with nowhere to go, as with everyone else. 11am ferry sailing...not gonna happen. Thanks to the guys in Attack in Black for keeping me occupied during this long delay. Their cd is fantastic!




An hour and a half later and still no movement. We finally end up getting re-routed in a completely separate direction, where long lineups are waiting on every turn. Miss the 1pm ferry sailing but am able to catch the next one.

Fast forward a few hours and I'm finally in Victoria close to showtime.




Doors are now open and I walk inside the McPherson Playhouse and take my seat.

Dala come onstage and open. Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther comprise the duo from Toronto who met while in highschool music class. The play a solid blend of acoustic folk-pop filled with rich harmonies. Hockey Sweater and Marilyn Monroe were my two favourite tracks from them.



Matthew takes the stage at 8:30pm to the backing track of Girl Wedged Under The Front Of The Firebird being played and follows shortly with I Am Not Safer Than A Bank. It's the opening night of his two month solo acoustic tour that will take him across the entire country and back.



Champions Of Nothing plays and hits me like a ton of bricks. MG jokes about starting his own Victoria Tours and how members of the legislature voted themselves a pay raise before taking off for a summer break. City Hall is located right beside the venue and there were thoughts later on of whether some members were in attendance at the show.

Matt mentioned that Rod was supposed to do I'm A Window with him but had to stay in Vancouver for work. Just prior to 99% Of Us Is Failure, MG discusses that the song is for Rod's dad and one of Matt's friends battling cervical cancer.

Lots of jokes with the crowd on this opening night, many of them aimed at Pete doing lighting. Someone yells out for Matt to "play the cheerleader song" (Giant)...which MG responds by jokingly saying he'll play that one, followed by "the one with the clock" (Hello Time Bomb).



A performance of Avalanche washes over me, as does his powerful voice to Catastrophe and Prime Time. Matt goes into a story about the MGB days and how he somehow managed to smash 42 Fender Stratocasters onstage between 1997 - 2000. True Love Will Find You In The End plays out the main set.

Matt starts the encore off with a nicely reworked version of Suburbia, followed by Odette. He introduces Girl In The War to the crowd, then ends the 2hr set with The Fine Art Of Falling Apart.


SETLIST:

Girl Wedged Under The Front Of The Firebird
I Am Not Safer Than A Bank
Champions Of Nothing
Born Losers
Strange Days
Black Helicopter
She's In It For The Money
I'm A Window
99% of Us Is Failure
Avalanche
Metal Airplanes
In A World Called Catastrophe
Prime Time Deliverance
Generation X-Wing
Apparitions
True Love Will Find You In The End
------------------------------------
Suburbia
Odette
Girl In The War (Josh Ritter cover)
The Fine Art Of Falling Apart



***

MG Show #26 - Tuesday September 18 - Matthew Good @ McPherson Playhouse, Victoria



Spent the day around the harbour of downtown Victoria and had some nice Fish N Chips.




Back at the venue for night #2 in Victoria. Sheila and Amanda hit the stage once again and do a fantastic job warming up the crowd. Their harmonies remind me of Cherry Bomb, who were comprised of Jenny Galt and Vicky Sjohall.




Matt comes onstage and opens with North American For Life, then into Strange Days. He debuts a new song for us. I asked him after the show about the track and he said it's an unfinished song called Silent Army In The Trees.




Empty Road makes an appearance in the set tonight, as does Alert Status Red, and If I Was A Tidal Wave.




The reworked version of Pledge Of Allegiance is wonderful and I can completely feel it beating in my heart as I watch the show.




Matt performs a cover of Keep The Customer Satisfied by Simon and Garfunkel.




Suburbia and Fated close out the show. Matt really builds up the ending of Fated on this night...stretching his vocal part at the end a few bars longer.

Set lasted 1hr 55mins.




SETLIST:

North American For Life
Strange Days
Load Me Up
Silent Army In The Trees (new song)
Black Helicopter
Empty Road
I'm A Window
99% Of Us Is Failure
Born Losers
Odette
Prime Time Deliverance
Alert Status Red
She's In It For The Money
Pledge Of Allegiance
Apparitions
-----------------
Keep The Customer Satisfied (Simon and Garfunkel cover)
If I Was A Tidal Wave
Suburbia
Fated




Special thanks to MG, Mike from Bernie Breen, and Tim the tour manager for a very memorable night.

***

MG Show #27 - Thursday September 20 - Matthew Good @ Centre For Performing Arts

Hometown shows for Matt are always fun. The atmosphere is electric and unmatched. Walking through the venue and down the aisle to our seats, many familiar faces surface. Many of Matt's family and friends are also in attendance, which means Matt will try and be on his best behavior for the night.

Dala were in fine form again opening the evening. I'm enamored with Hockey Sweater.

Matthew takes the stage to Girl Wedged Under, followed into Load Me Up and Strange Days. He's dressed in a nice blazer for the show and drinking some red wine once again throughout it...though this time in a plastic cup.

MG takes some time to discuss to horrids of event parking prices, mentioning that he doesn't see any cut of the parking revenue. He also talks about the suburbs, joking about Whalley and Poco. At one point, Matt stopped to adjust his guitar strap...jokingly saying he was doing so not because it's really bothering him, but because it doesn't look good.



A personal introduction to She's In It For The Money leads into the moving song. The setlist for the evening was very well done and carefully chosen by Matt from beginning to end, telling an exceptionally moving story for his family, friends, and fans in attendance.

The biggest performance highlight for me for the evening was seeing Rod come out onstage and perform I'm A Window with Matt. Nothing can beat watching two best friends smiling together and giving it their all onstage. They were having the time of their lives up there. That solo was fantastic!



Symbolistic White Walls, 99% Of Us Is Failure, Avalanche, Odette and Prime Time grace the show. Apparitions finishes of the main set.

During the encore, Matt notices a few people are leaving their seats and heading towards the exit. He then says with a smile that "It's probably past the two hour mark cause people are taking off...and they're gonna miss this", then launches into Suburbia.

Matt comes back on for a second encore, delivering Metal Airplanes and Fated. He then stays for another two and hammers out a tearful version of The Fine Art Of Falling Apart, and closes the night with True Love Will Find You In The End.

Set lasted 2hrs 10mins.


SETLIST:

Girl Wedged Under The Front Of The Firebird
Load Me Up
Strange Days
Born Losers
Silent Army In The Trees
Black Helicopter
She's In It For The Money
I'm A Window (w/ Rod Bruno)
Symbolistic White Walls
99% Of Us Is Failure
Avalanche
Odette
Prime Time Deliverance
Keep The Customer Satisfied (Simon and Garfunkel cover)
Pledge Of Allegiance
Apparitions
---------------------
North American For Life
Champions Of Nothing
Suburbia
---------------------
Metal Airplanes
Fated
The Fine Art Of Falling Apart
True Love Will Find You In The End

I can hear my train coming...it's a lonesome and distant cry

Monday Septmeber 10 - Damien Rice @ Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto

I spent the day exploring parts of the city. Criminal Records is a really awesome store I came across that sells various indie band merch along with their assortment of cds and vinyl. In stock were many types of shirts and hoodies from artists such as Broken Social Scene, The Album Leaf, Grizzly Bear, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Neutral Milk Hotel, and countless others.



Rotate This seemed like a smaller version of Zulu Records, which also sells tickets to the various indie shows around the Toronto area.



Damien Rice was playing on this night at the newly renamed Sony Centre, formerly known as the Hummingbird Centre. Going into this, I didn't have a ticket in-hand prior and figured I would test my luck just before the sold out show. I walked up to the venue and was able to land a Row 5 ticket so inside I went to this new territory to me.

The interior halls of the venue reminded me of The Orpheum, with pictures of influential personalities and artists lining the walls upstairs. The concert was advertised as "An evening with", which meant there was no opener and Damien and company would come onstage as soon as the show started. After a bit of waiting, they took the stage and began the set with Rootless Tree.



The major set highlights for me were Amie, I Remember, and Coconut Skins...all three of which had some really crazy and drawn out jam sessions to end the songs. During Eskimo, there were balls of light surrounding the stage that resembled snowflakes. At one point, Damien unplugged his guitar, walked to the front of the stage without a mic, and sang The Blower's Daughter.

Damien was in a great mood the entire night, telling many stories and cracking an assortment of jokes throughout the performance. He mentioned that Childish is about singer/songwriters and "how they spend a lot of time up their own arse". He also told us the Mr. Penis story before playing The Professor, and recited a great story comparing a relationship he had to a can of peas. In addition, the Irish singer mentioned that after this tour, he was gonna take a break and won't be around for awhile.

The show was completely wonderful with Damien's charging and emotional lyrics, the beautifully arranged music, and the intimacy of the venue.

Set lasted 2hrs 5mins.

SETLIST:

Rootless Tree
Amie
Eskimo
Cannonball
I Remember / Bang Bang
9 Crimes
Childish
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Flaming Lips cover by Vivienne Long)
The Blower's Daughter (unplugged)
Me, My Yoke and I
Grey Room
Coconut Skins
Woman Like a Man
-----------------
Accidental Babies
Volcano
The Professor & La Fille Danse
Cheers Darlin'

***

Tuesday September 11 - City and Colour @ Danforth Music Hall



I had a look around the venue once I was inside and explored many different angles, including the very top of the balcony, to check out the sightlines. For a venue that seats about 1100 people, the views are fantastic all-around.

Attack in Black opened the night. The Dine Alone Records label mates of Dallas played a fantastic upbeat set with catchy riffs and well placed harmonies. I was really impressed with their showing.




Dallas Green took the stage on this night for the first of a four night stand at the Danforth Music Hall. He was accompanied by Spencer and Dan from Attack in Black on bass and drums. They kicked things off with Forgive Me.

It was interesting to hear the songs reworked with a backing band. Hello I'm in Delaware featured some awesome harmonies between Dallas and Spencer. Dallas mentioned that he just finished recording the new City and Colour album the previous week and that it's scheduled for a release early next year. He previewed two new songs for us on this night...both of which were wonderful.

A couple songs into the set, Spencer and Dan left the stage and Dallas pulled up a chair to sit down and play a few songs solo. This included a solid performance of Day Old Hate and Confessions, along with a Neil Young cover of Cowgirl In The Sand and Boiled Frogs from the Alexisonfire catalogue.




The guys joined Mr. Green once again during Comin' Home and followed through until the encore. Dallas came back out for one more song after the break, playing a nicely reworked version of Save Your Scissors.

Throughout the performance, Dallas was his usual funny self.....as people would randomly yell stuff at him and he would throw it back and poke fun at the audience. He would also constantly joke around with Spencer and Dan in-between songs. You could tell that he was having a lot of fun up onstage.



Set lasted 1hr 20mins.


SETLIST:

Forgive Me
Sam Malone
Hello, I'm in Delaware
new song
Day Old Hate
Confessions
Cowgirl In The Sand (Neil Young cover)
Boiled Frogs
Comin' Home
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover)
new song
Sometimes (I Wish)
----------------
Save Your Scissors

***

Wednesday September 12 - City and Colour @ Danforth Music Hall

Spent a few hours during the day exploring a bunch of vintage clothing stores and various other things around the city.



Back for night #2 with City and Colour. Casey Baker and the Buffalo Sinners opened on this night. Casey's Song by Dallas was named after Mr. Baker. You could tell the guys were a bit nervous playing to their largest crowd to date. They played a very brief set and had a few standout tracks. The drummer was lighting it up on the last song.

Dallas and co. played pretty much the same set as the night before...with the exception of the order switch between Delaware and one of the new songs. Once again, hearing the harmonies between Dallas and Spencer near the end of Delaware gave me shivers.



The crowd was a lot more rowdy on this night.....in part to a few bad apples ruining it for everyone else. You kinda lose the impact of a song when people are yelling during the slow, quiet parts.

Dallas of course did his best to joke with the crowd, stating he may have heard a cell phone ring during Day Old Hate...which he called a "rookie mistake". He also referred back to a comment made the previous night about Doritos.....and how a friend of a friend who was at the show heard about it and left Mr. Green a huge box of Doritos upon his arrival to the venue earlier in the day.



Other jokes were abound throughout the performance such as making fun of people in the audience who spend the show watching it behind their digital camera as they record footage to upload to youtube later. He also talked about making sure that people who take pics with their cell phone to turn off that clicking noise as it captures the picture.

Confessions was mentioned as a song written about the realization of being a jerk. As he played the new songs for us, Dallas stated that his new album is currently scheduled for a February release. He also noted the second of the new songs played as being called What Makes A Man.

Set lasted 1hr 20mins.


SETLIST:

Forgive Me
Sam Malone
new song
Hello, I'm in Delaware
Day Old Hate
Confessions
Cowgirl In The Sand (Neil Young cover)
Boiled Frogs
Comin' Home
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover)
What Makes A Man (new song)
Sometimes (I Wish)
----------------
Save Your Scissors

***

Thursday September 13 - City and Colour @ Danforth Music Hall



Went and caught the anti-war documentary Body Of War at the Toronto International Film Fest. The film was gripping, insightful, and emotional. Ed Vedder wrote some music for the documentary.




The Danforth was littered with a few familiar faces, amongst many new ones. Attack in Black opened again this night, which meant double duty for Spencer and Dan. I must say they've been by favourite openers so far this year to date.



Sensible Heart makes an appearance in the setlist, replacing Confessions. Boiled Frogs sounded especially fantastic on this night.



Dallas' family and girlfriend were seated near me. When a few rowdy guys nearby started acting inappropriately, Leah did a good job of getting them silent. No more interruptions from them for the rest of the show. The crowd was more behaved overall this evening over the previous night and after Sometimes, the audience gave Dallas a solid standing ovation as we waited for the encore.

Set lasted 1hr 15mins. Not as much talking and interruptions from the crowd.



SETLIST:

Forgive Me
Sam Malone
new song
Hello, I'm in Delaware
Day Old Hate
Sensible Heart
Cowgirl In The Sand (Neil Young cover)
Boiled Frogs
Comin' Home
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover)
What Makes A Man (new song)
Sometimes (I Wish)
----------------
Save Your Scissors

***

Friday September 14 - City and Colour @ Danforth Music Hall

Casey Baker and the Buffalo Sinners opened for the final night.



The City and Colour comedy show once again ensued with jokes on the crowd for filming the entire show and deflecting comments of love towards Mr. Green.



Dallas took the time to mention that Day Old Hate is about looking at yourself and realizing you're not as strong and that you can be a better person.



Set lasted 1hr 20mins. Same setlist as the previous night.

SETLIST:

Forgive Me
Sam Malone
new song
Hello, I'm in Delaware
Day Old Hate
Sensible Heart
Cowgirl In The Sand (Neil Young cover)
Boiled Frogs
Comin' Home
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover)
What Makes A Man (new song)
Sometimes (I Wish)
----------------
Save Your Scissors


Five wonderful shows down in five fantastic days. Time to fly back to the other side of the country and hop on a ferry.

When Ice Met Cream...

Sunday September 2 - Tokyo Police Club @ Plaza Club

Immaculate Machine opened. Just prior to their set, I stopped by the merch booth and found they were selling a special Immaculate Machine flask. I picked it up to have a look and was convinced by Kathryn Calder to buy this item when she told me "This flask is all class". It ended up being their only one in stock.



The trio from Victoria played a 50min set that showcased their catchy riffs and a bunch of new tracks off their latest release, Fables.



Tokyo Police Club hit the stage running with Cheer It On. The Newmarket, Ontario quartet performed a ferocious set that kept the crowd jumping, dancing, and clapping the entire time.

Keyboardist and vocalist Graham Wright plays with so much intensity. His presence in Cut Cut Paste was explosive and off the wall! They played a handful of new tracks on this night.



Vocalist and bassist Dave Monks gets animated when he sings, constantly lifting a knee up. Citizens Of Tomorrow, Nature Of The Experiment, and Be Good were definite highlights as both the band and the crowd were so involved in the songs. It was great!



Being that most of their songs are around 2 minutes in length, their 45min set didn't seem so short. Infact, I was completely exhausted and spent after their physically demanding performance.....though I had so much fun in doing so. This has so been my favourite club show so far this year.

***

Wednesday September 5 - The Brunettes @ Media Club



Ferraby Lionheart was the first opening act of the evening. The recent signee to Nettwerk Records played a folk-rock set with some lush tones and harmonies.

Local dance pop-rock trio Bella were up next. They got the crowd moving to some tracks off their new soon-to-be Mint Records release.



I first saw and heard about The Brunettes just over two years ago when they opened for Rilo Kiley at Richard's. They put on a show-stealing set that night and won many people over. Everyone I talked to at this show mentioned the same thing, that they were blown away by the Auckland, New Zealand duo during their first Vancouver stop in 2005.



The Brunettes kicked off their set with Structure and Cosmetics, followed by the very upbeat song Brunettes Against Bubblegum Youth.

Heather Mansfield is a multi-talented musician, with duties on vox, keyboards, clarinet, glockenspiel and harmonica. As you can imagine, their setup and soundcheck took some time to get the levels just right. One of their backing band members even utilized a kick pedal that was connected to a tambourine!



Their new single, Her Hairagmai Set, sounded wonderful. The band is a complete pleasure to watch, especially with all their funky instruments and ethusiasm onstage. As with last time, trumpet player Harry Cundy was a hit with the crowd, amusing us with his funny banter. Set lasted 1hr.



***

Friday September 7 - Wolf Parade @ Richard's

Holy Fuck opened the evening. The quintet from Toronto played a blend of fuzzed out electronica that was quite intense.



The Montreal based Wolf Parade entertained the sold out Richard's crowd with their indie prog-rock stylings. The last time I saw them, they were opening for Arcade Fire and missed their soundcheck as they were stuck in traffic on the highway en route to the venue. They also didn't have a setlist prepared for said show so they had to wing it onstage.

This night was a bit different and the quintet were able to devote their full attention to the performance. Vocalist and guitarist Dan Boeckner helped lead the charge as the Sub Pop mainstays introduced an array of new songs to the welcoming crowd.



With Dan also in Handsome Furs and vocalist-keyboardist Spencer Krug having his own side project Sunset Rubdown, the guys still showed no signs of burn out and slowing down...at least not on this night. I really enjoyed the new song Soliders, as well as It's A Curse and I'll Believe In Anything.



Set lasted 1hr 15mins.



Note: first song during encore was This Heart's On Fire, which is not written on the setlist.

At Least That's What You Said

Monday August 20 - Wilco @ Malkin Bowl

We arrived in time to catch the last bit of Richard Swift's set. The California native had a good sense of humour as he laid down his witty, pop-rock tracks.

Wilco took the stage to a nice Vancouver reception. The last time they played in town was 2004, not including Jeff Tweedy's solo acoustic stop at the Commodore last year. The guys kicked things off with Side With The Seeds and You Are My Face, two selections off their newest release. A loud applause followed as the opening notes to I Am Trying To Break Your Heart were played.

Guitarist Nels Cline was on fire this night. You couldn't tell that he was still getting over his case of the chickenpox by the way he was playing with such intensity.....what a trooper. He was incredible to watch, especially on his solos during Handshake Drugs and Impossible Germany.

Before playing Too Far Apart, Tweedy mentioned that they haven't played the song since aroud 1995.....so when he forgot the lyrics partway through, everyone shrugged it off with a good laugh. The guys sounded extremely tight together, feeding off each other's energy. Other highlights from their 2hr set included War On War, Jesus Inc., and Via Chicago.

SETLIST:

Side With The Seeds
You Are My Face
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Kamera
Handshake Drugs
A Shot in the Arm
Pot Kettle Black
Impossible Germany
Sky Blue Sky
Too Far Apart
Via Chicago
War on War
Jesus, etc.
Walken
I'm The Man Who Loves You
I'm Always in Love
-----------------
Red-Eyed and Blue
I Got You (At The End of the Century)
Monday
Poor Places
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
-----------------
Hate It Here
The Late Greats
Heavy Metal Drummer

The National + Canada Day Festival

Friday June 29 - The National @ Richard's



I'm glad I found out the set times before heading down to the show as The Broken West couldn't get across the border. With no opener, some of the audience waited 2.5 hrs between door time and show time.....brutal.

Once The National came onstage and opened with Start A War, the crowd seemed to have forgotten about the lengthy wait and just flowed with the music. Matt Berninger has such a unique posture when he sings, with his tall frame hunched over the microphone and his left hand silently placed under his right arm. He sings with emotion on his sleeves, and with such intensity during Mr. November that his words seep into my veins.




Another treat to watch is violinist and keyboardist Padma Newsome. His energy onstage is all-consuming and he plays with pure heart. The Brooklyn natives showcased songs from their critically acclaimed newest release Boxer, as well as playing such favourites as Secret Meeting, Waspnest, and All The Wine. They finished off their encore with a stunning performance of About Today, complete with ferocious violin and guitar riffs.




Set lasted 1hr 30mins.



***

Surrey Canada Day Festival

Arcade Fire + In-Flight Safety + Architecture In Helsinki + The Pipettes + Wil

Thursday May 24 - Arcade Fire @ Deer Lake Park

We arrived at Deer Lake Park in time to catch the last bit of St. Vincent's set. Annie Clark was supported by a large backing band, and the multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter left a good impression on me with what I heard of her set.

I had just seen the Arcade Fire play a stunning performance a month prior at Coachella, and on this night it was no different. The Montreal natives were out in full force accompanied with their video screens, lighting, and stage props. They delivered a show filled with such strong energy, intensity and emotion.



One of my main highlights for any Arcade Fire show is watching Richard Reed Parry and William Butler go absolutely ballistic on Neighbourhood #2 (Laika), throwing their instruments and using various parts of the stage and themselves as a surface for their drumming.

Regine Chassagne commands a great presence, especially during her playful self in Haiti. Violinist and backing vocalist Sarah Neufeld is a pleasure to watch onstage, full of life and dancing the entire time.



Other highlights for me during the 1hr 30min set were Keep The Car Running, No Cars Go, Rebellion, and Wake Up.



SETLIST:

Black Mirror
Keep The Car Running
No Cars Go
Haiti
Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)
Black Wave / Bad Vibrations
In The Backseat
Intervention
Antichrist Television Blues
Ocean Of Noise
Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)
The Well And The Lighthouse
Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)
-------
My Body Is A Cage
Wake Up

***

Saturday June 9

Did a CD Release show for some fantastic musicians, which turned out to be my last show at The Lamplighter before it closed down.

***

Tuesday June 12 - Young Galaxy and In-Flight Safety @ The Media Club

The venue was full and there were many family and friends in attendance to show their support and welcome home the duo in Young Galaxy. The Arts and Crafts signees, comprised of couple Stephen Ramsay and Catherine McCandless formed the project in Vancouver before moving east to Montreal to record their debut album. They mentioned that this was their most important gig to date as they were playing infront of so many close people in their lives.



Their set was filled with dreamy pop-rock songs such as "Swing Your Heartache" and "The Sun's Coming Up and My Plane's Going Down". There were some nice harmonies and they reminded me of Stars. Props to Stephen Ramsay playing the show despite having his hand in a cast.

It's unfortunate that most of the family and friends of the first band didn't stick around to catch the In-Flight Safety set. I first saw the Halifax quartet last November and they blew me away with their well-crafted atmospheric rock songs. Singer John Mullane does a soild job making you feel the lyrics he's singing.



The guys have a Vancouver tie as well, as a few of the tracks off their debut LP were recorded by Warne Livesey in the city. They played a few new songs during their 1hr set, which was highlighted by Surround, Fear, and Coast Is Clear.





***

Thursday June 14 - Architecture In Helsinki @ Richard's



Yacht opened the evening at Richard's. The solo artist performed a set of interpretive dance and spoken word backed by his pre-recorded music samples. He had some pretty sweet dance moves and even stopped during one of his songs and did an impromptu q and a session with the audience. It was good times.

The playful folks from Architecture In Helsinki came on next and started things off with Red Turned White. The collective from Australia performed a fun filled set with their orchestral pop numbers.



There were some sound problems with the monitors during the set but the band still kept a great level of energy going. It'5 had many in the audience dancing, as did Nevereverdid during the encore.



Set lasted 1hr 10mins with one encore.



***

Friday June 15 - The Pipettes @ Plaza Club

The girls from Smoosh opened the show. It was my third time seeing them this year in an opening slot. They once again played their nice cover of Bloc Party's This Modern Love.

I've wanted to see The Pipettes since I first heard them over a year ago. Their blend of 60's girl pop is absolutely infectious and you can't help but wanna dance everytime you hear their songs.

The British trio came onstage supported by a four piece backing band and opened with Don't Forget Me. Their choreographed moves are simple and easy to imitate.....which the ladies do intentionally so the audience can follow along and get involved in the show.

Songs like Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me, Pull Shapes, Dirty Mind, and ABC were highlights for me during the 1hr set.



For their encore, the ladies brought onstage the members of Smoosh as this was their last tour stop together. Together, they sang and danced the night out with We Are The Pipettes.

***

Tuesday June 19 - Wil @ VECC

Leeroy Stagger opened the show. He played a solo acoustic folk rock set that sat well with me. I could feel a lot of raw emotion in his songs.

Wil was touring in support of his new album, his first major label release. No Pat Steward on this night as the Calgary native was also sporting a new support band, which included Ryan Dahle on guitar. It was only the third show together for this new lineup so there were a few noticeable things to improve upon.

Still, Wil and his tremendous vocals and guitar skills can never disappoint. Ryan and him had a really awesome guitar duo during the performance. Honey Pie sounded really good too. Set lasted 1hr 40mins with one encore.

***

Saturday June 23

Put on a rock fundraiser event with the folks from CFOX to raise money for diabetes research. It ended up being my last event at The Buffalo Club before it closed down. We're losing way too many venues in this city.

Jonesy and the 2 Elephants

Friday May 18 to Sunday May 20 - Wedding on Bowen Island

Such a fun weekend filled with many great memories...






***

Monday May 21 - Virgin Music Fest @ Thunderbird Stadium





































Metric Setlist:

Monster Hospital
The List
Poster Of A Girl
Up In Flames
Rock Me Now
Hustle Rose
Stadium Love
Combat Baby

John Mayer + NMW Showcase + VECC + BRMC + Stag + Feist

Tuesday May 1 - John Mayer @ Pacific Coliseum

Kathleen Edwards opened the show. The Ontario native warmed up the crowd with her acoustic pop-rock numbers.

John Mayer and his seven piece band played an entertaining set. Mayer as usual showcased his fine skills as a very talented guitarist. Highlights included Slow Dancing In A Burning Room, Bigger Than My Body, The Heart Of Life, the nice extended intro to Vultures, and the long outro jam to Gravity.






Set lasted 1hr 35mins.

SETLIST:

Belief
No Such Thing
Good Love Is On the Way
Slow Dancing In A Burning Room
Clarity
Waiting On The World To Change
Bigger Than My Body
The Heart of Life
Vultures
I Don't Need No Doctor
Why Georgia
Gravity
----------
Your Body Is A Wonderland
I'm Gonna Find Another You

***

Thursday May 3

Went to see some friends perform a New Music West Showcase at The Penthouse. It's definitely not an ideal venue choice for live music, which made it an interesting experience.

***

Friday May 4 - Getting ready for the show












***

Saturday May 12 - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ Richard's

The Fratellis were scheduled to open but cancelled...so BRMC played a longer set. 1hr 45mins in total including their 2 encores. The lighting for the show was intense.



Highlights for me were Berlin, Spread Your Love, 666 Conducer, and the two solo acoustic songs played during the encore.



***

Sunday May 13 - Someone's Getting Married





***

Wednesday May 16 - Feist @ Orpheum

Chad VanGaalen opened the show. The Calgary native had a few decent songs. His vocals sound distinct. It was interesting to watch him strum some powerchords full of distortion while he played the harmonica. He also had some Tokyo Police Club-esqu abrupt endings to his songs where he would stop playing...then his band would just stop.

Feist came on and opened her set with Honey Honey followed by I Feel It All. She used lots of vocal and guitar looping during the set. I really liked the end of My Moon My Man where she looped her bird chirping whistles and had it continue into The Park...stopping just as the vocals kicked in for the song.

Before performing One Evening, the part-time Broken Social Scene Member mentioned she hadn't played the song in over 2 years. She forgot some of the words during the song so she would just hum at certain points.

Feist had lots of audience interaction during the set and encouraged many sing-alongs. She also had some funny crowd banter....noticing at one point all the cameras in the audience and saying she would check youtube later. She also asked an audience member why they would want to take a picture of her while she was in a weird pose.

Highlights for me during the 1hr 35min set included The Park and Let It Die. She finally had the seated crowd standing for the rockin' Sea Lion Woman. The encore ended with Mushaboom followed by Brandy Alexander.

Coachella Day 1

Thursday April 26

We arrived in L.A. in the afternoon, picked up our rental car, then headed towards Santa Monica. There was a bit of time before meeting up with a friend so we hit up the Santa Monica Pier for a nice stroll.



The Pier had some cool structures and workout gear. It was fun doing pull-ups on the beach.




We then met up with our friend and had some dinner. Before heading towards our destination of Indio, we grabbed some groceries for the weekend and made an impromptu stop to have the best ice cream sandwich ever.



Their recipe is so simple but the result is like a taste explosion. You get your choice of two freshly baked cookies along with your desired flavour of ice cream. I had rocky road sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies that were literally taken straight from the oven the second it was made.....it tasted like heaven. Best $1.25 I've ever spent!



Afterwards, we began our trek towards the Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA. Nearing arrival, it was hard to miss the long beams of light that were shooting straight towards the sky.....a sign that we had made it.

We arrived at the Coachella parking/campground area around 1am in the morning thinking it would be a bit quiet as people rested and prepared for the next three days ahead.....nope, that didn't happen. As we entered the parking area, it was littered with thousands of cars and what seemed like endless rows of vehicles.

After stepping out of the car and walking towards the campsite, you could clearly see thousands of people milling about and carrying their gear for the weekend. We had a brief check-in and registration and were assigned to the Camp J area for our tent. The campgrounds were organized alphabetically in rows and alignments to somewhat help the campers locate their area of residence for the festival. They also had on-site camp counselors to answer questions and make sure you were setting up the tent in your proper area and within fire and safety regulations.




After that was done, we wandered around the camping grounds to get familiar with our surroundings and take in some late night entertainment. We quickly stumbled upon a large drum circle that was happening.



Unfortunately, the cops came and busted it up shortly afterwards. I passed out that night around 4am.

----------------------

Friday April 27

So I wake up from the glaring sun shining down on our tent along with a bunch of noise going on outside, thinking I must have slept in.....I look at my watch and it's only just after 7am. What? I've only been asleep for 3 hours.....son of a bee sting! I then fall back asleep and wake up again two hours later.....there's no way I could have slept any longer after that as the tent was boiling inside from the sun. The average temperature that weekend in Indio was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.....about 40 degrees Celsius.



After a bit of work, we made a small shading area for our tent and met up with two other friends and helped them get setup. We also spent some time chilling out, eating a bit, and playing some cards before heading into the festival grounds.







Entering Coachella...





What's neat about Coachella is that it's a whole music and arts festival experience that showcases many different genres of music along with one of a kind artistic sculptures and creations. With 5 stages spread across the festival grounds, they always have different genres of music playing simultaneously so that it offers something for everyone.





The first act we caught at the festival was Tokyo Police Club at the Mojave Tent. The guys from Newmarket, Ontario put on an impressive set filled with their catchy two minute songs. It's pretty amazing to think that they're playing such high profile gigs and festivals in support of only a 7 song 16min EP. They had a really good turnout for their set too.



After TPC, we chilled for a bit in the shade and grabbed a bite to eat. Nickel Creek was play adjacent at the Outdoor theatre so I listened to some of their set as we relaxed. They have more of a bluegrass feel.

Up next at the Outdoor Theatre was Of Montreal. Kevin Barnes and company entertained the crowd with some costume changes and their alternative psychedelic pop sound. They had some sound problems with their monitors but worked through it and the audience was having fun.




The 40 ft. tall three legged creature titled I.T.



After the set, we were off to the Gobi Tent to catch some Amy Winehouse. There was a huge crowd for her set that overflowed to outside of the tent. We stayed for the first half of her set, not wanting to leave the soulful jazz and blues singer.....but it was off to meet up with others and catch the Arctic Monkeys rock the Coachella Main Stage.

On our way there, we were distracted by this colorful dome with an inviting entrance.....so we entered. It starts off with a tall walkway, which slowly gets shorter and shorter until you pretty much have to crawl til you reach the centre area.






Walking back out to the opening chords of I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.....we headed to the main stage to catch the British quartet. Their songs are quite upbeat and catchy, though frontman Alex Turner could work on his stage presence a bit more. There's a noticeable sound bleed between the Coachella Stage and the Outdoor Theatre at times so we could hear some of Stephen Marley's set in-between songs.



The Megamite Army walking through the crowd.




We then went and grabbed some dinner from the concessions and watched a bit of The Jesus and Mary Chain while we ate. After that, it was over to the Outdoor Theatre to catch Peaches and her mix of rap, hip-hop and rock sounds. She's quite an eccentric performer and also managed to climb the scaffold on the side of the stage.

After Peaches, I spent the next hour wandering the venue and doing some exploring. I finally took my first washroom break of the day. Despite drinking loads of fluids to stay hydrated, it was so hot throughout the day that I basically sweated everything out.

Interpol was up next at the Coachella Stage. I stayed for part of their set, then headed off to the Outdoor Theatre to catch Sonic Youth. Unfortunately, Sonic Youth's set was delayed by around 25mins as it apparently took a long time for Jarvis Cocker to get set up shortly beforehand. It was nice for me to finally see Sonic Youth live.



I then headed over to see Bjork at the Coachella Stage. The Icelandic artist performed with a large supporting band and was sporting an interesting costume. After exiting the stage with a long wait, she came back and did a one song encore.

DJ Shadow was spinning some tunes still after Bjork so I made my way over to the Outdoor Theatre to finish off the night. His set ended around 12:30am.

Walking by the empty Gobi Tent at the end of the night...



The Big Round Cubatron consists of 6720 lights arranged in a cylinder 40 ft in diameter by 10 ft tall. It's solar powered and runs at night only.



We hung out for a bit back at camp and I went to sleep around 2:30am that night.

Favourite sets of the day: Tokyo Police Club, Amy Winehouse.

These are the performances I caught on Day 1 of Coachella.

Coachella Day 2

Saturday April 28

I woke up around 8am.....which meant I got a bit more sleep than the day before. After being in the sun the whole previous day, I headed for the showers. It was a really long wait.....I waited in line for a good hour. The sun was already blazing at the time so I'm so glad I put on some sunblock before leaving the tent to stand in line. One of the guys near me mentioned he came from Alaska and this was by far the hottest weather he's ever been in. He said he was pretty much dying out there in the sun.

After the shower, we chilled out for a bit back at camp. I left for the festival grounds early just after 12pm to catch my first set of the day.

Fields opened up the Mojave Tent for Day 2. The quintet from England combines boy/girl harmonies with synthesizers and swirling guitar sounds. I was quite impressed with their showing.



Sunflower Robots that take in solar energy during the day and light up at night.



After Fields, I hit up the Gobi Tent to catch some shade and the Puerto Rican musical stylings of Yeva. There were nine of them onstage and they had a refreshing tribal sound filled with percussions.

The Cribs were playing at the Mojave Tent so I wandered over to catch the last bit of their performance.





The festival had an Energy Factory zone where you can ride a stationary bike to convert your energy and recharge your cell phone.




Went to see Steve Aoki spin some tunes in the Sahara Tent.





Chewie & Esmerelda, a 25 ft long two-headed dragon.



Back to Mojave to catch The Fratellis, who had a warm reception and large crowd.

After that, I trekked over to the Coachella Stage to take in Regina Spektor. Regina played the first few songs of her set solo, before being joined by her band. Having seen her shortly before Coachella in an intimate setting at the Commodore, it was nice to see her perform in a different type of atmosphere. I thought she put on a solid set and handled the large crowd very well. She finished her set by playing That Time and Samson solo.



Regina Spektor Setlist:

Ain't No Cover
Poor Little Rich Boy
Us
On The Radio
Better
Sailor Song
Apres Moi
Fidelity
Your Honor
Hotel Song
Bobbing for Apples
That Time
Samson



I grabbed a burger and relaxed in the shade shortly before Travis hit the stage. The Saturday 5pm-6pm slot was the busiest one of the festival for me and the hardest to decide (with Travis, The New Pornographers, MSTRKRFT, and Peter Bjorn & John all playing at the same time at one point). Having wanted to see Travis for awhile and thinking they wouldn't be playing Vancouver anytime soon, I decided to go with the Scottish quartet.

Travis played a set filled with their Britpop influenced songs and entertained the crowd with numbers such as Writing To Reach You, Driftwood, and Turn.




Travis Setlist:

U16 Girls
Writing To Reach You
Eyes Wide Open
Selfish Dream
Love Will Come Through
Sing
Driftwood
Closer
Side
All I Wanna Do Is Rock
Turn
Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

After the Travis set, I quickly headed over to catch the last portion of the Peter Bjorn & John performance. The Decemberists were scheduled to play at the Outdoor Theatre the minute the PB&J performance ended at Mojave so I had to watch the clock closely. The Swedish Trio had a few minutes left and ended their set with a long outro jam.

I must note that trying to manoeuvre quickly through 60,000+ plus people in 100 degree heat, with many people passed out on the grass in your way, can be challenging at times.



Okay.....so I get to The Decemberists set on time and Colin and company open with Crane Wife 3. At one point, he started an impromptu Coachella Dance Party which featured 3 dance circles. At the end of the set Colin thanks us for his first Coachella and said, "Now go see the Arcade Fire for Christ's sake".....and with that comment, everyone headed over to the Coachella Stage.




Sunset during The Decemberists.



It felt like everyone and their neighbor were at the main stage to see Arcade Fire.....man it was crowded. The Montreal export delivered my favourite set of the day. The atmosphere was electric and their performance was intense. Watching Richard Reed Parry and Will Butler go absolutely nuts on Laika was quite a sight to see.



Their set lasted 1hr 10mins

Arcade Fire Setlist:

Keep The Car Running
Black Mirror
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Haiti
Intervention
Ocean Of Noise
Antichrist Television Blues
My Body Is A Cage
Wake Up
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)
No Cars Go



After their set, I found some sweet Calamari at the concessions and relaxed before the Chili Peppers came on.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers had the most intricate lighting rig of the festival. They've been using this setup for their Stadium Arcadium tour and brought it along to Indio to the delight of many in the crowd. My favourite song of the set was John Frusciante's solo cover of Fleetwood Mac's Songbird. Can't Stop and By The Way were fun. It was funny watching a guy near me with his head in the trash can puking pretty hard as Anthony Kiedis sang the words to Under The Bridge. The guy who was obviously wasted then took his head out of the garbage and tried to walk away all cool like nothing happened.....it was priceless!



RHCP Setlist:
Can't Stop
Dani California
Otherside
Readymade
Throw Away Your Television
Songbird
Snow (Hey Oh)
Get On Top
She's Only 18
Higher Ground
I Feel Love/This Velvet Glove
Don't Forget Me
Give It Away
C'Mon Girl
Under The Bridge
By The Way

After the RHCP performance, I bought an extremely overpriced Haagen Dazs bar, then entered the DJ Dome that had a bunch of trippy ravers in it. Throughout the festival, there was quite a significant sound bleed from the dome that could be heard if you were watching sets from the outskirts of the Coachella Stage, Outdoor Theatre, and the Gobi Tent.



Inside a separate smaller dome located between the Mojave and Sahara Tents.





I then headed off to watch The Rapture completely rock the Sahara Tent. It was a huge dance party inside that only got bigger as the set progressed.



The Rapture set was going really well and I thought about staying until the end, but this was my only chance to catch The Good, The Bad and The Queen.....so I made my way to the Outdoor Theatre. There weren't too many people once I got there. In the background, you can hear the sound of Tiesto's beats eminating from the Coachella Stage. Still, it was nice to just sit back and close out the long night watching Damon Albarn along with Paul Simonon from The Clash working together on this new project.



The guys played their complete debut album from front to back and had a string section with two violins and a cello for their performance. Their set ended at 12:35am.

After the show, I was on my way back to camp when I stumbled upon a small dance party that was happening on a side performance stage.




Back to camp to hang out for a bit and discuss the events of Day 2 before passing out.

Favourite sets of the day: Arcade Fire, Fields, Regina Spektor, The Rapture.

These are the performances I caught on Day 2 of Coachella.

Coachella Day 3

Sunday April 29

I wake up on the final day of Coachella just after 7am. I went for a shower in the morning, waiting only 35mins this time.....pretty good considering the lengthy wait the day before.

We hung out and played our newest card game invention, Joe Rumi.....and made some taco and salsa sandwiches.





We planned on booking it out of the festival grounds after the show so we packed up and got everything set before entering through the Coachella gates one last time.





We entered the gates just after 1pm and started off with a nice burger before hitting up Tapes 'n Tapes. Singer Josh Grier was sporting a cool mullet.



Caught a few songs from Grizzly Bear on our way over to see Explosions In The Sky.



One more trek inside the funky dome.



Explosions in the Sky played an excellent set that was dramatic and filled with intense climaxes. Your Hand In Mine was spectacular. Their performance lasted 40mins, a bit short as they still had 10 minutes alloted for them in their set.



After EitS, I headed off to catch Junior Boys at the Mojave Tent.



I scored a lamb gyro then was off to meet up with others for the Kaiser Chiefs when I bumped into Hotshot The Robot. Hotshot is a fully interactive sentient being that roams the Coachella festival and interacts with the crowd. He actually engages in full conversations with people.....pretty cool stuff.




Chilled out on the grass and watched the Kaiser Chiefs.



This toddler was enjoying its first Coachella.....and wearing headphones to protect the ears.



After the Kaiser Chiefs, I went to catch some Willie Nelson at the Coachella Stage. It was fun watching Willie enjoying himself onstage as he played with his sons in the band.

The last sunset of Coachella 2007.



The Megamite Army strolling Day 3.






The Klaxons entertained the masses at the Mojave Tent with their rave rock sound.



This guy had the coolest backpack I saw at Coachella.....good old Yoda.



After the Klaxons set, I weaved my way through the heavy crowd towards the Coachella stage. In the background, I could hear "Hey now, hey now, don't dream it's over".....which meant Crowded House had taken the stage. I watched a few songs from the newly reunited band before heading back over to the Mojave Tent to catch Lily Allen.



During the set, Lily messed up on some lyrics and without hesitant mentioned to the crowd that she was high. She also made some inappropriate comments during the performance. She did do an interesting cover of Blondie's Heart Of Glass.

Lily Allen Setlist:

LDN
Nan You're a Window Shopper
Friday Night
Knock 'Em Out
Littlest Things
Cheryl Tweedy
Everything's Just Wonderful
Not Big
Smile
Heart Of Glass (Blondie cover)
Alfie

After her set, I stopped by the Sahara Tent one last time and then went to grab a chicken gyro.

The Clockwork Menagerie



I arrived at the Outdoor Theatre with a bit of time in hand to get ready for Damien Rice. Unfortunately, Air was still playing when I got there.....finishing their set 20 minutes late. They took a really long time to setup. This presented a problem as Damien's set was scheduled to end just as Rage Against The Machine would take the stage.....and I knew getting over to the main stage while stuck in the enormous crowd would take miracles.

Damien started at 10:10pm.....20 minutes later than scheduled and opened with The Professor & La Fille Danse. He also played Volcano and Woman Like A Man before I proceeded to exit the pit and make my way over to the Coachella Stage. Not wanting to miss any of Rice's set if possible, I stood at the middle point between the two outdoor stages and watched the last ten minutes of Damien's set there. With all the delays, he only played for 30mins and closed with The Blower's Daughter.



Rage Against The Machine came out to an absolutely deafening applause and cheer. Before coming out, they showed an intro video on the screens of the guys getting ready to hit the stage. This was their first show together in seven years so the tension all weekend was high leading to this climax. The L.A. foursome took the stage and opened with Testify, followed by a rockin' Bulls On Parade. The crowd was going insane.

For a band that's been gone for so long, they sounded pretty tight. Zack De La Rocha was bleeding with intensity and delivered his lyrics with passion. Tom Morello, having played the day earlier under his side project The Nightwatchman, showed no signs of fatigue and ripped through his riffs with full-on aggression. The guys definitely lived up to and exceeded all the hype and build-up surrounding this performance.

The set was pounding from start to finish, not letting up once. Wake Up featured a lengthy monologue by Zack addressing the current U.S. administration and their occupation of Iraq. The guys came back for an encore and closed out the night and Coachella with Freedom and Killing In The Name.




Set lasted 1hr 20mins.

Rage Against The Machine Setlist:

Testify
Bulls On Parade
People Of The Sun
Bombtrack
Bullet In Your Head
Know Your Enemy
Down Rodeo
Guerrilla Radio
Renegades Of Funk
Calm Like A Bomb
Sleep Now In The Fire
Wake Up
----------
Freedom
Killing In The Name

After the show, we all eventually met up at the car in the parking lot and began heading out of Indio.....with thoughts of everything that's transpired over the last three days, along with visions of coming back the next year to do it all over again.

Favourite sets of the day: Rage Against The Machine, Explosions in the Sky, Klaxons.

These are the performances I caught on Day 3 of Coachella.



We spent the night crashing in the comfort of our friend's place in Simi Valley, a lovely area by the way.

-------------------

Monday April 30

We woke up in the morning and with the day to kill before our flight home, headed over to Amoeba Records. Upon entering it, I realized it's probably the largest music store I've been in to date. It's filled with a massive collection of mainstream and indie music, and everything in-between you could think of. They also have a great collection of used CDs and cassettes.

Along with that, Amoeba regularly has musicians stopping by to do free in-store performances. Andrew Bird, who played Day 2 of Coachella, was scheduled to perform in-store the evening we were there.....unfortunately, we had a flight scheduled to leave at that time. Anyways, I'll have to catch some shows there the next time I'm in the L.A. area.




Some Coachella 2007 Facts and Figures:

Acres (event): 78
Acres (camping): 40
Acres (parking): 200
Staff (behind the scenes): 300
Staff (food and beverage): 600
Staff (security): 450
Staff (groundskeepers): 170
2007 Budget: $15,000,000+
Estimated Coachella Festival Attendance over 3 days: 165,000