The water is beginning to freeze here...

...and it's winter by morning.

sinking hearts

The Organ played a show at Richard's last night.

The first band was a local act called Bella. They had a new wave type sound. All four of them wore matching white outfits during the set. I liked their sound and they had a nice robot-like dance move during one song.

The second opener was a band called Endurance. They played one of the shortest sets I've ever seen. A whole 16mins. I'm guessing they ran out of time since it took them about 40mins to setup and get going. I'm actually glad their set ended early cause it sucked. I also couldn't understand what the vocalist was singing and the guitars were cranked way too loud with too much reverb due to the soundguy not paying attention.


The Organ arrived back in Canada this week after completing a recent European tour. This show was scheduled to be the last stop after months of continuous touring. Unfortunately, it didn't end too well. Their were a few difficulties during the set such as Deb's guitar being out of tune at times and Jen not being able to hear the organ in her ear-in monitor. Jen tried several times to signal the soundguy to adjust the sound in her monitor, but the dumbass was talking on his cellphone the entire set instead of doing his job. Therefore, he instead turned up the organ sound in Katie's ear-ins and she couldn't hear her vocals well.

You know the band is not enjoying themselves that much on stage when they tell the soundguy to "Get off the fucking phone!" It sucks that the buddy in charge of sound for the night licked ass because the band would have put on an awesome show. Despite all this, I actually thought the ladies in The Organ still managed to sound decent.

The band ended up finishing their set early. I was surprised to see them come back on to play one more song after leaving the stage. The set lasted 45mins.

let's get together and talk about the modern age

Downward Dog

So I started a new yoga class today. Fun stuff.

I think I'm gonna go lie down now and listen to some Incubus - Aqueous Transmission.

Awake Soon

Went to the CFL Western Final yesterday with the B.C. Lions playing the Edmonton Eskimos.



We were down 21-3 at one point before coming back and tying it up.

During the game our section tried to start a wave around the stadium, but it didn't pan out.


In the end, we lost 28-23. Our defensive pass coverage seemed non-existant at times and Dickenson couldn't get things going on the offence. Still, I had fun and the energy of the crowd was great.

Headed over to the Vancouver East Cultural Centre after the game to catch the Sarah Slean show. It was my first time at the venue and it was a lovely intimate setting. The venue has a main floor and balcony with a max capacity of 397.

The opener was Jean Paul Maurice. He played an excellent solo acoustic set. His 40min performance contained great melodies and some nicely muted guitar work.

Sarah Slean came on at 9pm. As soon as I heard she was doing an intimate and solo show, I knew I had to be there. It was just her and her piano, and she played barefooted. Her voice was angelic and filled with emotion. Sarah had some great facial expressions throughout the set and shared a few stories. She also took some song requests during the show.

Some highlights for me included Pilgrim, Ogoni Star, Your Wish Is My Wish, and especially Blue Parade. The set lasted 1hr 20mins with one encore.

I'd say it's in my top 10 of my 50+ shows so far this year. I think I'm gonna have to compile some kind of list soon.

Setlist:

Lucky Me
Out in the Park
Me and Jerome
Duncan
Mary
Somebody's Arms
Pilgrim
Ogoni Star
Bank Accounts (dedicated to Paris Hilton)
Sweet Ones
High
Eliot
Weight
Blue Parade

The Score
Book Smart Street Stupid
Your Wish is my Wish

When we laugh indoors the blissful tones bounce off the walls and fall to the ground

I like this CD.


Wake up + Gym + B.C. Lions game + Sarah Slean show + Pass out

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.......and GO.......

sparks

Last night I sat and watched the earth revolve.

This morning I awoke and came together from pieces.

.
.
.

scored floor tix to Coldplay. should be good times.

she took a sad song and made it sadder

Broken Social Scene played the Commodore last night.

The Most Serene Republic opened. Like last time, the drummer was awesome, the singer was very energetic, and the keyboardist kinda resembled Dave Grohl.

The Broken Social Scene set was excellent. There were eleven members of BSS in attendance for the performance, with some of them popping in and out of songs. The sound was so layered and comforting. I loved the Gibson and Guild semi-bodies being used. At times, they had two drummers going. For some songs, members of The Most Serene Republic joined them.

We had a little indie rock disco during the show.

Set lasted 1hr 50mins with one encore.



This weekend has left me physically and emotionally drained.

RIP EG

Get Some

Went to see my friend's band Elias play last night at the Lamplighter.


They are currently recording some new material.

You can listen to some of their songs when they were known as Second HERE.

Heard this CD from a band called City and Colour. It's actually the side project of the guitarist from Alexisonfire, Dallas Green. Not a fan of the screamo rock in that band, but this album is completely different. It's also all acoustic and the melodies are awesome.

So it's my Birthday today, which means:
-Ice Cream Birthday Cake
-Birthday show with Broken Social Scene.

the last beautiful day

Back at Richard's last night to catch New Buffalo and Ben Lee.

The first band was called Madisen. A local acoustic duo that provided some nice harmonies.

New Buffalo was opening for Ben Lee this night. I mainly went to see her. It's interesting when you go to a show with the main focus of seeing the opener rather than the headliner. I also did this when I went to see The Dears open for The Soundtrack of our Lives earlier this year.

I first heard New Buffalo last month when she opened for Feist. She was awesome. A one woman show filled with emotion, sometimes crafted in a very subtle manner.


She played for 30mins on this night, opening with I've Got You and You've Got Me. During Come Back, she stopped for a bit cause she thought her guitar was out of tune.


She finished the set with a strong performance of Recovery.


Going into the show, I hadn't heard much from Ben Lee. His set turned out to be a pleasant surprise.


There were some nice melodies to his voice. His music was simple, but still layered.


At one point, he brought New Buffalo back on stage to sing with him.


Near the end of his 1hr 30min set, Ben jumped off the stage and played in the crowd.


For his last song, he unplugged his guitar, stood at the edge of the stage, and sang without a microphone as the whole audience at Richard's stood silent. He then played while walking over the top of the bar and finished on the other side of the room.

the sudden weight of consciousness

If anyone knows how to beat Mike Tyson in this game, let me know.

Mornings Eleven

The Magic Numbers played a show at Richard's last night. The British quartet is comprised of two brother and sister pairs. Last night was their first time playing in Canada.


We walked in as openers The Parallels were playing. The originally scheduled openers, The Webb Brothers, had to pull out. The start time for the show was scheduled for around 9:15pm, but they must have started a bit earlier as they were done shortly before 9:30pm.

The Magic Numbers played a fantastic set. The crowd at Richard's was very appreciative and the band seemed to be enjoying theselves on stage. They've been getting a lot of great reviews recently for their self titled album and are currently on their first North American tour.

Their music is comprised of great harmonies and catchy riffs with a nice 60's feel. Some highights for me included Forever Lost, Hymn For Her, and Mornings Eleven. They also did a folk acoustic cover of Beyonce's Crazy In Love and played two new songs, one of them for the first time live.

The set lasted 1hr 15mins with one encore.


Can't say enough great things about this band. Definitely check them out when you have the chance.

MG Show #20

Matt played the last show of the tour last night at the Commodore.

Getting ready for the show






The Ladies and Gentleman played a solid opening set. I'll have to check out their album.

Last night was my 20th MG show so it was pretty special for me. I also thought about the possibility of this being the last time that I'll hear most of these songs live, or at least in this format. This made me enjoy every song played even more.

The show turned out to be the best MG show I've seen. Many songs were played last night that weren't played the night before. Some highlights for me included the extended solos on Near Fantastica and at the end of Avalanche. Suburbia, Carmelina, and Blue Skies were great. Great crowd chant for Giant before the first encore. I loved the transition from Giant into Little Terror. Hearing Prime Time Deliverance always gives me goosebumps.

Matt played for 1hr 50mins with two encores.

Setlist:

Near Fantastica
Avalanche
Load Me Up
Hello Time Bomb
Oh Be Joyful
Suburbia
Empty Road
Carmelina
Alert Status Red
The Future Is X-Rated
Blue Skies Over Bad Lands
Weapon
Apparitions (acoustic)

Giant
Little Terror
Everything Is Automatic
Advertising On Police Cars

Put Out Your Lights
Poor Man's Grey
Prime Time Deliverance (acoustic)
Generation X-Wing (acoustic)

Huge thanks to Tony Pierce for everything. It was so nice to meet and talk with you this weekend.

And I've A Grenade....With Our Names Scratched On The Side

Matt Good was back home playing the first of two shows at the Commodore last night.

Met some fellow bloggers before the show.








Arrived only to catch a bit of The Ladies and Gentleman. I'll try to catch their whole set at tonight's show.

Matt played for 1hr 30mins with one encore. The set started off rockin with Giant, Alert Status Red, Oh Be Joyful, and Hello Time Bomb.

Heard Suburbia live for the first time since 2001. The Rat Who Would Be King and Blue Skies Over Bad Lands were awesome.

Matt finished off the solo acoustic part of the encore with great performances of Prime Time Deliverance and Tripoli.

Setlist:


Off to do it again in a couple hours. Tonight's the last show of the tour and my 20th MG show. Looks like it's gonna be a long night.