Wilco CANCELLED In winnipeg!

I knew it was too good to be true, just found out the Wilco show on Wednesday is cancelled. Guitarist Nils Cline is suffering from the chicken pox, so obviously they couldn't perform. A Jeff Tweedy solo show would have good enough for me, but they're not even in Winnipeg right now. How often do you get to see Wilco with 4th row centre seats! It would have been so great. Last year when they were in town I sat last row first balcony. I guess someone is punishing me for something, but hopefully they'll be back sometime in 2008. I was really looking forward to record the show in such a prime seat location....Shit!

My New Favourite Band?

I guess I must be living in a cave somewhere up in Canada as I had never heard of this band called Grand Champeen. A guy I met in St. Paul introduced me to this Austin quartet (thanks Mike!) with by supplying me with cuts from their 2nd album, Battle Cry For Help, their 3rd, The One That Brought You and their most recent release, Dial T For This. Their sound echoes bits of early Soul Asylum (back when they still kicked ass), Superchunk, Flop and even Wilco. Since I love all those previously mentioned groups, Grand Champeen has that "sound"I really enjoy, kind of a power pop type of thing. Apparently they've been around for over ten years and it's funny how a band this great (well, my opinion anyways...) can stay under my indie rock radar for so long.

I can't gush enough about Grand Champeen, the best thing I can do is recommend you have a listen to Grand Champeen and according to my friend Mike (he saw them in Mpls) they are awesome live. I'm looking forward to hearing more, they seem to get better with each release and if anyone has some live recordings from one of their shows, please let me know!

Dial T For This (2007)
Wounded Eye
Cities On The Plain
Raul Yela

The One That Brought You (2003)
The Good Slot
Paid Vacation
Thats Never Why

Battle Cry For Help (2002)
Cottonmouth
Paper Rock Scissors

I think the songs should work now. I'm experimenting with MP3PRO which is a smaller file, but supposeably isn't as compressed sounding as a regular MP3. When I click on the song it plays on the my default MP3PRO player, but I need to know if it plays on the Windows Media or Realplayer. Someone please tell me if it works!

Don't Panic, I'll Be Back Soon!

Just about to leave for a two week trip up to the cabin. I won't have any internet connections, nor a laptop computer to write this blog, so there won't be any updates until August. Don't worry though, I'm taking up lots of new music to review and I'll continue to read all those books I've started but haven't finished. I'll attempt to take my guitar (if it fits in the trunk) and hopefully write and record some new songs. I've loaded up my ipod full of tunes, portable CD player with 25 CDs, and a Minidisc recorder, so life won't be too shabby or boring (we also have a 12" TV and an old VCR and god bless everybody..flush toilet and shower)...hope I survive!

Jesse Plays Folk Fest

For the second straight year, my son J graced the Young Performers Stage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. If you're not familiar with the Young Performers Program basically it consists of emerging musician ages 14-24 who participate in a one day workshop and mentoring with professional musicians (J's mentor was Carolyn Mark). They have the chance to then perform on-stage at the Festival and they each got to play 2 songs each. This is an excellent opportunity to first play in front of a large crowd, but also to meet other young performers as well as backstage access to rub shoulders with the pros.

I've posted J's 2 songs for your listening enjoyment. During the second song there is drop in sound (a thump!), that was when the microphone fell when the tape gave out holding it to my backpack. There is some wind noise too, but enjoy!

Jesse Miki
Winnipeg Folk Festival
Shady Grove Stage
July 6, 2007

1. Calling For
2. Something About Sleep

Avril A Thief?.. Maybe..

There has been much allegations towards Avril Lavigne in the last few days accusing her of stealing songs or at least not giving credit where credit is due. I don't want to wade into the argument for either side, but I thought I would post the songs for comparison. The question is regarding Avril's hit, Girlfriend which according to songwriters Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer, the song sounds suspiciously like the Rubinoos 1979 song, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend. I don't think the songs sound that much alike except the Rubinoos chorus is, "Hey, hey, you, you, I wanna be your boyfriend" while Avril's is a similar, "Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend. Is this any different than the Rolling Stones, "Hey, hey, you, you get off of my cloud, get off of my cloud", okay, maybe I'm stretching things here, you decide. I think the only crime Avril Lavigne is committing is producing badly overproduced canned teeny pop. Her teams of writer's, producers, stylists are creating an image that is calculated, non-spontaneous, but apparently very marketable.

The other allegation is from that talented "songwriter", Chantel Kraviazuk (and writer of many songs on her Best Damn Thing disc) who claims Lavigne stole one of her songs, Contagious that she said she gave to her two years ago then appeared on her CD not credited to her. The Winnipeg native vowed, "Never work with her again". Despite her clean-cut holier than thou let's help the starving in Africa-image, I always thought of Kraviazuk as arrogant and self-satisfying, a spoiled rich girl who has had everything given to her. She's much Burton Cummings where she wants everyone to know that she's giving back to the community, but it's more a ego-driven thing and I think she's consciencely looking for some kind of humanitarian prize (or having something named after her) for her efforts. Kraviazuk went on to say she won't go after Lavigne in court, "I won't do that. I'll just tell you. Art should not be subjected to that kind of controversy. Art should be pure. In my head it is, anyway." If she truly thinks art should be pure why is Chantel part the big music industry machine and supplying songs for the Lavigne corporation. Looks like some of that L’Oréal’s Garnier Nutrisse hair dye (that she flogs on TV ads) has sunk too deep into her brain.

AVRIL LAVIGNE- Girlfriend mp3
RUBINOOS- I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend mp3
ROLLING STONES- Get Off Of My Cloud mp3

Stripes Ride The Bus In Winnipeg

The question for many Winnipeg White Stripes fans on Monday was where will they do an early secret show? A park, a bowling alley a street corner, a bridge, a bus? If you said bus and bridge you were right, Meg and Jack rode and serenaded strangers on a Transit bus and played a impromptu acoustic set on the Esplanade Riel pedestrian bridge before their concert at the MTS Centre. This continued their pattern of secret performances in quirky locations for a small fortunate audience of surprised fans.

On Canada Day, the White Stripes entertained about 200 people for a free 15 minute set at the Eastview Bowl in Saskatoon. They set up on one of the lanes as onlookers and bowlers seated themselves on the plastic benches in front of the lanes. Jack White even grabbed a bowling ball and threw first a gutter ball, then proceeded to throw another leaving 2 pins standing. This ended yet another interesting and unique performance by this internationally acclaimed rock-duo.

The White Stripes
Eastview Bowl Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan
July 1, 2007 (Early)

01. Red Bowling Ball Ruth
02. Let's Shake Hands
03. Lafeyette Blues
04. I Fought Pirahnas
05. Let's Build A Home

White Stripes Not So Secret Show In Edmonton

As I write this the White Stripes are in my city performing at the MTS Centre, the hockey arena in downtown Winnipeg. I didn't go as I'm not a big fan of watching concerts in vast arenas, I never really feel part of the show and it always feels so impersonal. What caught my attention this week was that the White Stripes were playing smaller secret shows in the Canadian cities they are visiting (they are performing in all the provinces and territories in our country). Nothing is cooler than seeing a band up close without the need for a enormous stage and light show.

When the Stripes were in Edmonton, Saturday June 30th, they delivered a surprise gig at a youth centre. Just over 100 fans jammed into the Hope Mission's R.W. Tegler Youth Sports Centre for a free afternoon concert that they gave last minute notice on their website. Now I'm not a huge White Stripes fan, I like some of their music and I appreciate they're attitude towards music, but if they played a small club or tiny venue I would be there for sure. In Saskatoon they played at a bowling alley, would be interesting if they played a complete full length show in a place like that. I'll try to post songs from that performance as well. Not sure if anyone in Winnipeg was taping (I seem to be the only one for this genre of music), and hopefully a recording will surface at another "secret gig" as well.

WHITE STRIPES
Hope Mission's R.W. Tegler Youth Sports Centre Edmonton, AB June 30, 2007

01. Screwdriver/Black Betty
02. Cannon
03. Same Boy You've Always Known
04. Black Jack Davey
05. You Don't Know What Love Is
06. Ball and Biscuit

Lots To See In Minneapolis And St. Paul

To see and to hear. It was a week ago when I was in the Twin Cities but it seemed like only yesterday. Went to 2 concerts, first at the First Avenue on June 13th to see Fountains Of Wayne and Broken West (I'll review that show next blog entry), then 3 days later in St. Paul at the legendary Fitzgerald Theatre to take in MPR's The Current Fakebook series featuring Laurie Lindeen. The Current Fakebook brings together writers and musicians for an evening of music and insights. Current hosts interview guests and give them time and space to express themselves in a casual, creative and innovative format. Lindeen is promoting her book, Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella, which tells of love, illness and the struggles of coming of age in the Minneapolis music scene in the 80's. Of special interest is the fact that Lindeen is married to Paul Westerberg.

The evening began with host Mary Lucia (local broadcast personality, and Westerberg's sister) and Lindeen seated to one side of the stage, discussing highlighted moments from her book. The interview was segmented with musical performances by some of the very musicians who played with her and inspired her. This included a 2 song reunion with her old band Zuzu's Petals and performances by Steve Wynn, Mark Olson, Mark Perlman (Jayhawks), Lori Barbero (Babes In Toyland), John Eller and Paul Westerberg in his first live performance since severely injuring his hand around New Year's. The drawing card was obviously Westerberg, but the whole evening had an easygoing atmosphere with different incarnations of musicians playing with each other with loose but inspiring performances. The highlights for me would be "dressed in all-white" Westerberg singing, I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face, that brought his wife to near tears, Zuzu's Petals reunion and the finale featuring everyone in the show singing a rousing version of Daydream Believer with Eller on lead vocals. I only heard about this show a week before my trip to Minneapolis (which was for something unrelated) and I immediately bought a ticket because I knew this was going to be something special. The only down-side of the evening was that I was going to buy Laurie's book after the show (She was to sign books on stage), but they sold out the person in front of me. I'm disappointed, it sounds like an interesting read, so I'll be on the lookout for the book here in Canada or on Amazon.

For a real review of the concert, click on this link for How Was The Show. It was announced before the show that it was to be recorded for later broadcast on 89.3 The Current or you can listen to the complete interview/music show streamed online on the MPR site.
I also recorded the show from my seat with my trusty Minidisc recorder, so If you want to download a uncompressed version of the music only, I've uploaded the torrent on Dimeadozen. I've posted some mp3's highlights below:

Laurie Lindeen "Fakebook"
Fitzgerald Theatre, St. Paul, MN
June 16, 2007

1. STEVE WYNN- Still Holding On To You
2. ZUZU'S PETALS- ??
3. PAUL WESTERBERG w/band- Mother's Little Helper
4. PAUL WESTERBERG solo- I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face
5. PAUL WESTERBERG solo- Goddamn Angel
6. FINALE everyone- Daydream Believer

Forget The Swan, Here's Dinosaur!

Last Monday (May 28), Dinosaur Jr blew into Winnipeg to assault our senses and hearing, this was the first show that I have ever worn earplugs, I guess I should try to avoid permanent hearing damage. To be honest I loosened the plugs throughout the show to let in more of the sonic sludgefest of earsplitting fuzz unleashed by the incredible J Mascis and to feel first hand the definition of the word, power-trio. J swayed almost trance-like in front of his 3 massive Marshall stacks feeling the buzz.

The show was led off by Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr's bassist) who treated the early comers to a solo acoustic set with just him and guitar. Barlow's mellow set was a direct contrast to what was to come and he quickly warmed to the audience with a mix of solo material and Sebadoh songs.

Brooklyn's (via Ann Arbor) Awesome Color showed they can shred with the best of them with a energetic and noisy set of heavy feedback driven garage-rock. Drummer Allison Busch pounded the shit out of her drums and guitarist Derek Stanton blasted out wild guitar freakouts. Their closing song was highlighted by Stanton's crazy guitar antics, kicking and banging his guitar to a wall of fuzzed out mayhem, climaxed when Stanton handed his guitar to audience members to continue to slam and smack. The set was abruptly halted to a stop when the drummer lunged through her drums to stop a fan from smashing the guitar. What Awesome Color lacked musically was more than made up with their presence and enthusiasm.

The mere presence of Dinosaur Jr back together wasn't just a money-grabbing reunion, nor was it only for nostalgic purposes, in fact I think they sounded better than ever. Their setlist was a good indication they were proud and confident of their new material and weren't just going to play old songs. The early JayLouMurph period was highlighted by Forget The Swan, Little Fury Things, Sludge Fest, Freak Scene and show closer, Mountain Man. They even performed a few songs from the post-Barlow years, Out There, Feel The Pain and Wagon. Dinosaur Jr played 6 songs from the new album (Rob Williams of the Winnipeg Free Press counted only 4), as their new material from their comeback disc, Beyond, sounded great intermixed with Dinosaur Jr classics from throughout their career. These songs stood their ground and were not filler designed to provide bathroom breaks throughout the show.

All in all it was an incredible show, I ended up attending alone as I tried to sell my extra ticket outside the door, but found no takers on this rainy evening. It was still worth the $62 ($27 +$27 as well as all those Ticketmaster charges $4 +$4), I could of paid at least 2x that amount to see Clapton or Meyer wank at the MTS Centre in nose bleed seats, or instead witness along with 700 other people, the original lineup of Dinosaur Jr at the intimate Garrick, I guess it's a matter of taste.

I spend a good part of the last few evening uploading and creating torrents to seed for the Dinosaur Jr, Awesome Color and Lou Barlow sets on dimeadozen.org. The DJ and LB sets are also archived on freesofree.net and can be assessed anytime (you'll need to register on both sites). I've posted a sampling of the show.

Audience recording (my master)
"Garrick Centre"-Winnipeg, MB
May 28, 2007

DINOSAUR JR
(entire set: Dimeadozen & Freesofree)
Almost Ready
Out There
Little Fury Things
Wagon
Freak Scene
Mountain Man

LOU BARLOW
(entire set: Dimeadozen & Freesofree)
Freed Pig
Brand New Love

AWESOME COLOR
(entire set: Dimeadozen)
? (last song jam, don't know the name)

I think I finally got the song files to work! Let me know if you still have problems playing these mp3's.
Enjoy!

Wanna See Dinosaur Jr?

I know it's almost show time, but if you live in Winnipeg and it's before 6:30pm Monday May 28th, call me or leave a message. It seems I have an extra ticket as my concert partner is out of town and J canceled to go to a party instead. I've been hesitant to ask anybody as I know Dino Jr are an extremely loud band and may not be the preference of most over 30 year olds. As proof, I saw Dinosaur Jr 10 years ago in Minneapolis and it was a great ear-ringing show. I'll tell you J Mascis is probably one of the greatest living guitarists out there who has stayed true to his sound and if their new reunion album is any indication, they are better than ever.

Beyond was recorded with the original line-up consisting of Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph. I think it's their most consistant, listenable album of their career and I would actually be happy to hear a lot of those songs tonight. Not many bands can reform and capture some of that magic from the past. According to Micheal Azerrad's book, Our Band could Be Your Life, the chapter on the early days of Dinosaur Jr details that there never really was any happy times. These guys hated each other, they fought physically and mentally between themselves, they had power struggles and they couldn't communicate with each other much like a dysfunctional family. They split up after only 3 albums until Mascis reformed the band without Barlow, who went onto (arguably) equal success with Sebadoh. As Mascis kept Dinosaur Jr running through the 90's they began to sound stale and somewhat boring, diluted might be a better term to describe they're last few albums. I don't know if the time, money, forgiveness or just a rejuvenated energy has brought them back together better than ever.

With that in mind, I gotta go to the show. So, If you want to see a bunch of guys in their forties rocking out louder than anything you've ever heard and reliving the 80's, get your earplugs and head to the Garrick. If everything goes to plan, I'll have some noise samples to share in the next few days.

The Golden Dogs - CBC In-Session

Just as KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic showcases great musical talent, the same can be said for Canada's version, CBC's Radio 3. The mainstream takes a break as CBC 3 presents concerts and studio sessions by some of the hottest "alternative" bands in the country. They are not restricted to Canadian talent, but also include international alt-heroes such as Billy Bragg, Cracker, Spoon, Minus 5, and The Shins. Back a few years ago these concerts were broadcast Saturday night on CBC Radio 2 (FM) under the name Just Concerts. This was an excellent opportunity for fans (like me) to record these shows in brilliant FM radio quality to trade and share with our neighbors to the south.

This show is from Toronto's Golden Dogs who have released two fine albums, 2003's Everything In 3 Parts and 2006's Big Eye Little Eye. The band has an energetic infectious sound that has gained considerable indie popularity with their latest release. They have been through Winnipeg twice in the past half year and I regretted each time I missed seeing them, as I've heard they put on quite the live show.

The GOLDEN DOGS- CBC studio 2,
Vancouver, BC
November 13, 2006
1. Birdsong
2. Construction Worker
3. Saints At the Gate
4. Strong
5. Run Outta Luck
6. Wheel Of Fortune (Nineteen Hundred & Eighty Five)
7. Elevator Man
8. Yeah!

note: For some reason the songs may not download or play properly. The Broken West songs from the previous post seem to work fine, so I'm not sure what's up with that? I'll investigate and try to get these songs back. For a listen go to CBC radio 3 and click on concerts & sessions on the top bar, click the browse by name: t-z , scroll down to The Golden Dogs and click the session in Vancouver. From there you can play all the songs or one at a time....enjoy!

Broken West - Live On KCRW

Here's a nice companion piece to the debut full-length CD from East L.A.'s Broken West, I Can't Go, I'll Go On. This was aired on Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW in Santa Monica on April 19, 2007, I've edited out the interview segments and have just posted the songs recorded live in-studio. This is a fantastic sounding recording and if you have never heard The Broken West, this is a great introduction. If you want to watch the entire video of the studio session, go here.
Enjoy!

Down In The Valley
So It Goes
On The Bubble
Shiftee
Slow
Hale Sunrise
Big City
Brass Ring

10 Years After The Flood

It was 10 years ago this month that the flood of 1997 overflowed the Red River of the north and ravished a large percentage of North Dakota, Minnesota and Southern Manitoba. It was the most severe flood of the river since 1826 and it caused the evacuation of residents from many towns and cities alongside the Red. Most devastated by the flood waters was Grand Forks, North Dakota (75% evacuated) and its counterpart, East Grand Forks, Minnesota (100% evacuated), schools and universities were cancelled for the rest of the term as the water spread over 2 miles away from the river. Thousands of houses were flooded as water elevated higher than the dikes that were raised in the city, the river crested at 54.35 feet and because water drained so slowly, especially in low lying areas, many homeowners couldn't visit their properties until later in May.

One of the most memorable images that I remember was the fire that engulfed some downtown buildings in Grand Forks. The image of flames, fire and smoke contrasted with canoes paddling along the water filled streets was both sad and horrifying. In total there was over 2 billion dollars in damages and thousands of people relocated, believe it or not, no one was killed during this disaster.

One cool thing that occurred as a result of the flood was that Minneapolis legends, Soul Asylum played a concert for a joint high school prom for schools in Grand Forks. After The Flood: Live From The Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997 was recorded two months after the epic Red River flood in one of two hangars at nearby Grand Forks Air Force Base. Image having a band like Soul Asylum playing your high school prom, sure beats a DJ or some crappy tribute band! On this unique live album, Soul Asylum was at their height of popularity, and they blasted off a great set of hits and interesting cover tunes. Posted below are a few mp3's from the event.

SOUL ASYLUM -
After the Flood: Live At The Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997 (2004)

School's Out
The Tracks Of My Tears
Sexual Healing
To Sir With Love
Rhinestone Cowboy

Unforgiving Sounds...

..Of Maow!
As promised here are some cuts from the recently re-released CD from Vancouver's Maow. Historically, this is an interesting recording because Neko Case, the group's drummer and co-vocalist, has enjoyed recent popularity as a solo artist and as an original (and some-time) member of the New Pornographers.

I'm sure Mint records is re-releasing this disc to cash in on Case's (now) fame as I remember seeing this CD in the bargain bins in the late 90's. Supposeably this is re-mastered, but it offers no extra tracks or added insight into the band. Download the whole CD (it's only about 20 minutes long), it's not a bad listen, kind of rockabilly, country punk in an amateurish type of way.

MAOW  

Unforgiving Sounds Of (1996)

1. "Wank" – 1:41
2. "Mean Mean Man" – 0:59
3. "Sucker" – 1:51
4. "Ms. Lefevre" – 1:52
5. "Rock 'N' Roll Boy" – 1:12
6. "Very Missionary" – 1:09
7. "Mommie's Drunk" – 1:32
8. "Woman's Scorn" – 1:30
9. "Showpie" – 1:09
10. "J'ai faim" – 0:39
11. "Man What's Got a Gun" – 1:05
12. "How Does That Grab You?" – 2:01
13. "Party Tonite!" – 0:54
14. "Cat's Meow" – 0:43
15. "One Nite Stand" – 1:01
16. "Catastrophie" – 1:03

MAOW- Unforgiving Sounds Of FLAC. rar

(NEW upload, now FLAC lossless!) 

 

Maow - Ms. Lefevre (featuring Neko Case)

This is the lazy man's way of blog posting. Here's a rare treat, for all you Neko Case fans out there, Vancouver's Maow (featuring Neko on drums and vocals), circa 1996. Despite the fact this video is so goofy and over the top, it's still quite enjoyable (for most of the 1:44) and Neko Case is still hot!

On April 4th, Mint Records re-released Maow's only full length CD, "The Unforgiving Sounds Of Maow". Stay tuned as I'll post some samples of Neko's first album as a vocalist...it's not bad, really!

OK Go - Here It Goes Again

Since everyone in the world has seen this video, I thought I should post it for the YouTube illiterate. This has been viewed over 14 million times and recently was awarded as "the most creative video" during the YouTube awards (I didn't know there was such a thing). I'm not usually a huge fan of music video's, but this one is very cool. This can be best described as synchronized treadmill gymnastics, if this was filmed in one unedited take, this is truly amazing...see for yourself!

Hear About "Traffic and Weather" Now

The date for the highly anticipated release by Fountains Of Wayne is set for April 3, but I have the album in advance. This has spent only about a week on the ol' Pod and I'm going back for repeated listens, this is a good sign, usually it takes me a while to warm up to anything new, but with so much new stuff on the Pod I'm forced into forming quicker opinions. The new Son Volt album, The Search, I talked about last post is outstanding, it gets better and better every listen, ever song has something to offer, I highly recommend you get it!

Traffic and Weather is the first release of new material (2005's Out Of State Plates was a b-side compilation) since 2003's breakout disc, Welcome Interstate Managers. That CD put FOW on the radar of commercial radio and MTV and earned them a couple of Grammy nominations, including "Best new artist", which was kind of bizarre considering this was their third album and Fountains of Wayne have been recording since 1996. This disc has more of the same, a little bit country, a little rock 'n' roll, their sound rings flashes of Beatlesque 60's, riff heavy 70's, New Wave 80's, and a very detailed narrative style that is distinctly their own. This disc is as catchy as hell, infectious even only after a few listens and everyone that I have played this for has started to hum along or bob their head, this is Power-pop at it's best! I just hope there isn't a huge hit like "Stacy's Mom" on this one, I grew to hate this song after it was played at every sporting event, shopping mall and on crappy light-rock radio stations.

If you want to see the "animated" Fountains of Wayne, check out Hey Joel, a short-lived show from 2003, it's now playing on the Teletoon network (in Canada, VH1 in US?), they play themselves and sing little 20 second song narratives between scenes. They provided the theme song and two new songs every episode. Watch it while you can, it's not too bad.

Traffic and Weather (to be released April 3, 2007)
Someone To Love
Yolanda Hayes
Fire In The Canyon
This Better Be Good
I-95
myspace.com/fountainsofwayne (listen to: '92 Suburu)

Jeff or Jay? You Choose..

When Uncle Tupelo broke up 13 years ago it was sad, we were losing a truly great band with two extremely talented songwriters. This loss turned out to be a blessing, as both Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar split to form two separate bands, Wilco and Son Volt. Both bands have explored different musical styles and directions, both bands have undergone many personal changes and both songwriter's have enjoyed successful solo ventures. I own all their albums and CD's, but I'm definitely more of a Wilco completist. I have at least three boxes of Wilco's live recordings, two Wilco books ("The Wilco Book" and "Learning How To Die"), one DVD (I Am Trying To Break Your Heart) and have seen the band 4 times (twice in Minneapolis and twice in Winnipeg).

It's appropriate that Son Volt and Wilco are releasing albums a few months from each other, since I saw both bands live last summer. Wilco at the Burton Cummings Theatre on Canada Day (July 1) and Son Volt at the Winnipeg Folk festival a week later, both excellent shows.

SON VOLT - The Search (released March 6, 2007)
On Son Volt's 5th album, they tone down the driving guitars of 2005's Okemah and the Melody of Riot and have released probably Jeff's most mature work to date. Farrar pulls together a full and powerful sound offering a finer balance of piano, organ, guitar and even horns. I've only listened to this disc once through and my first impression is it may not rock as much as Okemah, and it may take repeated listenings to really appreciate it, but so far I'm not disappointed.

The Picture
Adrenaline And Heresy
Satellite
Automatic Society
( myspace.com/sonvolt - listen to the Search, Circadian Rhythm, Metamphetamine)

WILCO - Sky Blue Sky (to be released May 15, 2007)
A few days ago I read that the upcoming Wilco CD has leaked and has appeared on various blogs and torrent file sharing sites. Worried about being caught out of the loop, I immediately searched and found the complete recording of Sky Blue Sky. There is an uncertainty whether this is the recording that will actually appear on the upcoming disc in May or if it's a preliminary mix. Either way, I've had a quick listen and it's not bad, I've literary only had a chance to listen to this at work today and at home while making dinner. I'll have to sit down and have a listen with the headphones to get a much clearer idea. First impressions: It seems mellower, a couple songs recall earlier Wilco (alt-country-ish), extended guitar solos (similar to Ghost), more keyboards, a little sparser sounding...you be the judge, comments?

Either Way
Sky Blue Sky
Side with Seeds
Shake It Off
(myspace.com/wilco - listen to What Light)

Geez, These Kid's Nowadays!

I love to go out and listen to live music, but it's a special treat when it's one of your kids, and it's a bonus when it's two of your offspring. Last Thursday night at the Academy Bar and Eatery in Winnipeg, my son Jesse performed as the opening act for his friend's band, Locker 369. His group (with band-mates, Leif on drums and keyboards and sister Alex on vocals) played 8 songs to a packed house mainly of school friends and curious relatives. They handled themselves quite well exhibiting a wide range of musical styles with a mixture of originals and covers. Jesse has only about a year's worth of experience performing music live having played at other coffeehouses, the Fork's and the Winnipeg Folk Festival, as part of their Young Performer's Program.

I'll keep you informed of any future gigs, but for now I'm posting part of the show to download and listen to. If you have any comments, please click the highlighted comment button on the bottom, I'll make sure he reads them. If you want to hear the whole show (in better quality WAV form), let me know and I'll make sure you get a copy)

Jesse Miki And Friends
Winnipeg March 1, 2007
Audience recording-setlist
Pathway To the Moon
Wet Ground (Sondre Lerche)
Modern Nature (Sondre Lerche)
Miss Spelled Desire
Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix)
Locked In The Dark
Johnny, Let Me Go (Sondre Lerche)
Calling For