Concert updates - Spring 2011

I haven't posted upcoming concerts in a while and now we're past winter hibernation, the number and quality of visiting artists is on the rise.

Bigger gigs

• Peter Gabriel - June 22nd Molson Amphitheatre - heard rave reviews from my friend in NYC who saw him last year with same orchestral setup
• Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs - May30th Massey Hall - love his sound and my bro says he's brilliant live
• Paul Simon - May 7th Sound Academy - yes, you read that right, smallish venue
• U2 July 11th Rogers Centre - forgot they were coming back, if it's anything close to 2009 show it will be a knockout
• Adele - May 18 Air Canada Centre - recently moved from Kool Haus to accommodate ticket demand

Tempted to go

• Black Keys and Cage the Elephant - July 7th Molson Amphitheatre - should be a humdinger of a show - mosh pit action
• Dirty Vegas - April 24th Mod Club - easy-on-the-ear driving dance melodies
• Supertramp - June 12th Molson Amphitheatre - perfect lawn show

Retro Alley

• Journey and Foreigner - Aug 9th Molson Amphitheatre
• Echo & The Bunnymen - May 16th Phoenix
• The Cars - May 20th Phoenix or Sound Academy 
• Bob Seger - April 12th - one of my old favourites from the motor city
• Duran Duran - April 25th Phoenix

Highly acclaimed

• TV on the Radio - April 18th Sound Academy - new album is supposed to be very good, which is saying a lot for following up their brilliant 2008 release
• Tinie Tempah - May 2nd Wrongbar - massive Brit hip hop star plays small TO club
• My Morning Jacket - July 11th Kool Haus 

What I'm going to

• Arctic Monkeys and The Vaccines - May 21st Kool Haus - seen the Monkeys twice and want more, seen hot Brits The Vaccines at the Horseshoe this past winter - sure to get the crowd going and give the Monkeys a run for their money
• The Boxer Rebellion - April 18th Horseshoe - they put on a fab show here last time around and looking forward to a repeat show now the new tracks have sunk in more
• Beady Eye June 20th Sound Academy - what mood will Liam be in ?

Friend and lovers love 'em

• James Blunt - April 26th Massey Hall
• Death Cab for Cutie - May 18th Phoenix

Full listing can be found on Now and Torontowide.com.

Where I find new (old) music: Part 8 - the used record store

I met an out-of-town friend today for lunch who was visiting Toronto for the first time.  We met at the Queen Mother Cafe on Queen West and he had walked past Kops Records on the way there and made a comment about stopping in after lunch.  I hadn't been in Kops for a long time and quickly felt comfy surrounded by very famliar album covers.  I do have a turntable set up at home, but only really use it for nostalgia trips now and again, so I no longer buy vinyl.  However, slipping through the bins I quickly found one of my old favourites that I'd forgotten about.  No I didn't buy the album, but I did just buy it online.

The Streatles @ Tranzac

The Streatles @ Tranzac - #70/365 a photo by PJMixer on Flickr.


Friends invited us to join them to see their children's guitar teacher Edward, perform with his Beatles cover band The Streatles.  Our daughter joined us for a great evening of Beatles songs and good times.  Click here for the full set of photos.

Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr. intro from Rudy Blair a photo by PJMixer on Flickr.

Harry Connick, Jr. did a brief interview with Rudy Blair from AM680, then signed autographs to promote his new CD/DVD at First Canadian Place on March 4th, 2011. I've seen Harry perform a couple of times, incl. his Toronto debut at Roy Thompson Hall in 1989. Click here for other shots.

Intersecting with The Grammies

I'm not a huge fan of The Grammies for a number of reasons: too American-centric; too pop focused; and all the thanks to God. That being said, there are usually a couple of good performances and a few of my favourites artists to cheer for.

So of the Grammy nominees this year, the following are artists I have been listening to over the last 18 months:

• Cee Low Green
• Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
• Eminem
• Arcade fire
• Ray Lamontagne
• Florence & the Machine
• Mumford & Sons
• Norah Jones
• John Mayer
• Sade
• Groove Armada
• Chemical Brothers
• Robert Plant
• The Black Keys
• Them Crooked Vultures
• Kings of Leon
• Katy Perry
• Broken Bells
• John Legend & The Roots
• Janelle Monáe
• Gorillaz

And lastly, good luck to my old mates from ultimate, Sam Dunn & Scot McFadyen for their Rush movie.

2011 Albums

Here is a list of albums being released early in 2011 that I'm looking forward to (many have singles already available). Some of the dates may be UK dates so it may be a little later here.

• Cage The Elephant released in January.
• Boxer Rebellion just released last week.
• Armistice (a collaboration of Coeur De Pirate and Jay Malinowski) Feb. 15
• Adele Feb. 22
• Beady Eye March 1 (Oasis minus Noel)
• Alex Turner solo album (Arctic Monkeys) March 14th
• The Vaccines March 21st
• Pigeon Detectives April 4th
• Glasvegas April 4th
• The Wombats April 11th

Any others that I have missed or that you are looking forward to?

Blip updates

Caught up on sharing some music via Blip, incl. electronica and dance tracks from Katy B, Groove Armada; smooth vocals from Ray Lamontagne, Belle and Sebastian, Broken Bells and Paloma Faith; and lots more.