Monthly Archives: March 2010
Will Kidman at the Cobourg
In January I posted a video of Julie Doiron playing at the Cobourg, a tiny Cabbagetown bar, right before she was about to set off on a cross-Canada tour. Opening for her that night was Will Kidman, who usually plays in the Constantines but on this night was playing solo. I’ve seen Will play a lot over the years, which is strange since it doesn’t happen that often. I guess I’m just always at the right place at the right time. He hasn’t had an album out since 2006’s Quiet Waters, but with the amount of new songs he was playing hopefully we’ll be getting a new one soon. I think this song is called “Crime Dog.”
ROCK & ROLL (or, Good Things Happen)
Okay I’ve been wanting to write this all day. This has been a good weekend for me, musically speaking. On Friday, it was the return of Jim Guthrie at the El Mocambo (with my pals PS I Love You opening). Saturday night had the Thrush Hermit reunion at Lee’s Palace (with my boys Attack in Black opening). Both shows were amazing, the best I’ve been to in a while. Thrush Hermit were especially mind-touching, since they haven’t played together since 1999. I bought their last album Clayton Park in High School, a few years after they broke up. I honestly can’t remember what propelled me to buy it – I just bought a lot of CDs back then I guess. I knew they were contemporaries of Sloan, who I grew up listening to, and had heard some songs on Much Music growing up. Anyway, Clayton Park is a flawless album, but I love all their CDs, even the scrappy moments on their earlier EPs (especially the scrappy moments). Seeing them live this weekend was a treat, and something that I never actually thought I’d get to experience. Sure, it’s not like it was completely unimaginable – most of the band members are still involved in music in some capacity, and they’re all still pretty young – but how often do good things happen?
I had such a great time watching Thrush Hermit play. I go to a lot of concerts, and even bands that I really like have a tough time holding my attention for as long as Rob, Ian, Joel and Cliff did last night. For 2.5 hours and nearly 30 songs, they really gave it their all. I’ve seen Joel play solo, where he’s usually pretty calm cool and collected, but in Thrush Hermit he was a madman. I didn’t realize how deeply ingrained all their songs are within my psyche. I knew all the words.
At the show I bought their new box set Thrush Hermit: The Complete Recordings, and I’ve spent all night eating spaghetti and pie, listening to all the unreleased and non-album tracks. It’s 2010, and I’m hearing new Thrush Hermit songs. Oh, and they’re on the cover of NOW. See, good things are happening!
Going back to Jim Guthrie, he’s so great. I bought his last album Now, More Than Ever on CD at Soundscapes in ’05 when my friend tried applying for a job there. Today at work I got word that Now, More Than Ever is getting a long overdue vinyl release with 2 bonus songs, and an extended CD version with 12 new songs! It’s one of my all-time favourite albums, and owning it on vinyl will be sweet. Order it here at 3 Syllables Records, who are making good things happen.
Alright I think I’ve crammed as much as I can into this post. I know this is supposed to be a blog about my life, but guess what: this is important. It’s what’s on my mind. I guess if there’s one thing I’m trying to say with all this, it’s that the future really is unwritten, nothing lasts forever, the sky’s the limit, and thank you and goodnight.
PS: Can someone put Clayton Park on vinyl so I can buy it for a third time?
The Hidden Cameras at the Garrison
Well here’s a video that I probably shouldn’t be posting. Spur-of-the-moment early 2000’s Hidden Cameras reunion at Wavelength 500. Just watch it!
Emma McKenna at Hype House
Greetings everyone, I’m coming to you from a hotel room in Clarksville, Tennessee. I’m on my way down to SXSW, but I can still blog from the road, right? Last week in Toronto we had Canadian Music Week and while I didn’t take full advantage of the festivities, I did pack one day full of music. Last Friday, I hosted a daytime party at my apartment (otherwise known as Hype House), with performances from Emma McKenna, Ghost Bees, and my personal favourite, Mantler. Here’s a video of Emma playing her song ‘Happiness,’ which appeared on last year’s Friends in Bellwoods 2 compilation. Enjoy, and look for my reports from SXSW in the coming days.
CMW to SXSW
Hello, I’m going to try some early morning blogging here. I’m in a bit of a rush, my ride for Austin leaves in half an hour, yet I’m still sitting here scarfing my face with peanut buttered toast and 2% milk. Yes, that’s right, if all goes well on the way down, I shall be at SXSW again this year. I had a blast last year covering the festival for the National Post, but this time ’round I’m doing it on my lonesome. No fancy media pass (no pass at all yet, though we’ll see if my fortunes change), but unlike like year, I actually feel like I know what the hell is going on as far as cool bands to see (working in a record store has helped tremendously).
So yes, I must be on my way, but I’ll leave you with some fun videos from this past weekend. Didn’t have time to edit them or anything, just dumped the footage on YouTube. First up, it’s PS I Love You featuring Diamond Rings performing “Facelove” at the Silver Dollar on Friday.
And here’s The Magic playing their hit song “Downtown Line” in some weird sort of tomb off of Ossington, at 4 AM, technically Saturday morning.