Garbage
Phoenix Concert Theatre
Toronto, ON
Monday, May 28, 2012
I must say that prior to Monday night I would not consider myself a fan of Garbage, although I knew the bigger singles but did not know what to expect going into this set at the Phoenix on a warm Monday night. Fresh off of their first studio release in seven years (Not Your Kind of People), Garbage rolled into Toronto for a solid, fan-pleasing evening.
Led by frontwoman Shirley Manson, who absolutely kicks ass, the band played an array of tracks from their discography allowing their sound to appeal to complete strangers (me), casual fans, as well as their most dedicated of followers. The energy never let up even while the band experienced technical difficulties before "I Think I'm Paranoid", as Shirley took some time out to socialize with the audience and doing an impromptu meet-and-greet with the crowd while revealing just how far some fans had some to catch them (Rita from Latvia, for example). After a shot of whiskey with fellow bandmates Steve Marker (guitar, keys), Butch Vig (drums), Duke Erikson and Eric Avery, the group tore into the finale of their 100-minute evening by wrapping up with "Push It".
Following a brief encore, the electric crowd demanded more from the band and more they got. After playing "Automatic Systematic Habit" the group played, for the first time in Canada, the 1999 James Bond title track "The World is Not Enough" before finishing up the evening with "Vow", making for quite the energetic conclusion.
Unfortunately I am not overly familiar with the band but I can certainly say that I will be checking out their catalogue because I am completely sold. The show delivered a set that never got dull and maintained a solid energy throughout, while sending everybody home happy. Definitely recommend.
Setlist:
Supervixen
Temptation Waits
Shut Your Mouth
Queer
Metal Heart
Stupid Girl
Why Do You Love Me
Control
#1 Crush
Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)
Blood for Poppies
Special
Milk
Man On a Wire
I Think I'm Paranoid
Bad Boyfriend
Only Happy When It Rains
Push It
Automatic Systematic Habit
The World Is Not Enough
Vow
Album Breakdown:
Garbage: 6
Not Your Kind of People: 4
Version 2.0: 4
Bleed Like Me: 3
Beautiful Garbage: 2
B-Side: 1
The World Is Not Enough: 1
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Friday, 25 May 2012
Review - Jack White (Detroit, MI)
Jack White
Scottish Rite Cathedral at Masonic Temple
Detroit, MI
Thursday, May 24, 2012
The White Stripes have a very loyal fanbase and received critcal acclaim for both their studio material and their consistent live performances which featured a very unpredictable assortment of songs, both fan favourites and rare cuts with hits being occasionally ignored. I could go into the details of the White Stripes breakup, but while on the road in 2007 the bands drummer (Meg White) was experiencing acute anxiety and as a result the band discontinued touring. Despite the praise and some brief teases of a return, on February 2, 2011 the band officially called it a day. In this period of uncertainty, lead singer and essentially the project kingpin Jack White (vocals, guitar, keys, every instrument aside from drums) continued into other ventures as both a performer, producer, and founder of Third Man Records. So he's been busy the last four years or so with other bands (the Raconteurs, Dead Weather), but fans have been clamouring for something from Jack where he is the dedicated focal point, which is exactly what happened as he released his first solo album this past spring, Blunderbuss, which has received critical acclaim. On the record and during recent live sets he has been performing with two different bands, The Peacocks and Los Buzzardos, which is reportedly decided upon at his morning breakfast before the show.
The White Stripes were formed in Detroit and although Jack now calls Nashville home, after two years of being off the road with the other projects it had been even longer for fans in the Motor City to get the chance to experience favourites in person from his biggest project. Upon selling out an evening set at the Scottish Rite Cathedral at Masonic Temple came the announcement of a 2pm matinee set at the same venue, with tickets being released exclusively through local record stores (but eventually Ticketmaster helped us out of towners attend). As a frequent concert-goer, this was definitely the earliest non-festival show that I have attended and it was a very unique experience.
Doors opened shortly after lunchtime with fans lining the lobby for merchandise and eventually populating the cathedral (beautiful venue) in anticipation of Jack's return to Detroit. As a very sharp-dressed stage crew began to unveil the equipment it was revealed that Jack would be performing with Los Buzzardos (the all-male group) and after a quick introductory jam, the man everybody wanted to see emerged to a hungry audience... remember, this is still in the middle of the afternoon.
Opening up with a thunderous rendition of "Black Math" in which the arrangement was significantly altered, it set the tone for what would be a crazy day in Detroit. Continuing along into tracks from the solo album, Jack displayed his range by playing the piano with keyboardist Isaiah Owens (of Mars Volta fame) on "Trash Tongue Talker" and eventually slowing things down with the Danger Mouse-produced track "Two Against One". Next up was a personal favourite of mine, "We're Going to Be Friends", which much like the other Stripes songs has an updated arrangement in order to fully utilize the backing band. This track definitely hit home with me and has always been a personal favourite of mine, so despite the new sound to it, in person I feel it sounds better than online. Continuing on with a series of songs performed on the piano were Blunderbuss tracks "Weep Themselves to Sleep", "Hypocritical Kiss", the title track and even the older White Stripes hit "Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground". The relatively slower nature of the set was certainly a different dynamic from Jack White, but in my opinion, he makes it very enjoyable. Fitting for a matinee set, anyways (or perhaps I'm justifying my choice).
The songs performed were not limited to original hits as the band performed "300 Pounds of Joy" by Howlin' Wolf and shortly after "You Know That I Know" (Hank Williams) which was met with an upbeat reaction from the audience. Returning to the White Stripes collection with the strong "Hello Operator", the set began to head into its final act with Dead Weather track "I Cut Like a Buffalo" and wrapping up with an absolute classic in "Ball and Biscuit", which featured Jack-being-Jack on the guitar and solo'ing away.
After a momentary stoppage the band returned for an encore which started with new single "Freedom at 21" and Dead Weather track "Blue Blood Blues", before jumping into the floor-shaking final White Stripes song of the afternoon, "The Hardest Button to Button". I had always wanted to hear this one live, so I was quite happy with this choice. Closing out the encore was the Blunderbuss album-closer "Take Me With You When You Go", which featured Jack on the piano before the song changes direction and allows him to deliver a powerful solo to wrap up this afternoon in Detroit.
Definitely an interesting set as we got quite a few White Stripes staples, but one quick glance at the setlist one could see there was no "Seven Nation Army", no Raconteurs material, and various other fan favourites ("I'm Slowly Turning Into You", "Hotel Yorba"), which were all saved for the evening set that featured the all-female band The Peacocks. The matinee set featured primarily Blunderbuss tracks with White Stripes, Dead Weather, and covers sprinkled in, whereas the evening set included a different set of Stripes songs, Raconteurs favourites, and a handful of others. One could debate which set was better (and we have been doing so all day), but while there is some disappointment since I only attended one of the shows, the afternoon set featured a handful of White Stripes songs I would never expect to see excluded at a show as they were at night ("Ball and Biscuit", "Dead Leaves...", "...Going to Be Friends") so all-in-all I am okay with only getting to one show. From what I have heard from friends who attended the night set, Jack was more energetic, but I also expected that considering it was an evening set and not one that was just after lunch. If one merges the two sets into one, it creates a mega show so in the grand scheme of things the matinee provided enough highlights but the best moments were being saved for the grand finale at night.
However, for those fans who were fortunate enough to catch both sets on this sunny Thursday in Detroit they were treated to a very rewarding day of hits, fan favourites, rare cuts, and nearly the complete Blunderbuss album. If you get the opportunity to see Jack live, do it (without question), and hope that you get the best combination of 20 songs from his extremely diverse discography as the setlists tend to differentiate from show-to-show. There were signs posted at the venue to not take video or pictures as they were being taken care of professionally, but considering the diversity in the setlists from one show to the next, a DVD of this homecoming would be very welcome as the day properly captured the quality and range of Jack White.
Setlist (Matinee):
Black Math
Missing Pieces
Trash Tongue Talker
Two Against One
We're Going to Be Friends
Weep Themselves to Sleep
Hypocritical Kiss
300 Pounds of Joy (Howlin' Wolf)
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (Piano)
Blunderbuss
You Know That I Know (Hank Williams)
Hello Operator
I Cut Like a Buffalo
Ball and Biscuit
Freedom at 21
Blue Blood Blues
The Hardest Button to Button
Take Me With You When You Go
Album Breakdown (Matinee):
Blunderbuss: 7
The White Stripes: 6 (Elephant: 3; White Blood Cells: 2; De Stijl: 1)
Dead Weather: 2 (Horehound: 1; Sea of Cowards: 1)
Rome: 1
Covers: 2
================
Setlist (Evening):
Sixteen Saltines
Missing Pieces
Freedom at 21
Love Interruption
Hotel Yorba
You're Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)
Weep Themselves to Sleep
Top Yourself
I Guess I Should Go to Sleep
I'm Slowly Turning Into You
Cannon
Steady As She Goes
My Doorbell
Hypocritical Kiss
On and On and On
Take Me With You When You Go
Carolina Drama
Suzy Lee
Seven Nation Army
Goodnight, Irene (Leadbelly)
Album Breakdown (Evening):
Blunderbuss: 9
The White Stripes: 7 (The White Stripes: 2; De Stijl; 1 Elephant: 1; Get Behind Me Satan: 1; Icky Thump: 1; White Blood Cells: 1)
The Raconteurs: 3 (Consolers of the Lonely: 2; Broken Boy Soldiers: 1)
Covers: 1
================
Album Breakdown (Combined):
White Stripes: 13
Blunderbuss: 11
The Raconteurs: 3
Dead Weather: 2
Rome: 1
Covers: 3
Scottish Rite Cathedral at Masonic Temple
Detroit, MI
Thursday, May 24, 2012
The White Stripes have a very loyal fanbase and received critcal acclaim for both their studio material and their consistent live performances which featured a very unpredictable assortment of songs, both fan favourites and rare cuts with hits being occasionally ignored. I could go into the details of the White Stripes breakup, but while on the road in 2007 the bands drummer (Meg White) was experiencing acute anxiety and as a result the band discontinued touring. Despite the praise and some brief teases of a return, on February 2, 2011 the band officially called it a day. In this period of uncertainty, lead singer and essentially the project kingpin Jack White (vocals, guitar, keys, every instrument aside from drums) continued into other ventures as both a performer, producer, and founder of Third Man Records. So he's been busy the last four years or so with other bands (the Raconteurs, Dead Weather), but fans have been clamouring for something from Jack where he is the dedicated focal point, which is exactly what happened as he released his first solo album this past spring, Blunderbuss, which has received critical acclaim. On the record and during recent live sets he has been performing with two different bands, The Peacocks and Los Buzzardos, which is reportedly decided upon at his morning breakfast before the show.
The White Stripes were formed in Detroit and although Jack now calls Nashville home, after two years of being off the road with the other projects it had been even longer for fans in the Motor City to get the chance to experience favourites in person from his biggest project. Upon selling out an evening set at the Scottish Rite Cathedral at Masonic Temple came the announcement of a 2pm matinee set at the same venue, with tickets being released exclusively through local record stores (but eventually Ticketmaster helped us out of towners attend). As a frequent concert-goer, this was definitely the earliest non-festival show that I have attended and it was a very unique experience.
Doors opened shortly after lunchtime with fans lining the lobby for merchandise and eventually populating the cathedral (beautiful venue) in anticipation of Jack's return to Detroit. As a very sharp-dressed stage crew began to unveil the equipment it was revealed that Jack would be performing with Los Buzzardos (the all-male group) and after a quick introductory jam, the man everybody wanted to see emerged to a hungry audience... remember, this is still in the middle of the afternoon.
Opening up with a thunderous rendition of "Black Math" in which the arrangement was significantly altered, it set the tone for what would be a crazy day in Detroit. Continuing along into tracks from the solo album, Jack displayed his range by playing the piano with keyboardist Isaiah Owens (of Mars Volta fame) on "Trash Tongue Talker" and eventually slowing things down with the Danger Mouse-produced track "Two Against One". Next up was a personal favourite of mine, "We're Going to Be Friends", which much like the other Stripes songs has an updated arrangement in order to fully utilize the backing band. This track definitely hit home with me and has always been a personal favourite of mine, so despite the new sound to it, in person I feel it sounds better than online. Continuing on with a series of songs performed on the piano were Blunderbuss tracks "Weep Themselves to Sleep", "Hypocritical Kiss", the title track and even the older White Stripes hit "Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground". The relatively slower nature of the set was certainly a different dynamic from Jack White, but in my opinion, he makes it very enjoyable. Fitting for a matinee set, anyways (or perhaps I'm justifying my choice).
The songs performed were not limited to original hits as the band performed "300 Pounds of Joy" by Howlin' Wolf and shortly after "You Know That I Know" (Hank Williams) which was met with an upbeat reaction from the audience. Returning to the White Stripes collection with the strong "Hello Operator", the set began to head into its final act with Dead Weather track "I Cut Like a Buffalo" and wrapping up with an absolute classic in "Ball and Biscuit", which featured Jack-being-Jack on the guitar and solo'ing away.
After a momentary stoppage the band returned for an encore which started with new single "Freedom at 21" and Dead Weather track "Blue Blood Blues", before jumping into the floor-shaking final White Stripes song of the afternoon, "The Hardest Button to Button". I had always wanted to hear this one live, so I was quite happy with this choice. Closing out the encore was the Blunderbuss album-closer "Take Me With You When You Go", which featured Jack on the piano before the song changes direction and allows him to deliver a powerful solo to wrap up this afternoon in Detroit.
Definitely an interesting set as we got quite a few White Stripes staples, but one quick glance at the setlist one could see there was no "Seven Nation Army", no Raconteurs material, and various other fan favourites ("I'm Slowly Turning Into You", "Hotel Yorba"), which were all saved for the evening set that featured the all-female band The Peacocks. The matinee set featured primarily Blunderbuss tracks with White Stripes, Dead Weather, and covers sprinkled in, whereas the evening set included a different set of Stripes songs, Raconteurs favourites, and a handful of others. One could debate which set was better (and we have been doing so all day), but while there is some disappointment since I only attended one of the shows, the afternoon set featured a handful of White Stripes songs I would never expect to see excluded at a show as they were at night ("Ball and Biscuit", "Dead Leaves...", "...Going to Be Friends") so all-in-all I am okay with only getting to one show. From what I have heard from friends who attended the night set, Jack was more energetic, but I also expected that considering it was an evening set and not one that was just after lunch. If one merges the two sets into one, it creates a mega show so in the grand scheme of things the matinee provided enough highlights but the best moments were being saved for the grand finale at night.
However, for those fans who were fortunate enough to catch both sets on this sunny Thursday in Detroit they were treated to a very rewarding day of hits, fan favourites, rare cuts, and nearly the complete Blunderbuss album. If you get the opportunity to see Jack live, do it (without question), and hope that you get the best combination of 20 songs from his extremely diverse discography as the setlists tend to differentiate from show-to-show. There were signs posted at the venue to not take video or pictures as they were being taken care of professionally, but considering the diversity in the setlists from one show to the next, a DVD of this homecoming would be very welcome as the day properly captured the quality and range of Jack White.
Setlist (Matinee):
Black Math
Missing Pieces
Trash Tongue Talker
Two Against One
We're Going to Be Friends
Weep Themselves to Sleep
Hypocritical Kiss
300 Pounds of Joy (Howlin' Wolf)
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (Piano)
Blunderbuss
You Know That I Know (Hank Williams)
Hello Operator
I Cut Like a Buffalo
Ball and Biscuit
Freedom at 21
Blue Blood Blues
The Hardest Button to Button
Take Me With You When You Go
Album Breakdown (Matinee):
Blunderbuss: 7
The White Stripes: 6 (Elephant: 3; White Blood Cells: 2; De Stijl: 1)
Dead Weather: 2 (Horehound: 1; Sea of Cowards: 1)
Rome: 1
Covers: 2
================
Setlist (Evening):
Sixteen Saltines
Missing Pieces
Freedom at 21
Love Interruption
Hotel Yorba
You're Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)
Weep Themselves to Sleep
Top Yourself
I Guess I Should Go to Sleep
I'm Slowly Turning Into You
Cannon
Steady As She Goes
My Doorbell
Hypocritical Kiss
On and On and On
Take Me With You When You Go
Carolina Drama
Suzy Lee
Seven Nation Army
Goodnight, Irene (Leadbelly)
Album Breakdown (Evening):
Blunderbuss: 9
The White Stripes: 7 (The White Stripes: 2; De Stijl; 1 Elephant: 1; Get Behind Me Satan: 1; Icky Thump: 1; White Blood Cells: 1)
The Raconteurs: 3 (Consolers of the Lonely: 2; Broken Boy Soldiers: 1)
Covers: 1
================
Album Breakdown (Combined):
White Stripes: 13
Blunderbuss: 11
The Raconteurs: 3
Dead Weather: 2
Rome: 1
Covers: 3
Saturday, 7 April 2012
How Many Canadians Are On Each NHL Team - 2012 Playoff Edition
Ready for the NHL playoffs? Me too!
Did your team miss the playoffs? Me too!
Curious about how many of this years NHL playoff teams contain Canadians? Me too!
Here's the split for the 2012 playoffs of how many Canadians are on each of the teams who qualified to play deep into April:
18/29 - Boston (10 Ontario, 1 Toronto, 1 Brampton)
17/26 - Phoenix (5 Ontario)
16/26 - Florida (9 Ontario, 2 Toronto, 1 Hamilton, 1 Mississauga)
16/26 - St. Louis (9 Ontario, 3 Toronto)
16/26 - San Jose (7 Ontario, 1 Toronto, 1 Guelph)
16/28 - Vancouver (5 Ontario, 2 Mississauga, 1 Toronto)
15/25 - Los Angeles (8 Ontario)
15/27 - Chicago (8 Ontario, 1 Toronto, 1 Hamilton)
15/28 - Washington (4 Ontario, 1 Toronto)
14/26 - Pittsburgh (6 Ontario)
13/28 - Philadelphia (5 Ontario, 1 Mississauga)
12/26 - Ottawa (5 Ontario, 1 Toronto)
12/28 - Nashville (7 Ontario, 2 Hamilton, 1 Toronto)
10/25 - NY Rangers (6 Ontario, 1 Oakville)
09/25 - Detroit (3 Ontario)
07/25 - New Jersey (2 Ontario, 1 Toronto)
There you have it; can debate the top of the list as Phoenix has 65.4% Canadians on their active roster compared to Boston's 62.1%, but if you go on headcount obviously the Bruins win.
Of the two Canadian teams who are in the playoffs this season, it's obvious that the Canucks are the team to root for (especially since one of those teams are Ottawa).
And finally, if you needed any additional reasons to dislike the Wings or Devils, their Canadian count is extremely low.
Happy playoffs!
Did your team miss the playoffs? Me too!
Curious about how many of this years NHL playoff teams contain Canadians? Me too!
Here's the split for the 2012 playoffs of how many Canadians are on each of the teams who qualified to play deep into April:
18/29 - Boston (10 Ontario, 1 Toronto, 1 Brampton)
17/26 - Phoenix (5 Ontario)
16/26 - Florida (9 Ontario, 2 Toronto, 1 Hamilton, 1 Mississauga)
16/26 - St. Louis (9 Ontario, 3 Toronto)
16/26 - San Jose (7 Ontario, 1 Toronto, 1 Guelph)
16/28 - Vancouver (5 Ontario, 2 Mississauga, 1 Toronto)
15/25 - Los Angeles (8 Ontario)
15/27 - Chicago (8 Ontario, 1 Toronto, 1 Hamilton)
15/28 - Washington (4 Ontario, 1 Toronto)
14/26 - Pittsburgh (6 Ontario)
13/28 - Philadelphia (5 Ontario, 1 Mississauga)
12/26 - Ottawa (5 Ontario, 1 Toronto)
12/28 - Nashville (7 Ontario, 2 Hamilton, 1 Toronto)
10/25 - NY Rangers (6 Ontario, 1 Oakville)
09/25 - Detroit (3 Ontario)
07/25 - New Jersey (2 Ontario, 1 Toronto)
There you have it; can debate the top of the list as Phoenix has 65.4% Canadians on their active roster compared to Boston's 62.1%, but if you go on headcount obviously the Bruins win.
Of the two Canadian teams who are in the playoffs this season, it's obvious that the Canucks are the team to root for (especially since one of those teams are Ottawa).
And finally, if you needed any additional reasons to dislike the Wings or Devils, their Canadian count is extremely low.
Happy playoffs!
Friday, 30 March 2012
Review - Band of Skulls (Toronto, ON)
Band of Skulls w/ We Are Augustines
Phoenix Concert Theatre
Toronto, ON
Friday, March 31, 2012
Southampton rockers Band of Skulls returned to Toronto for their second show in six months at the sold out Phoenix Concert Theatre on Friday night after previously filling out the intimate Garrison back in September. The band consists of Russell Marsden on guitar, Emma Richardson on bass, Matt Hayward furiously on drums with the former two sharing vocal responsibilities.
Fresh off the release of their sophomore album (Sweet Sour) the group has clearly grown as a tighter live act, not as if they were struggling previously, but it's extremely cool to see this band on the rise. After road-testing their material and even touring with the Black Keys this past winter it is evident that they mean business.
Balancing out the set with tracks from their debut release (Baby Darling Doll Face Honey) they started off the evening with the thunderous title track of their newest album and never let up. Continuing along with "Lies" they revisited older tracks "Patterns" and "Fires" before returning to the new material. After the new single "Bruises" and "Wanderluster" came the powerful "Cold Fame" which completely engaged the Toronto crowd and allowed us to settle down.
One of the highlights I had from the Garrison show was the closing of the main set which wrapped up with the first three tracks from the previous album, but on this night they had more material to dip into and they certainly did. After another of their slow-building tracks ("Lay My Head Down") came their first single "I Know What I Am" which set off a very energetic finale to the main set. Following was the newer "You're Not Pretty But You Got It Goin' On" before jumping into fan favourites "Light of the Morning" and "Death by Diamonds and Pearls" to finish up.
After a quick break they returned to the stage to send the crowd home happy with recent single "The Devil Takes Care Of His Own" and "Impossible".
When I saw the band in April 2010 they really impressed me and made me want to revisit the studio material because of how powerful it came across in the live setting. In September they delivered a set which included older material and tracks off of their newer release which have really fleshed out well since that time. After filling up the 300-person Garrison in September they sold out the Phoenix tonight which holds 1,100 fans, so the window of opportunity to see them in intimate settings may be shrinking.
I was very relieved by tonight's show as I wasn't originally certain how the new material would go over, but thankfully they knocked it out of the park and I am excited to throw on Sweet Sour in the morning.
Highly, highly recommend checking them out when they come to town.
New York's We Are Augustines delivered a pretty solid opening set with tracks from their 2011 debut release We Are Sunken Ships. I will certainly be checking out that one and am optimistic.
Setlist:
Sweet Sour
Lies
Patterns
Fires
Bruises
Wanderluster
Cold Fame
Bomb
Blood
Lay My Head Down
Hollywood Bowl
I Know What I Am
You're Not Pretty But You Got It Goin' On
Light of the Morning
Death by Diamonds and Pearls
The Devil Takes Care Of His Own
Impossible
Album Breakdown:
Baby Darling Doll Face Honey: 10
Sweet Sour: 7
Phoenix Concert Theatre
Toronto, ON
Friday, March 31, 2012
Southampton rockers Band of Skulls returned to Toronto for their second show in six months at the sold out Phoenix Concert Theatre on Friday night after previously filling out the intimate Garrison back in September. The band consists of Russell Marsden on guitar, Emma Richardson on bass, Matt Hayward furiously on drums with the former two sharing vocal responsibilities.
Fresh off the release of their sophomore album (Sweet Sour) the group has clearly grown as a tighter live act, not as if they were struggling previously, but it's extremely cool to see this band on the rise. After road-testing their material and even touring with the Black Keys this past winter it is evident that they mean business.
Balancing out the set with tracks from their debut release (Baby Darling Doll Face Honey) they started off the evening with the thunderous title track of their newest album and never let up. Continuing along with "Lies" they revisited older tracks "Patterns" and "Fires" before returning to the new material. After the new single "Bruises" and "Wanderluster" came the powerful "Cold Fame" which completely engaged the Toronto crowd and allowed us to settle down.
One of the highlights I had from the Garrison show was the closing of the main set which wrapped up with the first three tracks from the previous album, but on this night they had more material to dip into and they certainly did. After another of their slow-building tracks ("Lay My Head Down") came their first single "I Know What I Am" which set off a very energetic finale to the main set. Following was the newer "You're Not Pretty But You Got It Goin' On" before jumping into fan favourites "Light of the Morning" and "Death by Diamonds and Pearls" to finish up.
After a quick break they returned to the stage to send the crowd home happy with recent single "The Devil Takes Care Of His Own" and "Impossible".
When I saw the band in April 2010 they really impressed me and made me want to revisit the studio material because of how powerful it came across in the live setting. In September they delivered a set which included older material and tracks off of their newer release which have really fleshed out well since that time. After filling up the 300-person Garrison in September they sold out the Phoenix tonight which holds 1,100 fans, so the window of opportunity to see them in intimate settings may be shrinking.
I was very relieved by tonight's show as I wasn't originally certain how the new material would go over, but thankfully they knocked it out of the park and I am excited to throw on Sweet Sour in the morning.
Highly, highly recommend checking them out when they come to town.
New York's We Are Augustines delivered a pretty solid opening set with tracks from their 2011 debut release We Are Sunken Ships. I will certainly be checking out that one and am optimistic.
Setlist:
Sweet Sour
Lies
Patterns
Fires
Bruises
Wanderluster
Cold Fame
Bomb
Blood
Lay My Head Down
Hollywood Bowl
I Know What I Am
You're Not Pretty But You Got It Goin' On
Light of the Morning
Death by Diamonds and Pearls
The Devil Takes Care Of His Own
Impossible
Album Breakdown:
Baby Darling Doll Face Honey: 10
Sweet Sour: 7
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Review - The Baltimore House (Hamilton, ON)
The Baltimore House
43 King William Street
Hamilton, ON
Tues - Thurs: 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
Fri - Sat: 8:00 am - 12:00 am
Sun: 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
(Closed Monday)
Continuing my resolution from 2011 of exploring different restaurants in order to diversify my tastebuds I made the trip out to Hamilton with some friends to try out the hot new King William Street establishment The Baltimore House. Having recently opened in December we were among the first months worth of customers to explore the new addition to the Hammer, and I must say from the delicious meal, comfortable atmosphere (featuring Scrabble!) and overall relaxing vibe we will certainly be returning.
Inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe, The Baltimore House is establishing itself as each of the following: Lounge, Night Club, Entertainment Venue, Art Space, Wine Bar, and Cafe. Whew, quite the mouthful, but I am certainly intrigued for what 2012 has in store for this welcome addition to the city. Currently the Maryland Room is operating as the cafe portion while providing an array of sandwiches, lattes and other goodies (including cupcakes from Bitten on Locke), as well as a nice space to come chat with peers or to just unwind after a long week. The next step of the plan is the opening of The Parlour on the other half of the property which will help serve as a home for those seeking pretty much everything else on the above list, and from the quick preview one can take through the archway it looks like there is plenty in store for the new year. The owners of the establishment appear dedicated to their vision of providing the city with a welcome home for those seeking live music, entertainment, while continuing to build a community among patrons.
Oh right, my experience. Very positive first impressions and extremely curious for what comes next, but it was time to decide on something to eat.
(Click the image for a larger view)
Quite the creative menu and sticking with the inspiration of Poe each of the items receives a crafty tale. Points for originality here. Unfortunately I wasn't able to physically try each of the sandwiches (but will certainly return to knock another off the list), but did go with The Raven (aka a reuben) which hit the spot. Honourable mention has to go to each the Eleanora (Avocado Dream), Annabel Lee (Tuna) and the Ulalume (Pear Grilled Cheese) for all putting forth a strong case to be eaten.
The meal itself was very satisfying and upon finishing an Americano we found ourselves involved in a pretty intense game of Scrabble at the table. Quite the unique and refreshing experience that I don't recall having typically when I go out on a Saturday evening over here.
Overall, very satisfied with the experience and will certainly be returning and telling others. If you can, try to get a corner spot on one of the benches as it's an extremely comfortable spot while kicking back. As you may have guessed, I am very curious to see what happens when the next room opens up and live entertainment begins; exciting stuff here.
For a more detailed view, I must give a quick mention to Beaux Mondes for helping sell me on the Baltimore House. There's a much more detailed review with plenty of pictures over there too.
Much like my favourite Mississauga spot Mickey's, there is also Coke available out of a glass bottle. Great minds must think alike.
43 King William Street
Hamilton, ON
Tues - Thurs: 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
Fri - Sat: 8:00 am - 12:00 am
Sun: 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
(Closed Monday)
Continuing my resolution from 2011 of exploring different restaurants in order to diversify my tastebuds I made the trip out to Hamilton with some friends to try out the hot new King William Street establishment The Baltimore House. Having recently opened in December we were among the first months worth of customers to explore the new addition to the Hammer, and I must say from the delicious meal, comfortable atmosphere (featuring Scrabble!) and overall relaxing vibe we will certainly be returning.
Inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe, The Baltimore House is establishing itself as each of the following: Lounge, Night Club, Entertainment Venue, Art Space, Wine Bar, and Cafe. Whew, quite the mouthful, but I am certainly intrigued for what 2012 has in store for this welcome addition to the city. Currently the Maryland Room is operating as the cafe portion while providing an array of sandwiches, lattes and other goodies (including cupcakes from Bitten on Locke), as well as a nice space to come chat with peers or to just unwind after a long week. The next step of the plan is the opening of The Parlour on the other half of the property which will help serve as a home for those seeking pretty much everything else on the above list, and from the quick preview one can take through the archway it looks like there is plenty in store for the new year. The owners of the establishment appear dedicated to their vision of providing the city with a welcome home for those seeking live music, entertainment, while continuing to build a community among patrons.
Oh right, my experience. Very positive first impressions and extremely curious for what comes next, but it was time to decide on something to eat.
Quite the creative menu and sticking with the inspiration of Poe each of the items receives a crafty tale. Points for originality here. Unfortunately I wasn't able to physically try each of the sandwiches (but will certainly return to knock another off the list), but did go with The Raven (aka a reuben) which hit the spot. Honourable mention has to go to each the Eleanora (Avocado Dream), Annabel Lee (Tuna) and the Ulalume (Pear Grilled Cheese) for all putting forth a strong case to be eaten.
The meal itself was very satisfying and upon finishing an Americano we found ourselves involved in a pretty intense game of Scrabble at the table. Quite the unique and refreshing experience that I don't recall having typically when I go out on a Saturday evening over here.
Overall, very satisfied with the experience and will certainly be returning and telling others. If you can, try to get a corner spot on one of the benches as it's an extremely comfortable spot while kicking back. As you may have guessed, I am very curious to see what happens when the next room opens up and live entertainment begins; exciting stuff here.
For a more detailed view, I must give a quick mention to Beaux Mondes for helping sell me on the Baltimore House. There's a much more detailed review with plenty of pictures over there too.
Much like my favourite Mississauga spot Mickey's, there is also Coke available out of a glass bottle. Great minds must think alike.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Review - The Throne (Jay Z & Kanye West) (Auburn Hills, MI)
The Throne (Jay Z & Kanye West)
Palace of Auburn Hills
Auburn Hills, MI
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wowwww! After securing tickets for the Toronto show on Wednesday we knew it was important to locate floors for a neighbouring city since this tour is something special (check). Despite being an extremely similar show to that in the city earlier this week, there were four main differences and they all happen to be located in the end of the setlist. Plus, the fact we upgraded from the upper bowl to just feet away from the stars.
Opening up the show on each end of the arena with "H.A.M." (Kanye on a cube near the mainstage, Jay deeper in the crowd on his own platform) and continuing along with Watch the Throne hits "Who Gon Stop Me", "Otis", and "Welcome to the Jungle", the dynamic duo set the Palace on fire with this highly energetic barrage of crowd pleasers. The show was scheduled to begin at 7:30 (ha) but they came on at about 9:15 and played until it was just about Sunday. Plowing through all of the hits we have grown to love by each artist they certainly sent everybody home happy on this evening.
One observation among us is that this tour seems a bit Kanye-centric, perhaps once you break it down his tracks extend longer than Jay's did, or the latter is more engaging so they are possibly flying by. Upon checking the setlist again, turns out it is a completely even split--Combined: 18, Each: 12.
Certainly recommend this tour, if you can locate tickets still. I wouldn't expect a whole lot different from one city to the next (perhaps Chicago on Wednesday or Thursday), but they have definitely constructed this show in a well thought-out manner so that everybody goes home happy (check).
And what about that finale?! Just be sure to show some love when it looks like they might be leaving for the night. Although it's irrational, we only got "...Paris" three times on Wednesday, and it looked like it could be going a similar route in the Palace as the crowd started to file out after only two. At this point they whipped into the third round which ended with Jay calling out those who had decided to leave, and upon taking complete control over those who remained the pair delivered a fourth round of the hit track. Then a fifth. Then a tour-tying sixth... and just when they were showing signs of exiting and complete exhaustion, we got number seven. SEVEN!! They played "N*ggas in Paris" seven times. SEVEN! That shit cray! 1/6 of the setlist was devoted to it, wow! One of those things you just have to experience to grasp the ridiculously fun nature of.
Setlist:
(Throne Music)
H.A.M.
Who Gon Stop Me
Otis
Gotta Have It
Where I'm From
Nigga What? Nigga Who?
Can't Tell Me Nothing
Flashing Lights
All Falls Down
Jesus Walks
Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)
Public Service Announcement
U Don't Know
Run This Town
Monster
Power (Remix)
Made in America
New Day
Hard Knock Life
Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
(New York, New York)
Empire State of Mind
Runaway
Heartless
Stronger
(D.A.N.C.E.)
On To The Next One
Dirt Off Your Shoulder
I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)
That's My Bitch
Good Life
Touch the Sky
All of the Lights
Big Pimpin'
Gold Digger
99 Problems
(What A Wonderful World)
No Church in the Wild
(Lift Off)
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Album Breakdown:
Watch the Throne: 15
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: 4
Graduation: 4
The Black Album: 3
The Blueprint 3: 3
Late Registration: 3
The Blueprint: 2
The College Dropout: 2
Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life: 2
The Dynasty: Roc La Familia: 1
808's and Heartbreak: 1
In My Lifetime, Vol. 1: 1
Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter: 1
Palace of Auburn Hills
Auburn Hills, MI
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wowwww! After securing tickets for the Toronto show on Wednesday we knew it was important to locate floors for a neighbouring city since this tour is something special (check). Despite being an extremely similar show to that in the city earlier this week, there were four main differences and they all happen to be located in the end of the setlist. Plus, the fact we upgraded from the upper bowl to just feet away from the stars.
Opening up the show on each end of the arena with "H.A.M." (Kanye on a cube near the mainstage, Jay deeper in the crowd on his own platform) and continuing along with Watch the Throne hits "Who Gon Stop Me", "Otis", and "Welcome to the Jungle", the dynamic duo set the Palace on fire with this highly energetic barrage of crowd pleasers. The show was scheduled to begin at 7:30 (ha) but they came on at about 9:15 and played until it was just about Sunday. Plowing through all of the hits we have grown to love by each artist they certainly sent everybody home happy on this evening.
One observation among us is that this tour seems a bit Kanye-centric, perhaps once you break it down his tracks extend longer than Jay's did, or the latter is more engaging so they are possibly flying by. Upon checking the setlist again, turns out it is a completely even split--Combined: 18, Each: 12.
Certainly recommend this tour, if you can locate tickets still. I wouldn't expect a whole lot different from one city to the next (perhaps Chicago on Wednesday or Thursday), but they have definitely constructed this show in a well thought-out manner so that everybody goes home happy (check).
And what about that finale?! Just be sure to show some love when it looks like they might be leaving for the night. Although it's irrational, we only got "...Paris" three times on Wednesday, and it looked like it could be going a similar route in the Palace as the crowd started to file out after only two. At this point they whipped into the third round which ended with Jay calling out those who had decided to leave, and upon taking complete control over those who remained the pair delivered a fourth round of the hit track. Then a fifth. Then a tour-tying sixth... and just when they were showing signs of exiting and complete exhaustion, we got number seven. SEVEN!! They played "N*ggas in Paris" seven times. SEVEN! That shit cray! 1/6 of the setlist was devoted to it, wow! One of those things you just have to experience to grasp the ridiculously fun nature of.
Setlist:
(Throne Music)
H.A.M.
Who Gon Stop Me
Otis
Gotta Have It
Where I'm From
Nigga What? Nigga Who?
Can't Tell Me Nothing
Flashing Lights
All Falls Down
Jesus Walks
Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)
Public Service Announcement
U Don't Know
Run This Town
Monster
Power (Remix)
Made in America
New Day
Hard Knock Life
Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
(New York, New York)
Empire State of Mind
Runaway
Heartless
Stronger
(D.A.N.C.E.)
On To The Next One
Dirt Off Your Shoulder
I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)
That's My Bitch
Good Life
Touch the Sky
All of the Lights
Big Pimpin'
Gold Digger
99 Problems
(What A Wonderful World)
No Church in the Wild
(Lift Off)
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Album Breakdown:
Watch the Throne: 15
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: 4
Graduation: 4
The Black Album: 3
The Blueprint 3: 3
Late Registration: 3
The Blueprint: 2
The College Dropout: 2
Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life: 2
The Dynasty: Roc La Familia: 1
808's and Heartbreak: 1
In My Lifetime, Vol. 1: 1
Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter: 1
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Review - The Throne (Jay Z & Kanye West) (Toronto, ON)
The Throne (Jay Z & Kanye West)
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, ON
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Brief review here: that shit cray.
Jay Z has built a reputation as a solid live performer and Kanye continues to take his game to another level. Show kicked off with tracks from their collaborative album (Watch the Throne), switched back and forth between solo sets and joint tracks, and so on.
The show was very simple (no guests) yet at the same time contained the right amount of excess (playing "N*ggas in Paris" three times, less than Montreal the night before). Starting off on giant cubes that rose from each end of the arena to perform their 2011 single "H.A.M." they set the tone for the evening, which led into more tracks from the album and eventually breaking off into a series of solo sets as well. They would perform from the main stage at the ACC as well as return to their own individual spots for memorable mini-sets featuring the likes of "Runaway", "Stronger", and "On To The Next One". Overall, solid use of the venue and they made sure everybody in the arena had a good view at least a couple times.
You either like Kanye or you don't, so that may turn people off, but for somebody such as myself who is a fan, this show was awesome. Jay seems less polarizing as the setlist dipped into quite a bit of his catalogue and reminded alot of us of just how many recognizable tracks he has. One moment before "All of the Lights" where Kanye restarted the song twice in order to make sure all of the lights were on seemed like it might have been planned, or was it? This one could definitely feed into the haters, but those same haters seem to fuel Kanye's music these days so perhaps he's doing it intentionally now.
Someday I may revisit this review and go into greater detail, but I'll leave it brief and summarize by saying it was both very simple and over the top (weird, right?). The show is/was expensive but for big fans of either artist (or both) it is catered directly to you and was worth it.
Possibly the biggest shock of the night: Drake did not appear on stage.
Here's the beast of a setlist...
Setlist:
(Throne Music)
H.A.M.
Who Gon Stop Me
Otis
Gotta Have It
Where I'm From
Nigga What? Nigga Who?
Can't Tell Me Nothing
Flashing Lights
All Falls Down
Jesus Walks
Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)
Public Service Announcement
U Don't Know
Run This Town
Monster
Power (Remix)
Made in America
New Day
Hard Knock Life
Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
(New York, New York)
Empire State of Mind
Runaway
Heartless
Stronger
(D.A.N.C.E.)
On To The Next One
Dirt Off Your Shoulder
I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)
That's My Bitch
Good Life
Touch the Sky
All of the Lights
Big Pimpin'
Gold Digger
99 Problems
(What A Wonderful World)
No Church in the Wild
(Lift Off)
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Encore
Album Breakdown:
Watch the Throne: 11
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: 4
The Black Album: 4
Graduation: 4
The Blueprint 3: 3
Late Registration: 3
The Blueprint: 2
The College Dropout: 2
Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life: 2
The Dynasty: Roc La Familia: 1
808's and Heartbreak: 1
In My Lifetime, Vol. 1: 1
Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter: 1
Author Edit: "...Paris" got played 5 times on night two (November 24th); otherwise the setlist was identical.
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, ON
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Brief review here: that shit cray.
Jay Z has built a reputation as a solid live performer and Kanye continues to take his game to another level. Show kicked off with tracks from their collaborative album (Watch the Throne), switched back and forth between solo sets and joint tracks, and so on.
The show was very simple (no guests) yet at the same time contained the right amount of excess (playing "N*ggas in Paris" three times, less than Montreal the night before). Starting off on giant cubes that rose from each end of the arena to perform their 2011 single "H.A.M." they set the tone for the evening, which led into more tracks from the album and eventually breaking off into a series of solo sets as well. They would perform from the main stage at the ACC as well as return to their own individual spots for memorable mini-sets featuring the likes of "Runaway", "Stronger", and "On To The Next One". Overall, solid use of the venue and they made sure everybody in the arena had a good view at least a couple times.
You either like Kanye or you don't, so that may turn people off, but for somebody such as myself who is a fan, this show was awesome. Jay seems less polarizing as the setlist dipped into quite a bit of his catalogue and reminded alot of us of just how many recognizable tracks he has. One moment before "All of the Lights" where Kanye restarted the song twice in order to make sure all of the lights were on seemed like it might have been planned, or was it? This one could definitely feed into the haters, but those same haters seem to fuel Kanye's music these days so perhaps he's doing it intentionally now.
Someday I may revisit this review and go into greater detail, but I'll leave it brief and summarize by saying it was both very simple and over the top (weird, right?). The show is/was expensive but for big fans of either artist (or both) it is catered directly to you and was worth it.
Possibly the biggest shock of the night: Drake did not appear on stage.
Here's the beast of a setlist...
Setlist:
(Throne Music)
H.A.M.
Who Gon Stop Me
Otis
Gotta Have It
Where I'm From
Nigga What? Nigga Who?
Can't Tell Me Nothing
Flashing Lights
All Falls Down
Jesus Walks
Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)
Public Service Announcement
U Don't Know
Run This Town
Monster
Power (Remix)
Made in America
New Day
Hard Knock Life
Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
(New York, New York)
Empire State of Mind
Runaway
Heartless
Stronger
(D.A.N.C.E.)
On To The Next One
Dirt Off Your Shoulder
I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)
That's My Bitch
Good Life
Touch the Sky
All of the Lights
Big Pimpin'
Gold Digger
99 Problems
(What A Wonderful World)
No Church in the Wild
(Lift Off)
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Niggas In Paris
Encore
Album Breakdown:
Watch the Throne: 11
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: 4
The Black Album: 4
Graduation: 4
The Blueprint 3: 3
Late Registration: 3
The Blueprint: 2
The College Dropout: 2
Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life: 2
The Dynasty: Roc La Familia: 1
808's and Heartbreak: 1
In My Lifetime, Vol. 1: 1
Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter: 1
Author Edit: "...Paris" got played 5 times on night two (November 24th); otherwise the setlist was identical.
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