New tunes

I finally got around to creating a new playlist in Finetune. It's basically a summary of favourites of the year minus a few that are still not available on Finetune, like Just Jack. I hadn't been on it for a while, but was pleased to see a lot of new content. For those that don't have access to cheap music or good on-demand radio, I hope you'll like this way of listening to some new music. The mix is pretty broad, including a couple of slower jazz and folk tracks, to AC/DC, with lots of stops on modern British stuff.

I Predict a Great Show!

A while ago, I blogged about the bands I would love to see. One of them played last night in Toronto, but unfortunately, I couldn't get tickets to see The Killers (but I will get to see them in January, so it's ok).

Things always work out for a reason, in my opinion. Since I couldn't get Killers tickets, I didn't end up having to decide if I would go to see Kaiser Chiefs (who I already had tickets to see and saw last year) or The Killers (who I have never seen). How do two of my favourite bands play in the same city on the same night?

So off to the Mod Club I went last night expecting a great show by the band who won Q Magazine's Best Live Act of 2008.

The commentors on my blog about the bands I would love to see make a good point which is the timing of seeing someone. Ideally you want to see a band at their prime...ideally in a small venue (but sometimes the spectacle of the big shows and the large crowds are great as well).

Often when you go into an event with high expectations, you are disappointed...so with high expectations (after a great show last year and them being named Best Live Act), I wondered if I would be disappointed.

Kaiser Chiefs once again showed why they won Best Live Act. Even though the sold out crowd was small, they didn't care and gave a show like if it was a huge crowd. Sometimes Toronto crowds can be a little laid back, but the crowd was completely into it which added to the enjoyment.

Last year when I saw them at Kool Haus, I was on the floor level. As great as that is, I got to see it from the balcony this time...we had a great view of Ricky's multiple crowd surfing!



Here's a video I took last night...if you only want the best bit fast forward to 2:20 (and don't miss him catching his microphone at 2:45)



If you're interested in reading a "proper" review, you can find the Canoe one here.

The bottom line for me is, if you have the opportunity to see Kaiser Chiefs live...don't hesitate! This concert was part of a short North American trek. They'll be back in 2009 for a proper tour. Don't miss them!

Photo Blog #6: Cassette Tapes

Click on the image for a larger image to zoom into the individual titles

I took this shot this afternoon and now looking at it, it has a lot of history in it. In addition to personal memories, for past roommates and close friends, every tape has the potential to tell a story and recall a special moment in time. For the more pedestrian reader, perhaps the photo marks a moment in time when audio cassettes were common place and a you'd find a collection like this at any friend's apartment. I also have to give a little credit for the composition to a photo collection I saw at the Contact and Luminato festivals this year.

For the record, this collection is of the tapes that were close at hand. I've thrown out a lot of tapes over the years and kept many cassette inserts to remind me of the old content. At one point in time I counted the number of "mixed" tapes I'd made - over 100. I'm pretty sure my entire tape collection was double this number at one point in time. The tapes I've kept are mostly compilations of tracks that perhaps are a little hard to come by these days. Like records, I also feel that these compilations also mark a moment in time, maybe like a "mlog" ! Just handling these tapes this afternoon triggered a nostalgic reflex so I played a few old records for the family, incl. New Order, The Shuffle Demons, Thomas Dolby The (English) Beat. And yes, I do still have a tape player connected to my stereo. You never know when you'll get the urge to hear Men Without Hats.