Northern Wish

I too think the scene here in Canada is "coasting" somewhat. I have seen quite a few bands playing to the same sized or smaller audiences they were over a year ago. And a few bands have called it quits which they wouldn't be doing if they were making $$$.....

Check the most recent Scene and Heard for my thoughts. The article is in the back.

Peace

Sean

There are oh soo many, but I like the one where Bart went to work at the Bordello. With Homers permission of course.........

"Sir are you wearing a paper bag?

I have misplaced my pants."

"I remember my first visit,

The service was exquisite.

Why Joseph, I had no idea!

Come on now, you were working here

Without it we have had no fun,

Since March of 1961

To shut this place down would be twisted,

We just heard this place existed.

We're the highlights in your hairdo,

The extra arms on Vishnu.

Yes we put the Spring

In Springfield.........."

Gotta love the musical episodes. At least they don't end with an unexplained dancing sequence or an animal honk.

Sean

Harry Chapin (some kind of crash), Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Layne Staley, Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone (and in doubling the sorrow his death created- led to the creation of Pearl Jam), Michael Hutchence, Brian Jones and Marvin Gaye (sure his dad shot him, but drugs killed this guy long before he died).

Wow the list goes on and on.....

Sean

"Dude from Blind Melon" was Shannon Hoon.

A bright light snuffed out way too soon.

Their debut album is to this day one of my all time favorite, desert island cds.

Sean

I always seemed to find myself in a mad dash during Roggae. As long as you hustle you can always make it back in time for the power chords.........

Other popular "have to go" tunes are My Soul (ugh), Dirt or Wading.........

Sean

Hey all, I am reading (and loving) Michael Moores new book: Stupid White Men.

Some of you may remember Michael from such humorous films as The Awful Truth. This was the film that featured Michael on his book tour, going to corporate headquarters and handing millionaire CEO's (Phil Knight of Nike was one victim) huge novelty checks for 18 cents, as reward for 'downsizer of the year', to pay for one hour of sweatshop labour.

His new book deals with the post apocolyptic Dubya era, and the decline of everything our society has worked so long to build up.....

"Freedom of choice is a thing of the past. We're down to 6 media companies, 6 airlines, two and a half car makers, and one radio conglomerate. Everything you will ever need is at Wal- Mart. You can choose between two political parties that sound alike, vote alike, and are funded alike by the same exact wealthy donors. You can choose to wear non- descript pastels and keep your mouth shut, or you can choose to wear a Marilyn Manson shirt and get kicked out of school. Britney or Christina, WB or UPN, Florida or Texas- there ain't no friggin difference folks. Its all the same, its all the same, its all the same."

I am not usually an anit corporation monger just for the hell of it, but these words ring true. This sure isn't the same world our parents grew up in, and it seems to be hurtling downhill and out of control. If you are looking for a good summer time read in the face of the "Jeep Outdoor Music Festival", Bud Light sponsoring the musical performer on SNLive, or Santana touring for Acura- it might just feed your head.

Peace, I'm going back to the book

Sean

Well, for now (and keep in mind I am a recent S Ontario expatriat) the days are reaching highs of 20-24, with very little humidity. There always seems to be a breeze of some kind. By around 7-8 at night I find myself looking to change into pants.

By the third week in August I think we can expect the same daily highs (maybe around 18-24) but the evening will cool off rather quickly. I would say that within an hour or two after dark, pants, shirt and sweatshirt would certainly be neccesary. And approaching the midnight hour a jacket would be a good idea. I saw the Revolve Documentary from last year and the night time footage features people in full fleece and shell coats, breath fully visible and no sandals in sight (unless they were on a true Maritimer with WHITE socks- everybody wears sandals and socks year round here).

Hope that helps

Sean

Of course all of us East Coasters will be going.

Put Nina (piranha132) on the list!!!

I can't wait to see nero in the afternoon, and find out just what those guys are made of for the rest of the day...........

Pros and Cons

Pros

Tix are only $45 with no SCharges.

The drive from TO to Antigonish will take around 18 hours.

This is one of the most beautiful spots in Eastern Canada.

Great lineup.

Change of scenery from Frontier Town.

nero!

Sean and Nina will be there.

Road Trip.

The majesty of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

Greg Hemmings.

A chance to 'evolve'

Cons

Bring a jacket cause summer is cold here.

I would love to see anyone of you come out...... Alan Dodson, Scottie King, Craig White, Eric and Denise etc.

E-Love at Evolve.........

Sean

For me, I love I Didn't Know. Its a chance to take a breather from shaking my ass......

As for shelving that kind of stuff on their return.....

Then they just wouldn't be Phish. That would be like Diet Phish (excuse me, $CI) putting shoes on, and leaving the audience out of the hokey "Incident".

I like all of the gimmicks that come along with Phish. If it wasn't for those things like trampolines, acapella tunes, vocal jams, vac solos etc. they probably wouldn't have reached the point they have. Those are the types of things that set them apart from everything else in the music scene. And they are great for newbies. When I took people to their first shows it was always those things that stuck in their minds before the C+Painless tease in 2001 or whatever.

In closing I meant that all of the kids writing down setlists are always looking for that rarity (which if I'm not mistaken was the only IDKnow of Summer 2000, as it wasn't pulled out again until Treys bday in Vegas).

Maybe IDKnow isn't a show stopper, but to quote someone on this board- If you aren't having fun, then what the fuck are you doing.

Surrender to the Phlow

Sean

Sorry that should read:

wasn't exactly an arrow fest......

I never listened to the show and obviously alot of you pholk went...nice lights like 99?,good sound?,were you HOSED by the band!!?? Funk-Factor??....tramps??...lemme know,I hear there are some nice split F.O.Bs Neumanns out there

The lights were top notch, and with such a long first set the entire second set was pitch black except for the skyline. I always find that makes the lights better (I am partial to arena Phish shows).

The sound as with most Amp shows was crystal clear.

They did bring out the tramps in YEM which got the crowd pretty pumped.

Funk factor was solid during Moma, YEM, 2001, Hood but overall I would always like to see Mike brought up in the mix. This was no Phall 97.........

And of course I was hosed! This was my first show back in the land of dreads, heads, and summer time sheds......... So I think I may have actually left a piece of my ass there as I was trying all night to dance it off.

If you were joking, it wasn't funny. But if you really did kick a smacky habit.... A million kudos to you.

Sean

Toronto 7.6.00

1: Reba, Dog Stole Things, Taste, Dog Faced Boy, Heavy Things, Moma Dance, First Tube, I Didn't Know, The Inlaw Josie Wales, Prince Caspian > Golgi Apparatus, You Enjoy Myself (1:50)

2: Limb by Limb, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Bug, Piper, Driver, Harry Hood*, Loving Cup

E: The Squirming Coil

*Trey commented on how beautiful Toronto is, and how beautiful the people are.

OK things got 'rolling' with a great Reba opener (which caught some out in the lots off guard- there was a dude for the rest of the tour with a sign reading "Please play Reba, I missed the TO Opener"). It was quick run through of DSThings, Taste (fairly standard version), Dog Faced Boy and Heavy Things. At that point they took off with a stellar Moma and First Tube (that seemed to be the most energetic of the four I would see that summer) and then they pulled out I Didn't Know which made all of the setlist scribes drool. After that the first set could have been done at any point, but they just kept on playin. The Caspian>Golgi was more of a 'peter out this one, and bam into the next one' jam than a true segue. But at the 1:30 mark they launch into YEM. At this point if someone had told me they were going to play one long set I would have believed it. YEM was funky, well played and a phenomenal set closer.

The second set was exactly an 'arrow fest' but each song was played very well. The 2001 (2nd in two years in TO) was excellent and touched on some spacey themes. Piper was well Piper. Love it or hate it? I love it. Keep on jamming those 6 chords all night and I'd be happy..... But then Driver to slow things down (with what I believe was a brief Hood tease in the intro). Then Hood! It was fantastic, included some heavy syncopation that lead to a near reggae jam, and eventually to a Carribean vocal jam. Stellar version, maybe one of my faves and definitely different. The boys were certainly enjoying the summer in Canada (after a night long private party at a bar in downtown the night before- see scottieking for details). To close the set we got that beautiful buzz. And what a buzz it was. I almost felt like crying or exploding whichever would come first. To this day some of my friends who saw their first PH show this day- claim this was their "moment".

A nice Coil encore (keep in mind this was my first show of Summer 2000 and it hadn't been driven into the ground yet), with some classical stylings by Page to send us down the road to Pittsburgh.

All in all a good Summer 2000 show. Not alot of segueing but very well played songs. I caught seven in a row that summer, and only the Moby Dick set on 7.11.00 topped it.

If there is infact, a good copy floating around I would love to hear it........

Peace

Sean

Those are some great links. Thanks a bunch.

For those looking for more Phish CDR covers, there are some extremely well done, high res covers available at:

http://www.homestead.com/phrenchdude/

Enjoy!

Sean

Happy Thoughts:

First Experience with "IT":

Ghost> Wilson 12.5.97 Cleveland OH

The first show was a little shaky. I wasn't really sure how to move or what to think.

Teary Eyed Goodbye:

Sleeping Monkey> Tweezer Reprise 9.23.00 Chicago Ill.

The WORST sounding venue I have ever been in. Stay away from the Rosemont :-(

First Dead related:

New Minglewood Blues 7.5.98 The Other Ones @ Darien.

Not exactly special, but I did get my Tennesee Jed that night.

Last song:

Brokedown Palace 11.13.01 PLQ

Again not the Dead, but man oh man does this lineup make some of those 94-95 shows just depressing. Long live Phil!

Sean

Hey Sloth,

Got the cds..... Thanks sooo much. I am killing myself listening to KW do that Antelope>Runaway Jim> Antelope right now. After talking with Jeremy Brennan last night, you are the only one who has kept his end of the hockey pool bargain. Kudos.

The KDTU was great loving music last night....

And nero, well they're nero.

If anyone wants B+Ps of the following:

Keller Williams 5.12.01

KDTU 4.26.02

MMW w/ Trey 12.01.00

nero 6.8.02

You are welcome to contact me..........

Peace

Sean

Hey Congrats Jay!!!

It is a tough thing to do, but look at all of the support you are getting right here. I am sure that these little words of wisdom will help to understand it is an addiction, but it is also beatable.

The one thing that I found really helped was running a little counter called Silk Quit. You enter the price of smokes in your area, how much you smoked and when you quit.... and Voila it gives you a running counter of how much $$$ you have saved, how many smokes you have gone without and how much of your life has been saved.

The last time I checked mine (I quit last New Years after around 4 years of a half a pack a day habit), I had saved over $4000, 8 months of my life and hadn't ingested nearly 2000 smokes. It starts to add up quickly and then give yourself a reward. For example when that counter hit $150 I immediately went out and bought a new VCR for my girlfriend.

Good luck to you!

You can do it.........

Sean

I love these threads.........

Here they are:

1. Jack Johnson- Brushfire Fairytales. Especially for the summer! How anyone could hate this music is beyond me.

2. Live Phish #11- Denver, CO 11.17.97. Do yourself a favor and listen to this one LOUD! Wow, Phish at its best? I have been leaning towards this one for a while now.

3. Vida Blue- 4.23.02. Oh my god this is funky!

4. Bob Dylan- Love and Theft. Just doing my homework for the 8.9.02 Saint John show.

5. Elton John- 11.28.74. Killer setlist of old school EJ. He is still coked up so it rocks hard. And Mr. J Lennon makes his final public apperance on LSDiamonds, Whatever Gets You Through the Night.

As for books go out and read "We Want Some Too"- a look at popular culture in this topsy turvy world.

Movie of the month goes to the Royal Tenenbaums. Not your average hilarious comedy, but very witty. "I don't want to get all Cats in the Cradle on you....."

Evolve anyone?

Sean

I was wrong. Sorry boys.

One more reason to print out some of them killer Ticketbastard stickers.......

S

ps. On the East Coast there is no TB, so I went to line up for Dylan at a gas station an hour before the onsale time, paid $1.50 service charge and got 8th row. There are a few benefits to the slow Maritime way.

My interpretation was different. Isn't this a service that actually allows you to have full tickets in said Photo Ticket Stub Album? I think you still get your regular tickets, which are ripped or scanned (has anyone seen this yet?!?@?#>?) but can print yourself a full color full ticket for historical purposes.

My only concern was that this must make it significantly easier for scalpers to counterfeit tickets. I mean they've given them the freakin template, all they have to worry about is cardstock. Wait a minute, hmmmm......

Shhhh

Sean

ps. That was a joke

You win MarcO. I am sitting here in tears, that was one of the funniest things I have ever read.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

Thanks

Sean

No matter how well each band performed, there is no possible comparison- Its like trying to compare The Band and Mahavishnu Orchestra (each incredibly talented, visionary and fresh and from around the same time period). It just can't be done. I love the music of both of those bands but can't see where this debate could possibly have arisen. Lets just give them both two thumbs high in the air, or the three fingered devil salute whichever you prefer.

Yes, festival setups are sometimes questionable- but the guys that put these on are trying to cater to everyone. I am sure in time that we'll see plenty of nero headlining slots, but for the time being we should all be happy (and I am sure they are too) that they get to 'prove' themselves to people who might not otherwise see them. If nero plays before anyone it should only give the crowd more reason to get that next band pumped and encourage them to kick it up a notch. And if not, there can always be late night fireside rants of how wicked the trio was.

For such a young band, their level of desire is something I find incredibly refreshing. Lets all just sit back and take it in wherever and whenever we can- and help it grow. I have seen these boys play to 4-6 people out here on the East Coast and it never seems to matter at all to the band who is in the room other than the core three on stage. If we all keep talking and trading closing slots will come naturally.

As for the resurgence of the Fat Cats, I am totally excited. One of my favorite cds in my collection is the 9.21.01 Jambands.ca Fatties set courtesy of EW (tungsten). I just wish they'd come visit us in the Maritimes.

Peace

Sean

"Alright everybody.....

Jazz Hands!"

Has anyone heard Treys set from Bonnaroo? The guy gushes for three minutes about the scene, the festival and the fans before the acoustic Wilson, Bathtub Gin encore. If it were anyone else, it would seem like drivel- but he is so freakin sincere it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Trey is a Jedi!

Sean

Thanks Ms. H.

I totally agree. If the music was subpar then was the headlining slot just for nostalgia or ego purposes.

Its too bad about the sound problems, but you gotta buck up and give it when the glitches are eradicated.

Sounds like you all had a blast. The East Coast is certainly lacking in community events like this one. Be on the lookout for Evolve though.....

Peace

Sean

ps. nero rocks

Thanks Marc.

It was a little tough to balance negative/ positive..... I was just trying to be a realist and incite some discussion/ thought.

Its nice to hear that I my point was made.

Peace

Sean

I would rethink that one. Maynard defintely has the ego rock thing going on.

My brother and his friends shelled out $50 to go see them at the Air Canada Center in To. The show that Tool put on was LESS THAN 1 HOUR. I guess there were two opening bands that played as long as the headliner. That coupled with the fact that Maynard stood behind an opaque screen on stage the whole time, and no one could see him (just his shadow).

I like Tool as much as the next head, but really that is like slapping your fans in the face.

Sean

"And I think to myself,

What a wonderful world."

Thanks for summing up a lot of the emotions I was struck with earlier in the week. Every time I would think to myself how original and amazing their music was, I looked around to see if everyone else was getting the same feeling. Thanks for writing that, you have cemented it for me.

Long live nero!

Sean