Favorite Shows Of 2003

What can I say about shows I saw in 2003 other then what an amazing year for concerts. Mind you, I did travel a bit to see these shows, but, oh so worth it.
Where do I start? I guess, I'll start with the Henry Rollins spoken word performance at The Winspear Centre on March 10th. This was my first time seeing Henry perform at all, I have still not seen him actually play with his band, but his spoken word shows are amazing. my brother actually convinced me to check this show out, and am glad he did.
I went to this show with A Bomb, Henry took the stage and carried on for 3 hours, just him and a microphone. he talked about everything from politics to music and telling stories about his travels. You would think after 3 hours it could get boring, but not with Henry. He tells a agreat story and has lived quite the life too. He was engaging, tense and funny all within the same story. This was a great show and have seen him again since. If you should get the chance to ever see him or hear one of his spoken word performances, I recommend you doing it.
All and all a great show.
In the summer of 2003, I was lucky enough to visit Montreal (as my brother was living there at the time) and what a fuckin' time I had. I was there for a total of 8 or 9 days I believe, and mananged to get out to 6 concerts. There is always something going on in Montreal, what a fucking awesome city. I loved it!!!!
The first show I saw while in Montreal was Wilco with neko Case opening on June 29th at The Metropolis, this show ws booked as part of The Montreal Jazz Fest which started on the 26th. It was good timing on my part to be there while the Jazz Fest was happening.
Back to Wilco, this show was played in a auditorium, it was a very cool venue, and Wilco put on an amazing show as usual. I went to this show with my brother.

Next up was Ben Harper on July 2nd also in Montreal at The Metropolis again. This was my first time seeing Ben Harper play, and have to say I really enjoyed the show. I went to this show with Lorreine. My favorite part of this show was when Ben played the song Burn One Down, in which I did , I think I was the first one to spark up, but it didn't take long before the venue was filled with the smell of pot. Excellent show.

Then on July 5th, Lorreine my brother and I made the 2 hour trip to Ottawa for the Blues Fest in Ottawa. My brother had scored us free tickets for the day. The main reason we went was to see Elvis Costello and The Attractions. They played the main stage to a crowd of about 25,000 and put on a great show. This was my first time seeing Elvis and he didn't let us down. We also managed to catch a bit of Daniel Lanois show, Corb Lund Band's set and Sonny Landreth play. The little bit we were in Ottawa, I really like dit. Nice clean city, got to go to the Parliament grounds, that was cool. What i also liked about this festival, was being able to go from stage to stage with a beer in your hand. Unlike here in Edmonton where they cage you up in a beer tent like a herd of cattle. So that was cool to be able to actually enjoy your beers while walking around checking things out. Also,a big thank you to Lorreine for driving us to Ottawa for this show.



Another show my brother and I checked out while I was in Montreal was the Foo Fighters,Pete Yorn and My Morning Jacket triple bill on July 6th at the Verdun Auditorium, which is an old hockey rink.This is an old school hockey rink with all wooden benches and real old feel to it. This was a great triple bill, Pete Yorn was alright, little on the mellow side, My Morning Jacket were excellent and the Foo Fighters put on a rocking show as usual.


Also while on my visit to Montreal, the whole week I was there was the Montreal Jazz Fest happening, on the weekend, they had free jazz performanes downtown. They shut down about a 6 block radius in downtown for the fest with beer stands all over the place and massive amounts of people. I believe I read that on the Saturday night there, there were like 100,000 people in the streets. Montreal really knows how to put on a festival. I had an awesome time in Montreal and would love to go back. Good time was had by all.

After coming back from Montreal, I came home to find out I had won tickets for the Elvis Costello show here at the Jubilee Auditorium on July 23rd. So I got to see Costello twice within 2 weeks. This show here in Edmonton was way different then the show I had seen in Ottawa. The show in Ottawa was an outdoor show with his full band (The Attractions)and in front of 30,000 people, while the show here was just Elvis and a keyboard player and to a crowd of a couple of thousand. So two totally different shows, but both really cool shows. I don't recall who I went to this show with. Does anyone remember?

On October 6th of 2003 Ween one of my all time favorite bands, finally made their first visit to Edmonton, playing at the dreaded Red's (god I hate that place) in West Edmonton Mall. I went to this show with Earl,Joe,Claudia and Darryl there may have been more but I don't remember. What a fuckin' great show Ween put on, they played for close to three hours and not a boring moment to be had through out the whole show.

Well after seeing Ween in Edmonton, I had to do the back to back Ween shows again for my second time, having done the back to back in Vancouver. But this time I went to Calgary for the show on the 7th at MacEwan Hall on the University Campus there. This too was another great show with a whole different set. I enjoyed this show more, probally because it's a way better venue. Not as many people at the Calgary show though. I went to this show by myself, having booked the day off from work and taking the bus to Calgary. All and all 2 excellent Ween shows back to back with two totally different shows.


Finally on New Years Eve was Big Sugar playing their very last show together as a band. This was going to be a good time no doubt. The opening bands for this show were The Trews and local band Exit 303. I went to this show with A Bomb and my Cousin Jay. The Trews I thought I was going to like, but actually ended up thinking they sucked ass. But Big Sugar more then made up for it. Gordie and the boys played for almost three hours and rocked the place into 2004. This being Big Sugars final show, it was being recorded for video with camera and booms all over the stage. To this day it still has never been released, which is a shame cause this was an awesome show, and I know A-Bomb would like to see it, as he ditched early being all fucked up,lol. This was a great way to rock into the new year. A good time was had by all.

Other shows I saw in 2003 were Steve Earle with Garrison Starr at Red's, Rocket From The Crypt with The Spits and The Bronx at New City Likwid Lounge (RFTC kicked ass), Moody Blues at The Skyreach Centre, AFI with The Explosion and Static Age in Montreal at The Medley(The Explosion were awesome and at a cool venue), The Corb Lund Band in Montreal at Cafe Campus (maybe 30 people at the show, small cafe, really good show and time), Bouncing Souls with Hot Water Music and a few other bands at Red's, Yesterday Was Everything Festival at The Power Plant(this is a festival that was put on by Jesse Zaraska, he was the lead singer in the local hardcore band Compromise, this was a benefit show for 2 musicians (Jordan Wodehouse and Daniel Langois) that were killed by a drunk driver while Compromise were touring in the southern states, and finally the Red Hot Chili Peppers with Mike Watt and The Secondmen at The Skyreach Centre.

Ronnie Wood autobiography

I finished reading this Ronnie Wood autobiography a while ago now, but thought it was about time I wrote a small review on this book.
This is an awesome book and well worth reading, he is one of the Stones that you don't actually read about constantly. Ronnie is a great writer and storyteller. While reading this book, I felt like at times that I was sitting at bar at the same table as him having a few drinks listening to him tell stories. He has lived quite the life, from playing with Rod Stewart in The Faces to playing with The Stones and his solo stuff, which is excellent too.
I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it if you are a Stones fan or even just a music fan. It's a quick read and like I say, it feels like you are sharing drinks with him and hanging out.
Excellent book, one of the better autobiographies I have ever read. I give this book at 10 out of 10.

Favorite Shows Of 2002

The year 2002 wasn't the greatest year for shows here in Edmonton, but I did manage to get out to few good ones.
The first show that really sticks out for me of the year, was the Corb Lund Band show for the album release party of "Five Dollar Bill" at The Dinwoodie Lounge on June 1st at the U of A campus. This is an excellent venue to see a show. I believe this was one if not the first time I saw Corb Lund perform live. And he put on an awesome fucking show and have seen him many times since. I went to this show with Lorreine.The opening bands for this show were Whitey Houston and The Uncas Old Boys.


On August 27th I got to see Bob Dylan play the Skyreach Centre. Again, this was a typical Dylan show, I loved it, but I am sure many people left disappointed. He never plays the same show or songs the same way at any shows. I thought he was on for this show, he was rocking and had the ol' shuffle happening to, looked like he was having a great time. I was able to tell, cause, well after all, I did have row 1 on the floor for this show.
Funny story, I actually had won tickets for this show from K97 (Edmonton radio station) but the day before the show I managed to score row one seats from ticketmaster. So I sold my other tix to my Cuz and a friend of his. Again, I went to this show with Lorreine.


Then on August 28th I saw Wilco play at Red's in West Edmonton Mall, fucking hate that venue, but sometimes you just have to put up with the shit hole to see a good band. I went to this show with A Bomb, whom I had to talk into going to this show the night of. I know after the show he was very glad that I did talk him into it, he got his ticket at the door. And I managed to get a ride to and from the show, thanks A Bomb. Wilco put on a great show, I believe if I recall correctly, this was one of his more psychedelic shows that I have seen them put on. What I do remember, and A Bomb and I both commented on it, was all the people talking during the show, chitter chatter chitter chatter, fucking drive me nuts. Shut the fuck up and listen to the tunes people. Visit after the show retards!!!! Still, all and all another great performance by Wilco.


On Friday September 13th the band Lowest Of The Low did a reunion show at The Rev. The opening band for this show was Greg MacPherson. This was the third time I had seen Lowest Of The Low and first time I had seen them since I sold merchandise for them years ago at People's Pub. Lowest Of The Low put on yet another excellent show with a video screen playing in the background, which had them being recorded from the bus they were in. Was kind of cool to see them come trhough the city and seeing make there way to the venue. Overall this was a great show, I went to this show with BZ, Mook and Lorreine. Lowest Of The Low were and are a very under rated Canadain band. It's really too bad they aren't around anymore. I highly recommend there first album Shakespear My Butt.


Next up, was another road trip. This time it was to Vernon, B.C. to see The Tragically Hip with Sam Roberts opening at the Vernon Multiplex. My friend A Bomb and I made the trip to Vernon to see this show, as we hadn't seen The Hip play a smaller venue since we first saw them play The Convention Centre here in Edmonton. That, and we had a good friend in Vernon where we could stay for the weekend. i went to this show with Scotty, his girlfriend Sweety Pie and of course A Bomb. We got nice and primed for this show and had a great time. It was also the first time I had seen Sam Roberts play and he was excellent and as always The Hip put on a great show.

On October 6th, I went to see Tool with opening band Meshuggah play the Skyreach Centre. And wow, what a fucking show this was. I wasn't a big Tool fan for many years until the album Lateralus, which is a great album. Seeing Tool play live is an experience, to me it was like seeing a modern Pink Floyd, sure the tunes are a bit heavier, but the light show and psychedelic and just plain weird images they had playing on the screens on stage were incredible. This was just a very very trippy show, with lots of pot being smoked at this show.. I fuckin' loved this show and would go out of my way to see them perform again anytime.


On November 9th I saw Nomeansno with Whitey Houston open at The Rev. I had never seen Nomeansno before and they were fucking excellent. They are an old school punk band from Victoria, B.C., these guys must be in there 50's by now, but you would never have guessed it with the performance they put on. This was a really good time.


October 21st, I saw The Corb Lund Band play for the second time this year. This time the show was at The Power Plant on the U of A campus, another great venue to see Corb play at. The opening bands for this show were Carolyn Mark and The Swiftys.
Corb as usual put on an amazing show.


Other shows I saw in 2002 are as follows, Lisa Otey at the Yardbird Suite, Big Sugar at The Joint in West Edmonton Mall, Fu Manchu with Speeddealer at The Rev, The Warped Tour in Calgary which included the bands Bad Religion,Mighty Mighty Bosstones,Flogging Molly,Hot Water Music,Anti-Flag and Death By Stereo, Danko Jones at The Likwid Lounge, Strung Out with Snapcase and Rise Against at Red's, Rush at The Skyreach Centre, and finally John Prine with Todd Snider at The Jubilee Auditorium.

Vinyl Score

What an amazing week I have had of getting some wicked music. Over the past 6 days I have inherited about 400 new records, and all in mint condition.
First off, last Sunday, a good friend of Janis' (Carla and Lyndsey) brought over to me 4 boxes of records, as they are moving away and didn't want to be hauling around a bunch of records they no longer listen to or wanted. And to them, I say a huge thank you. It felt like Christmas to me going thru all them records. Some awesome scores in this collection, lots of old Kris Kristofferson,Waylon Jennigs,Willie Nelson,Bob Dylan, Stones, Warren Zevon just to mention a few. I even got lucky when I decided to listen to The Stones album Hot Rocks and found a tin foil wrap with some old 70's ditch weed,lol. Go figure a Stones album.
Here are a few pictures of the albums I got from Carla and Lyndsey.

Then this Friday, I got an e mail from a friend and old co-worker Zap, telling me that he had just lost a brother in law whom passed away of health problems, whom had a record collection that was going to get thrown out if no one wanted them. Lucky for me, he thought of me and asked if I wanted them. And of course I said ya, not knowing what this collection may hold or even how many there would be. But wow, to my surprise, my good friend Earl took me over to his place to pick up 3 more boxes of records and a box of CD's as well.
And again, what an amazing collection, all records in mint condition yet again.
In this collection I found some jewels again, an old Alice Cooper School's Out record with the stand up desk and and original record sleeve, also some old Elton John, AC/DC, some Pink Floyd,David Bowie,Neil Diamond, Tom Petty and so much more.


Like I say, what a fuckin' week of music, thanks to Zap and Carla and Lyndsey for thinking of me. It is very much appreciated, cause these records now have a good home and will be looked after and most of all listened to. My record collection has almost doubled over the past week. So needless to say, I have a lot of music to listen to. All of you have made my week. Thanks again!!!!
Oh ya, I also got some CD's from Zap, which I have barely even looked at yet, but did see some good ones.

Now, I have to go, I have some music to listen to.