Concerts I've Been to



So, I've been to a few concerts, and I can't say that I've seen them all, because I sure as hell haven't. But I've seen some of the main ones I've wanted to see and had a killer time doing them.
We already saw my Sarah McLachlan review, so that's enough on her. But, there was also Tori Amos, The Smashing Pumpkins, Edgest, and a couple j englishman shows. So here's my reviews.

Tori Amos


Tori Amos, a musical genius, tends to generate a lot of weird charismatic energy when she plays. It almost seems like the people who follow her are cult members, pretending they understand her and identify, they really feel her pain. Etc., etc. Frankly Scarlett, I have no clue what her lyrics mean, and most of the time, I'm far too lazy to read into them. I just know that because of her unusual style and her definitely unusual (sometimes disjointed) lyrics, she has a whole other world of music in every one of her songs.
Typically, she has her Bosendorfer, a great grand piano that she plays as if it was a set of drums one minute and then a baby that would die if she played it the wrong way the next. She (lately) has introduced a band on her tours that employs a wider range of instruments, synths etc. So, when I saw her last year, it was with her band, and yes her trusty piano was there, but there was a more electronic sound as well, kind of newly introduced within the last two albums.
She puts on a killer show. From her breathy scream-like voice pounding over the mic to her weird little dances she does, there isn't a dull moment at a Tori Amos show. As an avid fan, beforehand I claimed I'd burst into tears if she played Northern Lad. Well, in her world, she never plays a song the way it is on the album, she kinda starts out with some intro you've never heard before. (I think that shows she does have talent other than in the studio where most people get overproduced, anyhow, ie Our Lady Peace). So once the intro to that tune was over, she sang the first two words over nothing else except the screaming fans, and I lost it. I bawled my eyes out. Looked like a retard in front of everyone. It was a blast. If music makes you feel something, and if it makes your tear ducts work overtime, it must be doing something right. That's all I have to say about that. heheh.

Smashing Pumpkins


I went to see the Pumpkins two years ago and had a killer time. A buddy of my dad's hooked me up to the sold out show at Massey Hall two hours before the doors opened. Whew! So we were 5 from the front on the left side but on the aisle so we had a killer view of everything. They played a lot of their newer stuff, which didn't meet with great reviews, but I quite enjoyed it. It was much more mellow, maybe it was the venue, maybe it was the music, but I think it was both. They played a couple of heavier tunes (bullet w/butterfly wings, etc), but all in all it was fairly mellow. It was a great show, they have a good energy on stage. I got kinda pissed off by the end of it, some guy walked out, and gave these two teenybopper chicks in front of us backstage passes who probably only liked the music because of Bullet with Butterfly wings because that's probably the first tune they heard by them when they were finally old enough to appreciate music. They did the "ahhhhh!" and jump up and down and hug eachother thing. Yeah, I might be like that for a while, but for the rest of the show, they kept giggling and fixing their hair, as if Billy was a pedophile. But other than that, the show was a great show. The people should appreciate the mellower stuff, though. It's really great. And that's enough for the pumpkins.

Edgefest!!!

Oh my god what an amazing day I had. Well, it all started a month before hand. Dick's, a bar in Mississauga Ontario where my friend Jerry works, was having a great special Thursday thing: Beach Nite. So here's how it worked. There were four contests, and two different prizes to be given away. Two contests were for edgefest, the other two were for a 5-day white-water-rafting thing in Montreal. I'd gladly have taken the other trip except you had to pay for your way there and food and etc. And the main reason I was there was for the tickets. So, Jerry so kindly informed me of this an hour before the contests started... told me to bring my bikini. Nervous but excited, I accepted. So I spent most of the night waiting for the bikini contest (cause I can't hula or limbo and I have no tattoos yet..), so I spent my time waiting and sipping Coronas. Woohoo! Anywho, it finally came time for me to shake my little thang, and to my surprise (and to my ego's rubbing...) I won!
So me and three friends got to go to edgest free, free parking (I dunno if you had to pay anyhow..), no lineups, free UNLIMITED alcohol ALL DAY LONG, free unlimited food all day long and (as stated before) NO LINEUPS! So that part was all in all incredible. I basically wanted to go for the Tea Party, I didn't read the lineup but I knew they'd be there. My friend Mike wanted to see the Headstones, we both wanted to see Filter. So most of the day we were in the air-conditioned house with our free alcohol and flushable toilets with soap and hot water sinks, enjoying the nice cool air. I bought a bikini (catch the irony there?) and we walked around a bit. At the Molson House (Where everything was free and clean, lol), they had the list posted. To my surprise, not only was the Tea Party playing, but so was j englishman! A favourite of mine who should have came out a long time ago, I was super-excited. So we watched the Headstones because they finished just when he started. They finished and we booted it from main stage (where englishman should have been), and I sat on Mike's shoulders watching a beautiful, talented musician perform music that ... well, is indescribable. Just incredibly put together with shit that keeps you moving and slows you down at once and never says a line that isn't boring or true or has something behind it. And on the plus side, he's goddamned gorgeous, too! LOL. So after his set, his sister Esthero (an equally gorgeous and talented musician) was signing autographs to the side of the stage. (She also sang a tune with him) So, instead of going for a free alcohol refill, we hung around so I could get her graph, and was about to leave when j came out. This is where I die. I'll stop here, cause there's an englishman section to this page coming out.
After that, we went for food & beer, and made our way between Filter and more beer. Filter put on a good show, I suppose. I don't know their stuff inside and out, but I've liked them since they emerged from nowhere, so I was kinda happy about seeing them. I was too busy thinking, "Damn, I should have seduced j when I had the chance!" hehehe. So anywho, the day carries on and finally the Tea Party comes out.
I am incredibly claustrophobic, but managed to brave the crowds at the front of the stage and danced my little heart to death at the front. Jumpin around and just having a great time, listening to killer music by a great band that I've followed since the "save me" days, I can say that completely topped my day. They played really long songs, but like I said before, if it's not on the album, I usually like it better. They threw in a couple non-original tunes in the middle of shit, but it was just incredible. Never before have I seen a band with their style that can pull it off better than the places they borrow it from. Maybe that's just my opinion. We left before creed came on, cause a)traffic would be horrible, and b)we didn't really like them. Jerry stayed with Ryan though (neither of whom I mentioned before this point, but they were there, lol)
There was only one bad point of the whole thing. There were a couple people there who are kind of mutual friends of me and Mike, but they're the type of people who look you up and down as if you're a rat or a snot rag or something, even though they're supposed to be "friends". So, that took up all of five minutes and we were done.
That was edgefest. A killer day, a bunch of great bands, and lots of free shit for us. Woohoo! Can't say I had a better day than that before : )

j englishman/ Big Wreck


Well Goddamn. I've seen him 3 times, four if you include a thing he did on tv once. I started liking him before he even came out. Esthero had some interview on muchmusic or something, or else he was on rapidfax, I forget how it happenned... but they mentioned him and said to keep your eyes out, somethin like that. Played like, 3 seconds of the debut single and showed him and I thought to myself, "Hello, sexy!" or something like that and then I thought, "Sounds like a good tune, too..." so, I was looking forward to buying his album. Little did I know when I was looking that it wouldn't be out for like, a whole two or three months from the day I started looking... stupid me. So the day it came out, I got it and since then I've been introduced to a great style that I've never heard before.
Babble, Babble, Babble
Anywho, I saw him at edgefest, see above. I saw him at a bar in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere called Arizona's. Actually missed the performance, but we chatted for a bit cause he recognized me from Edgefest (here's where I die again) and then me and my buddies hung out with the band at another bar called the Lakeside after Big Wreck finished. Big Wreck also put on an amazing show. I thought they disappeared off the face of the earth, and I heard they were playing, so I booted my ass up right away. Two of my favourite bands on the same day! Wooooohooooo!
It was Ian's birthday from Big Wreck, so that was kinda cool. They also played some new shit, which was great, because I've been waiting and waiting since their debut came out for new shit. So that was also an incredible show.
The third show was in London Ontario. It was an amazing show, j was playing with well, his band, and then a couple other local acts. Danko Jones put on a great show. I watched it from backstage : )
j's set, which was incredible... I was right up front and havin a grand old time - he played the one thing!!!! - chillin with my friend Mellie and drinking my little face off was probably the best I'd seen yet. At least it seemed to me, maybe cause he played the one thing and I didn't have to sit on someone's shoulders to see him. He also had his mother in the crowd, it was her birthday that day, so everyone sang her happy birthday. It was really great, because most people don't think about anyone but themselves when they're up onstage, but he gave the "I love you mommy happy birthday!" thing a shot, and I thought that was really sweet. Anyhow (babble, babble, babble), it was just a really great set. And any shows from now on I plan to see (there's one coming up next week I'm headin to), I'll update in the englishman part of my page. Check it out. I gotta stop babbling, my hands are about to fall off. But if you haven't checked out j englishman, do it. There's a tune for everyone, and if you're anything like me, all of them are for you. The style is incredible. But, you should check it out live. Cause it's even better. You'll never see someone with so much energy still maintain that "goddamn I am so sexy" glow about them, hehehe. 'Nuff said. Toodles for now : ) -Pathetic Groupie ps - I also have to add in my Tom Waits show, but I'll do that later. Wishin I could see Tool, the Nails, Esthero, the doors (but they don't really exist, lol), Nick Drake (but he died), Hendrix (him too), and a whole slew of other dudes I can't add here cause I'm bone tired. Toodles : )