bagochips

I love the way you write, Velvet. Well done. Man I wish I was at Bluesfest this year. I had a free pass all lined up and all...

Mindboggling that you didn't buy your pass in advance. They've only been on sale for three months.

My new love: Paddock Wood 606 IPA out of Saskatoon. Freaking delicious! Triple hopped for extra goodness with a surprisingly awesome touch of grapefruit. Really this is quality beer.

Hugh Masekela is great. I'm taking a weather night off.

Folks who like to hear a little jazz during a jazz festival would do well to head to the NAC tonight. Atomic, featuring the madly skilled Paal Nilssen-Love on drums will be playing in the studio at 7pm. These guys are on the free side of things and will get into some fun uncharted sound territory. And if you are downtown this afternoon drop by the Rideau Centre where Ottawa's very own Megan Jerome will be giving a free concert.

Elvis Costello was perfect tonight. Really.

Happy Birthday!

R.I.P. happyears.

One of my favorite albums of all time.

I do remember that.

Agreed.

Truth.

Yes. I heartily agree. Hear hear. Those pesky lower-income plebeians always ruin the fun for the well-to-do. They just have no understanding of proper decorum.

Asking these kind of prices really makes his "man of the people" act seem a little past tense. Neil is one of my all-time music heroes and if my finances were what they were just a few years ago I would snatch the best tickets I could. It will be awesome I am sure. Is Neil still in his prime? No. That would imply he has been there more or less continuously since the 1970's. The 70's were undoubtedly his magical hey day were he could do little wrong and spun a continuous web of musical gold. The 80's and '90s were a mixed bag. I do feel that Neil is currently in a state as close to prime as he has been since the 70s. And either way, he ain't getting any younger so if you can afford it, get him while you can.

Concerts by Date June 23, Thursday The PepTides Robert Plant & the Band of Joy John Geggie, Nick Fraser and Nancy Walker Angele Desbois Jazz Ensemble June 24, Friday Caridad Cruz DRUMHAND Laila Biali Trio Elliott BROOD Elvis Costello & the Imposters The Thing The Lucas Haneman Trio John Geggie, Nick Fraser and Nancy Walker Jonas Kullhammer Quartet June 25, Saturday Brian Browne Trio SHAD k.d. lang and The Siss Boom Bang The Belle Brigade Atomic Megan Jerome Renée Yoxon & René Gely Youth Series John Geggie, Nick Fraser and Nancy Walker June 26, Sunday Tania Gill Quartet Mike Essoudry’s Mash Potato Mashers Parade Soulive Pink Martini Kurt Elling My Tiny Circus Nicole Ratté Jazz Quintet Youth Series John Geggie, Nick Fraser and Nancy Walker June 27, Monday Sisters Euclid Mark McLean’s Playground Jill Barber Return to Forever IV Joshua Redman/ Brad Mehldau Duo Craig Pedersen Quartet John Geggie, Nick Fraser and Nancy Walker Django Libre June 28, Tuesday Pilc/ Moutin/ Hoenig Médéric Collignon “Jus de Bocse†Koptor Chet Doxas Quartet Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society YOUSSOU NDOUR Christine Fagan’s “Songs from Once†Christian McBride and Inside Straight Magnolia Rhythm Kings June 29, Wednesday The Unsupervised Tigran Hamasyan Eivind Aarset “Sonic Codex 4tet†Shooglenifty Paco De Lucia Vijay Iyer Los Gringos Apex Jazz Band June 30, Thursday Gord Grdina Trio plus Mats Gustafsson Omri Mor Kazutoki Umezu Kiki Band Francois Bourassa Quartet Jacek Kochan Quartet with Seamus Blake Lee Fields and the Expressions James Cotton Lucky Peterson APEX: Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green J.P. Allain Trio Steve Groves and Daniel Ko with “Modern History†July 1, Friday Jaffa Road Jayme Stone: Room of Wonders Jaron Freeman-Fox and the Opposite of Everything The Central Band of the Canadian Forces Ohbijou Coeur de Pirate Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees July 2, Saturday Erik Truffaz 4tet Phronesis TD Jazz Youth Summit Ilan Bar-Lavi Jaga Jazzist Matt Andersen Béla Fleck & The Flecktones the original line-up Mermaid Beach Sol da Capital John Geggie, Nick Fraser and Nancy Walker Kenny Wheeler, Myra Melford, Jon Irabagon and Diana Torto Come Sing Jazz Standards with Elise Letourneau & Capital Vox Jazz Choir Robert Fontaine Quartet July 3, Sunday Way Out Northwest Nancy Walker Quartet Marianne Trudel Septet Ana Moura The Back-Talk Organ Trio + 1 Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub Richard Galliano and Gonzalo Rubalcaba Duo Nathalie Khoriaty Peter Brown Trio John Geggie, Nick Fraser and Nancy Walker Kelly Craig Sextet Link Gold Circle Passe: ($282.50 – HST included) Bronze Passe: ($158.20 – HST included) Student: ($73.45 – HST included)

Congratulations C! Happy riding. Now all you need is the tattoo.

So is your new avatar. Ad-block filter is a wonderful thing. (it is important to my psychic and mental well-being that this place remain Celine free)

I'm not one for internet censorship... but seriously, dude, would you consider changing that avatar? It is the most obnoxious thing I have ever seen posted on this board. (Never mind, I've managed to filter it out.)

There is no wrong decision here. Either way the times will be good. To my mind, the value for money is in Ottawa. We have here in our own backyard two amazing festivals that deliver astounding quality for your entertainment dollar. That said, I probably get more out of the jazz fest than most of the skanks on this board... Also, have you heard Black Dub yet? Absolutely gorgeous. It's really growing on me with each listen. Daniel Lanois is a genius, and Brian Blade is an all right drummer, too. This will be a beautiful weekend of music.

I'm in.

Listen to Velvet. Those Norwegians really blow! (In a good way)

I just logged on to post the links to this amazing album, "Two Men With The Blues" and there it is. Same link and review. This is just GOLD. Same goes with the Miles in Japan. I've been enjoying the great scores on this blog for a while now. Some sweet stuff in there. The Roots of Led Zeppelin 3CD set for instance. Cheers to the up-loader, and many many thanks to Willie and Wynton. So sweet.

Agreed. This is what happens when rock stars get old. (Suppressing yawn)