Freak By Night

2020 lineup announced. The Slip are back!

Groupon has substantial discounts available for this thing.  Don't pay full price!

Geddy did an hour-long interview with CBC Radio host Alan Neal. The place was almost entirely full of Rush geeks of all ages.  Geddy's hilarious stories were mostly about the interviews he did with other notable bass players when he put together his book, and also about the bass players and music that influenced his playing. He had a funny Jewish mother joke (not the 1st time I've heard him tell it) which earned a round of applause! After a handful of questions from audience members, all attendees  bought the book lined up to get it autographed and to bask in his glow for 15-20 seconds.

Geddy did an hour-long interview with CBC Radio host Alan Neal. The place was almost entirely full of Rush geeks of all ages.  Geddy's hilarious stories were mostly about the interviews he did with other notable bass players when he put together his book, and also about the bass players and music that influenced his playing. He had a funny Jewish mother joke (not the 1st time I've heard him tell it) which earned a round of applause! After a handful of questions from audience members, all attendees  bought the book lined up to get it autographed and to bask in his glow for 15-20 seconds.

I'd go, but I already have plans to attend a Phish concert in the former murder capital of the USA.
Love the Stones, but I love Phish more!

If they really wanted recreate the Woodstock experience, they should encourage everyone to come naked!

I'm disappointed that I jumped on these tickets immediately when they went on sale. That was highly unnecessary, as tickets for decent seats could have been purchased for as little as 10 bucks on the day of the show. Lesson learned.
No matter now. I still enjoyed myself. We arrived early well before Tara Lightfoot's 3 piece band took the stage. She's a solid guitar rocker and I enjoyed the short late afternoon set.
Sturgill Simpson, I've heard, is a country musician. Or is he? He certainly did not sound very country. This was loud, guitar-driven, heavy jam/blues rock. I wasn't surprised though, as I'd seen this band at the Bluesfest almost 2 months ago. Highly recommended.
The Teseschi Trucks band never fails to get me up dancing. This caused some conflict with the people behind us. My brother, my friend, and I all got up to dance for some grooving songs. The folks behind us preferred to sit on their hands. After a couple of songs, some handfuls of popcorn were thrown at us. Then the shouting started. I'm pretty easy going, I don't want to piss anyone off, so I sat down. My buddy continued to exercise his right to dance and the situation escalated. Security was having none of this.  They re-located the complainers temporarily to some empty seats a couple of rows in front of us.
I've been to concerts all over North America, and I must say Toronto music fans are the least lively. Doesn't matter who the performer is, just sit down and don't move!
Willie Nelson & Family played an hour long set of country favorites. A true legend! I cant' expand much on edger's comments, but it was strange how the house lights came on exactly at 10:45 pm, even before the final notes of Willie's set had been played!  It was like they wanted everyone out of there as soon as possible.
I totally enjoyed all the acts and had a fun time on a chilly, blustery Sunday night on the shore of Lake Ontario.

I'm disappointed that I jumped on these tickets immediately when they went on sale. That was highly unnecessary, as tickets for decent seats could have been purchased for as little as 10 bucks on the day of the show. Lesson learned.
No matter now. I still enjoyed myself. We arrived early well before Tara Lightfoot's 3 piece band took the stage. She's a solid guitar rocker and I enjoyed the short late afternoon set.
Sturgill Simpson, I've heard, is a country musician. Or is he? He certainly did not sound very country. This was loud, guitar-driven, heavy jam/blues rock. I wasn't surprised though, as I'd seen this band at the Bluesfest almost 2 months ago. Highly recommended.
The Teseschi Trucks band never fails to get me up dancing. This caused some conflict with the people behind us. My brother, my friend, and I all got up to dance for some grooving songs. The folks behind us preferred to sit on their hands. After a couple of songs, some handfuls of popcorn were thrown at us. Then the shouting started. I'm pretty easy going, I don't want to piss anyone off, so I sat down. My buddy continued to exercise his right to dance and the situation escalated. Security was having none of this.  They re-located the complainers temporarily to some empty seats a couple of rows in front of us.
I've been to concerts all over North America, and I must say Toronto music fans are the least lively. Doesn't matter who the performer is, just sit down and don't move!
Willie Nelson & Family played an hour long set of country favorites. A true legend! I cant' expand much on edger's comments, but it was strange how the house lights came on exactly at 10:45 pm, even before the final notes of Willie's set had been played!  It was like they wanted everyone out of there as soon as possible.
I totally enjoyed all the acts and had a fun time on a chilly, blustery Sunday night on the shore of Lake Ontario.

For the first time in many years I went to the bluesfest every night! It was all pretty good.
Highlights for me were DMB, Beck, Sturgill, War on Drugs, Foo Fighters.
Fun times!

GDPR - TLDR

GDPR - TLDR

Check out the FAQ on that page. It doesn't include what must certainly be the most frequently asked question: "Why?"

Check out the FAQ on that page. It doesn't include what must certainly be the most frequently asked question: "Why?"

Thank Mike.

bloody hell what a perfect night to honour our friend... -15°C  with a windchill (in which I don't believe btw) of - 25. He would make his way in this weather. He would still take the bus. He would still show up early.
quite amazing really in a lot of ways

My ticket story from today.  To be honest, I can't actually remember if bradm was at the show or not, I'm just assuming he was.  And I think there's a good chance I was right.
In the early evening of December 7th, 2013 I sat on my couch debating whether or not to go see Kevin Breit at Gigspace.  One of my favourite musicians had made the drive from Toronto-ish to Ottawa to play a one-off (more accurately, they were playing two shows back-to-back on the same evening) with Carleton University drum instructor (and improvising maniac) Jesse Stewart and Ottawa-based music producer and bass player Phil Bova, and it was all I could do to get my lazy butt off the couch and drive to the small venue/music school for the second show of the night.
And when I arrived of course I found my good friend Bradm in the front row.  I can’t say for sure, but I’d guess he had been there since long before the first show started, setting up his microphones to record the concert(s).  Y’see, Bradm’s thing was to take his high-quality microphones and recording system to shows big and small and record them from start-to-finish, meticulously taking notes of song titles in between rockin’ out on the spot to the show in question.
I say he recorded shows “big and small” but his big focus was on the smaller shows, and over the years Bradm accumulated an incredible sonic library chronicling Ottawa’s independent music scene.  Three or four nights a week, regardless of the weather, Bradm would tuck in his concert t-shirt, lace up his Converse sneakers and don his blue winter jacket (again, regardless of the weather), grab his trusty backpack loaded up with recording gear, flashlights, batteries, pens and notebook, and usually a handful of burned CDs to hand out to friends (like yours truly), and take the bus to some local venue (never, ever have I seen him shell out for a taxi) like Maverick’s, Irene’s. Cafe Dekcuf, The Rainbow, or in this case Gigspace to record a show, and he always (always) showed up early.
I mean, the guy was an inspiration.  Here I had been parked on my couch merely a short, comfy drive from the show and I barely made it out.  Bradm would have been waiting at his bus stop way out in the west end since the tail end of rush hour, the winter sun already long since set, and he would have had a long, lonely bus ride home at the end of the night too and there was no question that he would be there.  He was always there.  The guy did this all the time.
And he was a really great friend too.  There’s no question that Bradm was a quirky soul, but there was something about him that I liked through and through, and he seemed to like me too.  We saw countless shows together, he recorded pretty much every live show I’ve played with since we met, he was the first to arrive at every party I’ve hosted since I’ve known him, we travelled to shows together an awful lot and even went to Europe together, just the two of us.  Heck, Bradm was the guy who introduced me to m’lady.  
So there he was, in the front row recording the Kevin Breit show.  When we chatted at the end of the night he no doubt went on excitedly about the show we just saw.  No matter how many thousands (yes, thousands) of small, indie shows Bradm would see in his lifetime he never lost the youthful, exuberant excitement that left me so many years ago.  The guy just loved music, he loved musicians (and most people), and he loved, loved, loved to record shows.
And as we chatted that night none of us could know that had only a few more years left in him.  I had no idea that I would lose my good friend before either of us hit fifty.  It’s funny, I remember very clearly the moment I met Bradm.  He was sitting in a booth with some friends of mine at a Downtime show at a long-gone bar in Ottawa called The Bayou when I introduced myself, and we had been good friends ever since.
But the weird bit is, I can’t for the life of me remember the last time I saw him.  It’s not that it had been a long time or anything; quite the opposite.  I saw him all the time, virtually every time I went to a local show and a bunch more besides.  But I don’t recall the last time we saw each other, and I fear I never will.  And so, whenever I go out I still expect to see him there, I still expect to find Bradm stand up when I arrive to give me a hug and offer me a seat at his front table (which I often declined.  Due to the proximity of the microphones there was no talking aloud allowed when you sat with Bradm at a show).
But I won’t see him again, and that’s really a shame.
I looked at his page on archive.org and this show is not among the 850+ recordings that Bradm uploaded.  And the most likely reason it isn’t there is because Bradm would never upload a band’s music with the express consent of everyone involved - the dude had ethics - and if I know one thing about Kevin Breit, I know he wouldn’t necessarily be quick to respond to Bradm’s inevitable email requesting permission to upload one of his concerts.
To sample some of his work, I urge you to visit archive.org and search “bradm”.  

I went to the 1st show at MSG Sunday night, and I totally enjoyed it.
Had a lousy seat, but it was still a fun time.

Oh wow, thanks for bumping that post, Hart.
I was devastated to hear this terrible news. At home this morning, I heard Ollie yell "Oh no!"...to which I replied "Oh no...Who died?", thinking that yet another celebrity passed away.
Unfortunately, the news was much worse, much closer to home. Brad was indeed a celebrity in his own right in this town's music community.
I just saw Brad less than two weeks ago. I was always happy to see Brad at a house party or concert. I felt comfort when seeing him because if I didn't know who to talk to, I knew I could talk to him. And it was about music. I always asked him what shows he saw recently or was going to see soon. Last conversation we had was about Mike Essoudry. He was telling me about a show coming up at Mavericks on November 7th. I wasn't surprised to hear him mention Essoudry. He was a big fan. Another band that Brad often promoted is Souljazz Orchestra. I think of Brad whenever I see their name.
Looks like I need to buy some scotch. Cheers to you, Brad!

Here's my Gord story:
In Sept 2009 the Hip did a theater tour, and played 3 nights in Ottawa at the venerable National Arts Center. I went the 3rd night, we had pretty good seats in the 6th or 7th row, dead center. It was awesome. The performance of "Scared" gave me the music shivers! I'd seen the Hip many times before but this was the first time I realized that Gord was acting out the song's lyrics with his facial expressions. It was brilliant.
During "Blow at High Dough" Gord came out into the crowd, walking on the backs of the seats. He stopped right beside me, put his hand on my shoulder to support himself, and stuck the microphone in my face so I could sing a line. I shouted "Blow at High Dough" as best I could. I think I was in key. He was sweating profusely, and much of his sweat ended up on my shoulder and head. I didn't wash for a few days!

Here's my Gord story:
In Sept 2009 the Hip did a theater tour, and played 3 nights in Ottawa at the venerable National Arts Center. I went the 3rd night, we had pretty good seats in the 6th or 7th row, dead center. It was awesome. The performance of "Scared" gave me the music shivers! I'd seen the Hip many times before but this was the first time I realized that Gord was acting out the song's lyrics with his facial expressions. It was brilliant.
During "Blow at High Dough" Gord came out into the crowd, walking on the backs of the seats. He stopped right beside me, put his hand on my shoulder to support himself, and stuck the microphone in my face so I could sing a line. I shouted "Blow at High Dough" as best I could. I think I was in key. He was sweating profusely, and much of his sweat ended up on my shoulder and head. I didn't wash for a few days!

Here's my Gord story:
In Sept 2009 the Hip did a theater tour, and played 3 nights in Ottawa at the venerable National Arts Center. I went the 3rd night, we had pretty good seats in the 6th or 7th row, dead center. It was awesome. The performance of "Scared" gave me the music shivers! I'd seen the Hip many times before but this was the first time I realized that Gord was acting out the song's lyrics with his facial expressions. It was brilliant.
During "Blow at High Dough" Gord came out into the crowd, walking on the backs of the seats. He stopped right beside me, put his hand on my shoulder to support himself, and stuck the microphone in my face so I could sing a line. I shouted "Blow at High Dough" as best I could. I think I was in key. He was sweating profusely, and much of his sweat ended up on my shoulder and head. I didn't wash for a few days!

How anyone doesnt love how JRAD is bringing our favorites band's music to another level shocks me. Look no further to C-Towns post as they transition from Let It Grow into Running Down A Dream. This is a band who arent writing songs but are killing killer songs while going inside and out of them like I have never heard.
I would tour with these guys if I was a kid........and then you get Johnny Slayer showing up as a guest.....the Dead's music best keep living on
 

Isnt there already a Baker's Dozen thread on this board you can check out?
Personally, I think that is another high-water mark for the band.
I was off and on with them since they came back in 2009. I saw the last show of their summer tour in 2009, saw Finger Lakes in 2010, listened to a pile because I was still a Phish junkie but I was getting close to cutting that chord - so to speak. I figured if I saw one more show that was not doing it for me then I was done but the rescheduled Toronto show brought me back in a little bit and then that fall I saw them in Glens Falls. I was still in. Things were still inconsistent but for my ears, summer 2015 turned the tide and they have been on a slow ascending upswing since then.
My personal belief is because they toured extensively during their first era, making the music a priority while they were young, they fell into a groove they will never find again thanks to age and responsibilities outside of the band. That first shit was nuts. The second wave came about and it's obvious personal demons were affecting them as a unit but they could still pull off some crazy-assed jams at the detriment of the tightness they once had but age was starting to become a factor. The best analogy I can make is the mid 30 year old athlete who once excelled on a nightly basis but you only see that magic from time to time.
Then it was gone.
They came back and we all went crazy but something was not up to par. It took them a long time to get that dinosaur roaring again because they had to figure it out but I believe they are back in business. Obviously things are a little slower now and composed sections will be messed up from time to time thanks to the sheer number of songs they love to throw out at us but a pattern is starting to develop that I am completely on board with. "Give them a big jam" seems to be something they are delivering on an almost nightly basis now since.............I dont know when because I stopped listening to every show but from last fall at Dick's on I have really enjoyed most of what I have heard.
Go into the Baker's Dozen thread, to kind of answer your question, after you watch this amazing madness. I wasnt at this show. I had just gotten home from PEI, crushed three beers and abowl and then this happened........great shit right here RobNotBob - Dick's is coming up again at the end of the month. I strongly recommend you check it out from your couch. They will be offering streams.
 
 
 
 
 

My trip was short.
I left Ottawa early Friday morning and made it to the hotel in Jersey City by 4:20 pm a quick shower then I was on my way by the PATH train to the 33rd street station, right near Madison Square Garden. Met some peeps at a nearby pub, then it was off to the show at MSG.
Phish killed it! What a great show with many musical peaks. I finally had a good seat for a show at MSG and I really enjoyed it. Musical highlights for me were "Halfway to the Moon", "Slave", "Suzy Greenberg" and "Tweezer". No reprise though! Maybe that will come later during this residency in New York. They also nailed a cover of Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" and the encore of Zep's "Good Times Bad Times".
In all, I thought the concert was excellent. I met some really good people at the show. New York is a lot of fun.
Afterwards it was a walk up to Times Square to catch moe. in a sold out late performance. As you've probably heard, Rob will be undergoing cancer treatment and they had to cut the summer tour short. This was one of the few dates they kept. The outpouring of love and support for Rob was great. There were several huge cards to sign at the merch table. The show was a lot of fun, I was dancing at the front to start but fatigue overcame me after a short while, I moved to the back where there were plenty of free seats in this very nice theater. I remained there for the rest of the show, which finally ended at about 3:30. The band got into some serious weird jams but finished with a stellar Rebubula and a touching cover of "Halleluja". It was a long day and I was very tired when I got back to the hotel just before 5 am, but I'm glad I caught moe. before their forthcoming hiatus.
I'm seriously thinking of returning for the final weekend of these baker's dozen shows, the first weekend in August. Gotta scrape up some $$ for tix and accommodations.