So this summer is turning into one of my best ever for live music. Here is a little advice for you.
Find the bands that you really, really love to see live and then go see them every single chance you can.
Here are a few bands that I will never miss the chance to see if I can:
Damien Rice I have seen him twice and both rank highly on my favourite all time shows. The Convocation Hall show was just incredible. His music sounds 10 times better live and you can tell he really put's thought in to the visual effect of each song. He builds his songs up from the most delicate of starts to a crescendo of noise - it can be amazingly powerful.
Josh Ritter Just a really wonderful guy who tells stories, sings great songs and looks like he is loving every single minute of his life. You can't help but like him.
The Eels The band I have seen more times than any other (6 times now I think). Every single show is something different. Last time they were in flying suits and had a guy shadow boxing at the front of the stage. The time before that it was E with a sting quartet and a musical saw. He smoked cigars the whole show. In Scotland the band played in full kilt outfits for the whole show.
Finally, Travis who I saw again this week and once again had an amazing time. How can you not like band who comes out to the Rocky theme tune wearing boxing silks and pushing their way through the audience? Another band who are full of humility and are obviously just having an amazing time. It's infectous. They do tons of cheesy stuff like big sing-alongs, jumping of their amps, going into the crowd.... but what's wrong with that? If I had a song people wanted to sing-along to I'd play it every single chance I got.
So that's my few, I hope you have some too because in the end the CD will never give you anywhere near as much as a great live show will.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
A cowboy song
So I've been dabbling in songwriting for the last couple of years, as some of you will know from the scratchy home recordings I may have e-mailed you. Things on the recording front took a big step forward with my magical new digital recorder and it seems to have give me some impotus (no idea if that's spelt correctly) to write more.
This week I was especially pleased when I came up with a country song (in fact a cowboy song). Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, ..... are some of my musical heroes so it felt good to write something I could actually imagine one of them singing (no I'm not claiming it's that good, just that at least it's on topic!)
Anyway here it is (no music off course but it's Am->G on the verses and F->G->Am on the chorus, with a hammer-on on the Am and the capo on the 5th fret):
Castles in the Sand
I’m coming out to get you
I’m gonna take you home
Something about the desert
Sure makes a man feel alone
I’m going to take you by the hand
Lead you past those castles in the sand
Lead you past those castles in the sand
So you left that morning
I guess that you took the blame
Well you might have pulled that trigger
But you didn’t know where you aimed
And I saw your brother land
Falling to the castles in the sand
Falling to the castles in the sand
So you rolled him over
Took a look in his eye
You saw your mothers face
Oh, you can never tell her how he died
This wasn’t part of the plan
It fell apart like castles in the sand
It fell apart like castles in the sand
Your brother took the money
Headed out in to the morning sun
All you saw was a shadow
As you reached for your gun
And as he turned his back and ran
All he saw was castles in the sand
All he saw was castles in the sand
All he saw was castles in the sand
This week I was especially pleased when I came up with a country song (in fact a cowboy song). Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, ..... are some of my musical heroes so it felt good to write something I could actually imagine one of them singing (no I'm not claiming it's that good, just that at least it's on topic!)
Anyway here it is (no music off course but it's Am->G on the verses and F->G->Am on the chorus, with a hammer-on on the Am and the capo on the 5th fret):
Castles in the Sand
I’m coming out to get you
I’m gonna take you home
Something about the desert
Sure makes a man feel alone
I’m going to take you by the hand
Lead you past those castles in the sand
Lead you past those castles in the sand
So you left that morning
I guess that you took the blame
Well you might have pulled that trigger
But you didn’t know where you aimed
And I saw your brother land
Falling to the castles in the sand
Falling to the castles in the sand
So you rolled him over
Took a look in his eye
You saw your mothers face
Oh, you can never tell her how he died
This wasn’t part of the plan
It fell apart like castles in the sand
It fell apart like castles in the sand
Your brother took the money
Headed out in to the morning sun
All you saw was a shadow
As you reached for your gun
And as he turned his back and ran
All he saw was castles in the sand
All he saw was castles in the sand
All he saw was castles in the sand
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Surprise at the beer store
So I went to the beer store today only to find that they have hired some dodgy Weegie who tells me that they no longer serve Hearts fans. What's the world coming to!
Friday, July 06, 2007
Alasdair Roberts
Having complained all year that it's been a slow year for music I suddenly found myself barraged with albums from all over the place (emusic, the library, Scotland..)
It's hard when you get so much music at one time. When not focusing on one thing, I think good stuff can often go missing simply because I didn't give it the time. I still maintain that one day when I am retired I will trawl back through my music collection and discover all of those gems that I missed.
Anyway - with all the new music I've been getting, most of it has been eclipsed by the wonderful Alasdair Roberts album "The Amber Gatherers". I love finding new music and I love it even more when it's Scottish music and this is Scottish to it's very core. It's folk music that could have come straight out of the 1600's and yet it still feels amazingly contemporary. His voice is timeless - I really can't describe it. You need to listen to it - it's beautiful music.
There are some wonderful lyrics too. My very favourite line of the year comes from my favourite track here "Firewater" where he asks "How can I ever tame her until I know what makes her wild?"
It's hard when you get so much music at one time. When not focusing on one thing, I think good stuff can often go missing simply because I didn't give it the time. I still maintain that one day when I am retired I will trawl back through my music collection and discover all of those gems that I missed.
Anyway - with all the new music I've been getting, most of it has been eclipsed by the wonderful Alasdair Roberts album "The Amber Gatherers". I love finding new music and I love it even more when it's Scottish music and this is Scottish to it's very core. It's folk music that could have come straight out of the 1600's and yet it still feels amazingly contemporary. His voice is timeless - I really can't describe it. You need to listen to it - it's beautiful music.
There are some wonderful lyrics too. My very favourite line of the year comes from my favourite track here "Firewater" where he asks "How can I ever tame her until I know what makes her wild?"
Monday, July 02, 2007
The other side of 30
Has it really been a month since I last posted anything?
Hmm, well I have been a bit busy. I turned 30 and got so drunk I couldn't form real words - only sounds. I have been playing with my new digital recorder but I've yet to try layering 4 tracks. I've been busy at work with the Toronto Jazz Festival events, which thankfully came to an end last week.
So we had Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett play the Four Seasons Centre last week and I sat in on Dave Brubeck and Keith Jarrett and I'm really glad I did. Not that I'm a jazz fan but it was great to see something different in the venue and listen to the sound of almost 2000 people clapping and demanding an encore. I actually spent a lot of the Keith Jarrett show watching the audience, I guess because so much of my time is spent cramming them all in there that it's nice to see everybody enjoying themselves. I'm pretty sure that's why I like working in the arts, I might not be on stage or even backstage but in the end I still play a role in putting on the show (or performance if I am in COC mode!)
I want to sneak on stage at some point with my guitar though and just giver!
Hmm, well I have been a bit busy. I turned 30 and got so drunk I couldn't form real words - only sounds. I have been playing with my new digital recorder but I've yet to try layering 4 tracks. I've been busy at work with the Toronto Jazz Festival events, which thankfully came to an end last week.
So we had Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett play the Four Seasons Centre last week and I sat in on Dave Brubeck and Keith Jarrett and I'm really glad I did. Not that I'm a jazz fan but it was great to see something different in the venue and listen to the sound of almost 2000 people clapping and demanding an encore. I actually spent a lot of the Keith Jarrett show watching the audience, I guess because so much of my time is spent cramming them all in there that it's nice to see everybody enjoying themselves. I'm pretty sure that's why I like working in the arts, I might not be on stage or even backstage but in the end I still play a role in putting on the show (or performance if I am in COC mode!)
I want to sneak on stage at some point with my guitar though and just giver!
Monday, June 04, 2007
Another weekend in the life of Alan
Well apart from allergies meaning I couldn't breathe for much of it, it was a pretty great weekend.
Firstly, I picked up a black acoustic guitar at our street sale. Oh yes - Johnny Cash style!!! Now I can now play Folsom Prison, wearing all black on my black guitar. I am a happy man.
Next up Toronto FC and a game vs the 2nd best team in the West, Colorado. It was 30 degrees out and muggy, so Tim and I were expecting a slow possesion game from both teams. Luckily nobody told the TFC boys and they came out with all guns a blazing. We were 2 up inside 25 minutes and it could easily have been 4 or 5. Dichio knocked in a lovely cut back from Marvell Wynne after he beat 2 defenders and Boyens headed in an O'Brien corner. It looked like we were going to walk it but Colorado nicked one before half-time and it all got a bit nervous. The 2nd half slowed down a lot, probably becuase of the heat and TFC had to hang on for the 2-1 win. Kevin Goldthwaite got sent off for something he said, but he made a good point after the game. The bloke he was arguing with was speaking Spanish so the ref would have no idea what he said. Goldthwaite got penalized for speaking English - Hardly seems fair.
On Sunday Fran and I went to see Hot Fuzz which was very, very funny. A perfect send up/homage of every action movie you've ever seen. Too many good bits to mention.
After that we went to watch Philip Glass and his interpretation of some of Leonard Cohens poems. Musically I felt this worked really well but they had 4 different singers and none of them did anything for me. There were a few tracks where they pumped in Leonards versions of the poems and it really added another dimension that was missing the moment any of the others opened their mouths. Here's some Leonard to finish:
1. You came to me this morning
And you handled me like meat.
You´d have to live alone to know
How good that feels, how sweet.
My mirror twin, my next of kin,
I´d know you in my sleep.
And who but you would take me in
A thousand kisses deep?
2. I loved you when you opened
Like a lily to the heat.
I´m just another snowman
Standing in the rain and sleet,
Who loved you with his frozen love
His second-hand physique -
With all he is, and all he was
A thousand kisses deep.
3. All soaked in sex, and pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
We made it to the forward deck
I blessed our remnant fleet -
And then consented to be wrecked
A thousand kisses deep.
4. I know you had to lie to me,
I know you had to cheat.
But the Means no longer guarantee
The Virtue in Deceit.
That truth is bent, that beauty spent,
That style is obsolete -
Ever since the Holy Spirit went
A thousand kisses deep.
5. (So what about this Inner Light
That´s boundless and unique?
I´m slouching through another night
A thousand kisses deep.)
6. I´m turning tricks; I´m getting fixed,
I´m back on Boogie Street.
I tried to quit the business -
Hey, I´m lazy and I´m weak.
But sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go
A thousand kisses deep.
7. (And fragrant is the thought of you,
The file on you complete -
Except what we forgot to do
A thousand kisses deep.)
8. The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it´s done -
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it´s real
A thousand kisses deep.
9. (I jammed with Diz and Dante -
I did not have their sweep -
But once or twice, they let me play
A thousand kisses deep.)
10. And I´m still working with the wine,
Still dancing cheek to cheek.
The band is playing "Auld Lang Syne" -
The heart will not retreat.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep -
You ditch it all to stay alive
A thousand kisses deep.
11. And now you are the Angel Death
And now the Paraclete;
And now you are the Savior's Breath
And now the Belsen heap.
No turning from the threat of love,
No transcendental leap -
As witnessed here in time and blood
A thousand kisses deep.
Firstly, I picked up a black acoustic guitar at our street sale. Oh yes - Johnny Cash style!!! Now I can now play Folsom Prison, wearing all black on my black guitar. I am a happy man.
Next up Toronto FC and a game vs the 2nd best team in the West, Colorado. It was 30 degrees out and muggy, so Tim and I were expecting a slow possesion game from both teams. Luckily nobody told the TFC boys and they came out with all guns a blazing. We were 2 up inside 25 minutes and it could easily have been 4 or 5. Dichio knocked in a lovely cut back from Marvell Wynne after he beat 2 defenders and Boyens headed in an O'Brien corner. It looked like we were going to walk it but Colorado nicked one before half-time and it all got a bit nervous. The 2nd half slowed down a lot, probably becuase of the heat and TFC had to hang on for the 2-1 win. Kevin Goldthwaite got sent off for something he said, but he made a good point after the game. The bloke he was arguing with was speaking Spanish so the ref would have no idea what he said. Goldthwaite got penalized for speaking English - Hardly seems fair.
On Sunday Fran and I went to see Hot Fuzz which was very, very funny. A perfect send up/homage of every action movie you've ever seen. Too many good bits to mention.
After that we went to watch Philip Glass and his interpretation of some of Leonard Cohens poems. Musically I felt this worked really well but they had 4 different singers and none of them did anything for me. There were a few tracks where they pumped in Leonards versions of the poems and it really added another dimension that was missing the moment any of the others opened their mouths. Here's some Leonard to finish:
1. You came to me this morning
And you handled me like meat.
You´d have to live alone to know
How good that feels, how sweet.
My mirror twin, my next of kin,
I´d know you in my sleep.
And who but you would take me in
A thousand kisses deep?
2. I loved you when you opened
Like a lily to the heat.
I´m just another snowman
Standing in the rain and sleet,
Who loved you with his frozen love
His second-hand physique -
With all he is, and all he was
A thousand kisses deep.
3. All soaked in sex, and pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
We made it to the forward deck
I blessed our remnant fleet -
And then consented to be wrecked
A thousand kisses deep.
4. I know you had to lie to me,
I know you had to cheat.
But the Means no longer guarantee
The Virtue in Deceit.
That truth is bent, that beauty spent,
That style is obsolete -
Ever since the Holy Spirit went
A thousand kisses deep.
5. (So what about this Inner Light
That´s boundless and unique?
I´m slouching through another night
A thousand kisses deep.)
6. I´m turning tricks; I´m getting fixed,
I´m back on Boogie Street.
I tried to quit the business -
Hey, I´m lazy and I´m weak.
But sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go
A thousand kisses deep.
7. (And fragrant is the thought of you,
The file on you complete -
Except what we forgot to do
A thousand kisses deep.)
8. The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it´s done -
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it´s real
A thousand kisses deep.
9. (I jammed with Diz and Dante -
I did not have their sweep -
But once or twice, they let me play
A thousand kisses deep.)
10. And I´m still working with the wine,
Still dancing cheek to cheek.
The band is playing "Auld Lang Syne" -
The heart will not retreat.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep -
You ditch it all to stay alive
A thousand kisses deep.
11. And now you are the Angel Death
And now the Paraclete;
And now you are the Savior's Breath
And now the Belsen heap.
No turning from the threat of love,
No transcendental leap -
As witnessed here in time and blood
A thousand kisses deep.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
The end of a season
So yesterday the Canadian Opera Company finished it's inaugural season in The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. What a year it has been.
I would have to say it's been the greatest year in my professional career and one I will always remeber. The challenge of moving thousands of subscribers from one venue to another, of mounting 3 full Ring Cycles with people coming from all over the world, of finding the bad and the good of the new place, of hiring a whole new team of staff....and I think in the end, we couldn't really have done much better.
The staff of the COC are by far it's greatest asset and I work with some really great people. I hope they are all very proud of what they have accomplished.
All that being said - I sure am glad it's over!
I would have to say it's been the greatest year in my professional career and one I will always remeber. The challenge of moving thousands of subscribers from one venue to another, of mounting 3 full Ring Cycles with people coming from all over the world, of finding the bad and the good of the new place, of hiring a whole new team of staff....and I think in the end, we couldn't really have done much better.
The staff of the COC are by far it's greatest asset and I work with some really great people. I hope they are all very proud of what they have accomplished.
All that being said - I sure am glad it's over!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
A long weekend in the life of Alan
So Friday started of as a pretty crappy day. Getting to work at 11:30 I was immediatley confronted with a problem at work that required me to pull 6 tickets out of thin air for that night's sold-out show (which I did, thank you very much). That was followed by 5 straight hours of meetings including 2 hours with our finance dept. Not fun.
Also due to someone calling in sick, I was on my own between 5 and 7:30 and then had to rush over to Massey Hall to see Damien Rice at 8.
So done with the crappy work part, and on to the show. We have great seats in the centre orchestra at Massey but lined up right behind us are 6 photographers and sure enough for the 1st 3 songs, all we hear is click, click, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.......
Ahhhhhhhhhhrg - It was not turning out like the day I hoped but finally after the 3rd song, the photographers cleared off and left us to a truly wonderful show.
The first time I saw Damien Rice at Convocation Hall it was the best live show I have ever seen and although Friday's show was good it wasn't quite that good. Still he is one of those artists who sounds 10 times better live than on record, and I absolutely love his records. He builds songs up and creates intense walls of sound from the most delicate of starts. He uses lighting to create different moods on each of his songs. He tells storys and is relaxed with a sometimes over adoring crowd (one chick kept shouting "I love you" which annoyed me no end). To end this show, he sang his drunken lament to lost love "Cheers Darlin'", whilst drinking a couple of glasses of red wine and acting progressively drunker. In the end he stumbled of stage and had everybody laughing, a really unusual way to end a show. It's nice to know he doesn't take himself too seriously.
The only big dissapointment to the show was the absence of Lisa Hannigan. Her beautiful vocals are such a big part of a lot of Damien's song and "Blower's Daughter" was a pale imitation without her.
So onto Saturday and another Toronto FC game, this time against DC United, the team below us in the league. The weather was beautiful and the crowd were singing even before they were in the stadium. Tim and I took advantage of the 3:30 start to get a few beers in beforehand and I was in the mood for it come kick-off.
The game was fairly fragmented to start off and a typically picky referee was holding things up as much as he could. Not to worry though as ex-DC player Alecko Eskandarian finally notched his first goal, banging one in from 8 yards out after a Dichio flick on.
So half-time and all seems right with the world. I even get id'd getting a beer, proving I still have the baby-faced looks of an 18 year-old!
The 2nd half though is another story. The crowd are still into it. Someone starts singing the bass line to the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army" and that takes off, a nice addition I think. The team however have played 3 games in a week, whilst DC have had 2 weeks off and it shows. An own goal by last weeks hero, Kevin Goldthwaite is followed up by a so-so penalty award on the 80th minute. DC scores and takes it 2-1 and we have to stop singing that they are "in last place".
Today I was back at work again for the Sunday matinee of La Traviata. Nothing much to report there, but I am looking forward to the Monday holiday before I throw myself into 11 straight days of working.
I am thankful the end of the opera season is in sight!
Also due to someone calling in sick, I was on my own between 5 and 7:30 and then had to rush over to Massey Hall to see Damien Rice at 8.
So done with the crappy work part, and on to the show. We have great seats in the centre orchestra at Massey but lined up right behind us are 6 photographers and sure enough for the 1st 3 songs, all we hear is click, click, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.......
Ahhhhhhhhhhrg - It was not turning out like the day I hoped but finally after the 3rd song, the photographers cleared off and left us to a truly wonderful show.
The first time I saw Damien Rice at Convocation Hall it was the best live show I have ever seen and although Friday's show was good it wasn't quite that good. Still he is one of those artists who sounds 10 times better live than on record, and I absolutely love his records. He builds songs up and creates intense walls of sound from the most delicate of starts. He uses lighting to create different moods on each of his songs. He tells storys and is relaxed with a sometimes over adoring crowd (one chick kept shouting "I love you" which annoyed me no end). To end this show, he sang his drunken lament to lost love "Cheers Darlin'", whilst drinking a couple of glasses of red wine and acting progressively drunker. In the end he stumbled of stage and had everybody laughing, a really unusual way to end a show. It's nice to know he doesn't take himself too seriously.
The only big dissapointment to the show was the absence of Lisa Hannigan. Her beautiful vocals are such a big part of a lot of Damien's song and "Blower's Daughter" was a pale imitation without her.
So onto Saturday and another Toronto FC game, this time against DC United, the team below us in the league. The weather was beautiful and the crowd were singing even before they were in the stadium. Tim and I took advantage of the 3:30 start to get a few beers in beforehand and I was in the mood for it come kick-off.
The game was fairly fragmented to start off and a typically picky referee was holding things up as much as he could. Not to worry though as ex-DC player Alecko Eskandarian finally notched his first goal, banging one in from 8 yards out after a Dichio flick on.
So half-time and all seems right with the world. I even get id'd getting a beer, proving I still have the baby-faced looks of an 18 year-old!
The 2nd half though is another story. The crowd are still into it. Someone starts singing the bass line to the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army" and that takes off, a nice addition I think. The team however have played 3 games in a week, whilst DC have had 2 weeks off and it shows. An own goal by last weeks hero, Kevin Goldthwaite is followed up by a so-so penalty award on the 80th minute. DC scores and takes it 2-1 and we have to stop singing that they are "in last place".
Today I was back at work again for the Sunday matinee of La Traviata. Nothing much to report there, but I am looking forward to the Monday holiday before I throw myself into 11 straight days of working.
I am thankful the end of the opera season is in sight!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Wonderful Wilco
I love Wilco. I love Jeff Tweedy's voice. I love "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", it's one of my very favourite records. I loved seeing them at Massey Hall (even when Jeff called us all motherfuckers) and I love their new record "Sky Blue Sky".
This record is like a walk on a gentle summers evening along the lakefront with a soft gentle breeze and the sound of the water lapping on the shore. Hmmm, that actually sounds a bit wanky but nonetheless it's true.
Wilco have been pushing their more experimental side on their last couple of discs, exploring all kinds of sonic ideas and using weird and wonderful song structures.
What they've done here is settle down, write some lovely, simple tunes and recorded them in a way that tells you these guys were just sitting back and playing. Nels Cline, their touring guitarist, plays on a record for the first time and his jazzy lead guitar arrangements beautifully compliment everything else that's going on. The duelling guitars of Cline and Tweedy even wrap around each other in a way that you could swear they were just jamming along for the most part.
It's got a sort of folky 70's feel to it and although I wasn't to sure when I first played it, now I can't get enough of it. I've played it 13 times on my ipod in 2 days!
I'm really hoping they tour again and maybe this time Jeff will be just a little bit more relaxed and let the crowd just do their own thing.
This record is like a walk on a gentle summers evening along the lakefront with a soft gentle breeze and the sound of the water lapping on the shore. Hmmm, that actually sounds a bit wanky but nonetheless it's true.
Wilco have been pushing their more experimental side on their last couple of discs, exploring all kinds of sonic ideas and using weird and wonderful song structures.
What they've done here is settle down, write some lovely, simple tunes and recorded them in a way that tells you these guys were just sitting back and playing. Nels Cline, their touring guitarist, plays on a record for the first time and his jazzy lead guitar arrangements beautifully compliment everything else that's going on. The duelling guitars of Cline and Tweedy even wrap around each other in a way that you could swear they were just jamming along for the most part.
It's got a sort of folky 70's feel to it and although I wasn't to sure when I first played it, now I can't get enough of it. I've played it 13 times on my ipod in 2 days!
I'm really hoping they tour again and maybe this time Jeff will be just a little bit more relaxed and let the crowd just do their own thing.
Toronto FC 1 vs 0 Houston Dynamo
So game 3 was to be a big test for both the fans and the team.
The team was facing the defending champions, Houston, who have last years MVP, Canadian Dwayne De Rosario, and we were without talismatic Danny Dichio through suspension.
The fans were facing a cold and wet miserable May night.
Both came through a treat though!
On the field Houston looked great for the first 10 minutes. Slick passing and movement, some good chances and one goal line clearance. After that though TO came back into it and went ahead when Kevin Welsh headed in a Ronnie O'Brien cross. The usual great reaction from the crowd (but without the avalanche of seat cushions). From there on in both teams had good chances but a bit of luck and some good defending saw us claim our first clean sheet and 2nd consecutive win. We moved off the bottom of the table and play the team below us, Washington, on Saturday. A win there and TO could be top half of the table by Saturday night!
The fans were magnificent again. A sell-out although a few who bought tickets didn't show, but we still had around 17 or 18,000. The supporters section was in full voice again and the rain didn't really dampen anything.
Roll on Saturday!
The team was facing the defending champions, Houston, who have last years MVP, Canadian Dwayne De Rosario, and we were without talismatic Danny Dichio through suspension.
The fans were facing a cold and wet miserable May night.
Both came through a treat though!
On the field Houston looked great for the first 10 minutes. Slick passing and movement, some good chances and one goal line clearance. After that though TO came back into it and went ahead when Kevin Welsh headed in a Ronnie O'Brien cross. The usual great reaction from the crowd (but without the avalanche of seat cushions). From there on in both teams had good chances but a bit of luck and some good defending saw us claim our first clean sheet and 2nd consecutive win. We moved off the bottom of the table and play the team below us, Washington, on Saturday. A win there and TO could be top half of the table by Saturday night!
The fans were magnificent again. A sell-out although a few who bought tickets didn't show, but we still had around 17 or 18,000. The supporters section was in full voice again and the rain didn't really dampen anything.
Roll on Saturday!
Monday, May 14, 2007
New Music
It seems like a long time since I've written about music, which I think is a reflection of the type of year it's been so far. It seems like it's been a very light year so far. I have made some great discoveries but most of them have been things I missed last year.
One example of that is Destroyer. Hailing from Vancouver, this off shoot from The New Pornographers was one of the big critical darlings of last year. Some how even though it made loads of top 10 lists it managed to pass me by until the good old Toronto Public Library picked it up last month. The record "Destoyer's Rubies" is incredible. It took me quite a few listens to get into it but the sprawling 9 minute opening track "Rubies" sums up everything that is great about this band. I can't really put my finger on what they sound like. Fran thought early David Bowie at first and I've had the odd Pink Floyd moment but they really don't sound much like either of them. The music is sort of theatrical. It swirls and crescendos then it lulls and soothes. It's a record that opens up a little more with every listen and I went from not being to sure about it to having goosebumps.
Another great Canadian release is the new Feist album. I liked the 1st album without being blown away by it so I wasn't sure how much I was going to like the follow-up. A lot as it turns out. It has moments that are very intimate and very feminine but for me the best bits are when she cranks it up and has a little fun. Sealion has a real African beat to it and is a ton of fun and 1234 comes of like a nursery rhyme (as you might expect for a song called 1234).
Finally for this round is a bit of a disappointment although I hate to admit it. The new Travis album came out last week and I was down at Best Buy as soon as they opened to pick it up. I'd read a few fan reviews claiming it was the best since Good Feeling and The Man Who so I was genuinely excited about the record. Now it's not terrible, don't get me wrong. I love Travis and I love Fran Healy's voice inspite of what some of the critics might say. There are some pretty decent tunes on this new record but lyrically it's pretty awful. The lyric "Don't you know that I heart you" pretty much sums it up. A load of know, go, slow, grow rhyming schemes which really grate after a while. Maybe I am being a little harsh here, I have listened to Selfish Jean (with it's Lust for Life rip-off rhythm section) and Eyes Wide Open a lot and the last album didn't really do anything for me until i saw them live. I was just hoping for a bit more, that's all.
I have my fingers crossed that there are some undiscovered gems out there and the new Wilco album comes out tomorrow so I might even find myself down at Best Buy again in the breakfast hour.
"You disrupt the world's disorder just by the beauty of your grace"
One example of that is Destroyer. Hailing from Vancouver, this off shoot from The New Pornographers was one of the big critical darlings of last year. Some how even though it made loads of top 10 lists it managed to pass me by until the good old Toronto Public Library picked it up last month. The record "Destoyer's Rubies" is incredible. It took me quite a few listens to get into it but the sprawling 9 minute opening track "Rubies" sums up everything that is great about this band. I can't really put my finger on what they sound like. Fran thought early David Bowie at first and I've had the odd Pink Floyd moment but they really don't sound much like either of them. The music is sort of theatrical. It swirls and crescendos then it lulls and soothes. It's a record that opens up a little more with every listen and I went from not being to sure about it to having goosebumps.
Another great Canadian release is the new Feist album. I liked the 1st album without being blown away by it so I wasn't sure how much I was going to like the follow-up. A lot as it turns out. It has moments that are very intimate and very feminine but for me the best bits are when she cranks it up and has a little fun. Sealion has a real African beat to it and is a ton of fun and 1234 comes of like a nursery rhyme (as you might expect for a song called 1234).
Finally for this round is a bit of a disappointment although I hate to admit it. The new Travis album came out last week and I was down at Best Buy as soon as they opened to pick it up. I'd read a few fan reviews claiming it was the best since Good Feeling and The Man Who so I was genuinely excited about the record. Now it's not terrible, don't get me wrong. I love Travis and I love Fran Healy's voice inspite of what some of the critics might say. There are some pretty decent tunes on this new record but lyrically it's pretty awful. The lyric "Don't you know that I heart you" pretty much sums it up. A load of know, go, slow, grow rhyming schemes which really grate after a while. Maybe I am being a little harsh here, I have listened to Selfish Jean (with it's Lust for Life rip-off rhythm section) and Eyes Wide Open a lot and the last album didn't really do anything for me until i saw them live. I was just hoping for a bit more, that's all.
I have my fingers crossed that there are some undiscovered gems out there and the new Wilco album comes out tomorrow so I might even find myself down at Best Buy again in the breakfast hour.
"You disrupt the world's disorder just by the beauty of your grace"
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Toronto FC 3 vs 1 Chicago Fire
Ok let me begin by saying the 2nd Toronto FC home game was (sorry Mum) fucking brilliant.
There are so many things that Maple Leafs sports have got right with this team and another example of this was the shuttle bus running express from Bathurst Station down to the ground. The one thing they maybe didn't think through was handing out frisbee like seat cushion before the game today. Oh yes, these "souvenirs" were pelted onto the pitch after every major incident causing a delay each time and a plea from the announcer to stop. Yet another lesson in football culture for MLSE - Don't arm the fans with something they can throw.
Alright on to the game. It was a beautiful sunny day down by the water (I off course forgot my hat and now have a forehead similar in shade and colour to the TFC strip). The fans were again in full voice and raring to go after a 2 week break. We met the season ticket holders next to us and you could really feel a sense of community forming around the stand.
Off course everybody was baying for a goal and after a fairly bright start, the amazing moment came about half-way through the 1st half. The ball ended up with Edson Buddle on the right-hand side of the area and he squared it to big Danny Dichio who slid the ball home. Pandemonium! Cue a shower of seat cushions, beer, flares (not such a good idea as they set the artificial turf alight) and genuine jubilation among the fans. It really was a great moment and one I was very happy to be part of. {You can see the goal here}
As we all set ourselves after that, Chicago promptly went up the field about 10 minutes later and fired themselves level with a lovely shot from the edge of the box into the top corner. That only slightly deflated the crowd but not to worry, there was a lot more to come.
Next up big Dichio (6ft+ Englishman with a skinhead) gets involved with the Chicago keeper leading to a wrestling match with a bunch of players actually in the Chicago net. The ref pulls it apart and sends-off Dichio and a Chicago defender. I didn't get a great view of all the goings on, but I get the feeling Dichio was sent-off purely because he looks like a bit of a thug.
So half-time and at 1-1 we are all fairly happy. Losing Dichio might mean less of an attacking edge in the 2nd half but we all enjoy the pipe band they put on at half-time. Again, a nice touch by MLSE.
So 2nd half gets going and right away it's all Toronto. It doesn't take long for Kevin Goldthwaite to find space about 12 yards out and fire us ahead again {here}. More pandamonium. Chicago at this point (and actually for most of the game) look rattled. I think I'm going to enjoy the "What the fuck is this?" look on the faces of visting players as they find themselves subject to the abuse of the TFC fans. You really get the feeling these players have never experienced anything like it before.
So with Chicago on the ropes, Maurice Edu fires in a half-volley {here}and we all begin the party as Toronto goes on to win it's first-ever game.
The post match reports referenced the "increasingly intimidating BMO Field crowd" as one of the main factors for the win. When asked for his man of the match after the game Mo Johnston responded with "Every single one of our players, plus the fans". What's really great about the TFC experience so far is feeling in complete connection with the game and really seeing everybody around us getting so deeply into it.
What's great this week is that there is another game on Wednesday (against defending champions Houston) and then again next Saturday (against Washington).
T-O-R-O-N-T-OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-TFC
There are so many things that Maple Leafs sports have got right with this team and another example of this was the shuttle bus running express from Bathurst Station down to the ground. The one thing they maybe didn't think through was handing out frisbee like seat cushion before the game today. Oh yes, these "souvenirs" were pelted onto the pitch after every major incident causing a delay each time and a plea from the announcer to stop. Yet another lesson in football culture for MLSE - Don't arm the fans with something they can throw.
Alright on to the game. It was a beautiful sunny day down by the water (I off course forgot my hat and now have a forehead similar in shade and colour to the TFC strip). The fans were again in full voice and raring to go after a 2 week break. We met the season ticket holders next to us and you could really feel a sense of community forming around the stand.
Off course everybody was baying for a goal and after a fairly bright start, the amazing moment came about half-way through the 1st half. The ball ended up with Edson Buddle on the right-hand side of the area and he squared it to big Danny Dichio who slid the ball home. Pandemonium! Cue a shower of seat cushions, beer, flares (not such a good idea as they set the artificial turf alight) and genuine jubilation among the fans. It really was a great moment and one I was very happy to be part of. {You can see the goal here}
As we all set ourselves after that, Chicago promptly went up the field about 10 minutes later and fired themselves level with a lovely shot from the edge of the box into the top corner. That only slightly deflated the crowd but not to worry, there was a lot more to come.
Next up big Dichio (6ft+ Englishman with a skinhead) gets involved with the Chicago keeper leading to a wrestling match with a bunch of players actually in the Chicago net. The ref pulls it apart and sends-off Dichio and a Chicago defender. I didn't get a great view of all the goings on, but I get the feeling Dichio was sent-off purely because he looks like a bit of a thug.
So half-time and at 1-1 we are all fairly happy. Losing Dichio might mean less of an attacking edge in the 2nd half but we all enjoy the pipe band they put on at half-time. Again, a nice touch by MLSE.
So 2nd half gets going and right away it's all Toronto. It doesn't take long for Kevin Goldthwaite to find space about 12 yards out and fire us ahead again {here}. More pandamonium. Chicago at this point (and actually for most of the game) look rattled. I think I'm going to enjoy the "What the fuck is this?" look on the faces of visting players as they find themselves subject to the abuse of the TFC fans. You really get the feeling these players have never experienced anything like it before.
So with Chicago on the ropes, Maurice Edu fires in a half-volley {here}and we all begin the party as Toronto goes on to win it's first-ever game.
The post match reports referenced the "increasingly intimidating BMO Field crowd" as one of the main factors for the win. When asked for his man of the match after the game Mo Johnston responded with "Every single one of our players, plus the fans". What's really great about the TFC experience so far is feeling in complete connection with the game and really seeing everybody around us getting so deeply into it.
What's great this week is that there is another game on Wednesday (against defending champions Houston) and then again next Saturday (against Washington).
T-O-R-O-N-T-OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-TFC
Sunday, May 06, 2007
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
We just finished watching the Devil and Daniel Johnston which is a documentary about manic depressive musician Daniel Johnston.
The movie is an incredible story about Daniel's life and it is an amazing, incredibly, deeply sad story.
If you don't know Daniel's music, it's very basic played on either guitar, piano or casio keyboard and usually very low-tech home recordings. His songs often sound like they could have been written by a 10 year-old and yet somehow there is a power and depth to them that can be overwhelming. His music has been covered by some amazing people, Tom Waits, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Teenage Fanclub..... and Kurt Cobain wore his T-shirt all the time {this increased his popularity exponentially in the early 90's}
He grew up in West Virginia and was obsessed with art and music. His deeply religious parents didn't understand him and he made tapes of everything. He taped his mother chastising him for being a bum. He made super 8 movies where he'd paraody his family and played the roles of both his mother and father. He eventually escaped them all by getting a job working for a carnival and travelled with them until he got beat up in Austin and found himself landed there. In Austin he really started to push his music and became famous in the local scene. He made home recordings and handed them out to everybody and anybody. Somehow he found his way on to MTV and recieved Songwriter and Folk musician of the year awards. It was all going great fror him but underneath his depression was driving him insane.
Eventually he fell apart at a Butthole Surfers concert after taking acid and the decline was fast. He found himself in and out of mental hospitals and jail. he became obsessed with the Devil. He chased some old lady out of a 2nd floor window trying to exorcise her demons. He went to New York to record with Sonic Youth and found himself on the streets with Sonic Youth in a car searching Manhattan for him.
In a heartbraking scene, his father who is a pilot, tells how his son grabbed the keys for his plane whilst in mid-air, switched the engine off and threw the keys out of the window. The plane plummeted to the ground but amazingly they both survived.
Daniels long time manager and biggest fan stuck with him threw it all. He even got Daniel on the verge of signing an incredible contract with Elektra Records (on the back of the Kurt Cobain publicity) only for Daniel to fire him for no reason and sign with Atlantic instead. The Atlantic deal lasted through 1 record and fell apart.
Daniel lives with his Mum and Dad in Texas these days and his parents are a truly amazing couple. They still support in and help him tour and record even though you can see the strain it has put on them. As I write this he playing at the Mod Club in Toronto and is touring all over the world.
The movie was a beautiful but torturous document of Daniel's life. I highly recommend it but it's a heart braking journey.
The movie is an incredible story about Daniel's life and it is an amazing, incredibly, deeply sad story.
If you don't know Daniel's music, it's very basic played on either guitar, piano or casio keyboard and usually very low-tech home recordings. His songs often sound like they could have been written by a 10 year-old and yet somehow there is a power and depth to them that can be overwhelming. His music has been covered by some amazing people, Tom Waits, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Teenage Fanclub..... and Kurt Cobain wore his T-shirt all the time {this increased his popularity exponentially in the early 90's}
He grew up in West Virginia and was obsessed with art and music. His deeply religious parents didn't understand him and he made tapes of everything. He taped his mother chastising him for being a bum. He made super 8 movies where he'd paraody his family and played the roles of both his mother and father. He eventually escaped them all by getting a job working for a carnival and travelled with them until he got beat up in Austin and found himself landed there. In Austin he really started to push his music and became famous in the local scene. He made home recordings and handed them out to everybody and anybody. Somehow he found his way on to MTV and recieved Songwriter and Folk musician of the year awards. It was all going great fror him but underneath his depression was driving him insane.
Eventually he fell apart at a Butthole Surfers concert after taking acid and the decline was fast. He found himself in and out of mental hospitals and jail. he became obsessed with the Devil. He chased some old lady out of a 2nd floor window trying to exorcise her demons. He went to New York to record with Sonic Youth and found himself on the streets with Sonic Youth in a car searching Manhattan for him.
In a heartbraking scene, his father who is a pilot, tells how his son grabbed the keys for his plane whilst in mid-air, switched the engine off and threw the keys out of the window. The plane plummeted to the ground but amazingly they both survived.
Daniels long time manager and biggest fan stuck with him threw it all. He even got Daniel on the verge of signing an incredible contract with Elektra Records (on the back of the Kurt Cobain publicity) only for Daniel to fire him for no reason and sign with Atlantic instead. The Atlantic deal lasted through 1 record and fell apart.
Daniel lives with his Mum and Dad in Texas these days and his parents are a truly amazing couple. They still support in and help him tour and record even though you can see the strain it has put on them. As I write this he playing at the Mod Club in Toronto and is touring all over the world.
The movie was a beautiful but torturous document of Daniel's life. I highly recommend it but it's a heart braking journey.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Toronto FC 0 vs 1 Kansas City
Ok so that was the score
Ok so we still haven't scored a goal in 4 straight defeats.
Here's the real story - What an amazing atmosphere for Toronto FC' 1st ever home game. Honestly, I am still in shock at how incredible the fans were.
Tim and I took our seats in the 5th row, right beside the corner flag and right across from the suppoters club stand about 30 minutes before kick-off. I had myself a 28oz beer in hand. Let me repeat that for the folks in the UK - I had myself a beer in my seat at a football match.
I say in my seat, but in truth I didn't sit down for the whole game. I haven't stood for a whole game since the early 90's but the fans were up and chanting and singing for the whole game.
Right from the off-set when the guy singing the anthems forgot the words to the US anthem, to the derision of the fans who actually finished it for him. Then the whole crowd got into singing Oh Canada (I even pitched in with the couple of verses I knew).
Then the chants started and I was impressed. Everybody in our section and in the stand across from us was singing pretty much the whole game. Some pretty funny stuff too.
Eddie Johnson scored and then unadvisedly made towards the stands to celebrate for which he recieved a shower of beer. After that we got a "Toronto FC wants it's supporters to show sportsmanship" announcement, which was suitably recieved by the fans. I think the real lesson is, don't celebrate scoring goals near the home fans, and I'm hoping it's a lesson the MLS teams are going to learn quickly.
The only hint of frustration was the singing of "All we are saying is give us a goal" to the tune of "All we are saying is give peace a chance". The team did create a couple of decent chances and probably deserved a point form the game, but you can tell they need time to gel.
It really was a great, great atmosphere and not all that far away from a Scottish crowd, just without quite so much hatred and venom. I've read some of the quotes after the game and the Kansas players admit to being rattled by it. The team has a long way to go, but it ain't going to be much fun being a visiting player to BMO field.
2 weeks to the next game!!!! Damn it.
Ok so we still haven't scored a goal in 4 straight defeats.
Here's the real story - What an amazing atmosphere for Toronto FC' 1st ever home game. Honestly, I am still in shock at how incredible the fans were.
Tim and I took our seats in the 5th row, right beside the corner flag and right across from the suppoters club stand about 30 minutes before kick-off. I had myself a 28oz beer in hand. Let me repeat that for the folks in the UK - I had myself a beer in my seat at a football match.
I say in my seat, but in truth I didn't sit down for the whole game. I haven't stood for a whole game since the early 90's but the fans were up and chanting and singing for the whole game.
Right from the off-set when the guy singing the anthems forgot the words to the US anthem, to the derision of the fans who actually finished it for him. Then the whole crowd got into singing Oh Canada (I even pitched in with the couple of verses I knew).
Then the chants started and I was impressed. Everybody in our section and in the stand across from us was singing pretty much the whole game. Some pretty funny stuff too.
Eddie Johnson scored and then unadvisedly made towards the stands to celebrate for which he recieved a shower of beer. After that we got a "Toronto FC wants it's supporters to show sportsmanship" announcement, which was suitably recieved by the fans. I think the real lesson is, don't celebrate scoring goals near the home fans, and I'm hoping it's a lesson the MLS teams are going to learn quickly.
The only hint of frustration was the singing of "All we are saying is give us a goal" to the tune of "All we are saying is give peace a chance". The team did create a couple of decent chances and probably deserved a point form the game, but you can tell they need time to gel.
It really was a great, great atmosphere and not all that far away from a Scottish crowd, just without quite so much hatred and venom. I've read some of the quotes after the game and the Kansas players admit to being rattled by it. The team has a long way to go, but it ain't going to be much fun being a visiting player to BMO field.
2 weeks to the next game!!!! Damn it.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Playlists
So the observant among you may have already noticed my "Most played itunes" list on the right of the page.
I'm not sure how frequently this list is going to change as right now Ox's album "Dust Bowl Revival" and Margot and the Nuclear So and So's album "The Dust of Retreat" (odd how they both have dust in the title), have a healthy lead over almost everything else. My most played tunes are at about 30 plays which I think shows some dedication. Both of those albums are really wonderful listens - I absolutely love them.
The list got me to thinking how cool it would be if we all had life playlists. Imagine everytime you played a track, it registered on your own playlist. Come your funeral, they could pull up your playlist, sort by most played and play the top 10 or 20 tracks as a musical eulogy. Wouldn't that be a beautiful way to look back on somebody's life.
I'm not sure how frequently this list is going to change as right now Ox's album "Dust Bowl Revival" and Margot and the Nuclear So and So's album "The Dust of Retreat" (odd how they both have dust in the title), have a healthy lead over almost everything else. My most played tunes are at about 30 plays which I think shows some dedication. Both of those albums are really wonderful listens - I absolutely love them.
The list got me to thinking how cool it would be if we all had life playlists. Imagine everytime you played a track, it registered on your own playlist. Come your funeral, they could pull up your playlist, sort by most played and play the top 10 or 20 tracks as a musical eulogy. Wouldn't that be a beautiful way to look back on somebody's life.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
The Great Lake Swimmers
The Great Lake Swimmers have been one of my favourite bands for the last few years. Beautiful, organic music with haunting vocals. They are a local band and they play here all the time but somehow I'd never seen them play live before. I'm not really one for fate but maybe, I was just fated to see them play The Church of the Redeemer last Saturday night. It was a truly wonderful show.
They recorded their 2nd album "Bodies and Minds" in a church (their first album was recorded in a Grain silo) and they have sound that is perfectly suited to the echoing, fullness that a church provides.
They opened the set with the lovely "Your Rocky Spine" from their new album "Ongiara" and pulled heavily from the new album as you might expect. Highlights from the 1st 2 records were "Let's trade skins", "Various Stages", "Moving Pictures Silent Films" (my favourite of the night) and "I will never see the sun".
The only dissapointment was the lack of "I could be nothing", which is definitely my favourite GLS tracks and probably one of my all-time favourite songs.
Ahh well, hopefully they'll be back and playing some equally angelic setting soon.
They recorded their 2nd album "Bodies and Minds" in a church (their first album was recorded in a Grain silo) and they have sound that is perfectly suited to the echoing, fullness that a church provides.
They opened the set with the lovely "Your Rocky Spine" from their new album "Ongiara" and pulled heavily from the new album as you might expect. Highlights from the 1st 2 records were "Let's trade skins", "Various Stages", "Moving Pictures Silent Films" (my favourite of the night) and "I will never see the sun".
The only dissapointment was the lack of "I could be nothing", which is definitely my favourite GLS tracks and probably one of my all-time favourite songs.
Ahh well, hopefully they'll be back and playing some equally angelic setting soon.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Sunday, April 08, 2007
And so it ends
Why is it that none of the teams I support ever do things in a nice painless fashion. Whether it's winning or losing, they always seem to drag it out to the most tortured and painful conclusion.
Witness the latest episode, the Maple Leafs battle for the post-season. Last night they had to beat Montreal and then hope the Islanders got beat by Jersey today to make it.
Part 1 - Montreal
The team goes up 3-1 only for the Habs to storm back and take a 5-3 lead. They then score 3 unanwsered and hold on for a 6-5 win.
Part 2- The New York Islanders @ The New Jersey Devils
This is the really painful stuff. The Islanders take a 2-0 lead and hang on until there is 4 minutes left. Jersey then scores to make it 2-1. With 0.9 seconds left (I kid you not) the Devils score to take it to OT and suddenly the season is revived. Off course OT solves nothing and so off we go to a shoot-out to decide our whole season.
I'm just going to leave it there.
Witness the latest episode, the Maple Leafs battle for the post-season. Last night they had to beat Montreal and then hope the Islanders got beat by Jersey today to make it.
Part 1 - Montreal
The team goes up 3-1 only for the Habs to storm back and take a 5-3 lead. They then score 3 unanwsered and hold on for a 6-5 win.
Part 2- The New York Islanders @ The New Jersey Devils
This is the really painful stuff. The Islanders take a 2-0 lead and hang on until there is 4 minutes left. Jersey then scores to make it 2-1. With 0.9 seconds left (I kid you not) the Devils score to take it to OT and suddenly the season is revived. Off course OT solves nothing and so off we go to a shoot-out to decide our whole season.
I'm just going to leave it there.
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