Seven Inch Sunday (Ween)

Today's seven inch single is by Ween doing the song I'm Fat. This was released in 1994, but this short and funny song was never released on any of their full length albums. Both sides of the single features the song I'm Fat, side B is a remix of the same song. The cover folds out to a poster.

Fred Penner Live in Edmonton Jan.15th 2016

So last night I went to the Fred Penner show here at the Buckingham. A friend of ours (Erin) bought Janis and I picked up tickets for this show back in October or November. She had asked if we wanted to go with her, and I guess we had said yes. Well, before you know it, the date came up for the show. Now, I am wondering why we had said yes to this show. I don't even know who the hell Fred Penner is, ok, I know he hosted or had his own children's program on CBC television back in the 80's-90's, but I had never watched him having grown up on Mr. Dress Up and Sesame Street being a child from the 70's to early 80's. Nonetheless, I did know who he was. Can't say I was all that stoked about going to this show, especially with it being 30 below on this Friday night. All I wanted to do after working all week and being cold out, I just wanted to get under some blankets and vegetate. But Nope, the show was on, even though we considered writing this show off. But we sucked it up and went. I though if anything, I do want to see the two opening local bands, Rusty and the Willy Nillies.

I went to the show early leaving the girls behind to visit. I got there in time to catch opener Rusty. The place was packed already, which kind of surprised me. Rusty which is a musician by the name of Lane Olson is a musician who plays acoustic guitar and sings poppy songs. I thought he was alright, nothing too special. Crowd seemed to enjoy him and his music.

Next up was George Ireland's band The Willy Nillies. I have heard a few things about this band and now was my chance to check them out. Their music is a mix of country, rock, some surf instrumentals, just kind of all over the place. Sometimes their darker tunes reminded me a little bit of Murder By Death having a trumpet player and washboard player, but overall I just wasn't getting in to them. By this time Janis and Erin had shown up and caught most of their set. I told the girls I had enough and was bailing on this show. So off I left.

The Willy Nillies.

After getting home, the venue is just down the block. I got to thinking, damn, Janis and I very seldom go to shows together and here I am bailing on her. I got home and started feeling guilty for leaving, so i was second guessing myself and decided, you know what, I'm gonna slam a few beers and have a smoke and head back to the venue.

Well, am I ever glad I did. I got back just in time to hear Fred Penner launch into his second song of the night. By this time, now the place is super packed but I was still able to track Janis and Erin down. They were surprised to see me back.

Now like I say, I knew very little about Fred Penner but have to say the crowd of mostly people in there mid 20's to mid 30's sure seemed to be having a great time. Punkers, metal heads, hipsters all singing along and dancing and just having a really good time, lots of smiles on peoples faces and Fred himself looking like he was having fun playing to a bar crowd.

At 69 years old Fred looked good and was entertaining the audience with stories in between songs. Playing lots of requests, songs such as "Happy Feet", "Celebrate Being", "Sandwiches", "The Cat Came Back" "Goblins" and "What A Day", someone in the crowd yelled out Free Bird as a request, that made me laugh hard. Silly happy songs but done so well and so much fun watching and listening to everyone smiling and singing along. You could just see so many kids reliving their childhood. Janis was talking to a punker next to her who said he felt like he was six years old again. Fred even did a couple cover songs "Puff The Magic Dragon" and Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" in which the whole crowd sang along. I can certainly see why Fred Penner had such a hit on kids television has he has a great vibe and just comes across as a very nice man, and he has a lot of talent as well. I am so glad that I went back to the show as I had a great time and would recommend seeing Fred Penner live if you should get the chance. Nothing like being in bar full of drunks singing along to children's songs. Good times!!!

Fred Penner at The Buckingham.

T-shirt.

RIP David Bowie

Wow, shitty new this morning to wake up to. Not off to a good start this year, after just watching the Lemmy memorial on Saturday and now the news of the passing of David Bowie.
Luckily I had the chance to see David Bowie in concert a few times, both shows were incredibly good.
Rest In Peace Mr. Bowie.

Seven Inch Saturday (Chris Robinson Brotherhood)

Today's seven inch single is from the Chris Robinson Brotherhood. Chris Robinson is or was the lead singer of the now broken up band The Black Crowes. This seven inch came with the full length 2014 release Phosphorescent Harvest album.

The two songs on this single are Humboldt Windchimes and Star Crossed Lonely Sailor. The first song Humboldt Windchimes is an instrumental and is on the boring side. The second song Star Crossed Lonely Sailor reminds me a bit of the Grateful Dead. If you are a fan of the Dead and like blues hippy psychedelic rock this is for you.

The cover of this single is a take off of the packaging you would get if you are buying marijuana seeds from a seed dispenser. You could say Chris Robinson Brotherhood is heavily influenced by the ganja!

Favorite Concerts of 2015

Well I guess I should get around to my top ten concert of 2015 before this years shows start. It was hard to pick my top ten, but here it is, all shows were in Edmonton unless otherwise noted. Here we go!

This list is in order by date.

* Elliott BROOD Feb.18th at The Starlite Room

* Joel Plaskett May 9th at Union Hall

* Queensryche June 7th at Marriot Ballroom at River Cree Casino

* Mike Plume July 2nd at The Mercury Room

* Elle King July 25th at Interstellar Rodeo at Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park

* Father John Misty July 25th at Interstellar Rodeo

* Buffy Sainte-Marie July 26th at Interstellar Rodeo

* Faith No More and Refused August 7th at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario

* Canned Heat August 23rd at Edmonton Blues Festival at Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park

* Steel Panther November 22nd at The Ranch Roadhouse

Good times!!!

Wish list for 2016!!!

* Ween to play Edmonton or anywhere in Canada for that matter.
* Lucero to play here as well.
* Drive-By Truckers to play Edmonton.
* Guns N' Roses all original line up to play Edmonton would be fun.

Edmonton has a new Coliseum (Rogers Place) being built right now. It is to open in September in time for the 2015-16 NHL season. So the question is, who will be the first band to break in the new building. I am going with Bruce Springsteen or U2.

Favorite LIVE Albums of 2015

Well with all my favorite studio albums of the year out of the way, it's time to mention my favorite LIVE albums of the year. I've always been a big fan of the live experience, so live albums have always been a big thing for me. And 2015 saw some great live albums released. Here is a list of my favorite live albums of 2015.

Drive-By Truckers - It's Great To Be Alive!

Against Me! - 23 Live Sex Acts

Roger Waters - The Wall Soundtrack

Ryan Adams - Live At Carnegie Hall

Neil Young - Neil Young And Bluenote Café

Gregg Allman - Gregg Allman Live Back To Macon, GA January 14th 2014

And finally this gem of a live album, sure it was released back in 1999, but I have never been able to find the vinyl release til this year, when my Brother stumbled across it at a record fair in Vancouver. Thanks so much Captain Citrus!!!

Ween - Paintin' The Town Brown : Ween Live 90-98

Favorite Albums of 2015 (Joel Plaskett)

Last but certainly not least is the latest release from Joel Plaskett from Nova Scotia. His 2015 album is called Joel Plaskett & The Park Avenue Sobriety Test. This is just a very fun album and listen. Joel not only had his band The Emergency backing him up on this release but lots of other musicians as well, almost like a kitchen party which the east coast of Canada is so famous for. The music is all over the place from folk like songs, to all out rockers, it just sounds like a bunch of musicians having a whole lot of fun playing together. This album probably got the most spins out of all my records in 2015.
Favorite songs - "On A Dime", "Alright/OK", "Broke", "Song For Jersey" and "The Park Avenue Sobriety Test".

Favorite Albums of 2015 (Jason Isbell)

The latest release Something More Than Free by Jason Isbell is without a doubt one of my favorites of the year, a great follow up to his album Southeastern. Not that this album is any more upbeat then his last one, it still has heartache songs that clash between country ballads and rockers. Jason Isbell is one of the strongest song writers out there these days. An amazing album.
Favorite songs - "If It Takes A Lifetime", "Speed Trap Town" and "The Life You Chose" there really isn't a bad song on this record.

Favorite Albums of 2015 (The Dead Weather)

Another album I really liked this year was the album Crash And Burn by The Dead Weather. The band is led by Jack White of White Stripes fame on drums and Alison Mosshart of The Kills on vocals. This album is gritty straight up rock n' roll with a blues tinge.
Favorite songs - "I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)", "Three Dollar Hat" and "Open Up".

Favorite Albums of 2015 (Titus Andronicus)

This ninety minute long concept album called The Most Lamentable Tragedy by Titus Andronicus is one of my favorites of the year for sure. The album is all over the place with straight up rock, ballads and some raging punk. It's certainly never boring.

Favorite Albums of 2015 (Elle King)

Elle King's album Love Stuff makes my list as it has got quite a few spins in the past year. I love the attitude and swagger this lady brings to her album. her single Ex's & Oh's is catchy as hell and is hard to get out of your head when you hear it. The music is blues based with a couple of songs with some twang in which she plays the banjo. All and all a great debut full length record.
Favorite songs - "Ex's & Oh's", "Last Damn Night", "America's Sweetheart" and "Where The Devil Don't Go".

Favorite Albums of 2015 (Lucero)

The band Lucero based in Memphis, Tennessee released their eleventh studio album this year called All A Man Should Do, and holy fuck what a great album. Ben Nichols whiskey soaked vocals sound amazing, the horn section in the band aren't overwhelming like they were on there last album. The song writing is excellent, the band is as gritty as ever, yet very soulful too. A great rock n' roll record well worth picking up.
Favorite songs - "Young Outlaws", "They Call Her A Killer" and "I Woke Up In new Orleans".

The album was also released in a very limited edition to independent record stores. I was lucky to find one at a local record shop here in Edmonton.

Favorite Albums of 2015 (Father John Misty)

One of my very favorite records of the year is by Father John Misty called I Love You, Honeybear. There isn't a bad song on this album. It's very melancholy but not boring, serious but not too serious as the lyrics have a sense of humour too them. It's folky with strings, orchestra, and rock n' roll. The album has a bit of everything, and gets better with repeated listens. A classic.
Favorite songs - all of them.