2/23/07
Beat Kitchen in Chicago
Nicole wrote up a more extensive review of Malajube for Radio Free Chicago and I agree with what she said. In many ways, their set was a disappointment to me…too much guitar fuzz and it was difficult to hear the lyrics properly from at least where we had been standing up [...]
September 7th, 2006
Schubas in Chicago
There are so many things both exquisite and painful in this world. From the first word we say and our first time on a swing to the best love we’ve ever had (and the best love we’ve never had) our lives are full of experiences that change the way we [...]
8/4/6
and 8/5/6 (early show)
Empty Bottle Chicago
Wow…it’s difficult to express in words how amazing these shows were. First, even though I really like A Silver Mt. Zion’s albums, the songs somehow felt more intense seeing them live. I listened to a couple of the albums again after seeing them and it enhanced my listening [...]
7/22/6
Wicker Park Street Festival
Day One
Chicago
With eight people on stage always giving it their all, The Hidden Cameras are just about the most exciting band you’re bound to see live. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, they write indie pop songs with full melodies and harmonizing. I’ve seen The Hidden Cameras three times now. The first [...]
It’s funny because you grow accustomed to someone’s voice and you start to identify with it so completely that it’s cherished like none other. That’s how Leonard Cohen is to me. I like his voice over time as well, the more melodic and softer younger Cohen to the slightly more gruff crooner that [...]
Intonation Festival Day One
Chicago
I really hate to talk about physical attractiveness in conjunction with music because it’s the music that matters more. I will say, however, that this band was introduced with comments about their physical attractiveness and I thought, “Well of course they’re attractive! They’re Canadian!” I mean, don’t you know [...]
Note: I am planning on posting pics of both Rogue Wave and Intonation Festival bands in the coming days but for now, here’s a book review with some spoilers.
I’m a big fan of both Douglas Coupland and Canada. I’ve read pretty much everything Coupland has put out-both fiction and non fiction and I have [...]
5/9/6 at Schubas in Chicago
I hadn’t heard of The Bicycles before going to Schubas and I had no idea what to expect but was thrilled when I discovered that not only were they from Toronto (yay Canada!) but had the perfect blend of garage and twee with nice backup harmonies, tambourines and sometimes female vs. [...]
6/3/6 at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago
We Are Wolves are another one of those frantic Montreal bands who have abondoned the formulaic and turned to high energy creativity. On stage, they dressed up with large skull placards to help with their postmodernism and created some turbulent but tight songs. I bought their album [...]
I spent my childhood about 2 hours from the Canadian border in upstate NY. It was four hours to Toronto (give or take a little depending on border traffic; my dad often timed it) and 5 hours to Ottawa. I often forgot where I could get vinegar for my french fries and which [...]