Weirdness

Lollapalooza 2008 Definitely looks like a solid lineup this year. Really nice layout for a festival too. Apparently they are going to have $60 early bird tix at some point this week on the site, they haven't said when though.

What kind of speaker? I would think that $200 a pair would be more reasonable for something that's high quality which would net you a spare but $200 for a single is unusual but not unheard of depending on what it is. Your best bet is to find out exactly what speaker they put in your car, look up the retail price and then go from there. If they charged you 5 times the retail price then you definitely got screwed and can then go back and state your case with all of the details that you need to prove it.

The viewing angle on Sharp is not great by any means but they are excellent quality and the inventor of LCD. Opinions on A/V products are like assholes, everyone has one so that's why I suggest to go and see for yourself and judge with your own eyes as to what is best for you...

Given the fact that Samsung makes panels for Sony, it's hard to say that Sony is the way to go. It would be recommended to go with a known brand regardless. Some LCD's look better than others from the side so that is worth going to look with your own eyes. There are a lot of varying opinions on all of this so I would go and take a look and see what looks best to you at the price point that you are thinking. Your major chains are all going to have really hot buys on this week so it's a good time to be looking. I'm pretty sure that Bleeker is the biggest independent in your area if you don't want to deal with the majors. Costco probably has some good deals too if you know anyone with a membership. If you don't care about audio/video quality on a DVD player you can get away with anything. A player with HDMI out might look better on your new TV though, just don't pay too much for the cable. Don't get sucked into the warrnty thing either...

Reason #1-Compressed music is not as good as the real thing Reason #2-When your ipod craps out and you lose everything, you're fucked Having a listen to Wish You Were Here on virgin Blue vinyl right now, LONG LIVE THE INDEPENDENT RECORD STORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here Goes... Top Albums: Radiohead-In Rainbows Allison Krauss/Robert Plant-Raising Sand Feist—The Reminder Great Lake Swimmers-Oninagra Besnard Lakes-Are The Dark Horse Rilo Kiley-Under The Blacklight(don’t love it to death but it still deserves to make the list) Jason Isbell-Sirens In The Ditch Iron & Wine-The Shepherd’s Dog(grows on you big time…) Wilco-Sky Blue Sky The National-Boxer Top Shows: The Slip-Hamilton 5-19-07 Wilco-Massey Hall(Summer) Wilco-Fox Detroit(Fall)

2 nights at Tiptina's wouldn't be too shabby either...

I agree that subjectivity plays a big part but it's entirely common for a music artist to suck in general, to suck in concert, to suck in the studio etc. There have been many examples through the years and without a doubt there will continue to be more. I'd have to really be a mess to enjoy a backstreet boys show. I also believe that it's possible to have all the right ideas and have the knack for songwriting but not be able to play for shit at the same time. You can do a ton of takes in the studio to get the one that goes onto the disc and of course they can do all kinds of touch ups before the final copy is released.

I've seen some mellow stuff that was absolutely fantastic, Iron and Wine at Lolapalooza a couple of years back comes to mind and perhaps my greatest concert moment of all time was Richie Havens with tops 2 other performers on stage in the Pocanos a few years back. Sparse, mellow acoustic shit can be mind blowing if the performance is mind blowing. There aren't any specific rock shows that come to mind but it would be pretty easy to pick through the stubs and find a couple but the examples were more from recent memory. I guess the point is that some artists really have it down pat in the studio and some have the live thing down to a science but not everyone can be brilliant both ways. With Kevin Breit in any incarnation, I absolutely love seeing him live as much as anyone I've ever gone to see but it doesn't always come off the same on the studio recordings in comparison to seeing it go down in person. Wilco would be the best example of a band who can really do both well. I wonder what Sufjan Stevens is like live, anyone seen him???

I have been thinking about this one for awhile. The latest Feist disc has gotten pretty high rotation around here as of late but as much as I dig the sound and the music on that disc, after checking out a bit of Feist at Hillside a year or so ago(06?) I ended up leaving as I thought that it was pretty weak. Seeing Feist on SNL last night made me think the same thing. There are some other shows that I've seen in the past year that really didn't do it for me even though I love the studio stuff by the same artist. Cat Power and Josh Rouse come to mind right off the top. The National would qualify for me as well although you couldn't say it was a weak show. Needless to say, some bands are more focused on their live performance, some are brilliant in the studio. Anyone else that you've seen whos music you love but the show left something to be desired???

Figured it out, Echo Weekly had this listed under their listings for tonight, not the 19th.

Wish I could say that I was hammered but that's not the case as yet. Thanks Brad...

Does anyone know the details for this show? Last time I saw a show at the university you had to be a student or be signed in by one. Can't seem to find any details on location etc but if anyone knows, please post. These guys are good, could be a solid night out...

Yes indeedy, one awesome show. I tried to put a post up last night but all I could come up with was "wowee zowie" and that didn't seem like enough of a rundown without a setlist. Really great show and the encores were pretty much set II which was not expected at all. EPIC show, great venue, excellent sound. I'll have a nice recording to share but it may need some work, not sure about that 100% as yet. Definitely got it though. Either Way You Are My Face IATTBYH Pot Kettle Black (Yessss!) Handshake Drugs Side with the Seeds Shot in the Arm Via Chicago Impossible Germany SBS Too Far Apart (huh?) Walken ITMWLY Hummingbird (w/ Andrew Bird) In A Future Age (w/ A.B.) Spiders (w/ A.B.) Encore 1: Jesus Etc. (w/ A.B.) Hate It Here HMD Encore 2: Red Eyed & Blue>I Got U Casino Queen Outta Site Outta Mind

Just heard about these a few minutes ago. Oct 10th-Windsor-- The Avalon Front Oct 11th-London-- Call the Office Oct 12th-Toronto-- The Horeshoe Oct 13th-Ottawa-- Zaphod's

Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it but regardless this looks really interesting. Due out October 23rd or whenever your download finishes up...

Funny I was just about to put a post up about this one. Not expecting it to rock out too hard but I really love their music. Should be fun. If anyone is feeling spendy, they just came out with a really cool 5 disc box set with various studio sessions(the Sun Session is killer but short) and a DVD which will no doubt be available at the show.

My all time fave: "Jesus Loves You. Everyone else thinks you're an asshole"

Yeah, we just got back in from the Great Lake Swimmers/Final Fantasy show at the River Run in Guelph last night(good times) and I happened to catch the Paris segment of the show. It was great to watch her sqirm and Dave was definitely loving every minute of it himself. The fact that she didn't seem to see it coming or know that that's what she was in for pretty much solidifies what a ditz she is. As if Dave wasn't going to hammer her about her jail stint. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes up on youtube, no doubt a classic Letterman moment.

Looks like dude is opening for Wilco on a number of US dates: OCT-09 MILWAUKEE, WI EAGLE'S BALLROOM OCT-10 MINNEAPOLIS, MN NORTHROP AUDITORIUM OCT-11 OMAHA, NE ORPHEUM OCT-13 KANSAS CITY, MO CROSSROADS OCT-14 IOWA CITY, IA MAIN LOUNGE OCT-16 COLUMBUS, OH WEXNER CENTER - MERSHON AUDITORIUM OCT-17 DETROIT, MI FOX THEATRE ANDREW BIRD supports October 9-Milwaukee thru 17-Detroit. Playing solo on all dates except October 10-Minneapolis he will be performing with his full band.

Yes, nice review man. Here's mine: Pretty weak show but it had it's moments.

The thing about the sound check is that you don't have all of those bodies in the room to absorb sound so you never really know what the room is going to sound like until it's full. The sound check seems to generally be about making sure that everything is working properly and is balanced and then once everything starts up then it's a whole different scenereo. The truly great sound people can somewhat guess at what the room will sound like when it's full but that's pretty tricky given the fact that every venue is different but it's the great ones that can quickly tweak the sound in the first 10 minutes to not be boomy or lacking in highs etc. Just like great players, there are great sound people who can work their magic in any room and with limited resources in some cases. I always thought that Sam Leonard who used to do The Slip's sound was really brilliant, that guy could do a great job with what would appear to be not a lot to work with in a room which was definitely not engineered for sound.

Ah, it's all coming back to me now. Yeah, that looks about right. Solid show for sure, although I wouldn't call it mind blowing. The closer and encores were really great in particular. Funny banter for sure, fortunately they were going with the flow with the whole caveman thing. The thai food and "I just puked in my mouth" stories were pretty hillarious, not the type of banter you usually hear at a show. You'll all be able to hear it for yourselves soon enough...

"This Note's For You"-Neil Young Don't want no cash Don't need no money Ain't got no stash This note's for you. Ain't singin' for Pepsi Ain't singin' for Coke I don't sing for nobody Makes me look like a joke This note's for you. Ain't singin' for Miller Don't sing for Bud I won't sing for politicians Ain't singin' for Spuds This note's for you. Don't need no cash Don't want no money Ain't got no stash This note's for you. I've got the real thing I got the real thing, baby I got the real thing Yeah, alright.

If people actually went out and purchased the music itself, artists would not have to rely on other sources of income. I stopped into 3 record stores in Hamilton today between 1 and 2 pm and believe me, people were not clamoring to buy music, they're sitting at home dowloading it for free.