Trans-Canada Highwaymen- Club Regent Event Centre, Winnipeg, MB, March 22, 2024

 

 

I still have it, my actual copy!

One of the first record albums I bought (with my own money) was in elementary school and for whatever reason they were selling K-Tel records. I can't remember if there were other choices, but I bought, Sounds Spectacular, a compilation with "20 original hits" and "20 original stars", including hits such as Kung-Fu Fighting, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, Crocodile Rock and I Got The Music In Me, along with 16 other songs jam packed on one LP. The sound quality of all K-Tel records had the quality of a super low-bit mp3 and a visual inspection of the grooves on the vinyl has you wondering, how the hell can they squeeze so many tracks on here? Anyways, for many kids my age at the time, it was the gateway to hearing a variety of different artists all at once. Yes, the sound sucked, but what did I know at the time. 

 

When I first heard the album by the Trans-Canada Highwaymen, Explosive Hits Volume 1, I had an instant flashback to that K-Tel album. I guess that was the point, to a certain demographic (and Canadians), the band included, we shared that feeling of familiarity. Explosive Hits Vol.1 is basically a covers record, except for the origin story theme song, with recognizable songs from well-known Canadian bands, circa late 60's to the mid 70's. The "super group" consists of front-men from some truly great Canadian bands from the 90's to present. There's Steven Page, originally from the Barenaked Ladies, now solo, Chris Murphy, singer-songwriter, bass player from Sloan who primarily is the drummer in TCH, Craig Northey from the Odds and Moe Berg from the Pursuit of Happiness. I haven't had much desire to go to live concerts lately, but when I heard they were coming to play in Winnipeg, I made a priority to get tickets during the presale and was fortunate to get some prime seats.

Since the pandemic, I've only attended a handful of concerts, both indoors and outdoors, and I've taken a hiatus from recording shows, except for a Cheap Trick show last summer. The Trans-Canada Highwaymen concert is the first indoor concert I've recorded in almost exactly 4 years (Wilco in 2000), and I must admit I was hesitate. Since I've last attended a concert, "enhanced" security at larger venues is now the norm with airport-style metal detecting technology and wanding, so I'm not sure exactly what can or can't be detected, so dealing with the extra security is another challenge. Anyways, I made it through unscathed and accomplished a good sounding recording. The concert venue within a casino is actually pretty nice. The sound quality is amazing, the sight lines were really good (they even had video screens scattered around the room), the seats are comfy and the crowd was well behaved. Recently, when I've gone to shows I've felt like the oldest person in the crowd, but here the average age of the crowd must have been over 50, as there were many, many white-haired fans a lot older than me. I guess, there's a reason the concert was held in a casino. Overall, the show was great and the banter from the band was highly enjoyable and funny, mainly Chris Murphy and Steven Page. Here are some other highlights and notes:

• Along with the many cover songs from the album, each member of the band took their turn with songs from their own bands. It felt like a greatest hits showcase and it really was a smart format. As much I wish I had previously seen the Odds and Pursuit of Happiness live, I heard the songs I wanted to hear from each group, Someone Who's Cool, She's So Young and I'm An Adult Now, are some of my favourite songs by a Canadian band, ever.
• As mentioned during the show, it was Moe Berg's birthday, so a unrehearsed, impromptu version of Birthday by the Beatles was an added bonus.
• The retro look of their album, Explosive Hits Vol. 1 is no doubt a tribute to K-Tel records, as acknowledged by the band. K-Tel of course, proudly (or shamelessly) rose up from Winnipeg.
  
• You can't overstate the talent on stage. Each member took their turn on the drums and the trading of instruments showcases their versatility and amazing musicianship. Chris Murphy is the bass player in Sloan, but it quite competent at drums (I've also seen him play drums with Tuns). Along with the other members of Sloan, he can sing and can write some pretty great songs. I've underestimated Steven Page, he truly is a excellent entertainer and incredible singer and the fact he can play guitar, keyboards and drums amazes me. I've never been a fan of the BNL's, but Page is a talent beyond that band.
  
• As far as the recording, it turned out great. It has to be one of my best sounding recordings! I was situated about 14 rows back, dead centre, there was no one sitting directly in front of me and the sound at the venue was amazing. The levels are adjusted a couple of times and there's a bit of chatter between songs, but nothing that takes away from the experience. Hmmm, I predict I might have to attend more casino shows? Well, the next night was Reveen...

Enjoy!

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use.

Please share!

 

 

 

TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAYMEN
Club Regent Event Centre
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
March 22, 2024
AUD Master

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Tascam DR-07> SD card > 16 bit Wav>
Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC

01. Intro (Kevin McDonald)
02. It's All Been Done
03. Someone Who's Cool
04. Hard To Laugh
05. Lovin' You Ain't Easy
06. Theme From Trans-Canada Highwaymen
07. Birthday
08. It Falls Apart
09. Jane
10. Pretty Lady
11. Underwhelmed
12. Tonight Is A Wonderful Time To Fall In Love
13. Undun
14. She's So Young
15. The Other Man
16. The Old Apartment
17. Make You Mad
18. Brian Wilson
Encore
19. Rock Me Gently
20. The Rest Of My Life
21. I'm An Adult Now

Band:
Steven Page
Chris Murphy
Craig Northey
Moe Berg

 

TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAYMEN- 2024-03-22, Club Regent, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar

Sloan- Is That All I Get?...19 Years Later

 "It's very special night tonight because not only is it Patrick's birthday today, but 19 years ago on this very night, in this very room, I'm not even joking. We played and the show got made in a bootleg..." Chris Murphy announced before launching into the 4th song off Twice Removed, Coax Me. Yes, it was a special night especially if you're a Sloan fan that loved the album, Twice Removed because the band is touring across the country (and the U.S.) performing that album in it's entirety as well as a sampling from their other 9 albums. Since it seems to be trendy and in fashion to perform a whole record (more on that in future posts), the choice of Twice Removed is a clever and popular choice. Before the album was released in 1994, there was talk that their label, Geffen wanted the band to re-record the album citing creative differences in the sound of the record. As a result Geffen didn't promote the release and dropped the band, leaving Twice Removed unpromoted and unheard in many parts of the country. Similar to Wilco's, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot debacle, this album went on to become Sloan's most critically acclaimed record and after the commercial success of their next album, One Chord To Another, fans became aware of what a great record Twice Removed was.

Sloan played two sets, the first was the 12 songs from Twice Removed and the second set was the party set complete with smashing guitars, cake and a birthday singalong for Patrick Pentland's birthday. A couple days earlier on Facebook, the band sent out a request for used guitars (to smash) as a surprise for Patrick. Apparently during the show 19 years ago, Pentland smashed a guitar, so this time one by one band members smashed guitars (and a keytar) on the stage climaxing during their last song of the encore with Pentland destroying a green heavy metal-ish electric guitar (see the photos above and check the videos on the TDIT Facebook page).

Highlights include:

• The whole first set- What a great album, the songs flow nicely together in sequence and it's nice to hear deeper tracks that they might not perform much live. It's amazing how a band with 4 songwriters/singers can survive all these years without anyone leaving to do a solo album.
• Sound was somewhat decent considering the Pyramid always suffers from terrible sound. I stood close (just in front of the hanging PA speakers) and I had ringing in my ears days later. Towards the end of the show the sound seemed to get louder (and more painful) and during the last song the sound distorts even on my recording. I actually was surprised how good the recording came out considering.
• Epic show! The first and second sets added up to over 2 hours. This was my first Sloan show and I'll be back especially if they play One Chord To Another.

Lowlights include:

• "It's not the band I hate, it's their fans". Not all, but some are sure aggravating! The chatter around me was kept to a minimum and I didn't shoved around too much, but closer to the front some drunken idiots were tossed out for their efforts pushing and moving side to side, not up and down. Is anyone else annoyed with the amount of people that hold up their iPhones or Smartphones in the air to video and take photos? I don't mind when people put their arms in the air to take a couple of photos then go back to watching the show (I do this), but some fans had them waving in my face and the band's continually. At one point (during Unkind) Chris Murphy grabbed a girl's camera/phone or whatever that she kept shoving in his face and he finally batted it out of her hand to the ground. She was quickly escorted out. I've heard that at some shows people hold up their iPads to take photos and hi-def video...this is really getting out of hand!
• Did I mention my ears were ringing days later? Actually this is my own fault, standing too close. I think I'm getting too old for this. The price you pay to get some decent photos and a clear recording, but it was worth it!

 As I said earlier, the recording turned out better than I expected. The sound is balanced and the vocals are clearer than I remember. The recording sounds a little muffled in parts and that's from turning from being pushed or when I held my arms in the air over the mic to take photos. This would make a nice bootleg sequel to Is That All I Get (19 years later) in case the Sloan crew is interested, (but I'm sure they must have made a better recording). Let me know!
Enjoy!

SLOAN
Pyramid Cabaret
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
September 20, 2012
Audience Master

Set 1 (disc 1)- TWICE REMOVED
01. Penpals
02. I Hate My Generation
03. People Of The Sky
04. Coax Me
05. Bells On
06. Loosens
07. Worried Now
08. Shame Shame
09. Deeper Than Beauty
10. Snowsuit Sound
11. Before I Do
12. I Can Feel It

Set 2 (disc 2)
01. Everything You've Done Wrong
02. Who Taught You To Live Like That?
03. Rest Of My Life
04. Unkind
05. Beverly Terrace
06. Shadow Of Love
07. Emergency 911
08. She's Slowing Down Again
09. Something's Wrong
10. Traces
11. Fading Into Obscurity
12. Witch's Wand
13. Good In Everyone
14. The Other Man
15. Poor Boy
16. Money City Maniacs
17.
18. "Happy Birthday Patrick"
19. The Rest Of My Life
20. The Lines You Amend
21. If It Feels Good Do It

SLOAN- 2012-09-20 Winnipeg FLAC. rar (Disc 1)
SLOAN- 2012-09-20 Winnipeg FLAC. rar (Disc 2)

Sloan- (You Don't Need To) Coax Me

Photos by Corbin Smith/Torontoist

When I returned from vacation an envelope had arrived in the mail with my tickets (I purchased online before I left) to the Sloan show here in mid-September. I'm excited because the band is performing their Twice Removed record in it's entirety and since it's one of their classic albums (and one of my favs), it promises to be a good time. While on vacation to get in the mood, I listened to the album multiple times and it seems to get better every time I hear it. To coincide with the Twice Removed tour, Sloan is reissuing the album in early September in a grand deluxe edition which will feature 3 vinyl LP's (Twice Removed album, demos and outtakes), 7" vinyl single, 32 page booklet, as well as some others goodies and additional exclusive items for pre-orders. Sounds like a real treat for the hardcore fan, but for $90, might be too rich for the casual listener. To pre-order (before September 4th) the Twice Removed Deluxe Edition, visit the Sloan site.

Sloan isn't shy to perform the "album in it's entirety" thing as they performed the One Chord To Another record for a benefit (# see below) in Toronto in 2011. Another great Sloan album that works well live when played in sequence. I downloaded this show from Dime via http://mechanicalforestsound.blogspot.com/, an amazing live music blog that features recordings from the Toronto, Canada area. Blogs like this really are a labour of love created and maintained by true music fans that want to share music we would otherwise not be able to enjoy. Please visit and appreciate their sites! Thank you  MFS, hope you don't mind if I re-post this show!
Enjoy!

 SLOAN
The Great Hall
Toronto, ON Canada
December 21, 2011
"One Chord To Another" Live

00. [introduction by Damian Abraham]
01. The Good In Everyone
02. Nothing Left To Make Me Want To Stay
03. Autobiography
04. Junior Panthers
05. G Turns To D
06. A Side Wins
07. Everything You've Done Wrong
08. Anyone Who's Anyone
09. The Lines You Amend
10. Take The Bench
11. Can't Face Up
12. [banter]
13. 400 Metres
14. [encore break]
15. Snowsuit Sound
16. 500 Up
17. [Damian takes the stage]
18. Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag cover)*
19. [Feist takes the stage]
20. She Says What She Means**

* feat. Damian Abraham (vocals)
** feat. Leslie Feist (guitar)

Recorded by Mechanical Forest Sound
http://mechanicalforestsound.blogspot.com/

# This show was a benefit for the Barriere Lake Legal Defense Fund (http://barrierelakesolidarity.org/)
and COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Services (http://www.srchc.ca/program-group/street-outreach-harm-reduction)

SLOAN- 2011-12-21 FLAC. rar