No matter where you go, there you are

Bob Dylan - Calgary - October 27

2008-10-28T15:50:00.001-06:00

A complete different type of show from what I usually attend. My girlfriend is a HUGE Bob Dylan fan so I decided to surprise her with tickets. I also figure, Bob Dylan is a master so I would like to add this to the list of people that I have seen in my lifetime.

Bob Dylan has earned the right to do whatever he wants when performing. I have heard from others that the show is whatever he wants to play, in whatever order he wants to play for as long as he would like to play. As someone without a huge list of "must hear" songs I am here purely for the experience and memory. I appreciated the grandness of it all. I also enjoy the thought of a musician on stage that has inspired change in people. I think that the crowd was mostly satisfied - although I heard some grumbles accompanied by people leaving at all times during the show (which I suppose is to be expected in a Stadium setting)

Mostly, I enjoyed having this experience to witness my girlfriend's excitement and admiration for a musician she loves. It is also so nice to enjoy music with others whether or not it is typical of your own style. It opens your ears and your eyes and therefore your heart.

MSTRKRFT and Felix Cartel - Winnipeg - October 4

2008-10-04T15:18:00.000-06:00

It has been YEARS since I have have spent a night dancing in the Exchange district in Winnipeg. It is beautiful - old warehouse building that are turned into restaurants, apartments and dance spaces (both legal and illegal) It was a bit surreal to be there...sober...with my brother and his girlfriend.

The venue was one that I hadn't been to. The Exchange Event Center (very original name) It was a good size, good size dance floor. I was a bit put off by the large metal detectors at the door but then remembered, this is Winnipeg. Which also reminded me that drinks are CHEAP! Beer for $3. By the end of the night though, I wasn't sure if this was a legit operation as they were still serving well past 4AM.

Felix Cartel played a stellar set. I had recently heard his remix of MSTRKRFT Bounce and was really keen on seeing it live. A good work up to the headliner MSTRKRFT.

I had recently seen MSTRKRFT in Calgary and had a wicked time so I was hoping to relive that a little bit. Although the set was good, the energy at Calgary was much better.

The Presets and Cut/Copy - Montreal - September 20

2008-09-22T21:45:00.007-06:00

Old Montreal is so beautiful. I was lucky enough to arrive at 7AM on a Saturday after a red eye flight. In spite of the red eye flight and the lack of sleep for the entire weekend, it was worth it to have the streets of Old Montreal all to myself in the early morning hours. I wandered the streets, looking for something to be open and enjoyed some crepes and strong coffee. My walking continued to Monkland for some shopping. I was disappointed because I wasn't hungry and there was an abundance of cafes AND the shopping was not as I had expected. It was a lovely neighbourhood none the less. My brother was able to meet me later in the afternoon. We continued wondering the streets for a restaurant that didn't exist.

The purpose of our short stay was to see The Presets and Cut/Copy. Two terrific Australian bands! The Presets I had seen a few months back in Toronto. My brother was suppose to come with me at that time but couldn't so we arranged this trip as a make up one.

The venue was Club Soda which I was really excited about. It was the perfect size, allowed for dancing and also had gallery seating. The Presets played a great set. Highlights for me included: The Boy's In Love, My People and of course Are You The One? Montreal crowds are terrific - they really do add to the performance of the show. Everyone is dancing, hands in the air, shouting the words. This show was tremendously better compared against the Toronto show a couple of months back. The difference, I am certain is the crowd. Montrealers are all there to have a good time and probably drink way too much (judging by the vomiting I witnessed in the streets and the amount of public urination)

The headliner was Cut/Copy. Another strong Australian band. One word. !!!!UN-FUCKING-REAL!!!!! Dan Whitford is a tremendous stage presence. Whether he is playing guitar, vocals, keyboard he is constantly moving and engaging the crowd. It was completely evident that the band was having a great time - dancing on stage, thanking the crowd gratuitously. I am now quite a strong believer in the idea of songs being crafted for the specific purpose of being heard live. I have always enjoyed Cut/Copy but this show took my appreciation to an entirely new level their showmanship is mesmerizing.

I see alot of live-dance -electro-new rave shows and rarely am I as impressed I was with Cut Copy. Opening with Nobody Lost, Nobody Found and closing with Hearts on Fire as an encore. I seriously could not have asked for anything more (okay, maybe not having to step over the girl vomiting on the stairs to go to the washroom to have to listen to a girl vomiting)

Bloc Party - Calgary - September 10

2008-09-22T21:12:00.002-06:00

Mac Hall is typically not my favorite venue in Calgary. It is like a big gymnasium complete with high school kids for this all ages show.

I missed Shout Out Out Out...because I was having a drink in the designated area for grown ups. The Foals were suppose to be the opener - it is rather disappointing that was not the case. I have read that the Foals are fantastic live.

Bloc Party played a complete set that included an excellent mix from the past and the new album.

What was terribly amusing and almost worth the price of admission was the group of guys dancing in front of us. They were all hugging and huddling through out the show. Their enthusiasm was unreal and hilarious.

Radiohead - Vancouver - August 19 2008

2008-08-21T20:13:00.010-06:00

Vancouver, rain, Radiohead, perfection.
Thom Yorke begins the show announcing that they had brought the rain. Thankfully, we were in the stadium portion dry. As usual, I was terribly overdressed in a sleeveless dress, no jacket and heels.

The backdrop for the band was amazingly simple therefore making it keenly beautiful. Opening song was 15 Step, a track from In Rainbows. Playing a variety of songs from past and present. I was so pleased to hear Talk Show Host, one song that makes me shiver to my core. I love it so much. After an amazing set, and two encores and lots of rain. The night was complete.

EXCEPT.....that Vancouver transit didn't think it necessary to arrange for special transit to accommodate the over 20,000 people in attendance! In pouring rain, in a dress (thankfully I was lent a coat)....walking to the street to hopefully catch a cab in the middle of nowhere (also known as Thunderbird Stadium). Not a cab in sight! So we walk in the rain, with some broken umbrellas that we found at the gates to arrive at a bus stop filled with people and buses passing by FULL. We decide to walk to the beginning of the line to hopefully get on or catch a ride in a cab that miraculously appears. No cabs but a huge lineup of people at the bus stop. Even if you were trying to outsmart the bus and get on before it reached the starting point, you were promptly kicked off the bus once it arrived to wait in the line. After about an hour of this, finally got on the bus, soaked,cold and thinking this would be my legitimate excuse for missing work if I was unable to make my flight.

I spent the next day drinking too much coffee and therefore talking a mile a minute for hours on end with my friend Clint. We wondered the streets of Vancouver in the rain. I wonder why I do not live there. I will one day, just not yet.

Avenue Q - Toronto - August 16 2008

2008-08-17T20:33:00.012-06:00

Another beautiful weekend in Toronto! A day shopping on Queen Street (again I exercised restraint! YEAH ME!) Sitting in Trinty Bellwoods park with a good friend discussing our hopes, dreams, futures and humorous bad dates.

The main objective of this trip is to see the Tony Award winning musical Avenue Q as it is traveling through Toronto. This hilarious musical confirms for me that "It sucks to be me", "Everyone is a little bit racist" and "There is life outside your apartment" -- with the use of characters I can relate to -- Sesame Street type puppets (*Note: As clearly articulated in the program Jim Henson does in no way endorse this musical) This musical is a humorous and somewhat realistic yet adorable skit about life. Smart, college-educated twenty- and thirty-somethings can relate to the songs that ask "What Do You Do With a B.A. in English?" It allows us all to laugh and realize that we are more the same than perhaps we care to admit.

The weekend was completed with coffee at my favorite coffeeshop Niche where I unfortunately can not enjoy the lovely baked goods due to a recent discovery of some food sensitives. Instead I join one of my best girlfriends and her boyfriend (a truly wonderful couple that I am honored to call my friends) for a delicious meal at Fressen, a vegan restaurant that is an excellent brunch spot.

Off to the airport, to return to Calgary to feed my cat so that I can leave for Vancouver!

Ottawa - August 8 2008

2008-08-13T22:41:00.004-06:00

I was in need of some serious girl time and was fortunate that my lovely friend Lynn was willing to play hostess! Lynn is someone that I hold dear to my heart. She is the kind of girl that is rare to find and I am fortunate to call her my friend.

The main purpose of visit aside from the usual shopping at Trustfund, shopping at M.A.C, walking in the ByWard Market Square downtown was to see the Sex and the City movie. Lynn had still not seen this! So after a full day of shopping (where again, I showed restraint), girl talk, laughing and drinking coffee (only me) we went to the cheap Rainbow Cinema to enjoy this cinematic masterpiece. I must say that I enjoyed it even more the second time.

The next day we spent the day at the National Gallery of Canada. The exhibit that I was interested in was 1930s The Making of "The New Man". The exhibit was extremely interesting as it showed the changing role that artists played leading up to the Second World War. The collection contain many accomplished artists including Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Vassily Kandinsky, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock, Walker Evans and Alex Colville.

Then back to the airport. Again on another flight home. Heading back east in four days time. Hardly cause to unpack my overnight bag.

Black Ghosts and Does it Offend You, Yeah? - LA - July 26

2008-07-28T14:05:00.005-06:00

Well, the day finally came! I am in LA! Going to see a show that I have been getting more and more excited about.

This is my first time in LA and it is short. I make a few mistakes.
First, although my hotel was cheap, the true expense was the amount of time it took to get everywhere. My hotel was in Little Tokyo which seemed charming. Problem is that really, downtown LA is not cool....not West Hollywood cool, not Echo Park cool. Downtown boring cool.

Second, LA transit is terrible....maybe this is limited to Sundays but sadly, the majority of my day was spent on public transit or waiting for a bus. One good point here is that I am pretty sure that I saved myself a ton of cash as I got to Melrose way too late to do some shopping damage. Moral of story - rent a car.

The reason and therefore highlight of my trip was to see The Black Ghosts and Does it Offend You, Yeah? This show exceeded my expectations. The set performed by The Black Ghosts impressed me and allowed me to shake it even thought I was feeling pretty sick from some bad sushi that I had eaten earlier. Following is something someone else recorded. I couldn't be bothered to bring my new DSLR but kinda of wish I had.

It was the perfect lead in to Does It Offend You, Yeah? Shaking it, jumping, screaming and craziness in the best way. It included James Rushent getting on top of the bar and shouting his lungs out. The crowd went absolutely crazy when they played We are Rockstars. This is a link that I stole from YouTube.

Without doubt, I will be traveling again to see these masters play. And also without doubt, will make my way to LA again soon...I am certainly not done with it.

MSTRKRFT - Calgary - July 25

2008-07-26T13:19:00.005-06:00

I recently read that MSTRKRFT are toe-to-toe with Justice vying for the crown as the new electro kings - at the time I disagreed. I was more closely following Justice and Bloody Beetroots remixes thinking that these were stronger. After seeing this show - my opinion has changed. When I was living in Toronto, I had occasion to see MSTRKRFT - usually by accident. Previous shows, although good did not compare to this one that was recently performed in Calgary.

Link of the show........

The energy of the show was tremendous. Set included a HAUT remix of D.A.N.C.E. Other highlights for me included another MSTRKRFT remix of their own Neon Kings. Mix in some Bloody Beetroots, Vitalic and Daft Punk for good measure and you have a stellar set. Apparently, this set is almost identical to the one that was played on BBC Radio 1 a few weeks back that I missed.

Small Town DJs also played a great set. Calgary favorite.

The only thing that I will complain about is the venue. Although as a space Flames Central is great (don't get me started on the name), it is obvious that this is a sports bar. Aside from the Flames decor, massive amounts of TVs, the sound is terrible. It only comes from the front of the room and although the quality is good, it is evident that the venue is not made to hold this type of event.

This is happiness

2008-07-07T22:32:00.002-06:00

happiness, carefree,delighted, bliss, enamored, enchanted, elated, euphoric, inspired, wild, truthful that is what this song makes me think of

Calgary Stampede

2008-07-04T16:11:00.003-06:00

It is that time of year - a second Christmas for many Calgarians.....I will admit, I was excited for Stampede this year and now realize that this was a momentary lapse in my judgement.

So it is now 10 days of continuous drinking, yelling, cowboys hats, drinking, yelling, Wranglers, drinking, drinking and drinking. Perhaps I will change my mind after volunteering, in my cowboy hat next week. YIKES

I was thinking about you today

2008-06-28T10:04:00.005-06:00

And thinking about how much I miss you. Then I bought a ticket to this show.....and thought about how it was sad that we would not go together

Hip Whippersnapper

2008-06-23T22:06:00.004-06:00

Another lovely weekend in Toronto to celebrate my beautiful friend's first gallery showing at Whippersnapper Gallery a non-profit, Toronto-based collective. It was also the weekend that Moist Beaver Magazine was celebrating the dropping of another quarterly issue—with a summer solistice party with Rynecologist. Dancing, dresses and high heels - all the things that I love most about being in Toronto! The evening continued with some more dancing and drinks with another beautiful lady at Octopus Lounge.

My sister and I then retired to our compact and efficient suite at Isabella Hotel. The elevator had a capacity of 5 - so tiny! At least it was clean, on the subway line and offered me an airline employee discount.

The following morning brunch at one of my favorite places, Toba this is the only good thing that came out a terrible date a few months back. Now, I share this restaurant with all my good friends. The remainder of the day spent with my favorite person in the world, my dear friend Pete walking around the market laughing, chatting, laughing, laughing, laughing and eating.

After a very fast 24 hours in the city, back home to Calgary!

LA Dreams

2008-06-10T22:40:00.006-06:00

It is only a dream right now but I am excited to say that I purchased tickets to Does It Offend You, Yeah! with guests the Black Ghosts....at the Echo in LA

I am so excited. Okay beyond because I am talking about this nearly 6 weeks in advance for those who know me..know that if I can actually hold my attention that long it will be amazing.

This song is my anthem right now.

This song is my reality.

The Presets - Toronto and Niagara Falls - May 30 2008

2008-06-09T19:57:00.007-06:00

Back to Toronto again. I love the city - truly. I have so many good memories and just love being there. When I was deciding to move I had already bought tickets to The Presets. This would be the second time that I would have seen them in Toronto. I absolutely adored the album Beams and have absolutely fallen for Apocalypso. The show was at Lee's Palace - a good venue for dancing! And dancing is what me and my companion did ALL NIGHT! She was impressed with my ability to dance in such high heels - I like to think I am a pro! The opening act Walter Meego also performed a stellar set!

The next day it was off bright and early to Niagara Falls. I had been once before during HEAVY tourist season and hated it. My companion was looking forward to it and all the touristy cheese that goes with it so I figured might as well go full on fondue and embrace it. It was such a lovely time in spite of the rain. We did the Maiden of the Mist boat which was enjoyable, walking behind the falls, the butterfly conservatory and also managed to miss our casino bus back. A great day all and all!

Ladytron & Datarock - Calgary - May 23 2008

2008-05-26T19:31:00.005-06:00

Moving back to Calgary was a somewhat difficult decision when I would think about all the shows I would be missing. I really enjoy going to see bands and DJs and quite frankly - Calgary doesn't offer as much as Toronto where I was currently living. When I heard that Ladytron and Datarock were coming, I didn't give it a second thought, have to support the bands that do come here. Ladytron, I am not a huge fan but I do really enjoy Datarock.

The venue was the Warehouse which is pretty small. The shows that I have had privilege to see in the past have been good. The crowd is usually pretty decent as well - no fights or anything.

Datarock was as amazing as I had hoped them to be! I had missed them when they toured through Toronto previously and am beyond glad that I was able to catch them this time. The red suits are HAUT - I must get me one of those.

Ladytron performed as I had heard. Lack luster. It seemed to be a punch clock performance. I did get to hear the one song that I enjoy and got to dance like a mad woman with my wonderful friends so all and all a wonderful night.

Steve Aoki - Winnipeg - May 2 2008

2008-05-02T17:39:00.002-06:00

In an effort to get some of pictures up and catch up what I have been doing - I will start with my trip home to WPG. This included a visit to my favorite breakfast spot Stella's Bakery and Cafe in Osborne Village. As always, delicious and nutritious.

Followed by a trip to the Forks and a walk across the Esplanade Riel bridge that connects the Forks to St Boniface. The sole purpose of crossing this bridge, at least for me, was to venture to my absolute favorite dessert place in the world....okay, North America....okay, Manitoba. Which is now out of business! Another great Winnipeg business bites the dust. Oh well, it gave me time to go back to the Forks and have my "fortune" told by a "fortune teller" She seemed pretty accurate - which actually made me excited. I wonder though, it seems to me that people are not all that different so maybe she just says the same thing to everyone and collects her money. I should use this strategy for my retirement plan - if there isn't an apocalypse first. In which case, this fortune teller would be horrible in hindsight.

Later that night - one of the draws for this trip was to go Steve Aoki in Winnipeg - which is hilarious in my mind for some reason. It has been MANY years since I have done some dancing in my old stomping grounds. The show in my opinion was only okay. I admit I have been spoiled after living in Toronto.

It was nice to go out in Winnipeg though and spend some time with my brother. I spent most of my time on the dance floor alone but I will forgive him.....this time.

My new online entity

2008-05-01T10:48:00.000-06:00

It is official. I hate Facebook. About 2 weeks ago, I deactivated my profile. Until then, I didn't realize how much time I spent on that site and how much I relied on it for posting of pictures and such.

So I need an alternative. And here it is. I really want to keep a record of the concerts and travel adventures that I go on because they are frequent. I also must confess that I really do love being in front of my machine so...here I am in front on my machine.

Enjoy.