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Archive for the ‘Rheostatics’ Category

Samuel Archibald–“Three Tshakapesh Dreams” (The Walrus, September 2016)

Posted in Art Gallery of Ontario, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Death, Donald Winkler, Drinking, Drugs, Gangsters, Group of 7, Martin Tielli, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Mona Awad, Rheostatics, Samuel Archibald, Selina Martin, Short Story, Terra Lightfoot, The Walrus, Violence, tagged on September 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

julyaugSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS (Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON, September 6, 2015).

06Sep2015Almost exactly one year ago, my family traveled to Toronto as a mini-vacation.  The impetus was my scoring tickets to see The Rheostatics live for the first for me (and potentially–but not in reality–last) time.

They had called it quits 8 years earlier and were reuniting for the 20th Anniversary of their Group of 7 album–a soundtrack of sorts that was created to celebrate the works of the great Group of 7 artists.  They were scheduled to perform three nights at the Art Gallery of Toronto.

I purchased tickets to the second night assuming that the first night they might be a little rusty and the final night they might be burnt out.  Well, it turns out, that was completely faulty logic.  The final night was outstanding (as this recording shows), not least because it was so much longer!

The quality of this recording is really good.  Dave is in fun form, commenting and joking with the audience.  At the end of “Six (Cello For A Winter’s Day),” the band goes a little nutty with noise and after the jazzy ending, Dave says that “playing fake jazz is way more fun than real jazz” because you gotta know stuff.

They thank everyone during this break.  Dave introduces Martin: “You got Martin Tielli back… look at a him, he’s a good boy.”  Someone shouts, “We miss you!” and Dave responds, “We miss you very much, especially you, sir, with the loud voice.”

As they’ve noted, the break here is because they’re playing the album as if it were two sides.  So do what ever you do between the two sides of records.  “urinate? I guess? or make a sandwich?” Kevin chimes in: “wash some dishes.”  “Look around outside make sure no one is stealing your stuff or inside in case you’re living with a dodgy housemate.”

Later, Dave sends a Hi “to the mother’s lounge up there.”  Tim’s mom and Dave’s mom are there.  Dave quips, “they’re in the mother’s lounge getting hammered.”

Each night there was a new piece of information added to the history oft he Go7 album. This night’s was a thank you to “Winchell Price, an artist friend of Don Kerr’s who did all of the spoken sections on the album.  (It was Don’s decision to add him to the record).  Price was vegan in 1919 totally ahead of the curve.  They are happy to raise the spirit and the ghost of the Go7–and their rebellious form of art when rebelliousness was discouraged in Canadian culture.

Before one of the songs Dave dedicates the night to his kids: “Lorenzo and Cecilia you weren’t here 20 years ago but you’re here now and life is beautiful because of it.”

The encores tonight were many: “Bad Time To Be Poor,” “Green Sprouts Theme,” “Stolen Car,” “Legal Age Life At Variety Store,” “Christopher,” “Claire” and “Horses.”

After a great version of “Bad Time to be Poor,” with cello and acoustic guitar, Dave introduces “The Professor Tim Vesely… now that Neil Peart has retired, Tim can become The Professor.”  Tim retorts, “I prefer the Mad Chap from Mississauga.” Dave: “That’s Don.  You’re from Etobicoke.”  Then they tell us, “Don was the mad chap on tour for… one hour.  Back in his neck beard days.  “I can’t believe we’re about to discuss the neck beard days–an underappreciated era.”

Dave notices someone whistling the Green Sprouts Theme Song, so the band plays it. And then they launch into a great version of “Stolen Car.”  “Legal Age Life,” is a lot of fun, of course, with everyone getting a solo.  And then after the disastrous “Christopher” the previous night, they played a near perfect “Christopher.”

Martin thanks everyone and says it “really meant a lot to us and to me, thanks a lot.” While Dave is thanking everyone involved with the shows, Kevin plays some nice “Oscar wrap up trills.”

Tim rather sheepishly tells everyone they’re going to play “Claire.”  Dave comments, “Tim is warning you that we’re going to do Claire–come on back in everyone.”  It’s a really great version, and I love that just before the solo, Dave says, “Martin, paint us a picture.”

And then they wrap up the night and the whole series with a blistering version of “Horses.”  During the middle section, Dave goes on a major rant about the upcoming election:

We must be free…. Imagine the beauty of October 20  Imagine a country where scientists keep their jobs for believing in science.  Imagine a country where the great first nations of our country don’t have to look over their shoulder at the prison cell behind them.  Imagine a country where the cops take orders from us not from some security company put in power by Stephen Harper, the most evil man in the history of Canada

And the crowd loves it.

But even more fun is that later that they’ll be at the Monarch Tavern.  If I had gone to this show instead of Saturday night’s, I totally would have gone to the Monarch which sounds like it was a blast and half.  The write up from the Rheostatics Live site notes:

After an amazing show Saturday night with some special moments at the end that most would never know occurred, [I wonder if the statute of limitations has run out so we can finally find out what happened that night?] the rheos came out tonight and played the best night of the 4 day GO7 run. GO7 was followed by Bad Time To Be Poor with Hugh Marsh on violin and Don on Cello, and impromptu version of Green Sprouts. Stolen Car, Legal Age Life, a redemptive Christopher and then a 2nd encore of Claire and Horses closed the 4 night run of rheos magic time machine glory at the AGO.

After that, around 12:30AM the band reconvened at The Monarch Tavern to play what was without a doubt the ending true fans were hoping for: a sloppy, magnificent set of hot bar room rheos songs that if it had to be the end was exactly the way they should go out. Song of Flight led into The Ballad Of Wendel Clark Part 2 and Bridge Came Tumbling Down. After sorting out the monitor kinks they went into Soul Glue…. Kevin Hearn took them through I’m Waiting For My Man, Ring Of Fire, Monkeybird, and Lou Reed’s Down at the Arcade…. Northern Wish was absolutely slayed by Terra Lightfoot, and then Mike O’Brien did the same with We Went West. Selina Martin killed Dope Fiends and Mary Margaret O’Hara singing RDA….

Of course, I was long asleep by then. But I hope they keep doing little shows like this and one day I’ll get back up to Toronto to see one.

01. One (Kevin’s Waltz)   1:54
02. Two (Earth (Almost))   7:50
03. Three (Boxcar Song (Weiners and Beans))   7:16
04. Four (Landscape And Sky)   0:48
05. Five (Blue Hysteria)   3:40
06. Six (Cello For A Winter’s Day)   8:09
07. Chat   6:20
08. Seven (Northern Wish)   5:17
09. Eight (Snow)   4:10
10. Nine (Biplanes and Bombs)   5:38
11. Ten (Lightning)   8:20
12. Eleven (Yellow Days Under A Lemon Sun)   6:10
13. Bad Time To Be Poor   3:48
14. Chat and Thanks   1:46
15. Green Sprouts Theme   0:52
16. Stolen Car   6:01
17. Legal Age Life At Variety Store   5:13
18. Christopher   6:50
19. Claire   5:38
20. Horses   10:05

[READ: August 19, 2016] “Three Tshakapesh Dreams”

After the lighthearted love and lust theme of the summer issue of The Walrus, it was time for a story about drugs and death!  This one is set in Quebec and was translated from the French by Donald Winkler.

A boy, Simon, was found in the Frontenac Library with a needle sticking out of his arm.  Brisebois was the policeman who notified people of the death.  And he notified The Indian who was an undercover cop.  But the Indian said to Breisbois, “Simon may have had his faults but he knew how to shoot up.”

He made Breisbois check the stash.  It turned out to contain coke an almost pure heroin. (more…)

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Lisa Moore–“The Shoe Emporium” (The Walrus, July/August 2016)

Posted in Art Gallery of Ontario, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Culture Shock, Drinking, Funny (ha ha), Group of 7, Holidays, Humiliation, Kinky Boots, LGBTQ, Lisa Moore, Martin Tielli, Rheostatics, Sex, Short Story, The Walrus, tagged on September 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

julyaugSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS (Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON, September 5, 2015).

06Sep2015Almost exactly one year ago, my family traveled to Toronto as a mini-vacation.  The impetus was my scoring tickets to see the Rheostatics live for the first for me (and potentially–but not in reality–last) time.

They had called it quits 8 years earlier and were reuniting for the 20th Anniversary of their Group of 7 album–a soundtrack of sorts that was created to celebrate the works of the great Group of 7 artists.  They were scheduled to perform three nights at the Art Gallery of Toronto.

I purchased tickets to the second night assuming that the first night they might be a little rusty and the final night they might be burnt out.  Well, it turns out, that was completely faulty logic.  The first night was pretty great.  The final night was outstanding and my night proved to be the weakest of the three.  Of course, it was still awesome, especially since I didn’t know that it was the weakest at the time).

In terms of recordings, this one is a little less clear than yesterday’s show as well (it was recorded from the upper section of the hall).

The Go7 part of the show was pretty stellar.  You can read my review of the full show here).  During the break after track Six, Dave began talking to us, mostly thanking people and then commenting “we’re totally feeling the love.”  Dave says his dad’s here tonight and he lent us his car for their 1988 tour. (Sorry, dad).

When the Go7 album was over, the band played some bonus tracks.  Last night they played “Claire” and “Horses,” two songs I would have loved to hear.  So when Tim walked up to the mic, I was sure we’d get Claire, but instead, we got “Henry’s Musical Beard,” a one minute song of total what the…?  I can’t imagine when it was ever played before.  But even though i didn’t get the songs I really wanted, I did get some songs that were still awesome: “Bad Time To Be Poor,” “Stolen Car” (amazing!), “Legal Age Life” (much fun), “Christopher” (another favorite), and “Saskatchewan.”

“Bad Time” sounded great–a lovely Tim sung song.  Before “Stolen Car,” Dave described it as a desperation song, there are bad things going on in our country we have chance to change that on Oct 19.  (Hard to believe that our election process was underway at that time as well).  Martin seemed to miss a bit during the song, but was backed up wonderfully by Hugh Marsh on violin.

“Legal Age Life” was a lot of fun.  Before the song began he shouted, “Fuck art, let’s dance.” And dance we did.

Our version of “Christopher” was pretty catastrophic.  Before playing it, Dave introduced it by saying, “Let’s hear it for Saskatchewan.”  But they played “Christopher.”  It has a very cool slow opening, but Martin got really lost during the song.  He repeated lines, forgot words and about half way through, he just ended the song (two minutes shorter than the other ones).  I remember being concerned for him, because he seemed really upset about the performance.

They ended the show with “Saskatchewan” a great song that I love (and we were the only night to get it, so yes, we were lucky indeed).  As I say, at the time, I was so excited to be there and to hear everything.  It is definitely sour grapes to complain about the other nights, and I should just consider myself lucky that I can still hear them.

But between Martin’s stress and Dave’s surprising lack of banter (and, no “Claire” or “Horses”), Saturday was definitely the weakest night of the three.

Amazingly, though, with the various differences, the length of the concert is almost exactly the same length as the first night).

01. One (Kevin’s Waltz)   2:40
02. Two (Earth (Almost))   7:42
03. Three (Boxcar Song (Weiners and Beans))   7:00
04. Four (Landscape And Sky)   0:46
05. Five (Blue Hysteria)   3:55
06. Six (Cello For A Winter’s Day)   8:03
07. Banter   4:05
08. Seven (Northern Wish)   5:09
09. Eight (Snow)   2:05
10. Nine (Biplanes and Bombs)   7:00
11. Ten (Lightning)   8:01
12. Eleven (Yellow Days Under A Lemon Sun)   7:53
13. Henry’s Musical Beard   0:57
14. Bad Time To Be Poor   5:31
15. Stolen Car   8:54
16. Legal Age Life   7:05
17. Christopher   4:27
18. Saskatchewan   7:36

[READ: August 19, 2016] “The Shoe Emporium”

The July/August Summer Reading Issue of The Walrus has a theme of “Love and Lust.”  The theme promised to be a bit more upbeat than the darker stories in the last few issues.  Of course the other two stories this month were a little dark, but this one was pretty much just very funny.

It involves a delightfully convoluted romantic triangle of people working at The Shoe Emporium.  And I loved the way the story was structured.

We begin with Steve, a 40-something year old guy working as a shoe salesman (he has a past).  He is helping a customer and she is kind of smitten with him.  Steve is hunky, and has the best features of his Irish-Canadian heritage showing.

And then the story shifts to his boss, Cathy.  Cathy is 20 years younger than him–although she makes less money.  We lean about Cathy because of a high-tech device that measures the heat of people’s feet (to best get their feet to match a shoe).  Cathy had pressed it to her heart to demonstrate.  She was showing this to the other salesman, Marty.  But Steve saw it as well and thought that he could see an imprint of her nipple in the pad.

When Steve saw that, he was instantly turned on.  Mostly because he typically didn’t think much of Cathy before that.  She’s usually angry–justifiably as she is working two jobs and going to school.  But mostly, she really wants to win the top salesman prize–a  trip to Toronto and tickets to the musical Kinky Boots.

Even though he knows she wants to win, Steve is trying his best to beat her even though he doesn’t care about Toronto or the musical.

The two are pretty close in sales and he is doing a great job today.  Across the store, Cathy has a family with a crying child–never a good sign for mega sales.  Especially since the daughter wants an expensive shoe which the mother doesn’t want to buy.

But what of Marty?  Marty also has a fascinating back story.  Until recently, he lived with his grandmother.  She recently passed away (in a shocking fashion).  She was also a marine biologist and there is some amusing talk of sea cucumbers.  His grief was intense and he went to a gay party (he is 100% gay) and took a lot of drugs.  He’s been in a haze since.  And he has recently hooked up with Cathy.  But it had to have been the grief or drugs because Marty is definitely 100% gay (he thinks Steve is pretty hot too).

Cathy knows Marty is gay, but she believes the hookup has changed things–it was pretty great.

As the story comes to a close we get a close up look at that hook up which is steamy and funny, and we see Steve double down on trying to sell an expensive pair of Saucony to a customer who clearly can’t afford them.

I’d love to see more of this story–I really want more of these three.  This has been my favorite Walrus story in a long time.

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David Bergen–“Never Too Late” (The Walrus, July/August 2016)

Posted in Art Gallery of Ontario, Bruce Cockburn, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Culture Shock, Drinking, Group of 7, Holidays, Humiliation, Martin Tielli, Mona Awad, Nick Buzz, Rheostatics, Sex, Short Story, The Walrus, tagged on September 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

julyaugSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS (Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON, September 4, 2015).

06Sep2015Almost exactly one year ago, my family traveled to Toronto as a mini-vacation.  The impetus was my scoring tickets to see The Rheostatics live for the first for me (and potentially–but not in reality–last) time.

They had called it quits 8 years earlier and were reuniting for the 20th Anniversary of their Group of 7 album–a soundtrack of sorts that was created to celebrate the works of the great Group of 7 artists.  They were scheduled to perform three nights at the Art Gallery of Toronto.

I purchased tickets to the second night assuming that the first night they might be a little rusty and the final night they might be burnt out.

Well, it turns out that the first night was really strong.  There are two recordings of the show on the Rheostatics Live site.  Obviously the content is the same, but the sound is different in each one.  (The Eric Mac Innis recording is quite muffled and bass heavy so you can’t really hear any of the spoken stuff).

The main content of the show-the music from the Group of 7 album is pretty consistent through all three nights.  It’s mostly the length that varies on a couple of tracks and some little details that change from night to night.  On this night for instance the opening speech that in which the man says “every Canadian” does not repeat like it does on the other nights.  It also seems like “Six (Cello for a Winter’s Day)” doesn’t get quite as crazy and loud before the “jazzy” section comes in.

Before they get to “Northern Wish,” Dave introduces “Northern Wish,” by talking about how he wrote it: “The amazing thing about Canada is that every time you leave the door an incredible impossible journey is waiting for you not far from your house.”

They didn’t play “Ten (Lightning)” the first night, so it’s fun to hear all of the audience whoops and wolf howls during the set.

Dave Bidini is in great banter mode, which is no surprise really.

He first starts talking after track six.  “Nice to see you again, you’ve all age well.”  After welcoming everyone he jokes “Really tonight’s about hooking up.  Last night as a bit of a meat market.”  This causes Martin to ask, incredulously, “you’re kidding.”

Upon introducing the record properly he says that this was “music commissioned 20 years ago–remember 1995?”  Someone shouts “Don’t forget the vinyl, Dave.”  So he jokes, “We’ve only been inactive for 8 years and in that time vinyl has made a resurgence.”

They only performed this album “four times over the course of their speckled career.”  Interesting that they will do it three more over the next three nights.

So that leaves the bonus tracks.  The first night they played four: “Claire,” “Easy To Be With You,” “Christopher” and “Horses.”

Before starting “Claire” there’s a little down time so Dave introduces Kevin Hearn and asks him what his favorite snack is.  Kevin: “Have you heard of ants on a log?”  Dave says his is a Cadbury Crunchy bar which “lasts a half hour if you nurse it.” MT: “What kind of chocolate bar eater are you?”  Then Dave asks, “Shall we go around the horn?” to much laughter.  He speculates, “Tim’s gonna say …”  But Tim says “home-grown carrots” which elicits an “ewww.”  Dave says, Tim you’ve changed so.”

As they start “Claire,” Martin introduces Hugh Marsh on the violin.  He says that at the first concert he ever went to Hugh was playing with Bruce Cockburn and now they are very very very close friends.”  He then mentions their other band, Nick Buzz (which Hugh plays in) and he says Nick Buzz “only played four gigs on our career.”  “Claire” is played wonderfully.  They talk about it being kind of obvious (“interesting because it’s totally obvious”) that they’d play it.  But “Easy to Be with You” a track from Harmelodia is a pretty surprising choice–a popular song sure, but certainly not a huge one.  Before the song, he sings Happy Birthday to him mom: “Happy birthday to Sheila / Happy birthday to my mom / She’s 75 years old  / and she’s standing right there.”  In the middle of the song Bidini comments that Stephen Harper is not the Prime Minster of Harmelodia (indeed, he is not).

Dave asks is anyone under the age of 7 is there.  Kevin says: “My dad’s here.”  Dave asks, “Is he a leap year baby?”  Then Kevin explains that it is his dad who is reading the “Tall White Pine” poem.  Then they ask Don if he has any family there.  Don says “All of them.” Dave says “Don’s four families are here.”

The Jeff Robson recording has some weird digital feedback and static.  It’s mostly during the chatting parts, but it does impact the songs a little.  There’s some static on “Christopher,” but otherwise it sounds pretty good.

Before “Horses”someone asks “who should we vote for?” Dave says “Never listen to a pop star when it comes to politics.  Tomorrow will be political night.”

And “Horses” is a dynamite version, notable mostly for the fact that Bidini doesn’t do a spoken word section in the middle of the song (keeping it unpolitical).

01. One (Kevin’s Waltz)   1:47
02. Two (Earth (Almost))   7:33
03. Three (Boxcar Song (Weiners and Beans))   6:16
04. Four (Landscape And Sky)   0:42
05. Five (Blue Hysteria)   4:33
06. Six (Cello For A Winter’s Day)   6:01
07. Chat   5:40
08. Seven (Northern Wish)   5:35
09. Eight (Snow)   1:18
10. Nine (Biplanes and Bombs)   6:13
11. Ten (Lightning)   6:30
12. Eleven (Yellow Days Under A Lemon Sun)   4:50
13. Clarie Intro   1:21
14. Claire   4:47
15. Chat   2:56
16. Easy To Be With You   3:32
17. Chat   3:19
18. Christopher   6:08
19. Horses   8:07

[READ: August 19, 2016] “Never Too Late”

The July/August Summer Reading Issue of The Walrus has a theme of “Love and Lust.”  The theme promised to be a bit more upbeat than the darker stories in the last few issues.

Bev is a man who is long divorced.  He couldn’t provide his wife with children so she left him.  He doesn’t seem very bitter about it and is even still friendly with her as well as her new husband and their children.

Bev owns a farm–he has some horses and cows.  On a cold morning in April, a strange dog appears on his property.  It’s a friendly dog but he wants to get it to its owner so he brings it into town and learns that it belongs to Janice and  “She loses her [dog] at least once a week.”

He goes to Janice’s house and she is very happy that Bev found “Keller.”  He brings the dog upstairs to her place and is surprised to see that she is in an electric wheelchair.  He notices that she is too young to be in it due to age.  And, she’s also very attractive. (more…)

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Mona Awad–“Bye Judy and Good Luck” (The Walrus, July/August 2016)

Posted in Art Gallery of Ontario, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Culture Shock, Drinking, Group of 7, Holidays, Humiliation, Martin Tielli, Mona Awad, Rheostatics, Sex, Short Story, The Walrus, tagged on September 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

julyaugSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS (Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON, September 3, 2015–surprise show).

06Sep2015Almost exactly one year ago, my family traveled to Toronto as a mini-vacation.  The impetus was my scoring tickets to see The Rheostatics live for the first for me (and potentially–but not in reality–last) time.

They had called it quits 8 years earlier and were reuniting for the 20th Anniversary of their Group of 7 album–a soundtrack of sorts that was created to celebrate the works of the great Group of 7 artists.  They were scheduled to perform three nights at the Art Gallery of Toronto.  The night before their first show, Thursday the 3rd, there was a tribute show and the Rheos made a surprise appearance.

They played half of the Group of 7 album and a few encores.  The sound is a bit muted but is pretty clear.

The opening track, ” One (Kevin’s Waltz)” is played by Kevin Hearn and sounds great.  For the first proper band song, “Two (Earth (Almost))” they sound tight but maybe a little stiff in the bah bahs.  “Three (Boxcar Song (Weiners and Beans))” is a loose song and the band sounds great. Although I cannot believe that people are talking during the song–especially during Martin’s singing of “Five (Blue Hysteria)” the first time Martin has sung in years!

“Six (Cello For A Winter’s Day)” is usually a noisy/jazzy number.  The recording is a little too muffled to hear details, but the song sounds good, especially Martin’s guitar workout at the end. After this, they skip a few songs and go right to the end, with Kevin’s “Eleven (Yellow Days Under A Lemon Sun).”  Kevin’s voice sounds a little rough I must say.

And then they take time for a little chat with Dave, in which he says “We used to be the Rheostatics.”  And before returning to the album, he says “We’re here for three more night, try the veal.”

For “Northern Wish,” Don Kerr is on cello Tim is on upright bass, and it sounds great, a really beautiful version.

“You guys bought the cheap tickets, eh?  We’re gonna cheapen up this next song for you.  Martin comments “Let’s get fucking cheap.”  They’ll do one more song.  Dave says The other shows will be longer.  “But they’re fucking sold out–Stubhub, folks.”

Martin thanks Kristine Peters and clonazepam [ a seizure medicine, also called an anti-epileptic drug].  Dave jokes, “that’s Martin’s old band.”

As they play a gorgeous Saskatchewan, Dave notes, that it’s their “First time playing together in 8 years.”  Martin plays a slightly off chord and then comments “It’s been a long time.”  But his guitar sounds amazing throughout.

Before the final song, David says “because we can’t stop playing we’re gonna do one more–we gotta catch the last street car (someone in the audience yells “too late.”)  There are the perennial requests for “Horses” with someone shouting “Holy Mackinaw Joe,” but instead they play “Legal Age Life, with Paul Linklater (who played in the tribute show) to play some guitar.

I’m including the setlists from each night mostly for the duration of the songs–they did some versions longer than others, but were mostly right on time–(and to compare encore selections).

01. One (Kevin’s Waltz)   1:47
02. Two (Earth (Almost))   7:14
03. Three (Boxcar Song (Weiners and Beans))   6:47
04. Four (Landscape And Sky)   0:51
05. Five (Blue Hysteria)   3:43
06. Six (Cello For A Winter’s Day)   6:08
07. Eleven (Yellow Days Under A Lemon Sun)   3:32
08. Chat   1:09
09. Seven (Northern Wish)   5:25
10. Encore Chat   2:19
11. Saskatchewan   8:05
12. Encore Chat   1:35
13. Legal Age Life At Variety Store   4:14

[READ: August 19, 2016] “Bye Judy and Good Luck”

The July/August Summer Reading Issue of The Walrus has a theme of “Love and Lust.”  The theme promised to be a bit more upbeat than the darker stories in the last few issues.

This is the story about “Fun-Sized” Judy.  She’s called “Fun-Sized” because of her height: “she’s no more than four-foot eleven, probably twice as wide.”  And, most importantly “None of us would ever fuck her, but we all agree she’s a riot.”

The “none of us” part is interesting because the whole story is written in second person.  as the song progresses it’s unclear if the “we” refers to a group (at times it seems like it) or a single person speaking as a group (which seems more likely at the end).

So despite her unattractiveness, Judy is enjoyed by just about everyone: Judy is a lot of fun, “one of the reasons we love her…. she never knows what she’s thinking.” (more…)

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Sean Michaels–“The Rainbow Festival” (The Walrus, June 2016)

Posted in Art Gallery of Ontario, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Casey Mecija, Chris Cummings, Culture Shock, Group of 7, Holidays, Laura Barrett, Martin Tielli, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Mike O'Brien, Rheostatics, Sandro Perri, Sean Michaels, Short Story, Terra Lightfoot, The Walrus, Waiting, tagged on September 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

walrus huneSOUNDTRACK: Rheostatics Tribute Show (AGO, September 3, 2015).

06Sep2015Almost exactly one year ago, my family traveled to Toronto as a mini-vacation.  The impetus was my scoring tickets to see The Rheostatics live for the first for me (and potentially–but not in reality–last) time.

They had called it quits 8 years earlier and were reuniting for the 20th Anniversary of their Group of 7 album–a soundtrack of sorts that was created to celebrate the works of the great Group of 7 artists.  They were scheduled to perform three nights at the Art Gallery of Toronto.  The night before their first show, Thursday the 3rd, there was a tribute show.

As the Rheostatics live site explains:

Thursday night was sponsored by First Thursdays at the AGO. The theme was Music Inspired by Rheostatics and featured a band of musicians comprised of Paul Linklater (Guitar), Thom Gill (Guitar), Phil Millotson (Drums), Charles James (Bass), and a series of guest vocalists including Laura Barrett (The Hidden Cameras), Terra Lightfoot, Casey Mecija (Ohbijou), Mike O’Brien (Zeus), Chris Cummings, Sandro Perri, plus a special performance by Canadian folk legend Mary Margaret O’Hara.

The site has the show available for download with the caveat: “Sound for both shows is a bit crackly in places and lots of crowd noise.”

So yes, the sound isn’t great (the AGO isn’t meant for concerts, anyhow), but it’s still a fun listen.  Although as a friend of mine once said about tribute albums–they sure do make you appreciate the original band more.

And that’s definitely the case here.  It’s hard to know if the lack of intensity is from the recording or if the band was simply playing more delicate versions of the songs.  The energy is missing on a lot of the versions–or maybe they just couldn’t do what the band can.

They start with “Who,” an unexpected but delightful choice.  Their version is a little slow, as most of the songs seem to be, and they leave off those last two drum snaps, but it’s still a fun thing to hear.  Then the guest vocalists proceed. Terra Lightfoot, no relation to Gordon, sings over a rather slow and somewhat undramatic version of “Northern Wish.”  In the original, I love when they really rock, but that doesn’t ever seem to happen here.

Casey Mecija sings “Claire.”  There are some interesting vocals and I like the way the song seems to start new wavy at first, but it turns a little smooth jazzy by the end.

“We Went West” is sung by Mike O Brien.  It’s quite similar to the original, although I actually like it a little better somehow–the words are a little clearer, I think.  Chris Cummings plays the unexpected Martin Tielli solo song “From the Reel.”  It is quite lovely and his voice is deeper than Martin’s allowing you to hear the words a little better.

Laura Barrett plays “Stolen Car” with amazingly operatic vocals.  It sounds great in the “I’ll be okay!” line but it seems to take a lot of the intensity out of the song because it doesn’t rise and fall like the original.

Mary Margaret O’ Hara comes out to thunderous applause.  MMOH is pretty crazy in general and she walks out and says.  “You people smell…nice.”  I would love to hear a better recording of this version of “Rock Death America” (and would have loved even more to have seen it).  She seems to be channeling her old spirits as she wails the lyrics.  She slips in a chorus or two of “They dont give a fuck about anybody else.”  Then she starts ranting about “the land of the free and the home of the brave amerikkkkkkkkkkkkah.”  It’s intense and I can only imagine how great it was to see.

Then Constellation guitarist Sandro Perri plays a sweet and slow “Take Me in Your Hand” apparently with MMOH (although I don’t hear her).  They play the melody on a penny whistle at the end, which is fun.

And then MMOH stays out to do a kind of long version of “Bad Time to Be Poor” (she seems to be mostly doing backing vocals and keening).  The version is a little too slow for my tastes, but is otherwise cool.

At the end of the set, someone mentions that the Rheos are going to come out and test out a few songs on everyone.  Lucky bastards.

Since the whole family was with me, I wasn’t going to go to this tribute show, although I have to admit it would have been very cool to see MMOH (who I assume I’ll never see) and to get the surprise Rheos show.

[READ: August 19, 2016] “The Rainbow Festival”

The last few stories that I’ve read in The Walrus have been real downers.  And this story had as a summary blurb: “in which a family waits for the joy that never comes”  What the hell The Walrus?

But with such a dour hint, this story wasn’t as miserable as it could have been.  I do wish that that line hadn’t been there though, because it did spoil the truth (which was not the end, but whatever).

This story is about a little boy who grew up in small town which was sometimes very large.  He lived in Malin a town that hosted the Malin Hering-Gutting Festival every June.  And during that festival their small town was overrun with fishermen and tourists.   His mother turned their house in to a B&B and she seemed really happy when the house was full of people.  (Her husband had died on a fishing boat some time ago and their house was way too big for just her and her son). (more…)

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Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham–Veronica Mars Mr. Kiss and Tell (2015)

Posted in Adventure, Arnold Schoenberg, Canadian Music, Funny (ha ha), Hugh Marsh, Jacques Brel, Jennifer Graham, Marriage Trouble, Martin Tielli, Nick Buzz, Noir, Rheostatics, Rob Thomas, Sex, Veronica Mars, Violence, Yuck!, tagged on December 3, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ktelkSOUNDTRACK: NICK BUZZ-Lula Lounge, Toronto ,ON (Mar 23 2011).

NickBuzz-23Mar2011-1There is only one Nick Buzz concert at Rheostaticslive (although there are a number of videos online from an earlier show (from Dec 9, 2010) which could be turned into an audio download, I’m sure.

Anyhow, this show occurred nearly two years before the release of the (thus far) final Nick Buzz album.  It’s interesting that there are some songs that will appear on that album performed here (and there is no mention of it, of course).

As with many of the Tielli solo shows, the band plays songs from Nick Buzz, from Tielli’s solo albums, and even two Rheostatics albums.  But this is primarily a Nick Buzz performance (with Tielli, Goldsmith, Marsh and Piltch).  What I find interesting is that I believe that Martin is only singing (maybe a guitar here or there?) with Pitch on guitar, Goldsmith on piano and Marsh on violin and effects.  It’s a very different dynamic (no drummer!) and really changes the nature of some of these songs.

“Just Because” is a beautiful ballad.  It’s sightly more raucous than on the record, but still sounds beautiful.  Tielli’s solo song “I’ll Never Tear You Apart” sounds very different from the record–the awesome guitar line has been simplified and there’s a piano now.  In fact, piano is the main instrument for most of these songs, which is quite different.

The band then plays three of the four songs from the Arnold Schoenberg record (Martin says he should put on gloves as this is forensic music that’s over 100 years old).  They also sound great–I love they way they can recreate the weirdness from that short album.

When he introduces “Eliza” he says the music is by Schubert, although I don’t believe that is the case (unless the intro is).

In explaining “Milchig” he says that it’s about a dwarf-like creature who taught him “the relax.”  “The relax” is how they describe it in Italy (he wishes he had learned more Italian as a kid but he was too obstinate).

“Spilling the Wonderful” is not as dramatic as on the record–it’s a bit smoother but still really good.  And for “That’s What You Get for Having Fun,” a song which he has played in almost every solo concert, they really pare it down–it’s nowhere near as raucous.

The band goes for a cigarette break for 15 minutes and then comes back with “Beauty On” and the funny moment where Martin sings the intro, “I hate you all.”  When he gets to the “Are you with me Cincinnati are you ready to rock?” rather than singing it, he slurs it.  It’s a great effect.

The only song not on another album is “Now That I’m a Railroad Boy” which was done by John Southwith.  It’s a pretty ballad that fits in perfectly with the other songs.  “The House with Laughing Windows” and “Uncle Bumbo’s Christmas’ sound fanatic live.  And then they play the fourth Schoenberg song “Galathea” which Martin says is his favorite.

“Farmer in the city” has been my least favorite Tielli recording, but this version is fantastic.  It starts on piano and has melodies provided by the violin. Rather than being elliptical and standoffish, this new arrangement really brings you in with some lovely Marsh melodies.  Then the play “Love Streams.”  Martin says that their take on the record was the first time they played it.  It’s gorgeous!  This version is quite different with more violin up front.

“Sane, So Sane” adds a drum machine which is a surprise but a very welcomed one. It really picks up the tempo of the show and creates wonderful new textures.

For their last song Martin says “we’re going to confound you with this one.”  It’s a Jacques Brel song, “If You Go Away.”  It’s not unlike on the future record–slow and pretty.

When they come back out for the encore, Martin says they have played their entire repertoire.  He seems at a loss for what to play so they play a lovely version of “Take Me in Your Hand,” and a shockingly different version of “Shaved Head.”

Check it out here.

The setlist for that 2010 YouTube show is quite similar: Spilling the Wonderful, That’s What You Get For Having Fun, Just Because, Gigerlette, Persian Kitty, Boom, Hymn to the Situation, Milchig, Eliza, L’astronaut [a hilarious explanation of what the song is about], The House with the Laughing Windows, Sane So Sane, Love Streams, Uncle Bumbo [Martin on bass], If You Go Away

[READ: July 12, 2015] Mr Kiss and Tell

I loved Veronica Mars.  The show was great.  We supported the Kickstarter.  And I was pretty psyched when the first post TV show novel came out.  But I never actually read it.  It is still sitting on my shelf (Sarah really liked it).

Well, Sarah got this one from the library and since it was due back soon I decided to push it to the front.  The good news vis a vis the previous book is that they are unrelated.  The better news is that this book follows up the events of the movie!  And it has a new mystery as well.

The new mystery involves a man who has raped a woman and left her for dead. As with any good mystery there are dozens of twists and turns.  And Veronica is not willing to let go.  Unlike the TV show, this mystery lasts for months.  She is fairly certain she has a suspect and even manages to get some DNA but his “confession” reveals a whole new twist to the story that Veronica was not expecting and which really undermines her case. (more…)

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Dave Eggers–The Circle (2013)

Posted in Canadian Music, Cigarettes, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Dave Eggers, Funny (ha ha), Hugh Marsh, Joni Mitchell, Martin Tielli, Morality, Nick Buzz, Rheostatics, Sex, Technology, The Future on November 30, 2015| Leave a Comment »

eggersSOUNDTRACK: NICK BUZZ-Circo (1996).

nickbuzzMartin Tielli has been prolific both as a solo artist and with his “side project” Nick Buzz (named after his love of smokes).

Nick Buzz’ first album came out in 1996 (during a time when the Rheos had just wrapped up their album The Blue Hysteria) and was ignored.  It was reissued in 2002 to a bit more fanfare.  I reviewed it once before and while I thought I was more dismissive of it then, it turns out that I wasn’t.  That I enjoyed it and felt mostly the same as I do now.

“Spilling The Wonderful” starting out with a mellow piano intro, the song jars into a noisy/drunken waltz melody and a violin solo before returning to the cabaret/waltz style that opened the song. It is deliriously catchy. The song ends with some tape manipulation before seguing into “That’s What You Get For Having Fun.” This song opens with some slapped and scratchy guitar sounds with a refrain of “there’s a monkey in my underwear.”  There’s a super catchy guitar riff that is sung along to—this song really shines live.

“Just Because” mellows things down a lot, with a jazzy sounding guitar and Martin’s delicate vocals.  The music for his one was written by pianist Jon Goldsmith which might explain the mellowness. It’s a sweet ballad.  Although the segue after this song is some clips from the radio (possibly sung by Tielli?) which are distant and crackling.   There’s a saxophone playing as well.   This merges into an announcer introducing the band for their (live) cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River.” It’s a beautiful, delicate version with Hugh Marsh’s electric violin solo swirling around.

Some dissonant sax segues into Sane So Sane which is actually a pretty gentle piano song. They play with the recording sound as the drums get muffled and dense and there’s more backing vocals thrown over the top.  But it remains largely conventional.  “Hymn to the Situation” is a creaky somewhat creepy song that Martin described as being about a self-centered jerk. who says things like “I’d suicide for you.” There’s a canned crowd cheering at a particularly funny line and even a cow mooing as the song ends

“Fornica Tango” is a wild weird song.  It is tango (Tielli speaks Italian), but the rhythm is kept by a squeaky sound (which is likely Marsh’s violin).  The song is interrupted throughout by a crying baby or, even stranger, a screeching chimpanzee (fornica translates as ant). The song ends with some crazy sounds from Marsh’s electronic violin.  The highlight of the record is “Love Streams’ a beautiful ballad based largely around a piano melody and Marsh’ keening violin. It’s followed by “Aliens break a heat” which is more tape manipulation and all kinds of weird effects (backward vocals I believe) for 2 minutes. Until it’s replaced by sounds of traffic (European) and horns honking.

The final song is the amusing “The Italian Singer/Just Because I’m Nick The Buzz” It starts slowly with some plucked strings and Tielli’s voice. There’s some spoken sections and lots of staccato music until the gentle ending which resumes the melody from “Just Because.”

It’s a peculiar album but one that gets better with each listen (and hearing him play some of these songs live has really introduced new aspects of them to me.

[READ: October 10, 2015] The Circle

I put this book off for a while but with no real reason for doing so.  And I’m sorry I waited so long because the book is really good–it’s thought-provoking and questions a lot of established ideas but is also really kind of fun and utopian.

What’s most impressive to me about the way the book is written is that the story itself is really quite simple.  It is a gradual building up of intensity.  At the end of which the main character has to make a decision which proves to be very important both for her and everyone else.

The story is about Mae.  Mae had been working at a dull and dispiriting job in civil service at her home town.  The job was dull, the people were dull, there was zero energy in the place and even her boss was depressing.  It sucked.  She had been there for 18 months and when her boss joked about her getting a promotion, she’d about had it.

She contacted her friend Annie.  Annie was her college roommate and boon companion for a few years.  And Annie worked at The Circle, the coolest most awesome place in the country to work at–think google, but better).  Was there any way that Annie could help out Mae?  Indeed there was.  Annie got Mae a job at The Circle, just like that.  Annie was one of the Top 40, the influential crowd at The Circle and Mae was in (her first day is hilarious, because Annie plays a wonderful prank on her). (more…)

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H.G. Watt–The Importance of Manners (2015)

Posted in End of the World, Etiquette, Evelyn Waugh, Fraud, Funny (ha ha), H.G. Watt, Hande Zapsu Watt, Humiliation, Marriage Trouble, Martin Tielli, Myths, Nick Buzz, P.G. Wodehouse, Religion, Rheostatics, Sex, Sexism, Short Books, Surreal, War, Yuck!, tagged on November 24, 2015| 2 Comments »

mannersSOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Hugh’s Room Toronto, ON (September 27, 2009).

hughsThis is the final solo show from Martin Tielli on the Rheostaticslive site.  And it’s a great final show.  The sound quality is excellent and the crowd is also really into it.

Martin says that it is the fourth show ever with this band which includes Martin Tielli – vocals, guitar
Selina Martin – acoustic guitar, vocals, bowed saw
Monica Guenter – piano, synth, viola, vocals
Greg Smith – bass, vocals
Ryan Granville-Martin – drums, vocals, glockenspiel

(That’s a lot of Martins).

They open with a Rheostatics song, “Dead is the Drunkest You Can get,” a mellow song that works really well and has outstanding backing vocals from Selina and Monica.  Then they play two Nick Buzz songs, “That’s What You Get for Having Fun” and “Love Streams.”

“Something Wild” introduces a lot of vocoder–his vocals sound very different from on the Danny Gross record.  “Underbrush” is very slow and dramatic.

There’s something about this band that really brings out the best of these songs.  “Voices from the Wilderness” is lovely and “I’ll Never Tear You Apart” is also lovely, done in a slower tempo.  Although Martin keeps correcting himself when he messes up the words.

When they get to “Hymn to the Situation” (an old Nick Buzz song) he says it was an audience request and he thought it was funny.  He asks that the audience cheer wildly when he says the word “axe” (which is what happens on the record).  His description of the song is very funny, saying that it is about love.  Not sex, which is disgusting and which is all you hear in the media.  He concludes, “Never confuse the savory and the sweet.”  The song is played entirely on the piano.

“Saskatchewan” is great.  Big and loud.  Although Martin plays some amazingly bad chords at the end of the song–presumably intentionally.  The guitar solo is played on a violin, which is also pretty neat.

The set list says that the song “Our Keepers” was supposed to be next, but it is not included.  Indeed, the set ends with “Saskatchewan” making this show only 55 minutes.  Nevertheless, it’s a great recording and a wonderful spanning of Martin’s solo career.

[READ: October 10, 2015] The Importance of Manners

I found this book at work and was intrigued by the blurb: a Dali-esque fable, and that it was “in the vein of Evelyn Waugh and PG Wodehouse.”  I was committed to the book when I saw that the print was huge and that the chapters were really short.  Not the best recommendation for reading a book, but if you’re looking for quick read, those are some good markers.

The story is a travelogue farce that involves religion, sex, more religion, death and the end of the world.

There are several main characters, although I suppose the main protagonist is Burt Darwin.  Darwin is concerned for his afterlife and he cycles through a different religion multiple times during the day to make sure he has all of his bases covered.  He also keeps a journal in which he must tell the truth because this will lead to a successful afterlife (according to some healer or another).

We next meet Lady Chanel Malory.  Chanel was a hand model, is quite pretty and is looking for adventure (sexual if possible).  But she is married to Lord Percy, an old stuck up aristocrat who says all the things you’d expect someone like him to say.  He also believes that Lady Chanel is French and she is happy to play up the charade of being French for most of the story (it cracks briefly).  The final main character is Sister Mary.  She is an exiled nun, but she dresses like Mother Theresa, blesses everything and everyone and considers everything including flossing to be blasphemous.

They are all on a cruise ship traveling to Africa (you can probably see already the kinds of jokes and scenes that are going to appear).  They meet angry Kings (one who calls Lord Percy “Hitler”), they meet a talking (at least to us) snake who is mad to be stepped on, we encounter Vodun gods (and sellers of Authentic African knickknacks (most likely made in China) and a spell that makes Sister Mary forget that she is a nun and remember the past that brought her there.

There’s even a couple of authorial interruptions.

While most of the book is made of comic episodes (and some are indeed very funny) there are also some intriguing subplots.  Like Lady Chanel’s connection to pirates (which is sadly never explored fully), there’s even the exorcism of a demon.

Oh, and there’s someone who is about to set off a nuclear bomb destined to blow up the whole word.  Although none of our cast know that, somehow one of them saves the entire world.

H.G. Watt is also known as Hande Zapsu Watt.  She was born in Istanbul but now lives in Scotland.  According to some information, she has published four more novels and four children’s books which have all been translated into several languages, but I can’t find any of them.

So this book was a little broad, with some fairly easy targets, and yet I enjoyed it quite a bit.  There was a lot that made me laugh including  the acknowledgments in which she thanks her editor “who edited all the way to page 42 before writing in the margin: “umm, isn’t this a bit racist?”  [The book is, but it attacks everyone mercilessly, so no one need feel singled out].

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Dave Bidini–Home and Away: One Writer’s Inspiring Experience at the Homeless World Cup (2011)

Posted in Aerosmith, Africa, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Charity, Cheap Trick, Culture Shock, Dave Bidini, Dave Bidini music, Drugs, Homeless World Cup, Rheostatics, Russia, Travel, tagged on November 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

homeawaySOUNDTRACK: DAVE BIDINI—The Paramount Moncton, NB [audience & soundboard recordings] (July 29, 2007).

monct This final show has two different recordings at the Rheostaticslive site, an audience recording and a soundboard. The soundboard recording is cleaner and I suppose better, but the audience recording is a little more fun because you can hear the audience responding to Bidini’s comments and jokes.

For the reading he asks if people want London or Finland, and so he reads Finland.  He reads the funny story about trying to get a cheap 30 pound flight to anywhere only to get hit with a huge fine for having too much stuff.  The section ends with a funny moment when a Finnish audience member compliments him:  Your voice is excellent!  Dave is excited since that’s not something he hears to often.  The man follows up with: “You pronounce English very well.”

He plays seven songs all on acoustic guitar.  Three of the songs are Rheostatics classics: “Fat,” “Me and Stupid” and “My First Rock Show.” I feel like hearing “Me and Stupid” in this setting really let me get the lyrics better–I never really understood the middle section. All three songs sound good in this format.

The “solo” songs are the same four: “Song Ain’t Good,” “The List” “The Land is Wild” and “The Ballad of Zeke Roberts.”

While talking to the crowd he mentions seeing signs on the road: “Free PEI Spuds for Cheap Trick” and “Red Sox nation welcomes Aerosmith.”  He mentioned them in the previous days’ show as well, but in this show it sounds like someone claims to have written them (or at least seen them) but we never learn what they are all about.

He sounds great and the audience is responsive.  Of the three, I like this show the best.

[READ: November 10, 2015] Home and Away

My triumvirate of Bidini books ended with this one.

I had never heard of the Homeless World Cup (which is kind of the point of the book, that no one has).  But as you can imagine, knowing that that’s what this book is about you can be prepared for a pretty sad book.

Bidini follows a small group (4 players, including one woman) of Canadian homeless soccer players as they travel to Australia to play in the 2008 Homeless World Cup.

We meet the four players on the Canadian team and learn all about how they became homeless (a variety of reasons, but drugs feature prominently).  These people were able to get above their bad situation, most of them through the joy of playing soccer–a cheap game even for the homeless.

The Homeless World Cup gathers homeless players from around the world to play in small venues on a small pitch. (more…)

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Dave Bidini–The Best Game You Can Name (2005)

Posted in Africa, Alun Piggins, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Culture Shock, Dave Bidini, Dave Bidini music, Drinking, History, Hockey, Hockey Night in Canada, Rheostatics, Russia, Sonic Unyon, Teeth, The Wombats, Toronto Maple Leafs, Travel, Violence, Yuck! on November 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

 ganeSOUNDTRACK: DAVE BIDINI-The President of Mount Allison’s House, Sackville (July 28, 2007).

allisonUntil I looked it up, I didn’t know what Mount Allison was, nor why he would be playing at the President’s house.  I’m still not sure why he was playing there, but as part of his solo mini tour, Dave graced the beautiful house.

For this show he read for 17 minutes and played 5 songs.  He plays “My First Rock Show” as the only Rheos song.  And then plays the same four “new” songs as in yesterday’s post: “Song Ain’t Good,” “The List” “The Land is Wild” and “The Ballad of Zeke Roberts.”

He explains the Zeke Roberts song a bit more.   He spent a few days in Ghana and went to a Liberian refugee camp (all documented in the book Around the World in 57 1/2 Gigs) which is how he learned about Zeke Roberts.

He talks about staying locally in the Marshland Inn and the scary doll in his room (and also how he hopes to have his picture among the famous people who have stayed there).

For the reading portion he talks about the guys he played with in China: Alun Piggins, drummer Jay Santiago and guitarist Dwayne Gale.  He talks about the scene where they get massages (very funny).  There’s another excerpt in which they meet some people on the street where a baby is playing with a lighter.  The band starts taking pictures and then—eventually one of the adults puts an unlit cigarette in the baby’s mouth, and much hilarity ensues.

Overall though, this reading gets pretty dark as he gets into fight with Jay about Rush, and he feels bad that the Rheos had broken up especially when he sees the up and coming band The Wombats loving their set.

As for the music in this set, it is too loud and peaks a lot in the recording.  There also seems to be a hornet pestering him.  It’s probably the least interesting of the three shows.

[READ: November 7, 2015] The Best Game You Can Name.

This book is about hockey.  Specifically it is about Bidini’s rec team the Morningstars and their quest for another championship (and how after winning two years in a row, they were the main target for all the other teams).  Much like how his book On a Cold Road included quotes and stories from musicians, this book includes quotes and stories from former NHL players (I didn’t really recognize any of their names, but then I wasn’t a hockey fan in the 70s and 80s).

So each chapter talks a bit about his team and then has several stories about a specific topic from the hockey guys.

He begins by talking about his athletic renaissance in his 40s (after having given up on professional hockey).  I enjoyed the stories from the hockey players who loved playing so much as kids that they would spend hours and hours and hours on the ice.  I also liked them saying that you could still become a pro if you only started playing at 15 unlike today when kids are starting at age 5. (more…)

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