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Posts Tagged ‘rheoslive’

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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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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Jesse Armstrong–Love, Sex & Other Foreign Policy Goals (2015)

Posted in Charity, Funny (ha ha), Guns, Humiliation, Instant Klazzix, Jesse Armstrong, Martin Tielli, Neil Young, Peep Show, Political Humor, Queen, Selina Martin, Sex, Smog, Threats, Travel, Violence, War, tagged on November 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

jessee SOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Operation Infinite Joy (2003).

oijThis was Martin Tielli’s second solo album and the first disc in his Subscription Series.  Basically, you paid up front and were guaranteed four discs from the man.  Each disc came in a cool metal box, with artwork on the outside and gorgeous artwork in the booklet.  This disc was also available commercially, but I believe the other three were never made available.

This album is really lovely–lots of epic, dramatic moments, with sweeping guitars and choirs.  It’s a real testament to Martin’s songwriting and playing chops.  Although interestingly, Martin is a guitar guy and this album has a lot of piano (from Ford Pier I believe).

The disc opens with “Beauty On” which has some fanfare and a grand introduction about the rock singer who shouts, “Are you with me, Cincinnati are you ready to rock???!!” and a pause and a quietly spoken, “i am not.”  When playing this song live he often left out that intro and simply included the piano melody and the second part of the song.

“OK by Me” has a jaunty feel as it opens.  It has a simple but ornery guitar riff which morphs into several different things in this five-minute song.  There’s an acoustic guitar bridge that gives way to a chorus of voices and then the main verse melody line.  It’s catchy and meandering at the same time.  After the line “I’m playing guitar with all my dinosaurs and me” he busts out  wild raging guitar solo that sounds uncannily like Queen.

“The Temperance Society Choir” is another great dramatic song, with a choir (naturally) and some wonderful harmony vocals.  It also features lead vocals by Selina Martin for the opening lines.  There’s some great guitar and bass sounds in it (mixed low in the mix) and the wonderful lines: “All those in favor just say Aye.”  “Aye!”  “All those opposed just say no.” (pause, quietly) “no.”  It even features an old style piano interlude.

“Segeant Kraulis” is a weird song with lots of great sections.  It opens with a vocoder’d voice saying it is 60238 in the narcotics division.  After several sections, there’s a super catchy chorus, and then a noisy section with presumably Sgt Kraulis screaming “make me visible, you fuckers.”  The last section of the song devolves into a  kind of reggae section with all kinds of glitchy sounds and the repeated declaration, “We were opening packages we did not know the contents of.”

“Andy by the Lake” is the first of Martin’s longer, quieter songs.  Like some of the songs on his first solo album this song is quiet and meandering although the spikes of drama (thunder, lightning) are much welcomed.  The most conventional song on the album is a cover of Smog’s “Cold Blooded Old Times.”  I like the original but there’s something about the way Martin does it that I think is even better–the bassline is great (not present on the original).  I love Bill Callahan’s delivery on the original, but Martin makes it more dramatic (surprise).

“Winnipeg” is a great long song with multiple parts.  It’s got a fantastic intro on bells or vibes (when the wind blows, 50 below) and then shifts into a Neil Young-esque epic.  It features the interesting line “I’ve had cole slaw.”  (Cole slaw also was mentioned on his first solo record). I love the chorus of vocals singing the “ahhhha” before “any day.”  There are so many parts to this song that when people first started recording it live before it was released, I saw three different possible titles for it.

“Waterstriders” is another slower song but the intricate guitar lines are gorgeous throughout.  It’s a great chance for Martin to create all kinds of interesting sounds over a simple rhythm.

“Ship of Fire” also has a Neil Young feel–especially when the intro guitar comes in over the bass.  This song also has many parts and is a pretty fascinating story.  There’s a recurring section about a boy across the Atlantic that is very trippy.  But the lyrics are dark.  There’s also a really noisy section that builds in drama until the final concluding chorus and roaring, guitar-fueled outro.

“Kathleen” ends the disc as a delicate ballad.  I really like this disc a lot.  It’s my favorite of Martin’s solo records and is just an all around great album (with amazing artwork in the booklet).

The Subscription Series disc features two bonus tracks.  “National Pride” which is simple but nice.  And “Diamonds on Our Toes” which is a great song with a fantastic end section and the bizarre screams of “I play electric guitar!”  Both of these tracks come from the Instant Klazzix session which you can download on Rheostatics live.   The versions here have been remixed by martin.

I can’t find all that much out about Instant Klazzix, but there is stuff online about the “group.”  One of these days I’ll post about it.

[READ: June 10, 2015] Love, Sex & Other Foreign Policy Goals

This book was written by a writer of the British comedy Peep Show, which I liked a lot.  However, this book is not very funny (I don’t think it is supposed to be very funny).  Rather, this book falls into the “how far would you go to win a girl” category.  And it wonders if you would go all the way to war-torn Bosnia?

For narrator Andrew, if the girl is smoking hot Penny, then the answer is yes.

Andrew is a middle class working guy.  He is part of the Department of Works, although he’s not glamorous like the real construction guys–he’s more of a gopher.  He has been dating Helen for quite some time.  But he’s quite sure that she is cheating on him.

One night he meets a bunch of students.  They are radical and interesting, and Andrew enjoys their company.  Then they start talking about the problems in Yugoslavia (the book is set in 1994).  They decide that they should drive to Bosnia, bring some aid and, yes, put on a play that will blow everyone’s minds and stop the war. (more…)

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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–Around the World in 57 1/2 Gigs (2013)

Posted in Airbag, Ben Folds Five, Bob Log III, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Celtic Blue, Chris Brown, Cleaning Women, Culture Shock, Dave Bidini, Dirt Star, Everclear, Forever, History, Hockey, Hockey Night in Canada, Ice Fire and Rain, Jane Siberry, Jordan Cook, Kate Fenner, Kingston Wall, Morganfields, Radiohead, Regrets, Rheostatics, Rush, Russia, Shuffle Demons, Sirkus Kosmonautti, Sons of Maxwell, Sophie B. Hawkins, Stompin' Tom Connors, Stradio, Super Girls, The Diodes, The Quitters, Tim Horton's, Travel, Wendel Clark, tagged on November 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

S57OUNDTRACK: DAVE BIDINI-The Upstairs, Sydney, Nova Scotia (July 26, 2007).

sydneyAfter the Rheostatics broke up, Dave Bidini did a solo tour and then wrote a book about it.  This is that book.  And this show is from the mini-tour he did as promotion for the book.  I don’t know too many details about this tour.

I wrote notes about these shows before I read the book (which I recently found and tread).  But I’m going to leave in some of the notes I took about the audio portion for posterity.

I gather he was in town to promote his book and was invited to do a few shows as well.  So these three shows from the Rheostaticslive site include a short reading from the book and then many songs.  This show has two readings and 8 songs (and runs over an hour).

He opens with a description of the book and the tour of china with a band they called the Rheos Not Rheos.  They were asked over and over to play The Beatles.  They played at the Sculpting in Time café.  Dave hung out with the Chinese singers Dirt Star and Airbag (who were also in a cover band that played Radiohead).

For the music, it is just Dave an his acoustic guitar (and a tuner). He plays three Rheos songs “My First Rock Show,” “Me and Stupid” and “Horses” (to much applause).

He plays four new, solo songs “Song Ain’t Good,” “The List” “The Land is Wild” and “The Ballad of Zeke Roberts.”  All of these would appear on the debut Bidiniband album which would come out in 2009.

“The List” is a diatribe against Canada: Tim Horton’s, Stephen Harper,  Zack Werner, and Chad Kroeger.  He says that it was inspired by taking a close look Tim Horton’s bacon and wondering just what it was.  And the mention of Chad Krueger gets a big reaction from the crowd.  The Zeke Roberts song is about a Liberian singer who was killed.  “The Land is Wild” is about Bryan Fogarty, a hockey played who died (it’s not the most upbeat concert I’ve heard).

There’s an extra song “Moncton Hellraisers” (you can watch a video of this one).

He ends the show with second reading and there’s a drunk guy who keeps shouting and interrupting.  I feel bad for Dave, but he handles it well—different than a rock show obviously.  This section involves meeting a TV show producer (of a show called Super Girls) and the Chinese version of the Spice Girls (who sing for them).  He also mentions going to an all night record shop and finding a copy of the Toronto band The Diodes.  He plays their song “Tired of Waking up Tired” for the employees.

If nothing else, this book will introduce you to a lot of little-known bands.

It’s interesting to hear him in such a casual setting.  He sounds good and the audience is really responsive.

[READ: November 5, 2015] Around the World in 57 1/2 Gigs

This book chronicles Dave Bidini’s solo tour after the Rheostatics broke up.  He explains that it was Tim Vesely who wanted to break up the band (no doubt inspired somewhat by Dave and Martin’s harsh critiquing of the songs Tim wanted to submit to their final album 2067).  Nevertheless, Dave was devastated and angry and unsure what to do, especially since they were planning to gig China for the first time.  So he decided to do it himself.  A world tour unlike any other.

disc_baladesqueHe scheduled a few gigs in Finland.  And he decided to invite his friend Alun Piggins along.  Piggins has been in a number of bands and has released several solo albums.  He seems notable for being a little crazy (with wild hair).  And I automatically respect him for making this album cover.  When Dave asked Alun what to do about being a solo artist (Dave hadn’t really played solo before).  Alun gave him some comforting advice and then said that with his band The Quitters, they would play “our loudest song then tell the crowd, “‘Thank you and fuck off.'”

The two would play separate shows on a double bill and occasionally duet on Rheos songs. They decided to tour Finland.  They flew into London and were only staying for 24 hours.  He wanted to try to get a gig before they left for Finland.  They scored one at the last minute in the Maple Leaf Tavern (which had never staged a live show before) and was themed in Canadian kitsch.  He talks about one man bands like Bob Log III “probably the superstar of all one man bands” (his song “Boob Scotch” is surprisingly straightforward).  He says he spent most of his 35 minute set worrying an doesn’t recall too much about it.

Then they set out for Finland.  First stop Hämeenlinna ( enjoyed typing out all these Finnish towns). (more…)

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Christian McPherson–The Sun Has Forgotten Where I Live (2011)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Christian McPherson, Corporate skewering, Dave Bidini music, Luke Doucet, Martin Tielli, Poetry, Rheostatics, Veal, tagged on October 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

sunSOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Fall Nationals The Horseshoe Tavern Toronto (November 17, 2003).

horsehoeA few weeks ago I wrote about the Violet Archers playing on this same night.  This was night 8 of 13 in the Rheostatics Fall Nationals 2003 Tour.  This was called SoloStatics Night.  Martin played and then Tim and the Violet Archers played.  And then Luke Doucet’s band Veal played (not sure if they were first or last).  Evidently Dave was sick, so he didn’t play.

The band for Martin’s set is Monica Gunter (Violin), Greg Smith (Bass), Ford Pier (Guitar), Michael Wojewoda (Drums), Luke Doucet (Pedal Steel).

It’s a short set (only 45 minutes) and he doesn’t play any Rheos songs (which makes sense).  It opens with “Double X” which is just him on guitar and Monica the violin. He plays very aggressively. It’s great.  Being in a fun mod he mentions that tonight is the solo show for the Rheostatics and whatnot, then he says that that’s not true, the Whatnots are playing tomorrow.

This is the first live instance of “The Temperance Society Choir.”  But he forgets a verse and they all seem to put their heads together trying to remember it until he says “somebody help me with this fucking song.”  There’s some wild bass and guitar noises on this song, too.

For “Sergeant Kraulis,” there’ a big chorus with everyone singing along.  And Martin gets out his Steinberger to really wail  And I love watching him (see video below) make the crazy noises at the end of this song.  Luke Doucet joins them on “Winnipeg.”  It’s a really good, robust version of the song, with Ford Pier taking some of the vocal lines (like “get the fuck off the stage.”)  And also jumping around like a lunatic during the more rocking moments.

They rock out “That’s What You Get for Having Fun” and the cover of “Cold Blood Old Times” (which Martin says they have to play faster).

Before the final song they start asking each other if any of them has any T-Bone, they all say they got mashed potatoes but no T-Bone (which references a Neil Young song, but is still pretty weird).

The set ends with a solo acoustic guitar version of “From the Reel,” which is beautiful.

It’s a really great performance and amazingly, it was captured on video, too.

 

[READ: October 22, 2015] The Sun Has Forgotten Where I Live

In all of the Christian McPherson blurbage, it mentions his two books, Six Ways to Sunday & The Cube People.  And these are the two books of his which I have not read.  Huh.

This was McPherson’s second collection poetry.  It is very much like his first collection: musings on being a dad (which are quite tender and sweet and very true to life) and then darker thoughts about society and such.

And he gets to the crux of what I find hard to know about whether I like his poems.  The entirely of the poem “trying to” consists of this valid exchange: (more…)

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Christian McPherson–Killer Dope (2004)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Christian McPherson, Death, Drugs, Geddy Lee, Guns, Kevin Hearn, Martin Tielli, Nick Buzz, Rheostatics, Violence, Yuck!, tagged on October 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »

logo_OL-lgSOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON (April 5, 2002).

Lees-Front-360x238By April, Martin was back in Toronto.  The newer album would be coming out in 2003, and he plays 4 songs from it.  The rest of the songs comes from his first solo album with a couple of Nick Buzz songs, a Rheostatics track and a Joni Mitchell cover thrown in.

For the first three songs, it’s just him and his acoustic guitar.  “World in a Wall” sounds great and he even plays a gnawing sound on the guitar strings (sliding the pick up them).  He’s got cool, aggressive strumming in “Double X.”

For Joni Mitchell’s “River” Kevin Hearn plays piano. It’s quite lovely (and Hearn is applauded, of course). Then Martin plays an outstanding version of “She Said ‘We’re on Our Way Down’” (each live version gets better).

Before playing “My Sweet Relief” he says “stay tuned for Operation Infinite Justice.”  He is clearly keeping this as the band’s name, even if the next album will be changed somewhat to Operation Infinite Joy.

There’s a great percussion sound on “That’s What You Get for Having Fun.”  On Voices in the Wilderness” he finally just comes out and mentions the source of the lyrics: after singing “if you choose not to decide…” he changes his own words to “I know Geddy, he don’t know me” (from the usual “I know him, he don’t know me”).

During “Sgt Kraulis” (one of the newer songs) they have a jam section in the middle it turns reggae and someone starts singing “Legalize It.”  And in “Love Streams” the piano (I assume no longer Kevin Hearn) plays a “stoned” melody when the lyrics speak of being stoned (musical humor!).

“Saskatchewan” sounds great—it’s a really passionate versions (with some backing vocals going “woah woah” near the end).

Martin has fun with “How Can You Sleep?” he seems to be talking during it, expanding on a line in the song ”Want to quit drinking? Cut off your head.”

This is a outstanding show.   The recording quality us great and Martin is in fine and funny form throughout.

[READ: October 20, 2015] Killer Dope

Since I found some McPherson books in the library, I decided to also grab this book.  This is a short story, but it was published by Bad Moon Books (in a limited edition of 150 copies) and was the winner of 2004 New Cat Tattoos.  I believe that it was reprinted in his short story collection Six Ways to Sunday (but I cannot confirm this).

So this story is, as the title suggests, all about drugs.

Our two protagonists are Two Seconds (whose name has a wonderful derivation) and Little Fish (whose name is also cleverly derived).  Little Fish is painting graffiti under a bridge (a UFO flying out of the eye of a kid shooting smack). Two Seconds is watching him add details and believes it to be the best art he had ever seen.

Then Little Fish asks him if he is ready for tonight.  (more…)

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Christian McPherson–Cube Squared (2013)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Christian McPherson, Corporate skewering, Dave Bidini, Eric Clapton, Ford Pier, J.J. Cale, Martin Tielli, Meta, Nick Buzz, Queen, Rheostatics, Rush, Sex, Work, Yuck!, tagged on October 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

cubeSOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Richard’s On Richards Vancouver BC (March 30, 2002).

rich The download for this show is notable for being (in my opinion) out of sequence.  After the second song it seems pretty clear that the concert is now over. Looking at some of the other shows at the time, I wasn’t sure if I could reconstruct the actual order. It was a bit harder than I anticipated, but I think the show actually went like this

World in a Wall
CCYPA
Double X
Love Streams
My Sweet Relief
That’s What You Get for Having Fun
Voices from the Wilderness
OK by Me
That’s How They Do It in Warsaw
I’ll Never Tear You Apart
Winnipeg
Beauty On

I’m guessing “World in a Wall” is first because before playing it he does a brief intro of “CCYPA,” and it seems unlikely that he would do it again after he just played the song. For this set he is solo for the first three songs . He’s kind of all over the place in “Wall” throwing in some extra lyrics and repeating verses—I’m surprised he didn’t get mad at himself.f

Then the band comes out and he introduces them as Operation infinite Justice (incidentally, “Operation Infinite Justice,” was the name of the military intervention that the U.S began after 9/11.  Muslim groups protested the name on the basis that their faith teaches that Allah is the only one that could provide “infinite justice”.  Thus, “Operation Infinite Justice” was changed to “Operation Enduring Freedom” on Sept. 25, 2001).  So clearly, Tielli was making a point.  The band consists of Greg Smith on bass, Barry Mirochnick on drums and Ford Pier on guitar and keys.

For “Ok By Me” he gets that great chorusing guitar (that sounds like Queen) just like on the record.  For “Love Streams” it’s just him and the piano (presumably Ford Pier) who at the line about being “stoned’ play a riff from Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine” (did anyone know that was a cover of a J.J. Cale song?)

“Shaved Head” stays in the delicate style of the previous show and for “My Sweet Relief,” he starts the song solo and the band kicks in about 1/2 way through.

After playing “That’s What You Get for Having Fun” someone in the band says that they have merch in the back of the room and that they will be flogged by their manager if they don’t mention it.

In “Voices in the Wilderness,” he sings the actual Rush lyric “if you choose not to decide” (rather than “if you choose not to be free”) and has fun with the word “squeaky” in squeaky voice.  There’ as mellow jam at the end of the song.

The penultimate song is “Winnipeg.” It’s the first live version of this song on the site. I like that since it was a new song the guys who recorded the shows didn’t know what it was called.  And it’s such a peculiar song with different things that could be choruses that the author of this recording calls it “Anyday” and in the next show they call in “I’ve Had Some.”  But it sounds great live.

The show ends with “Beauty On,” the opening track from his upcoming album (although he leaves out the humorous “Cincinnati” bit–which makes sense).

It’s another great show, running just about an hour.

[READ: October 19, 2015] Cube Squared

I found this book at work and judged it by the cover.  I decided it would be fun. And it was.

This is the sequel to McPherson’s first novel (which I have not read) Cube People.  I thought that perhaps there would be zombies in this novel (given the cover) and there are, but not in the way one might suspect.

The basic set up is this: Colin MacDonald works for the Canadian government.  He is in a tech job which is not very techie.  He works in a  cubicle, deals with his co-workers and plans to write the great Canadian novel (if such a thing exists).  He has already written two books.  The first one was successful, the second one less so.  And he would very much like to get a third book written.

But he is now married with three little kids, he has to paint his house and his father just died.

This last bit is pretty important to the story.  Even though his father was never a very good father to him (he was an intense drunk and then an intense convert to Christianity), he has mixed feelings about his father’s death.  Worse yet, his father seems to be talking to him a lot more now than he ever did when he was alive.  And he is fairly certain that his father thinks he’s a waste of time and effort with little to show for himself (or at least that’s his take on his father). (more…)

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Christian McPherson–Poems That Swim From My Brain Like Rats Leaving a Sinking Ship (2008)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Christian McPherson, Corporate skewering, Dave Bidini music, Martin Tielli, Nick Buzz, Poetry, Rheostatics, Selina Martin, tagged on October 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

poemsSOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, ON (2002).

tielliAfter the Rheostatics’ Night of the Shooting Stars album, the band took a few years before recording their final album.  During that hiatus of sorts, Martin Tielli released his second solo album Operation Infinite Joy.  But before getting that album out, he did a short tour in 2002.  This is the second date of that tour (although, as with other bootlegs, I find it funny that the date is lost).  Speaking of lost dates, there are no dates at all for Martin Tielli on Setlist.com. Shocking!

Anyhow, this show has great audio. It’s one of those recordings where you can hear the audience, but they are not louder than Martin himself.

As with many of the shows of this era, Martin opens the show on solo acoustic guitar—with some awesomely aggressive chord strokes. He just seems really into this set, with a great growling “ain’t necessary” line in “Double X” and one of the best versions of “She Said ‘We’re On Our Way Down’” that I’ve heard (better than the album).

Before Martin is joined by more musicians, someone asks him how old his jacket it. He says about 14 years old.  Then Greg Smith joins him on bass for “My Sweet Relief”

When he switches back to the quiet “World in a Wall” it’s practically like a dramatic reading the way he performs it.  He says he was living in a cruddy apartment when he wrote this song.  As an opening for “Voices from the Wilderness” he says he used to criticize Dave Bidini for writing songs about music, but he finally embraced it and wrote this awesome song.

For “Farmer in the City,” he says they’re going to try something really quiet—and the audience is rapt. It’s pretty cool.  Selina Martin plays crystal on this song (which I assume means glasses?)

When they get to the Nick Buzz song “Love Streams” it’s very quiet and you can hear someone in the audience loudly shot “Shut the fuck up.” He doesn’t acknowledge that but says that the band Nick Buzz was named after the cigarettes that he is now craving. After getting his smoke he introduces”That’s What You Get For Having Fun” by saying this is gonna be a gooood song.

He plays a quieter, more intimate version of “Shaved Head” with a lengthy outro. The track listing says “Stolen Car” is next but there is no “Stolen Car.” They play a rocking version of “Sgt Kraulis” with some fun mechanical voices over the end.

This is a great set that runs about an hour. The crowd I really into it and so is Martin.

[READ: October 19, 2015] Poems That Swim From My Brain Like Rats Leaving a Sinking Ship

I started reading Christian McPherson’s Cube Squared.  And when I looked him up I saw that my library also had a few collections of his poetry.  So I decided to check them out.

This was his first collection (after a collection of short stories).  Most of his poems are fast paced and immediate (as the title suggests).  There’s not a lot of reflection in them, they are more designed to get a point across.

And as such they work quite well. (more…)

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