The Year of the Concert
I used to go see a lot of shows when I lived in Windsor... mostly because this one guy I used to go out with, Ryan, was a HUGE music fan with impeccable taste, so we'd slum it over to Detroit every few weeks to see a show at St. Andrew's Hall, Cobo, or the Palace (I don't even know if these places are still called these names). The one thing Detroit/Windsor has over us here in Toronto- more acts go there.
I've seen Elliot Smith, Stereolab, Sonic Youth, the Dandy Warhols, Grandaddy, Sloan, Violent Femmes, the Breeders, Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, George Clinton, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, and of course, the Tragically Hip. Just to name a few. And I've got the concert tees to prove it!
this year, I think, I'll be seeing a bunch of shows. I just get the feeling. So far, I've seen The Shins (last night-
awesome show) and Sloan, and next weekend I'm going to see The Rheostatics. And I'm definitely buying tickets to the Virgin Festival this fall. I'll get to see the Smashing Pumpkins again! And Bjork's gonna be there! I also
need to see Sarah Harmer play live.
I can't wait- it's all gonna be so awesome. There's something about seeing a band play live; it shows us that the band members are real people- they make mistakes (like James Mercer forgetting the words last night- he so cute!), they interact candidly with each other and with the audience. You connect with them, even though they can't see you. I really dig it.
The one thing I've learned from all these year's of concert-going? The closer I am to the stage has a direct affect on how much I enjoy the show. If I can't feel the music in my chest and see the expressions on the musician's faces, it's hardly worth it. So who's up for some elbow action?
Labels: concert, music, sloan, smashing pumpkins, the shins, windsor
Weekend Update
This week is dragging by for me, just like last week, but it also feels like I've been busier than normal. Could be the chaos that is work right now... I haven't even posted about the weekend yet! So here goes:
Friday was James' birthday, so we went tobogganing at Bickford Park and then to Dragonfly for a few drinks. After, we hauled ourselves up to College for some early morning breakfast at Mars. The craziest thing is, on the streetcar up we totally met up with
Julia and Kevin! If there's anyone I bump into on the TTC, it's Julia and Kevin. It's kinda weird actually. To see all the photos from sledding, click
HERE.
Saturday, Stef and I watched all the Harry Potter movies. Like I said earlier today to my co-worker- I'm currently Harry Potter retarded. So who should I spy on the cover of the National Post this morning? Daniel Radcliffe... topless. That's Harry Potter- spindly boy wizard- half nude. I don't know what disturbs me more; Potter's nipples out in the open, or the fact that I sorta liked it. Sheesh. What's more-
he'll be starring in a play called Equus, as a stable boy with an unhealthy obsession with his steeds, and in one scene, he'll be nude. With a horse. Yikes!
Moving on... Saturday night we went check out Sloan at Nathan Phillips Square. What a great show... way better than the show I saw at the KoolHaus back in November! First of all- I was able to bounce with the crowd since my back wasn't being a pain, plus- they played a bunch of they're older stuff, which was awesome, and also- Stef was here to see it (she was supposed to come to the KoolHaus, but was in Asia instead)! More photos HERE.
Sunday I did nothing. I was thinking about going to the AGO to see the Ansel Adams/Alfred Eisenstaedt show, but it looked cold outside. So I stayed in. And played Neverwinter Nights!
Labels: "weekend update", concert, harry potter, james, photos, sloan, tobogganing
Lack Lack Lack Lack
Sorry for the lack of posts in the last week. After last Monday, I just wasn't in the mood for sharing.
I would like to thank everyone who commented on my last *depressing* post; your kind thoughts definitely gave me a boost. I can't really say that my personal opinion of myself has improved at all, but it certainly makes life a bit easier to know that there are people out there- friends and strangers alike- who care enough to comment! That's just the way it goes, I think... one day you feel hopeless, worthless, like there's nothing in life that has any point at all... and the next day you wake up and things just don't seem quite as bad as they did 24 hours earlier. It's like that for me, anyways.
Last week was still pretty tough though. After that brutal Monday was a painful Tuesday. I twisted my back, or something, and it's been stiff and ouchy since. I have no idea. Meh.
So the question was- would I still be able to go to the Sloan show on Thursday, now that standing was a problem?!? I hummed and hawed about it, right up until we left the Golden Griddle (when I met James and Amy for pancakes before the show). James informed me that there were seats available, and you could see the stage just fine from them. I went, and we lucked out by getting a spot along the back wall- with a clear view of the band. They only played a couple songs I knew, though (most were from their monstrous new release- 30 new tracks!), and we left before they finished playing. I have a feeling they played a couple more popular songs after we left, but whatev. James and Amy said they needed to go, and I didn't feel like sitting there by myself!
I did buy a shirt though, to prove I was there. I buy a shirt at every concert I go to, and I've kept them all. From Lollapalooza 1994 to all the Hip concerts I've been to. Wait- I didn't get a shirt from the Scissor Sisters show... I'm not even sure if they were selling merchandise or not!
Labels: concert, music, sloan
