Thursday, January 31, 2013

10 Years Ago Today... Jan.31st

It was ten years ago today that I saw Steve Earle play at Red's here in Edmonton.



In album news...Steve Earle has a new album coming out on April 16th on New West Records, the album will be called "The Low Highway". To hear a track from the new album click here.

At the begining of the year I thought I would see how many days of the year I have been to a show since I started going to concerts back in 1984. Stats for the month of January are. Not as good as I thought they would be, but then January is always a slow month for shows here in the frozen tundra of northern Alberta.

I have been to shows 14 days out of 31.
I have seen 18 different concerts out of them 14 days.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

3 Years Ago Today...Jan.27th

It was three years ago today that I saw Motley Crue play at Rexall Place here in Edmonton with openers the Joe Perry Project and Australian band Airbourne.



Saturday, January 26, 2013

3 Years Ago Today...Jan.26th

It was three years ago today that I saw Steve Earle play at the Jubilee Auditorium here in Edmonton.


Friday, January 25, 2013

Tragically Hip in Edmonton Jan.23rd 2013


On Wednesday night my buddy A-Bomb and I went to the Tragically Hip show here in Edmonton at Rexall Place. It's not hard to tell it is the dead of winter here in nortern Alberta, as the only bands braving the cold and coming through town are good ol' Canadian bands. Just this month we have been blessed with Blue Rodeo, The Mahones and now the Tragically Hip with fellow Canadians the Arkells.

This was my fourteenth time seeing The Hip in concert. You would think a person would know what to expect from a Hip show after seeing them that many times, but what makes The Hip so interesting live is that you never know what tunes they are going to play or what lead singer Gord Downie is going to go off on in his rants and weirdness.

We missed the opening band the Arkells as we figured it was a better idea to slam a few beers and a couple of whiskeys before the show. So we got there after the opening band and just in time for The Hip.

The Hip opened with the song "Transformation" from their new album "Now For Plan A" in which they are touring for. That song has the feel and sound of their old stuff, so that went over well with the crowd of about 9,000. Playing on a simple stage set up, The Hip needed no gimmicks as they let the music do the talking. After the opening song, next was "Grace Too" from their fourth album "Day For Night" this song has always been one of my faves of theirs, so I was happy to hear that. The Hip in a sense are like seeing Bob Dylan in concert, you never get the same setlist, and they tend to change up their songs a lot. Keeps things interesting for the fans and for them too I am sure. The third song of the night was "Ahead By A Century" another older song. My favorite song of the evening was the classic "Fully Completely" which is where Gord really goes off, dancing his weird dance, fighting with his microphone stand, screaming and just being his entertaining best. The rest of the band were no slouches either. I have put up the setlist for the show, as you can see, it was great. Good times!!!

Setlist for Edmonton.

1. At Transformation
2. Grace, Too
3. Escape Is At Hand For The Travellin' Man
4. Man Machine Poem
5. Gift Shop
6. Ahead By A Century
7. Streets Ahead
8. Eldorado
9. Poets
10. The Kids Don't Get It
11. In View
12. We Want To Be It
13. Fully Completely
14. Wheat Kings
15. New Orleans Is Sinking
16. Fire In The Hole
17. Goodnight Attawapiskat
18. Blow At High Dough
--
19. My Music At Work
20. At The Hundredth Meridian
21. Bobcaygeon
22. Courage (For Hugh Maclennan)
23. Little Bones

Pictures from the Edmonton show.









Video I shot at the show.



Sunday, January 20, 2013

The Mahones Live In Edmonton Jan.19th 2013


Last night I went and saw Canadian celtic punk band The Mahones play at New City Legion here in Edmonton on a very cold wintery night. The Mahones who are from Kingston, Ontario have been around since 1990, yet this was my first time seeing the band in concert, shame on me. I have listened to a few of their albums and have read a lot about them and finally got my chance to see them thanks to Katie McConnell the accordian player of The Mahones for putting me on the guest list for the show.

By the time I got to New City I had missed all of but the last two songs from the opening band locals Eyes On Ivan. They were a two piece band, one on acoustic guitar and a guy on mandolin. I can't say much about them having seen and heard so little.

Next band of the evening was another local band called Good Friday Massacre. This band woke up the crowd with there loud garage rock sound and attitude. The three piece band come out rocking and front man Miek Headache had great stage presence, attitude and skills to back it up. I was quite impressed with the band as many in the crowd seemed to enjoy them as well. i am looking forward to hearing and seeing more of them. I am thinking they are going to be an up and coming act in Edmonton to watch for.

Good Friday Massacre.



Headliners of the night were The Mahones. They came out playing their rowdy celtic up-tempo punk to a decent sized crowd. The Mahones are touring for their newest album "Angels & Devils" EP in which they played most of on this night. Not knowing their music as well as I probably should have, I was impressed with the gusto lead singer Finny McConnell sang with, if only you could hear the vocals better. The sound for there set was not good at all. Very muddy sounding with all the instruments bleeding into each other. What impressed me the most of the band was accordian player Katie McConnell's energy and playing, she was amazing, and very easy on the eyes too.

The Mahones music had everyone drinking, which is easy to do when lots of the songs have to do with drinking. I enjoyed their hour plus long set. I just wish the sound had been better. It also looks like the band was missing their mandolin/banjo player Sean Winter, that would have added another cool twist to their sound.

The Mahones.








All and all a fun night out, and again a big thank you to Katie for putting me on the guest list. One thing for sure is that it won't be twenty-three years before I see them perform again. Can't believe I had never gone to see them before. Can't wait to see The Mahones play again soon. Good times!!!

T-shirt front.


Back of t-shirt.

23 Years Ago Today...Jan.20th

It was twenty-three years ago today that I saw Alice Cooper and Great White play in Edmonton at Northlands Coliseum. My goodness going through these ticket stubs by date is sure bringing back some memories, and all of them not so clear, those were some good times :)



Saturday, January 19, 2013

Johnny Cash Xmas Ornament

Thought I would show off this great Christmas present that I got this year from my Brother. It is a Johnny Cash Xmas ornament that is a record player that illuminates and plays Johnny Cash's song "I Walk The Line" when you push the button on the record player. A very cool gift I must say. My Brother picked this up for me at a Walmart in the States. Thanks Citrus, I love it!!!



21 Years Ago Today...Jan.19th

It was twenty-one years ago today that I saw local metal band Mary Prankster play at Rock Central here in Edmonton. I had met the bass player Shane at a bus stop one morning while smoking one and got to know him over the years. A great guy and fun band to see live.


Wednesday, January 16, 2013

6 Years Ago Today...Jan.16th

It was six years ago today that Janis I went to Red Deer to see the Tragically Hip and The Sadies play at the Enmax Centrium.


Monday, January 14, 2013

21 Years Ago Today...Jan.14th

It was twenty-one years ago today that I saw Canadian comedy team MacLean and MacLean perform at Peoples Pub in Edmonton. Sadly both men have since passed, but if you can find their albums they are well worth picking up.


It was seven years ago today as well that I saw the Tragically Hip play in Edmonton with opening act Toronto band The Sadies.



It was 19 years ago today as well that I saw this show that my brother Captain Citrus put on at a club called Multi-Purpose Rumpus Room here in Edmonton. The show was made up of bands from Calgary and Edmonton. The headliners were Calgary band Field Day with locals Pal Joey, Furnace Maintenance and All Woman Brothers Band.




In concert news... The Tragically Hip with openers The Arkells will be playing in Edmonton next week Wednesday January 23rd.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

20 Years Ago Today...Jan.13th

It was twenty years ago today I saw Emerson Lake & Palmer in concert. This show was in Edmonton at the Jubilee Auditorium.



Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Blue Rodeo Live In Edmonton Jan.8th 2013

Last night Janis,Buzzard,Charlene and I went to the Blue Rodeo show here in Edmonton at the Jubilee Auditorium. The first of two shows here in Edmonton. Blue Rodeo are on tour to celebrate their twenty-fifth anniversary of being a band. Of the twenty-five years together as a band this was only my second time seeing them live and second time within a year. For as often as they play here,it's kind of surprising that this was only the second time. I am sure I saw them play at the Jasper Folk Fest in 2001, but I am not totally sure.

I was lucky and won tickets for this show, although I had already bought tickets for it about a month ago, so my buddy Buzzard ended up with free tickets for his birthday. The tickets I won were better then the ones I bought, so ya, I took the better seats.

As for the show, I thought it was quite good, not as good as the performance I saw in the summer when they played as part of the Interstellar Rodeo Fest at Hawrelak Park. On this night at the Jubilee they were making the best of the acoustics of the venue, as I didn't think the show was near as rocking as the outdoor show in the summer. Blue Rodeo being a country/rock band, I lean more to the rock stuff myself. Blue Rodeo played two sets, as it was an evening with, no opening band. The first set was good, with them playing such hits as opening song "Cynthia" other songs played were "Diamond Mine", "Five Days In May", "What Am I Doing Here" and many more that I am not sure what the titles are.

For the second set of the evening they opened with a campfire style acoustic set with all the members sitting on stools and chairs playing. Now I like an acoustic song, but after six or seven slow acoustic songs, I was getting bored. I think three acoustic numbers would have been sufficient. It also seemed like they didn't have a setlist to follow as Greg Keelor kept shouting out songs, in which the band would all nod and start to play them. Jim Cuddy actually piped up and said "looks like Greg is running the show tonight". It was time to pick up the pace before I fall asleep. They finally did, but the acoustic stuff went on way too long. The rest of the set was excellent, with the band playing another hour and a half, the first set was an hour, so overall there was a lot of music played, which is understandable when you have been around for twenty-five years. Having said that, there were still some songs that you wanted to hear but didn't. Like my partner Janis, whom is a big fan of Blue Rodeo, (she is the one that got me in to Blue Rodeo actually) she really wanted to hear "Rose Coloured Glasses" but to no avail. They did play three new songs which will be coming out sometime this year, they were alright. Both singers Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor sounded good, and keyboard player Michael Bugowski stole the show, or so I thought anyways, he was givin'er all night. All and all a decent night of music and first show of the year for me. Good times!!!

Jim Cuddy in Edmonton.


Greg Keelor in Edmonton.








T-shirt front.


Tuesday, January 8, 2013

26 Years Ago Today...Jan.8th

Got a couple of show for you today.

It was twenty-six years ago today that I saw David Lee Roth in concert for the first time. The show was at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.



Also on this day, twenty-one years ago I saw The Cult with Lenny Kravitz opening again in Edmonton at the Agricom. I was there to see Lenny Kravitz as I have never been a fan of The Cult.