ollie

Kev, I'm disappointed that you never commented on the Dave Lowery article I posted a while back. http://thetrichordist.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/letter-to-emily-white-at-npr-all-songs-considered/

I used to read a ton of "alternative" comics back in the '90s: Hate, Peepshow, Dirty Plotte, Real Stuff, American Splendour, Bitchy Bitch, Optic Nerve, Eightball, etc. Basically anything on Fantagraphics and the various other indie shops that were around back then. Not to mention mini-comics. I LOVED that shit. I think most of those titles just petered out and I didn't find anything to replace them with. In any case, I don't read them anymore outside of pulling out some back issues from time to time. I also used to collect Marvel and DC in the '80s but it doesn't hold much sway with me anymore. Though one of my prized possessions is a Batman sketch that John Romita Sr. did for me at the Silver Snail. He was a Marvel guy and I thought it was pretty cool that he drew a DC character for me.

Wow. The sad thing is this isn't even the height of Hollywood greed and hubris. The blockbuster model needs a major overhaul, but as long as money rules the day (and it always will) things won't change. Boo-urns and FU Peter Jackson.

For anyone trying to follow the soccer, I found today's matches on these channels: Omni 1 (Spanish?): ESP/HON V (French): GBR/UAE Outdoor Life (English): BRA/BLR Also online at http://www.ctvolympics.ca/. The iPad app for this site is pretty sweet.

Mr. Bean and the EastEnders theme were awesome though.

This. And this.

Nashville matched. Weber is staying in the West, thank god!

Yeah, I forget just how much detail goes into each show. Watching with a buzz is fun but you miss a lot. Anyway, I dug the first episode. The is the first season I'm watching in real time and I think I'm going to enjoy the anticipation of a new episode each week. The only downside is that Rogers doesn't offer AMC in high definition. Boo-urns!

That might have been the best set of the festival. Total electric guitar porn. I still can't wrap my head around Skrillex. Last year's show on the River stage was a lot more accessible and I enjoyed the vibe. This year the crowd was just massive and it was surreal standing way, way back on the lawn watching one little dude on stage "spin records". It was both impressive and really depressing. But I feel like anything negative I have to say is eclipsed by the mammoth popularity of this scene. I can only bow down in awe.

Kudos to the guitar player for having the balls to rock the Randy "Macho Man" Savage look. Wow.

It must have filled in once they started, it was pretty sparse at the front right up until they hit the stage. Nice sticker on Craig's guitar.

Was anyone else at The Hold Steady last night? I can't believe how small the crowd was!! Not as small as the crowd for Sugar Ray headlining at the Black Sheep stage though. The blues acts are taking a huge hit this year.

Saw them again in Montreal last night and it was amazing. Maybe my favourite Maiden show yet. The setlist is awesome. Enjoy!! Tip for the newbies -- keep your eyes on the spaztic stage antics of guitarist Janick Gers, typically on the right side facing the stage. I'm pretty sure his guitar isn't even plugged in. Killer fan video from last night: More...

Cheap Nickleback joke aside, my point about Radiohead still stands.

This article didn't impress me as much as the Lowery piece. I tend to think that talent and ambition rises to the top so I'm not so sure we wouldn't have Radiohead without major labels. Maybe they wouldn't be as massively popular but they'd still be there. I think a more appropriate title would be "No Major labels, No Nickleback", which doesn't sound so bad at all.

Line of the night from Bruce Dickinson which I'm sure made Mark Monahan cringe: "This stage is a little bit Spinal Tap."

Intriguing. Tell me more!

Props to security at the Sleigh Bells show last night, handing out free water bottles and ear plugs. I imagine they are doing this at the other stages as well. Smart move!

It's true.

Also, - with the new location of the main stage, almost at the complete other end than it traditionally had been, the funnel effect is back, meaning real estate in front of the stage is limited, with fans having to fan out to the left and right at the soundboard, which is massive and creates really bad sight lines for anyone behind it. - on the plus side, you can buy Mill Steet's Chaudière beer at the main beer tent... delicious and 7% ABV!

All said, Bluesfest was pretty fun last night. Started with a bit of Tangerine Dream -- was way too early to appreciate a band like that. Caught all of the Melvins set which was great. Then most of Fishbone which was only decent, I thought, due to bad sound (low volume) and a bit of a young "who are these guys?" audience. Checked out the food options. I left dinner really late so wasn't in the mood for a ton of food but that's what each vendor seemed to be offering. I asked the guy at Stoneworks (?) if he could sell me just 2 tacos but he wasn't allowed to because of some Bluesfest pricing rules. Too bad. Ended up having a bad slice of pizza. I also noticed that Fitz' Catering isn't serving their meatball sandwich this year which is disappointing. Back to the music... caught a few glimpses of Tiesto while walking by. Really small crowd for an opening night headliner but the people packed up front were having a good time. I wasn't in the right frame of mind to enjoy it though. Boom, boom, boom. Sat down to watch a few Billy Bragg songs and eat. He talks a lot which I enjoyed. Kept referring to the sound bleed from Tiesto but in a good natured manner all things considered. This looked like a fun show from what I saw. Finished the night with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Pretty sparse crowd at the Electronic stage for this. Was super easy to walk up to the rail. I guess I was expecting something more bluesy, a female Warren Haynes maybe, but I thought Grace and her band were pretty cheesy. They skewed too much on the country/pop side for me. I thought the cover of "Rocking in the Free World" was particularly bad. Still, Potter worked that stage like her life depended on it, at one point stepping off it to high five everyone in the front row. This band is trying hard and it will be interesting to see where they go from here.

Beer lineup during Tiesto.