dude.

i started the night as a couch potato, and ended it as a drop kick queen. my thanks to The Dudes and a good friend who saw my potential as more than a motionless television-watching vegetable.

a concert-esque pub-crawl started the evening’s musical journey at Mavericks for some harmless pop punk. we were supporting friends and the local scene, sort of...in person, not financially. i smudged some eyeliner along my wrist to mimic the entry stamp and made a noteworthy stealth entrance. while i was nowhere near the right frame of mind to enjoy three chord progressions to the extent of the crowd around me, i couldn’t help but appreciate the energy of the bands on stage.

ducking out after two half-sets, we headed to stop number two. our mission entailed solely a post-concert social visit, but to our surprise, Jet Planes of Abraham were just finishing up their set. this meant we were just in time to catch The Dudes. i would like to take this opportunity to note: i fully condone any/all support and concert attendance of Jet Planes. I had the opportunity to see them play a show last week with Do Make Say Think that was auditory heaven.

back to The Dudes...who are The Dudes? they are one of few bands i am willing to classify as legitimate rock and roll. without delving too deep into debates of genre, i will say their live show was energetic. (btw. according to Microsoft Word, full of beans is a synonym for energetic…) their sound was impeccable, and the crowd loved every minute of it. they were tight. the kind of band you can tell has been playing with each other long enough to sound like gold, but not long enough that they don’t care anymore. mostly playing upbeat and danceable tracks, even slower songs like Don’t Talk came across louder and heavier than the album version. The Dudes recorded sound translated into a kicking live show. the combination of witty lyrics and range in mood let every song stand on its own.

the interaction between crowd and band culminated during the encore. covering the legendary Bob Dylan is no easy feat, but they covered I Shall Be Released and well. The Dudes extended an invitation to all lyric-knowing audience members to join them on stage for the song. two souls were brave enough to step up. the rest of the audience danced, danced and danced, compelling the band to play their last, last song. all in all, a great show and a great night. i’m glad i got up off the couch.

so say The Dudes,

i heart rock and roll.

The Dudes - Drop Kick Queen Of The Weekend
The Dudes - Do The Right Thing
Bob Dylan - I Shall Be Released

My Name Is Rivers, I'm Carrying My Band.

So uh, in contrary to popular belief Weezer is not broken up. In fact, after over a decade of giving classrooms full of nerds hope that one day they could be a rockstar too, Weezer is set to release it's sixth full length studio album. Apparently this one is supposed to be good? It's really hard to tell if this album is going to be better than their past 4 failed efforts to relive the glory days of the Blue and Pink. Now for all of us who have been following the Weezer story we can probably expect the same 4 chord songs and chant alongs, but this time might be a little different.

They bought a synth.

Yup, coming out of left field Rivers decided it would be an amazing idea to add a synth to their formulaic rock sound. So maybe instead of blazing guitar solos Rivers will now punctuate his verse/chorus songs with space age LAZORZ!

PEW PEW.

Beverly Hills Music Video

Shad tilts the Mod Club

After a short visit to the CASBY awards at the Kool Haus, it was generally agreed that going to the Mod Club to see Shad would be much more exciting than watching Edge 102.1 DJ's humiliate their physically-challenged interns. So we ditched the low-brow scene for intelligent rap and brilliant live performances by MC Shad and his band.
The Mod Club was packed when we arrived. We were just slightly too late to see Grand Analog's set, which is unfortunate because I was looking forward to hearing live versions of their upbeat flowing melodies from their album, Calligraffiti. But the crowd was buzzing with energy when Shad took the stage in a signature Burger King crown. Known for his insightful and humerous freestyles, Shad took no time at all getting his audience's hands up and bodies rocking out to funky drum beats, slippery bass lines and unbelievable trumpet solos. Have you ever heard a trumpet channelled through a wawa pedal? It's like Tom Morello meets Dizzy Gillespie; vibrant, sporatic and powerful. With a DJ on the one's and two's and some freestyle beatboxing, the sound was full but not overpowering or dominated by a single voice.
Taking it down in tempo near the end of the set, Shad plucked an acoustic and poetically navigated his way through a track for his family, who have recently returned to Ethiopia. Although initially a solo performance, violins, trumpet and bass slowly crept in and carried the melody to higher grounds of excitement. Following this, Shad dropped a freestyle accompanied by beatboxing and let his band carry the sound before making his exedous from the stage.
A great show by a great MC. Shad has the potential to take Canadian hip hop in new directions and last nights performace was just one showcase of that.

Just In Time For Halloween

Alright even though Michael Jackson turned into the craziest mother fucker I have ever seen he is and always will be the king of pop. JT is ONLY the prince. And every Halloween I have to watch thriller in all it's 14 minute glory. It's a song that will always stand at the pinnacle of modern music. Even the music video has become one of the greatest of all time...with some even calling it a great short film; MJ himself has noted that he always thought of his music videos (and music videos in general) as short films.

Anyways, I was searching youtube for thriller and I stumbled across this little gem of Bollywood. It's the Bollywood version of the Thriller dance. Complete with zombies and everything. I love it, and I can't help but wonder if they're parodying Thriller or just outright copying it. I guess turning into a warewolf was out of the budget so Manohar Jackson turned into a very un-un-dead zombie.

for the love of mix, long live the demo.

b-sides and demo’s, beginnings and maps of the creative process involved in producing an album. perhaps more…they are an auditory glimpse behind the studio door, into the unmixed talents of artists we love…or hate. but the ability of a band to produce demo tracks that warrant listening and loving on their own merit speaks volumes about the talent who created them. this is a trend that i hope more artists start setting: it not only attests to a band’s ability, it is an invaluable marketing tool.

fans of Brand New were tided over between their three year album hiatus with 9 leaked demo tracks. those demos became an album of their own for me, and remain still. the changes that accompanied demo 8’s transition into sowing season morphed the same chords and words into something different but equally enjoyable. i listen to and love both. the most defining aspect of these tracks as a collective stems from the decision of the BN boys not to mix all of them into the final release; unintentionally solidifying them into an unofficial, technically unreleased lp. yesterday, one of those unmixed and unreleased demos made the leap into production. (fork and knife), otherwise known as demo 7 or The Piano Song, underwent some lyric changes, and the addition of a stellar bridge. it’s different, produced, enjoyable. keeping the melodic piano progressions and hint of hollow drums, the mix gives the track more depth. the clarified vocals give the lyrics more meaning and the song more balance.

another demo-friendly band is Jimmy Eat World. they released a dual disc of both the mixed and demo versions on their last studio album Futures. prior to the release of their new album Chase This Light, i was privy to a demo version. while the album is not Clarity, and i’m starting to believe none of their albums ever will be, there are some very addictive tracks, some extremely radio friendly ones, and one or two hidden gems. an instrumental demo titled Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues was definitely one of those gems. i had hoped it would remain instrumental, however it was given a voice in the end. to my surprise, the vocal additions actually made the track more epic. i have room in my heart for two versions, and am glad i had the opportunity to hear both.

i love the mix, but long live the demo.

brand new - (fork and knife)
jimmy eat world - gotta be somebody's blues (demo)
jimmy eat world - gotta be somebody's blues (album version)