Big Wooly Mammoth

stubhub didn't fuck you - the seller did that. i'm guessing that nobody else is selling those passes on stubhub. otherwise, stubhub woul have given you one of those, and charged the original seller for it.

didn't they recently release Rubber Soulive?

it was too late for me to go last night.

will be at Brad Mehldau and then RTF tonight. I really hope to make it in for the 7PM Mehldau show, but it will be tight for me. I won't be able to get in line until close to 7PM. And I really do not want to miss either show.

Prince

At Métropolis Concert Hall

Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

In Montreal on Friday

Any way you cut it, the mighty Prince’s concert at Métropolis on Friday night will be remembered for ages as a monumental event in the annals of the international jazz festival. As a colleague at the online newspaper Rue Frontenac put it, years from now, if you were one of the lucky 2,000 to have been in the hall, you’ll proudly say, “Yeah, I was there.â€

To proclaim the concert awesome is simply to state the truth.

And it’s not just because the concert became a marathon. After saying good night at the close of a very hot 80-minute set – a totally respectable offering – he and the band gave half a dozen encores, not letting up until close to 3:30 a.m. He did warn the audience, though. Some 20 minutes into the first encore – while asking “Is this the funkiest band in the world?†and “Is this the funkiest town?†– he told folks “this Prince isn’t going anywhere†and “we’re all staying around.†Who knew he meant it literally?

It was clear within minutes that Prince and the band felt a rapport with the audience. Why not? You could tell right off that people were thrilled to be so close to the man they adore.

The venue was part of the equation. Métropolis has a capacity of 2,300. “Intimate†might be a stretch, but it’s certainly not an arena and it has a funky ambience with a storied past. It had been a theatre before it became movie hall in the 1920s. It’s a place where you can party – and party people did.

The other key element, part of Prince’s genius, is pulling together a stunning array of musicians. The fullness of their artistry, and the generosity and intensity each performer brought to the stage and to each other, was infectious.

The concert began at 11:30 p.m. sharp with a thumping drum and bass funk rhythm leading us into a collage of Prince originals and stunning covers.

To imagine the epic reading of Tommy James and the Shondells’ Crimson and Clover that somehow wove Jimi Hendrix guitar riffs into the mix and evolved to guitarist and singer Andy Allo’s take on Bob Marley’s Waiting in Vain – well, there’s a fiercely brilliant exploration of the music of our time.

Then there’s Maceo Parker. The renowned soul and funk saxophonist would pull you into whirling improvisations with Danish bassist Ida Nielsen laying a pulsating groove behind him. His segue into the James Brown classic Pass the Peas during the first encore was sublime.

The virtuosity of drummer John Blackwell, who has backed Patti Labelle and P. Diddy but is perhaps best known for his work with Maze, framed complex rhythm shifts with superbly modulated punctuation.

Morris Hayes and Cassandra O’Neal were on keyboards. Hayes’s pedigree as a musician and composer is vast and O’Neal, a relative newcomer to Prince’s New Power Generation, brought her rich voice into the vocal mix.

While Prince might have used back-up singers in the past, Olivia Warfield and Shelby Johnson were principals, front and centre. Both have stunning control and that resonant gospel/blues range.

Prince was clearly the bandleader, the creative driver, but he brought to the Métropolis a formidable array of talent that grooved along with some of the most amazingly purposeful improvisation likely to be played here, or anywhere. As the song goes, I get delirious whenever you’re near. This time, for sure.

The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal continues through July 4th.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/princes-genius-in-full-form-at-montreal-show/article2076196/print/

Atomic was great. this was out-there jazz. not at all for the faint of heart.

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.

planning to be there.

90% probability of precipitation tonight. so, i'm pretty confident of lots of rain during the show. I'm bringing a big ass umbrella.

was a good show. agreed that it was a bit short. the tree also really helped shield us from the rain. looking forward to Elvis tonight.

I never really 'got' Elvis Costello. I've seen him once or twice and saw his tv show a few times' date=' but I will definitely be at the show tomorrow with ears agape. Hopefully the magic will pierce through my armour this time.[/quote']

See you guys there Velvet!

he's got some GREAT stuff, and IMO some not so great stuff. I actually lost interest in his work during the early-mid 80s. His first three albums are brilliant IMO. And then he picked it up again in 1986 when he released two albums - King of America and Blood and Chocolate. In 1987 he recorded some stuff with Sir Paul McCartney. Some of these songs were releases on Elvis' Mighty Like a Rose in 1991 and Sir Paul's Flowers in the Dirt in 1989.

People of Ottawa: for the love of fuck, go see Elvis Costello on the 24th. I saw him over here a few months ago for a solo show, and he was mind-bogglingly good. The Ottawa show is full band; I'm not sure if he is doing the Spinning Songbook for that date. Either way, you either have incredibly important previous engagements or some sort of mental defect if you skip this.

I will definitely be there for EC. very much looking forward to it. haven't seen him since late '90s.

this will be my fifth EC show. First show was at MLG in 1980 with Squeeze opening. I was dissapointed because he played a bunch of "newer" stuff. My next show at Kingswood, about 15 years later) I thoroughly enjoyed. Saw him there again, and once with Steve Nieve at the Warehouse.

looking forward to hearing the lou reed collaboration.

never purchased, but sold tickets. I think that they are trustworthy. they often have electronic tickets. I sold hard tickets and posted before I had received them. Once I didn't have the tickets by the time I said I would have them. Stubhub gave the buyer other tickets and charged me for them.

courtesy Jesse Ventura

You control our world. You’ve poisoned the air we breathe, contaminated the water we drink, and copyrighted the food we eat. We fight in your wars, die for your causes, and sacrifice our freedoms to protect you. You’ve liquidated our savings, destroyed our middle class, and used our tax dollars to bailout your unending greed. We are slaves to your corporations, zombies to your airwaves, servants to your decadence. You’ve stolen our elections, assassinated our leaders, and abolished our basic rights as human beings. You own our property, shipped away our jobs, and shredded our unions. You’ve profited off of disaster, destabilized our currencies, and raised our cost of living. You’ve monopolized our freedom, stripped away our education, and have almost extinguished our flame. We are hit… we are bleeding… but we ain’t got time to bleed. We will bring the giants to their knees and you will witness our revolution!

Sincerely,

The Serfs.

no Sarah McLachlan for on-line listeners :-(

ya, thanks!!

it was also a (relatively) expensive ticket. too bad they didn't get booked into a bar, which would have (likely) meant lower costs to put on the show.

and here's the answer to my question:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43244680/ns/local_news-new_york_ny/t/palin-dons-star-david-necklace/

what an idiot.

why is she wearing a star of david necklace in that picture?!? or are my eyes deceiving me?

who's playing what now? i'm confused. this is like a tape mix, right?

yup. I remember years ago Rory had a buddy who was DJing, which he was getting into (I'm thinking mid to late '90 when I was still living in Toronto), and Rory then took the concept over to GD music.

sounds great. thanks.

Rory is an old touring buddy from back in the day. lived in the same hood.

As a Bluesfest insider you have access to an incredible pre-sale offer starting at noon on Tuesday, June 8th, 2011.

You have access to the festival pass before anyone else at a price of $99.00.

without knowing the regular price, it's hard to know how *incredible* this deal is.

do you know how much passes will be after the pre-sale? i'm on the fence.

i was wondering the same thing. shitty of them not to let you know. I'm not sure if I will be in town, otherwise would definitely be going.

the daily schedule is now posted.

i was just coming to post that!

Here's the schedule, all times EST.

Friday

12:00 - Timbre Coup

12:45 - Voodelic

1:30 - Carbon Leaf

2:30 - Toubab Krewe

3:30 - Tim Reynolds & TR3

4:30 - Electric Hot Tuna

6:00 - Soulive

7:15 - Bela Fleck & The Original Flecktones

9:30 - Warren Haynes Band

1:00 - Lotus

Saturday

11:45 - Leroy Justice

12:30 - Ryan Montbleau Band

1:15 - Zach Deputy (full band)

2:15 - Mavis Staples

4:30 - The Avett Brothers

5:45 - North Mississippi Allstars Duo

6:45 - Michael Franti & Spearhead

9:00 - Gov't Mule

1:00 - Umphrey's McGee (ft. John Oates)

Sunday

12:00 - The Wlyos

12:45 - Civil Twilight

1:30 - Dawes

2:30 - Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

5:15 - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

7:30 - My Morning Jacket

wow - soulive just started, right on time!

north to start their set. and we get to see the crowd instead of JB and the boys.