DevO

- going back to korea for 6 months, nicknamed "operation get rich quick and have a good time doing it" - getting my shit together - likely going back to school in september for a program in 'environmental management' - hopefully making it out to calgary to see my new nephew - more shows.

I always wondered what happened to set blenders.. Circa 2002 every other show was a set blender! Good to see someone reviving that spirit. I'm hoping to make it to the Red Dog show on my way up to Ottawa for the nero shows.

I missed The Ride Theory.. Too bad cuz I'd like to see them sometime. I heard their set went well though. Happy New Year!

Last night at the Horseshoe was off the hook! Sold out show and the place was rammed. The Sadies put on two huuuuuge sets. It was balls to the walls the entire time. Travis & Dallas' parents sat in for a song here and there in the first set. The second set went on forever and the encore was at least 7 songs. For the encore, who shows up other than the man himself MR. GREG KEELOR! Blue Rodeo had their own shindig going on at Copps Coliseum last night so I was pretty damn surprised to see him hit the stage. It was un-fucking-believable! That Greg Keelor is a real class act. No one other than Greg Keelor could get up on stage and play a cheeser like "To Love Somebody" at 3am on NYE and have the crowd roaring in approval. (the one that goes 'you don't knowwww what its liiike') When they rocked "Are You Ready For The Country" I soiled my pants. The Sadies are so on top of their game now, its amazing. Very good times had by all!

Set blender!!!! I'm so 2002.

THanks for the food for thought guys.. I'm pretty sure those were both just USB. I would probably exclusively be using the hard drive for music and video. Are those considered heavy duty?? I never thought about the drive becoming corrupted. Then again, I don't think I'll be putting anything on there that I can't survive without. Pops, I know what you're saying re: making your own external HD. I'd do it, but I haven't got a clue. What's lateny? AD, how do you respond to Can-O's last comment "In the tek-world you really do get what you pay for...if you travel the cheap road you're bound to be in for a bumpy ride..."?

I'm going to buy an external hard drive in the next few days, as the 40GB on my laptop is not nearly enough. I'm shopping at Future Shop thus far, and these two deals seem good. I can't tell much differnce between 'em. They're both the same price. If you click the links, all the specs and stuff are there. Any thoughts? I/O Magic 250GB 3.5" External Hard Drive VS. Comstar Platinum 250GB 3.5" External Hard Drive Both are on sale for $100. Thanks Skanks!

I would tend to agree with all of the above. Pavement is one of my favourite bands of all time, but the Malkmus solo stuff never did it for me to quite the same extent. Check out "Crooked Rain Crooked Rain" for starters.

That Koushik mix out on Stones Throw Records ("Be With") is really good shit! I hope to make it out tonight, but not sure at this point. http://www.stonesthrow.com/koushik/

I thought this was a thread about Canada's own David Frum.

Jan. 11 Peterborough, ON The Red Dog w/WHAT THE THUNDER SAID, KAE SUN --- This could make for a good stop-over for people like me on their from Southern ONT up to Ottawa for NERO!

I feel disconnected with the albums of 2006. I was busy enjoying the plentiful goodness of 2005 (way stronger than 06 imo) and exploring back catalogues of Jim O'Rourke, Kelly Joe Phelps, The Animals and The Byrds and then I was on the road for the end of the year. I can only think of a few and some of 'em I've only gotten a hold of in the past 2 weeks.. Nevertheless, these ones I now love, in no particular order: Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye M.Ward - Post War Neil Young - Living With War Thom Yorke - The Eraser Albums I Just Got That I Think I'm Really Gonna Like: - The Hold Steady - Band of Horses Albums I Was UNDERwhelmed By Or Don't Get/Like: - Gnarls Barkley - Flaming Lips "At War With The Mystics" - Loose Fur (new one) --- I just enjoy the 1st one so much more.

Right on Can-O, I'm a big fan of "Comfort of Strangers".. Not in the least because it was produced by enigmatic madman Jim O'Rourke. Beautiful album.

Time to hold your breath and see what happens next.

Sweet Brad, sounds great and its nice to be able to hear shows again the day after they occurred! See you in O-town.

happy birthday velvet! see you soon. i've got a present for you.

Ok you've got my interest. I'm downloading it. Sendspace is really easy NW; speaks for itself really! Lots of pop-ups going on there now I just noticed.

I wasn't there but heard about the Lips set from some friends.. Didn't they only do like 2-3 songs? And then they announced half way through something along the lines of "this is our last song", and finished up and vanished. The crowd cheered for an encore for like half an hour? I think Kid Koala had a similar very short set too. Besides that I heard it was a good time, though I know I would've been weary of all the ads and hoopla too.

So nice to see and hear The Spades again last night!! The room was fairly full, at about 50-60 or so people I'm guessing. I think this was my first time seeing the band outside of Peterborough, and the tame Toronto audience was a new thing for me... Used to more noise and more dancing taking place. Theres nothing like seeing The Spades at the Montreal House. Maybe it was just the room, or maybe just me, but to me it seemed the tone of James' guitar has changed since I last saw them 1.5 years ago.. More reverb maybe? I like the new tunes a lot. Highlights for me included Silver Ships, Preservatives > I'm Bored > Preservatives, Powerlines, Vampire Blues. I didn't recognize I'm Bored (Brad's got it down as an Iggy Pop cover) and I was loving that one. The new tunes sounded promising. 49 Tons rocked as well.. I dig how they build momentum with each successive verse in that song, switching up the rhythm and style. Chachi sang an "Eleanor Rigby" encore with haunting conviction. That back room at The Cameron House is a solid venue too. It was great to finally meet you Dr. J and The Rev. And to re-meet Cully and Snelly. And good to see ya Luke. I was pretty sauced by the end of the night. A few Amatos slices and we were headed back to Hamilton.

The Hold Steady - Boy & Girls In America --- first time listen and i'm already quite liking this one! any other fans around here?

ouch, calling out the slackers!

Last night's show was no laughing matter. This is some serious, down-tempo, sparse, dubby minimalist electronic music. I really enjoyed the Junior Boys live. Very refreshing!! I think now I'll be able to enjoy the 2 albums on a new level. I say check em out! It was a pretty full house too.. I'm estimating 175 people (?).

I'll be at the The Spades too.. I've been waiting to see them play again for way too long now. Although that gig sounds interesting! I haven't heard of her but I'll watch out. I wonder how late it goes til...? With THe Spades finished by Midnight, there's probably time to squeeze in something else too. Don't forget Crazy Strings!

I got a nice coffee table book that I've been wanting for a long time now. Its called Where Music Comes From by photographer Nubar Alexanian. For 5 years he followed around the musicians that inspire him, and tried to document what it is that inspires them in making their music. He travels and hangs out with musicians such as Paul Simon, Phillip Glass, Phish, Emmylou Harris, Wynton Marsalis, Junior Wells. Pretty cool! Where Music Comes From

Ella Fitzgerald - Wishes You A Swinging CHristmas John Scofield - What I Say (Ray Charles Tribute) James Brown - Golden Hits Tony Bennett - Duets: An American Classic [not my pick!!]