TimmyB

If you read my above post you would see that my intention was not to knock the Bluesfest, just describe the same harsh reality that you did, there aren't many Blues greats left.

If I lived up in the Ottawa region like I did when I attended Carleton I would still be attending the festival annually, but since I'm down near the GTA again I can see most of the acts during the Toronto Bluesfest.

I attended the gig at Molson Park when they were stilled called the Doors, not the Doors of the 21st Century. This was because John Densmore the original drummer for the Doors had yet to file a lawsuit against the band for using the name The Doors without Densmore in the line up. Densmore was not touring because of severe hearing lose.

The drummer that replaced Densmore for the Molson Park show and other dates at that time was Stewart Copeland of the Police and more recently Oysterhead.

Speaking of lawsuits Copeland was injured soon after the Molson Park show and had to take a break from touring to recover. Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger with Ian Ashbury tried to continue to tour with out Copeland, who in turn filed a another lawsuit against the Doors of the 21st Century for continuing with out him. The Doors of the 21st Century I believe settled out of court with Copeland.

About the gig at Molson Park it was very good. For a minute or two a few times during the gig I closed my eyes and it sounded to me like it was 1969 and I was seeing the Doors. It was very surreal. Even with Ian singing he recreated the vocals in a way that it sounded a lot like Jim Morrison. It was a lot of fun and if you have ever loved the Doors (I'm talking to you Cyberhippie) and the Doors of the 21st Century come back around this way I have one thing to say, GO!

My first concert was Phil Collins at the Skydome's Skytent June 11, 1990.

The years have passed and those who know me know my tastes have expanded over and over again. But I still love every band I ever listened to.

So I'll be seeing Phil Collins again this fall on September 12, 2004 at the Air Canada Centre. Looking forward to it as it's called his First Final Farewell Tour. Some say it's Phil making fun of bands like The Eagles, Kiss and The Who. Others say that due to his hearing loss it might very well be his last tour.

I wasn't intentionally trying to knock the promoters of the Ottawa Bluesfest, my intention was to describe the transition.

Obviously it's difficult to keep a festival based on the blues viable as the years go on. Many of the aforementioned people in my last post, Johnny Copeland, Junior Wells have since passed on, may they rest in peace. Also in '00 the great John Lee Hooker was supposed to be a headliner but had to be replaced by Buddy Guy, due to illness. I was lucky enough to see Hooker at Bimbo's in San Francisco later that year, but in early '01 he too passed away.

There aren't many Blues masters left and there also isn't many picking up the torch to carry on the tradition. It's one of those genres that sadly is shrinking.

I went to the Ottawa Bluesfest five years in a row from '96 to '00. And as every year rolled on there were less and less actual BLUES acts on the bill. It went from Robert Cray, Johnny Copeland, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown to Sting, Shawn Colvin and many others that I can't recall. Not to say that I don't like Sting, I do and will be seeing him this summer, it's just not the blues.

Also as this transition was happening one year to the next I also found that the festival was gaining in popularity, so why would the promoters that run the Ottawa Bluesfest stop?

Van Halen went on sale today at 10am for the ACC on 07/03/2004. Ticket prices are $115.00 and $85.00 plus service charges via phone, internet and ticketmaster outlets. There was a same day random draw policy in effect, but that doesn't apply anymore since the on sale was three hours ago.

I got a ticket yesterday during a Q107 presale, but forgot to post the passcode, sorry. Though since no one is talking about this show it looks like it really didn't matter much anyway.

That's cool, I guess the first one sold out. I got tickets for the first, though I think one is all I will be attending.

Just to remind everybody that might have been interested in this gig. Velvet Revolver tickets went on sale this morning at 10am. The total for a ticket after service charges is $42.60. If you want to learn more about the band check them out at www.velvetrevolver.net

Velvet Revolver, which featers former Sone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland playing with three former Guns N' Roses members, including guitarist Slash, visit Kool Haus on May 21. Tix, $32.50, go on sale Thursday at Ticketmaster, Rotate This, Sonic Temple or by phone or internet.

The band's debut, 'Contraband' (nice title for an album that Weiland is on!), hits stores June 8. The rest of the lineup is former GNR bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum, and guitarist Dave Kushner (Wasted Youth, Electric Love Hogs, Dave Navarro).

I'm really looking forward to this show I have always loved STP and GNR and now I get both in one show!

Hey Steve, I don't know if you ever found the setlist for this show? On Monday I found a review of the show in the Globe And Mail. Here's the songs the reviewer wrote about, I don't know if it's the whole set or not?

1. I Love You (Cole Porter)

2. Watermelon Man (Herbie Hancock)

3. Sonrisa (Hancock)

4. Pathways (Dave Holland)

5. You Got It Bad Girl (Stevie Wonder) Would of loved that!

E. 6. Maiden Voyage (Hancock)

Did they perform only six songs, if so this is the complete set. If you want the review to read, let me know and I'll give it to you the next time we see each other.

That monkey is getting pretty big on those Senators backs!

That's great Ms_Zimmy, I hope everybody yotes for Neil.

I wish I could go tonight, but unfortunately I have to work. Have fun seeing the Flecktones everybody!

To all those who voted for Neil Young during the All Star Music Survivior One. You should come out again and vote for Neil Young as the Greatest Canadian. How cool would it be if Neil Young ended up winning!

I have tickets to this tour on WED JUL 14 2004 at the AIR CANADA CENTRE, and not they're coming back again, WOW! Sting did two gigs at MASSEY HALL last month and now two gigs at the ACC. I bet you that Sting has never performed four times in Toronto in one year before.

I had my girlfriend making fun of me for wanting to go to this show. But then after she saw Prince's newest video on Much Music, she decided to go with me. We'll be sitting in SEC 319 ROW 11 SEATS 18 AND 18.

Hey Velvet I'm posting an hour after your last post so I assume that you got through and got tickets, as the show is still not sold out. I have a question for you Velvet, if you're able to post on here why didn't you go to www.ticketmaster.ca instead of calling? I personally find that the internet is far more reliable than the phone.

Hey Phunky Cauldron, I too have been spoiled by the jam scene when it comes to the length of shows. Damn, I've seen single sets that have been longer by jam bands then last nights entire AIR show, which ran 1 hour and 26 minutes. But the anticipation of a shorter show was in the front of my mind before I entered the doors.

Though as I have previously posted, I agree the show was a blast.

For anyone who's interested and finding more about AIR, check them out at their official website. www.intairnet.org

I've seen the Los Lonely Boys the past two years at Farm Aid. They are a good band, a lot like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, but spanish. They even have the whole gimmick down of playing behind their backs and heads like SRV and Hendrix used to do. Very entertaining.

I'm on day shift, but the Wednesday night hurts. How much?

I agree secondtube, "wow!!!"

Looks like quite the interesting show last night Steve. Especially where Herbie puts his hands in the piano to pluck the strings. I don't regret my decision though to attend the AIR concert, as I've been listening to them a lot lately. And it was surprisingly a very good show.

AIR was far better live than I anticipated. For a band that is dubbed "electronic" Dunckel and Godin's musicianship was superb. They also had another keyboardist and a drummer on stage with them, and on occasion a roadie came out to perform another keyboard. For four new songs 'Surfing On A Rocket', 'Cherry Blossom Girl', 'Another Day' and 'Biological' the drummer played bass and a drum machine was used.

The duo and their counterparts did an excellent job recreating the material from their records. They even by the end extended their classic opening track from their debut 'Moon Safari' entitled 'La Femme D'Argent'. 'Argent' is tarcked at 7:08 on the record and for the final song of the night it ended up running thirteen minutes plus. And it wasn't fluff either the soloing was quite good.

If you have not heard 'Talkie Walkie' and you like 'Moon Safari' then you would enjoy AIR right now. The entire night of music flowed beautifully and Dunckel and Godin had a wonderfully pleasant precence on stage. And the music was very spacey with sexual overtones, both musically and lyrically. I read that much of the music from their newest release was inspired by watching pornography.

It was definitely worth the $37.75 Canadian that I payed. If AIR came around again I would definitely want to go again. I am also already looking forward to AIR's next release. I feel that they are one of those few bands out their that do something within a genre of music and make it distinctly theirs, influencing those in and out of that genre.

Hey secondtube, I think scottieking meant "new" as in officially unreleased studio material. The Vegas run looked like a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to the summer SPAC and hopefully Vermont!

AIR, the electronic music duo from France performed tonight at Kool Haus. Air performed a nice mix from all their records from their classic debut 'Moon Safari' to their most recent release 'Talkie Walkie'.

The crowd was laid back and respectful. Felt like a Radiohead crowd, on valium and prozac.

Jean-Benot Dunckel & Nicolas Godin performed better live than I had anticipated, which was a nice surprise. I say this because I do not attend many electronic acts. I did see Moby at his Area2 festival, but I was mainly their for David Bowie.

I've been a fan of Air ever since I saw Sofia Coppola's directorial debut "The Virgin Suicides". I wanted to attend Air's show at the Kool Haus in 2001 when the venue was called The Warehouse. As they were supporting their '10000 HZ Legend' album at the time, of which I'm a big fan. It had a Beck feel to it, probably because Beck was on the record. But unfortunately I couldn't attend due to work.

Anyway here is the set list:

Start: 9:19PM

1. Venus ('Talkie Walkie' '04)

2. Alpha Beta Gaga ('04)

3. J'ai Dormi Sous L'Eau ('Premiers Symptomes' '99)

4. Surfing On A Rocket ('04)

5. People In The City ('10000 HZ Legend' '01)

6. Cerry Blossom Gilrl ('04)

7. Talisman ('Moon Safari' '98)

8. Another Day ('04)

9. Hurricane/Lover ('The Virgin Suicides' '00)

10. Run ('04)

11. Kelly Watch The Stars ('98)

Encore 1: 12. Radian ('01)

13. Biological ('04)

14. Sexy Body ('98)

Encore 2: 15. La Femme D'Argent ('98)

Finish: 10:46PM (1h26m total)

The opener was an interesting band from Brazil called The Mosquitos. They are fronted by a very colourful girl who entertained the crowd, though half the lyrics not english.

I wanted to see the last AIR show in Toronto, but I had to work or something. I really liked AIR's '10000 HZ LEGEND' album, even if it was given poor reviews by the critics for being so different then 'Moon Safari', like a band or artist should put out the same thing over and over again. Anyway I'm sure they'll still play something off that record.

That's right Herbie is playing tonight! Damn I forgot. Was the Herbie Hancock show initially announced for a different date and then the promoters changed it? I guess Steve I'm in more of a mood to see some electronica music tonight then jazz. Hey Steve what time do you think you'll be heading to Toronto? My show the doors open at seven but I don't know if AIR will be coming on early or late. I hope it's early.