Remember LP's? Celebrate Record Store Day!

Just this month it was announced that the Apple iTunes store has surpassed Wal-Mart to become the biggest music retailer in the US. With the increased popularity of online downloading of music, both paid and unpaid, the record store has become a rare retail sight in our cities. With the record album format near extinction, one of my favourite pastimes of browsing through the used record bins is a foreign sight for many young music fans. I used to love spending my Saturdays and spare cash on those black vinyl 7" and 12" discs and making my rounds to the many new and used record stores on or near Portage Ave in the once popular downtown Winnipeg, searching for rarities and overlooked classics. Kids nowadays buy their music at BestBuy, Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Indigo/Chapter's book stores or they pay a dollar a song for a low quality compressed sounding, use restricted digital mp3 file from iTunes. There's something wrong with this phenomenon, the independent record (music..CD/cassette, LP) store employs "music" knowledgeable staff and doesn't rely on the sale of top 30 music to survive. These people listen to music, they talk about music and best of all they love music and want to introduce others to music they want to share.

On Saturday, April 19, 2008 hundreds of independently owned record stores across Canada and the US will celebrate "Record Store Day". On this day participating stores will host events and celebrate the culture and community of the record store. Many of these stores will have musicians perform and work behind the counter to greet customers and share their love and joy of vinyl. As you may have guessed I'm still a big fan of vinyl, my record's occupy a major place of my dining room shelves and in boxes in my basement and my parent's house. Yes, I still have a operating turntable and as a matter of fact I just ordered (2 days ago) a portable turntable so I can inflict my co-workers with my vinyl addiction. Sure i have piles of CD's, cassettes and a mp3 player, but there are many Lp's that have been transferred to digital or aren't available on CD. While music formats get smaller and more compact, the record album features a large cardboard sleeve with easy to read jacket notes, great graphics and as any record snob would say, a warmer (though somewhat scratchier) full sounding experience. Sometimes I feel a lot like the John Cusack character (Rob Gordon) in the film, High Fidelity, because music does have an influence on how I'm feeling and how it reflects on everything I do. I must have a top 5 list for all the people I meet (both love and hate) and the life experiences we encounter on a daily basis...and my dream was to own a record store! Let the dream live...buy a record this Saturday...or at least play one.

Wilco...They're Coming Back!!....I Hope.

Unless another member of Wilco gets a case of the chicken pox or any other sickness, Chicago band Wilco will return to the Burton Cummings Theatre, Friday May 2, 2008. If you recall last August, guitarist Nels Cline caught the Pox and the band was forced to postpone the Winnipeg and Duluth dates of the tour. Duluth had their make-up later in the Fall, while Winnipeg fans have been waiting in anticipation to be included on their North American leg of their World tour. (they are presently in Australia and New Zealand). I noticed we are the only Canadian date, so this gig will be the make-up show since Canada west already hosted the band in August.

I know I want to get good seats for this show, as I had row 4 seats for the cancelled concert, so hopefully my boss will be feeling generous and let me escape from work and go home so I can buy online. To improve your chances of decent seats, I would advise fans to buy from the pre-sale on Wednesday.

• Ticketmaster/Winnipeg Folk Festival- pw: skyblue
• Live Nation/House Of Blues- pw: ROCK

Good luck!!

Steve Earle -Winnipeg March 10, 2008

The last time I saw Steve Earle in concert was at the 2006 Winnipeg Folk Festival playing the main stage solo acoustic and the previous time was ten years ago with his band the Dukes at the (then) Walker Theatre. This visit to the Burton Cummings Theatre (former Walker) saw Steve share the stage with an unlikely partner. I know what you're thinking, it's his wife opener Allison Moorer right, well yes and no, she did come out and provide some vocals and some guitar on 3 songs, but his DJ Neil McDonald spent half the show on stage behind Steve. If you've heard Earle's latest album, Washington Square Serenade you'll notice there was no Dukes and didn't exactly sound like Nashville, instead it was Earle's urban New York sound, his new home. McDonald provided beats and percussion along with some scratching and sampleswith mixed results.

• The evening began with a short, but sweet set from opener Allison Moorer. I previously saw Moorer at the 2006 WFF also performing a solo acoustic set. I have listened to her two most recent albums and they are quite good, if you like that female singer-songwriter genre, but I would really like to hear her with a band next time. I don't know if she works with just studio musicians or she has a band, but I think she performs solo because it's easier for her and Steve to tour together...practically and financially.
• The first nine songs Steve performed solo playing guitar, mandolin, steel guitar and harmonica. A nice mix of older songs (My Old Friend The Blues, Someday) along with some late 90's fare (Billy Austin, Tom Ames' Prayer).
  
• Mid-set included the DJ and concentrated on his Washington Square material as Earle played 11 of the tracks from the album. It seemed strange at first and I'm sure the Steve Earle purists out there that still regard Earle as country we're both surprised and possibly disappointed. Personally it took me a song or two to get used to the DJ, but all in all it was well received and provided an upbeat tempo to the show. It wasn't as if Steve was playing synths or keyboards, he still played the guitar, mandolin, steel guitar and harmonica over the backbeats. During the concert some of the beats seemed too loud for the mix, but when I listened back to the show it sounded well balanced and well suited.
  
• The encore consisted of crowd pleasers such as his first hit, Guitar Town (I still have a GT t-shirt from the Exit-O tour somewhere...?), Jerusalem and Copperhead Road. He dedicated Little Rock 'n' Roller to his father who passed away late last year..very touching.
• A very enjoyable show, he played for over 2 hours. One of the best concerts I ever went to was during the aforementioned Exit-O tour when he performed at the Playhouse (Pantages) Theatre in the late 80's. Earle and the Dukes completely rocked the place, a long show that after the second encore when half the people left the building already, Earle and the Dukes returned for a third encore...magic! After that I kind of considered Steve Earle a Texas version of Springsteen. One of the greatest singer-songwriters and hardest working musicians around!

STEVE EARLE Burton Cummings Theatre March 10, 2008
(complete uncompressed show @ Dimeadozen)

Devil's Right Hand
Someday
Tennessee Blues (w/ DJ McDonald)
Jericho Road (w/ DJ McDonald)
City Of Immigrants (w/ DJ and Allison Moorer)
Guitar Town
Copperhead Road

ALLISON MOORER (complete show @ dimeadozen)
Dancing Barefoot (Patti Smith cover)

If you are interested in the complete show, let me know. I'll see what i can do.

Gary Louris- Vagabonds

Hey Jayhawks fans, Gary Louris's long awaited solo debut comes out on February 19th! The new album is called Vagabonds and it is the most intimate work of his career considering the length of his career so far. I have to resign myself from waiting for a new Jayhawks album as it may never happen and his other band, Golden Smog puts out albums in a non-consistent rate. I heard there is a possibility of an album with former Hawk, Mark Olson as they toured together in 2005 and have been writing songs together for a duo project.

The sound on the album is stark and haunting, and at times the songs build to a gospel-like hymn. The 10 songs on Vagabonds will need more listenings to fully appreciate the depth and quality this album obviously possesses.

Judge for yourself, check myspace.com/garylouris for some song samples and I've also posted some additional songs to preview.

True Blue
Omaha Nights
Well Get By
Vagabonds

Scarlett Sings Tom Waits...Seriously!

Scarlett Johansson will release her debut album this year. While it's no longer a secret that she holds a passion in the music field, the acclaimed actress chooses to have a cover album for her first instead of an album full of new materials.

Johansson who will portray the titular character on ' Mary Queen of Scots', has compiled her rendition of Tom Waits song. The production is taken by Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio and collaborations come from Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist, Nick Zinner, and Celebration's Sean Antanaitis.

Johansson recorded the album over 5 weeks last spring in Maurice, Louisiana at a Dockside studio. Not only is her voice considered on the same level to the late Marilyn Monroe but it is also predicted to earn her a Grammy, said the Dockside studio owner Steve Nails.

The album which is titled 'Anywhere I Lay My Head' consists of 10 cover tracks and an original material. It will be released on May 20 via Rhino Entertainment's Atco imprint, according to Billboard.com.

Her prior music dalliances include singing the track "Summertime" for "Unexpected Dreams," a 2006 charity album featuring film stars, and Johansson's first public singing is when she served as the backing vocal of reunited The Jesus and Mary Chain at the 2007 Coachella Festival, singing 'Just Like Honey'.

When I first heard about this I thought it was a joke, but I didn't realize she signed the deal with Rhino back in October 06. The eventual release was dependant upon her busy filming schedule and when she could actually make it into the studio. My first thought was how was Scarlett, who as far as I know hasn't really sung, going to pull off covers of Tom Waits of all people? His voice, the unusual lyrics, the weird melodies would be tough for even the most seasoned singers. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Tom Waits fan and I enjoy Johansson's acting, but the two together is a unexpected combination. The more I think about it, the more I think this might be worth a listen. Her smoky voice and her more sophisticated taste in music could make this interesting, this definitely couldn't be any worse than would-be "singers" Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton.

I wish I had a sample from the upcoming album to post (I will once I find an "advance copy"), but for now I have the aforementioned Summertime to preview her singing prowess.
My question is will you buy this?...or at least give it a listen?

Summertime mp3

The Weakerthans - Civil Twilight

Right now I'm hard at work compiling my special "Surprises and Disappointments for 2007 post" to reminisce about the past year's music releases. Stay tuned next week!

For now (as a time waster), in case you haven't seen it yet, here's the Weakerthan's video for "Civil Twilight" for your viewing pleasure. This video was shot at the Winnipeg Transit bus depot garage located on Osborne St. in late Summer. My friend Dean, an ex-pat from Winnipeg (now residing state-side) happened to be in town the week of the filming and he knew a mutual friend of the band's so helped out on the set. He said he moved the backgrounds (No, the bus wasn't actually moving) up and down and back and forth....cool! The video itself is amusing, it's shot as a continuous panning shot complete with a cheesy 2-dimensional stage set look to it. The song though is first-rate. Anyways, I saw this video for the first time yesterday, so I thought I'd share it.

Home For The Holidays

Thought I would squeeze one last entry on TDIT for 2007.

Home for the holidays is what a lot of people have in mind at this time of year, while other's would like to be as far from home as possible...perhaps a much warmer location? Winnipeg's very own Weakerthans returned home last week as their "Reunion Tour" took them throughout much of North America and Europe for the past couple of months. In case you missed it, the Weakerthans never broke up (despite the long periods between releases), Reunion Tour is the name of their latest release and as you may have read in a previous post, I think it's one of the year's best.

This concert at the Burton Cummings Theatre felt a bit like deja vu because the band played this same venue last September (see my previous post) and performed a set not unlike last time.
A few random observations:

• They played a similar mix of songs from the new album (last time they were still unreleased) as well as favourite's from the previous 3 albums.
• Both times they played a 15-16 song main set followed by a 7 song double encore.
• My seats were in the same section as last time. (middle 1st balcony)
• Ottawa's Jim Bryson opened the show. Performed solo on guitar and occasionally some keyboard and he was joined by violinist Julie Penner, drummer Jason Tait, egg-shaker Christine Fellows and various incarnations of other Weakerthans' members. (including John K on bass). Bryson also performed as a 5th member of the Weakerthans for their whole set adding guitar, keyboards and backing vocals.
• Was it just me or did John K. seem to sing a bit off-key in a couple of songs most notably, Hymn Of the Medical Oddity and Manifest?
• I love the song, Tournament of Hearts! Best song about Curling ever! (a close second is the Dik Van Dyke's, Curling Song)
• They really should ban beer sales at the Burt. I've complained about this at other concerts before because I had to stand up continually throughout their set for a girl that alternated beer runs with washroom runs. Was worried my recording might get affected having to shuffle up and down...at least wait until the end of a song.
• Great concert, sound was good and in the balcony you can always see clearly without having to stand for the whole show.
  
• The Weakerthan's are a band Winnipegger's should be proud of. They are highly respected and critically acclaimed outside of Manitoba (maybe more so...?) and when I'm in another city and I mention I'm from Winnipeg, I've had people say, "Winnipeg...the Weakerthan's are from there". Yes, I kid you not, I've had that response more than once. Much like how the Winnipeg Jets put us on the sports fan's radar.

I have posted a lossless FLAC version of the concert on Dimeadozen and I'll post a zip of mp3's for those that can't access Dime (coming soon). I would love to post individual FLAC files, but uploading on my archive storage site takes way too long...sorry. If you do download the mp3's, please do not share or trade these lossy versions. If you want a hard copy of the show, please message me.

(photo credits- Davevdb and Keith Hartley)

For now here's some highlights:
WEAKERTHANS
Burton Cummings Theatre
Winnipeg, MB
December 22, 2007

Civil Twilight
Our Retired Explorer
Tournament Of Hearts
Confessions Of A Futon Revolutionist
One Great City

Bare (Unreleased/Demos) Juliana Hatfield

A couple of days ago I spoke about the Martial Arts free downloadable tracks from their new album on their MySpace page, another interesting concept is the Honor system. Juliana Hatfield has once again posted unreleased and demos on her website for download, she previously posted most of these songs about a year and a half ago. The Honor system is basically a pay what you want or can afford for the songs she has posted for download, if you choose you can download the songs free guilt-free and without breaking any laws. All payment (paypal-online, cash-mail) will go directly to the artist not a record label or an iTunes-like site. This concept has been recently been deployed for Radiohead's latest release, but I haven't really heard how successful this went, so I can't comment either way. Personally, I like this idea, if a band has some songs they want people to listen to without the restrictions and interference of a major label, the band should have the right to control the distribution of their own songs. For Juliana these demos and unreleased songs nicely compliment her albums to give more insight into her creative processes and obviously she is proud to stand behind all her work. I love Juliana, so support her, buy her albums and see her shows and most of all enjoy her music.

I'm posting some songs she hasn't had available for download before (they are on her site), read about these songs here and visit the site and have a listen. Don't forget if you like what you hear, donate to Juliana!
Enjoy!

Hallucinations
Can't Worry 'Bout It
Just Like That (Some Girls demo, Juliana all instruments)
I Can't Kill Myself (from the unreleased God's Foot)

Been Along Time Since They Rock'n'Rolled

The most anticipated rock reunion in some time took place last night in London to a wildly enthusiastic crowd of 20,000 who paid $250 a ticket...and yes, they we're the lucky ones! An online lottery saw over a million people from more than 50 countries enter for a chance to attend this once in a lifetime show. From all reports so far, Led Zeppelin did not disappoint and the fans that attended can now die happy. The Winnipeg Sun's Darryl Sterdan wrote a song-by-song review from the concert and his first hand (did he attend the show??) observations of the concert.

In the next few days I'll be scanning the internet for links or torrents from this show as I'm sure someone must have sneaked a recorder into the arena. I'm almost positive Led Zeppelin will release an official document of this concert be it DVD and CD, but I'm sure the true fan will want to hear this sooner....stay tuned!

update: an audience recording from the back of the floor is posted on... if you're registered, Dimeadozen (been downloaded over 3,000 times in half a day-Dec. 11) and thetradersden.org.

Instead of posting mp3 samples from the show, here's a link to a zip file of the complete show in mp3 format. I've had a listen to the recording posted on Dimeadozen and it sounds a little distant and has that large arena boom echo. Overall not bad, can't guarantee anyone closer will post the show though, so it's worth the download...at least historically.

The Martial Arts - Free (Legal) Music To Enjoy!

When I saw a link on a message board for a band that was offering it's newest CD for free on it's MySpace page I was skeptical. I expected a lame amateur band giving away some lo-fi recording because it wasn't worth selling...I was totally wrong! What I discovered was some catchy power pop that immediately drew me in and sampled all 5 songs on it's MySpace media player.

The band is The Martial Arts from Glasgow, Scotland fronted by singer/guitarist Paul Kelly who originally used the name for a solo project that eventually led to a full band lineup. Their sound has a great 60's new wave sound, nice melodies and a fresh sound that will get your toes tapping and head bobbing. Their debut full length (they have an EP, Do It Riot Girl as well) is called Your Sinclair and is available for free download, including the front cover and credits (download .rar or .zip file), until Christmas...no strings attached! Yes, this is the band's idea, I think they would be excited to have as many people as possible listen and let them judge if they want to buy a hard copy or see them live.
Have a listen, if you like it tell your friends, I highly recommend Your Sinclair!

MARTIAL ARTS Your Sinclair (2007)

Murry And Audree
Don't Want To Talk

Seeing Stars In Winnipeg

Way back in August when I bought tickets to Stars I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I loved their last release, Set Yourself On Fire, I'm enjoying Amy Millan's solo album, Honey From The Tombs (and her performance at the Folk festival) and I'm a fan of the Broken Social Scene (Amy is in that as well). Stars has been to Winnipeg a few times before, but I never have seen them live. When I got the tickets I wasn't aware they would be touring behind a new album, In Our Bedroom After The War , which they eventually released in September. They had it available for legal download on their website four days after the completion of the album on July 10. I managed to listen to the album in late August and since then it has stuck around on my iPod still to this day, it's that good! I was anxious to hear the new material (and the older) in a live setting, so Saturday's show was much anticipated.

When Sumi and I arrived at the Burton Cummings Theatre, it was 10 minutes to eight and the doors weren't open yet and there was a long lineup down Smith street to Ellice. I thought the show started at eight, not the doors, apparently we weren't in the minority. I pity the people that waited in the falling snow for the last hour. Once inside after finding our seats, a long 30 minute wait in the merch-table line gave us something to do until the opening band . If the Burt was ever planning any renovations, the lobby would be a great place to start...it's way too crowded.

The openers were Miracle Fortress from Montreal who have a similar guy singer/girl guitar player, bass and keyboard band makeup, like Stars. The main difference being Miracle Fortress had duo percussionists which sometimes seemed to overpower the mix and made it difficult to understand the vocals. They didn't exactly excite me, but toward the end of their set I started to warm to them, if only slightly.

When the lights went down for Stars, everyone of the floor stood. The front of the stage was already crowded with teenage girls waving their camera phones in anticipation and the fog machine was spewing out layers of misty...fog! This was good because everyone in front of us in direct line of the stage left their seats to stand up front, it gave us a clear unobstructed view of the stage. During the first song, Take Me To The Riot, the back spotlights frantically panned up and down floor to ceiling and flashing blue light in our faces, creating an exciting frantic start to the show. The lights were crucial in creating atmosphere and mood throughout the show, it give it a very noir-like setting creating brilliant silhouette images and generated a welcoming feeling when the stage was flooded with warm pinks, purples and blue light. The elaborate stage setup was decorated with illuminated framed pictures and numerous vases of flowers that emulated a living room, or possibly a bedroom. Throughout the show, band members tossed flowers into the crowd.

They played a nice mix of songs from their new album and favourites from previous releases, the older songs had a renewed energy to them live and with during the songs from the new album, the band sounded fresh and enthusiastic to show off their new material. I was initially drawn to the band for Amy Millan's beautiful voice and the songs she sang, but live I developed an appreciation for co-front person, Torquil Campbell's compassionate heartfelt vocals. Torquil provides the spark and energy for the band, in contrast to Amy's somber stage persona, he doubled on keyboards and trumpet and he provided a highlight moment when he wandered off-stage and came back in a lighted suit. He looked like a lit up Christmas tree sauntering around the stage. Torquil thanked the audience for coming to the show and he sincerely appreciated the support and warmth he felt from Winnipeg...except when he goofed and said, "hope your team wins the Super Bowl tomorrow".

The band played 21 songs in just over an hour and a half which included a 4 song encore. I thought the show was everything a concert should be: visually pleasing stage show, tremendously tight performances, enthusiastic, but not crazy crowd, I was able to see the band clearly and up close (row 6 floor!), and the sound was decent (a little muddled at first, but it improved). Though Indie groups like Stars, BSS, and Feist seem to have a more dedicated following in Europe, this week they play Toronto for 4 nights and 2 dates in Montreal before heading off to Europe, so they probably won't tour Canada again until next year. If you have a chance to catch Stars in the future, see them!!

(If you have any photos from the Winnipeg show, please let me know so I can replace these photos from a past show on the tour).

I'm posting some of the highlights from the concert, about half the songs they played. I've posted the entire concert on Dimeadozen and if you want a copy, let me know. (note: I don't think I'll be able to post FLAC files as it'll take my file storage archive way too long to upload...sorry).

STARS
Burton Cummings Theatre
Winnipeg, MB
November 24, 2007

Take Me To The Riot
Set Yourself On Fire
Bitches In Tokyo
One More Night
Your Ex-lover Is Dead
Reunion
In Our Bedroom After The War
encore-
The Night Stops Here
My Favourite Book
What I'm Trying To Say
Calender Girl

How Far Would You Go?

A few weeks ago I received an interesting message on Dimeadozen (where I have an account), someone saw I posted the New Pornographers show from Calgary and he was wondering if I can help him out. He was looking for someone to record the Billy Joel concert in Calgary and Edmonton on November 3rd and 5th because he was would be away during those dates, he was willing to buy tickets for me to attend the shows. First of all, I don't live in Alberta and I live 1,000 miles way and if he wanted me to tape it he would have to fly me out there, plus the Edmonton show was the day after I received the message. I replyed back with those concerns and he responded by saying if the price of the flight wasn't too bad, he would be willing to cover my expenses. I kind of hemmed and hawed mainly in disbelief, would someone seriously fly me to another city to tape a band? I quickly searched for flights and hotels to Calgary, as the Edmonton show was less than 24 hours away (didn't think they would let me take off Saturday from work on a couple hours notice) and forwarded the prices of my anticipated expenses. In the end I didn't get a followup reply as he may have been too freaked out by the price, though it probably still would cost more for a floor ticket to Bon Jovi or Celine Dion.

The point of this story is how far are people willing to go or pay to see and hear their favourite performers? I have gone to Minneapolis (8 hour drive) to see bands on many occasions, but I have never flown anywhere just for a concert. I now don't go anywhere without my mini-disc recorder and mics. With that in mind I would have loved to have gone to Seattle last weekend to see a reunion show from the Young Fresh Fellows or to Pittsburgh for the Break-Up Society's CD release with special guests..a reunited Frampton Brothers. (note: YFF's and FB's are my two favourite bands) I would have paid big time to see either one of those concerts and I'm hoping some audio recordings surface. I did find video of the YFF's show on a site called Synchronicity (you'll have to register) which has complete live concerts by mainly obscure bands. The Tripwires set from the same night is also up.

In the upcoming months there are of couple of concerts I have tickets for, I plan to tape those shows, but I'm also considering some other shows if I have the time. If anyone has any suggestions or requests I might be convinced to attend certain shows with appropriate incentives such as complimentary tickets etc.

STARS
November 24, 2007- Burton Cummings Theatre (going!)

NEW DUNCAN IMPERIALS
November 30, Dec. 1, 2007- Royal Albert Arms (?)

NOVILLERO
December 7, 2007- West End Cultural Centre (?)

WEAKERTHANS
December 22, 2007- Burton Cummings Theatre (going)

BLUE RODEO
January 26, 2008- MTS Centre ($)

(?)= might go?
($)= would consider attending w/ticket?

Stars On KCRW

In anticipation of the Stars show in Winnipeg next week, I'm posting a recent radio performance by the band when they were in California during their West Coast leg of their North American tour. They stopped by the KCRW studios in Santa Monica and played songs from their new album for Morning Becomes Eclectic with host Nic Harcourt.

The uncompressed torrent is available at dimeadozen (for registered members) and the stream of the program can be found on the KCRW website so you can listen and watch the video of the entire show. If you don't have the new album, In Our Bedroom After The War you can stream the whole thing at the band's MySpace site.

I'm posting mp3's of the songs only (minus the interview portion). Please don't distribute these compressed files, listen and enjoy! I'll be recording the Winnipeg show for future postings, so let me know if you're interested.

Stars
KCRW "Morning Becomes Eclectic" Santa Monica, CA
aired November 12, 2007

Personal
The Night Stops Here
My Favourite Book
Midnight Coward
Take Me To The Riot
Window Bird
The Ghost Of Genova Heights

30th Anniversary Of My Aim Is True Concert

One of the greatest debut albums of the 70's was released 3o years ago and it was performed in it's entirety from top to bottom with the original arrangements and with most of the original musicians that played on the album.

On November 8th at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, Elvis Costello and the members of Clover recreated My Aim Is True, which they recorded together in 1977. This is the first time they have performed the album together live (Elvis explains this between songs) since the studio recording over 30 years ago. Clover was Elvis's backup band for the recording sessions. This one-time-only performance was a magical moment that must of been amazing to have witnessed, if I could have been anywhere in the world last Thurday, it would have been the Great American Music Hall. Elvis's first album opened my eyes to some incredible music that also opened the doors to some great new wave/pub rock bands such as Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, Dave Edmunds, Brinsley Schwarz, The Motors and Ducks Deluxe. The second set of the show consisted of songs written before 1977, either solo or with different combinations of Clover, all rare gems!

For a review of the show, San Francisco Chronicle

Elvis Costello (& Clover)
Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA November 8, 2007
(selected tracks-For the complete show: Dimeadozen or leave me a message)
Welcome to The Working Week
Miracle Man
Alison
(Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
Less Than Zero
Mystery Dance
Waiting For The End Of The World
Watching The Detectives
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding

Emma Pollock Live In Calgary

Almost forgot, as promised here are some songs from Emma Pollock's set when I saw her on October 12 in MacEwan Hall at the University of Calgary. She is opening for the New Pornographers on their present tour of North America, she is mainly playing songs from her recently released album, Watching The Fireworks. If you haven't heard this disc, I urge you to check out her myspace page and sample the 4 songs posted, and buy her album (or download it?), it's pretty good.

Emma was formerly in the Glasgow band, The Delgados who strung together 5 studio albums (as well as a live and BBC session CD) over a 10 year period. I've started to seek out their releases and so far I really enjoy what I've heard. Again check out their myspace song samples.

EMMA POLLOCK
"MacEwan Hall" Calgary, AB
October 12, 2007
Paper and Glue
Here Comes The Heartbreak
You'll Come Around
Adrenaline
Acid Test

If you want the complete show, I've posted it at www.Dimeadozen.org OR let me know and I'll get you a copy.

R.I.P. Lance Hahn (1967-2007)

I came upon this sad story Monday morning:

Founding member of J Church and all around well-loved punk icon Lance Hahn has passed away. Hahn had been comatose since Friday, October 12th following a collapse during dialysis. According to a post attributed to Hahn's girlfriend:

as far as the doctors can tell, this collapse was due to a sudden, drastic drop in blood pressure, which in turn was probably caused by a recurrence of the infection he had had in September combined with the stress of dialysis. he received immediate CPR from medical professionals at the dialysis center, but as it took fifteen or twenty minutes to resuscitate him, he suffered neurological damage from lack of oxygen to the brain, leaving him in a coma from which he never returned.

Lance Hahn was the lead singer, guitarist, and founding member of J Church. He also wrote extensive "punk rock history" articles for Maximumrocknroll. In addition of all of this, he found time to run Honey Bear Records. Hahn was working on a compilation book of writings on anarcho-punk bands, called "Let the Tribe Increase," to be released on AK Press.

To me this story has special significance since I was a big fan of J Church and had the pleasure of seeing them live in Winnipeg 1996 and 1997. After both shows, I had the opportunity to talk to Lance about life on the road and upcoming projects and of course to sign a couple of CD's. He seemed to be a genuinely nice guy and very knowledgeable about music and the punk scene in the U.S. If you don't know J Church, seek them out and listen to their music, they were greatly under-rated and very prolific releasing at least a dozen albums and countless 7'' ers during their 15 year career.

I noticed in the last day or so, a memorial blog has been created for fans and friends to share their remembrances about Lance and the band.

If you have never listened to J Church, I've posted a small sample of the band's highlights. I also recorded both Winnipeg shows when they were in town and I posted the complete 1996 show on Dimeadozen, sort of as a tribute to Lance. I've included 4 songs here from that show.

Bomb (from: Camels, Spilled Corona And The Song Of Mariachi Bands)
Rockville (REM cover: Camels, Spilled Corona...)
Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Procession Of Simulacra)
Simple Gesture (The Drama Of Alienation)

Pyramid Cabaret Winnipeg, MB June 12, 1996My Favourite Place
No Surprise
Hope (Descendants cover)
Yellow, Red And Green

There's Nothing Like Great Porn!

When the New Pornographers announced their North American tour a few months back, I was kind of hesitant to buy tickets. They have come through Winnipeg twice in the past two years and both those shows almost mirrored each other both in song selection and band lineup. I said to myself I'll go see them again when Neko Case tours with them or they release a new album. Well guess what, they released Challengers in September and then it became known that Neko Case and Dan Bejar would accompany the core band for their whole NA tour. Just when I decided I would go, they cancelled the show! They realized they under-estimated the distance and time it would take to travel from Montana to Winnipeg in one day.

As faith would have it (or pure luck), I had to attend a meeting in Calgary the same weekend the New Pornographers tour would hit the city. I waited too long to purchase tickets through TM as the Friday October 12 show soon was sold out. The Saturday show was less likely as I had to attend a dinner that night and it was unpredictable when it would end. I decided to just show up at the U of C campus in hopes of buying a ticket from someone outside the venue, fortunately they still had tickets at the door and I got in.

The opener Emma Pollock was a pleasant surprise, her spirited personality and sense of humour won over the crowd with a solid 9 song set. She played many songs from her new album, Watching The Fireworks (which I highly recommend!) and I would go see her again if she tours through Winnipeg. I recorded her set and I'll post some songs from the concert in an upcoming post.

I have seen the New Pornographers 3 times, twice without Neko and once with (Aug 2002), but I never seen them with Dan Bejar. Like Neko, he sings on at least a song per album and rarely tours with the band, he has appeared during local shows in Vancouver. Bejar drifted on and off the stage with drink in hand throughout the show, only appearing when he sang. When Neko performs it takes the band to a higher level, her powerful voice is so dynamic and hypnotic, she commands the spotlight. Her physical presence on stage tends to draw your attention as well, I was thrilled to watch Neko smack a tambourine for an hour and a half.

A cute moment in the show was between songs when a fan yelled "I love you Kathryn", Carl turns to Kathryn and says,"you hear that?". She smiles and turns to the audience and says, "thank you", then her face blushes a bright red. This was funny because when you listen to live recordings of their shows, fans continually scream, "I love you Neko", as Kathryn seems to stay more out of the limelight and not attract the attention of Neko Case.

Though the new album isn't the best they've produced, seeing and hearing it live gives the songs a higher intense energy and appreciation. The eight-member band is a must-see on this tour, it might be the only opportunity to hear the songs the way they were meant to be heard with the complete line-up.

I brought my recording equipment to Calgary, so I have a decent sounding recording of the show. I was in the middle of the huge scrum on the floor in front of the stage, squished and squeezed probably about 15 people back, dead centre surrounded by screaming girls. I've posted some highlights from the concert, 9 of the 20 songs (4 new) they performed in loss-quality mp3's, if you want the complete show in uncompressed flac or wav files, check out EZTorrent dimeadozen.org (you'll have to register) or contact me and I'll get you a copy.

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
MacEwan Hall (Ballroom)
Calgary, Alberta
October 12, 2007

All The Things That Go To Heaven And Earth
Use It
Challengers
My Rights Versus Yours
Mass Romantic
Sing Me Spanish Techno
Mutiny, I Promise You
Jackie
The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism

(the NP's photos are actually from a previous show in Seattle 9-15-07 and EM's photo from Mpls 10-16-07)

Finally!...Some New Weakerthans

Quick name a band that has released 4 albums in a row that you would consider great, or better yet make that their first four albums...hmmm? Without giving it too much thought...Uncle Tupelo, Led Zeppelin...Weakerthans?

Yes, Winnipeg's Weakerthans have a new disc coming out next week, Reunion Tour and take my word it's as good as the previous three. Sure 4 albums in ten years isn't a large quantity of material, but it's all quality and their four albums stand up to the test of time. I'll had the pleasure of listening to Reunion Tour for the past few weeks and I'm already touting this as one of the best releases of 2007. John K. Samson have garnished much attention as of late with his appearances on CBC radio last week (hosted "Shaken, Not Stirred" and contributions to "Definitely Not The Opera") and Winnipeg's national profile has been raised with Guy Madden's film, "My Winnipeg", that debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last week to rave reviews and accolades. An upcoming tour, which includes a stop in Winnipeg before Christmas, and this release will guarantee it will be a fine start to the latest chapter of the Weakerthans career.

Weakerthans- Reunion Tour (2007)
Civil Twilight
Tournament Of Hearts
Elegy For Gump Worsley
Night Windows

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!