M

There's a great music store at Yonge and Eglinton called Ed's Record World . Lots of imports, etc. 416.486.1144

There used to be an awesome one called Incredible Records (2nd floor) at Yonge and Bloor that all musicians playing in town would stop by and hang out at: Santana, Stones, etc. Lots of cool memorabilia on the walls. The guy that owned it closed it down and moved to San Fransisco to open up shop. However, his brother has a store in Kingston (not sure if its still open but it was around when I went to school there) called Brian's Record Option.

I went to the show... good times. It was definitely filled with old folks... it's no wonder as my ticket was $375 (!!). Luckily I didn't have to pay for it.....

Set list

Street Fighting Man

It's Only Rock'n'Roll

If You Can't Rock Me

Don't Stop

Rocks Off

Love In Vain

Let It Bleed

Monkey Man

Gimme Shelter

Tumbling Dice

Thru And Thru

Happy

Start Me Up

Honky Tonk Women

Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Satisfaction

Mannish Boy

Neighbors

Brown Sugar

Sympathy For The Devil

Jumping Jack Flash

Hey Jeff,

Let us know if you've got a P/O box or address where we can mail you some new music!

Mary

Hey Jeff,

Got your email the other day - good to hear about life on the boat!

All is well in the city... we're all missing you tons....

Take care,

Mary

Hi guys, yeah - the weeks... they're all pretty crazy.

The Rheostatic's website is pretty shoddy - no download's available there. www.newmusiccanada.com is a great site where you can type in an artist and pretty much listen to whole albums of a variety of Canadian artists. The Rheo stuff that is up there currently isn't from their most recent album though and isn't the greatest.

They'll be playing on the 23rd (the night before the Nero Toronto show) for those coming into town for that weekend and are interested in checking them out.

Side note: just chatted with a friend of mine who was partying with Mick Jagger last night at a house party in Toronto. Apparently she and another girl I know were "brought" from a bar to go to the party. Mick was, as you can guess, very flirtatious.... and very twice their age.

Ah, you gotta love rock and roll.

It's been a great week of music in Toronto.

Monday I went and checked out the concert film "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars". The low quality of this movie reminds you of how truly far we have come in the production of concert films. The difference between concert films "then and now" (with the exception of the Last Waltz) is that with the technology today, movie footage can make you actually believe you are sitting in the front row, having a pseudo-concert experience and allow you to leave the theatre feeling satisfied. "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" is the kind of old-school movie which, although very entertaining, isn't quite able to attain the same results. You can see all the elements (theatrical, emotional, musical) of what made the actual concert phenomenally killer, but looking through the shaky, grainy footage and listening past the less-than-pristine sound, proves ultimately to be a distracting experience. It was an eye opener seeing this movie how spoilt I must be these days with technology. Although I appreciate the nostalgia of the crackle of vinyl in an audio recording, when its a video/audio combo ... a concert film... I guess I have higher expectations.

Last Wednesday I made it out to the Strokes/Sloan show at the ACC. I've heard mixed reviews from all that were at that show. Among the complaints I have heard re: the Strokes set was that it was too short and their playing was not tight enough.

In sum: not enough bang for the proverbial buck.

If their playing was deemed by some to be too loose, it was possibly due to the fact that the band had been boozing all day (not that that's really any excuse for a professional musician....they should have enough practice - both in drinking and in playing - for that to not happen). A friend of mine interviewed two of them on the radio that afternoon and said that it was, quite possibly, the worst radio interview he had ever done; namely due to the fact that one of the interviewees was slurring his words, rolling around on the floor of the station, etc. In fact, my friend's new term for "wasted" is now "Julian" (the name of the lead singer). However, after hanging out with them, he had nothing but good things to say about them as people. I partied with the Strokes after the ACC show and also have to say they were pretty cool, polite guys. They gave off the "fame hasn't gotten to them yet" vibe. And man are they cute.

As for the show itself, my impression of it was favorable. Albeit, it was one of those performances that sound pretty much identical to the album. I'm not a die-hard Strokes fan but I remember really enjoying their album when it came out - seemingly right at the dawn of the popularity of the "The" bands... "The White Stripes", "The Hives", "The Vines", etc. At the time, I found it a very refreshing sound in comparison to the majority of albums at home on the Billboard charts. That was about a year ago and so the songs I have possibly heard a few too many times to get a massive thrill out of live. The quintessential moment for seeing this band live would have to have been last year's performance at the Horseshoe: large sound, contained & sweaty venue, and only

pre-hype-hype expectations surrounding the show.

After the Strokes show it was over to the Comfort Zone to see Mark Wilson and the Way it Is. Friends of Hefner were listed as opening but the guys played under the name "Guesthouse" (I think). I'm not sure if this is an entirely different lineup than FOH or not. Anyways, regardless, it was a great night of music - nice to see those two bands playing in Toronto.

Friday night I went and checked out Martin Tielli at the Rivoli which was incredible. Not even sure how to capture this performance in words... I can only say that he and his band are a musical treasure to experience. One of the interesting differences I found watching this show versus other shows I have seen lately was the crowd reaction. Walking from the stage towards the bar to get a drink I was captivated by the expressions on the faces of those in the audience. Seeing a room filled of people with gazes absorbed in the musician and bodies taut and riveted to one spot was a sharp contrast to the eyes-closed, loosely flowing bodies found at many other shows I have seen of late. Observing the physical expression of music in a crowd is a fascinating past-time; one could go on about the many factors (social, chemical, etc.) which contribute to the level at which people express, and feel comfortable expressing, their bodies with music.

Martin Tielli will be playing in/with the Rheostatics for another crazy eleven night run at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, November 13-23. Definitely worth checking out. Last year's shows were diverse and memorable.

Saturday night I went and saw Smokestack at the Comfort Zone. I think the openers were called "Viberiders". I walked in near the end of the opening band's set and heard that it was possibly only their second or third show together. From what I saw, they were pretty good and I'd go see them again if they played in Toronto.

Seeing Smokestack was a pretty neat experience b/c I was actually on my way down to the Rivoli - back to see Martin Tielli play again - but decided to stop in to the Comfort Zone solely based on reviews I had read about these guys here on this site. After reading the raves, I went and checked out some info and downloads from their site and made the decision to see them based on that. I'm very glad I did. They were extremely talented musicians. I had some friends come meet me at the bar who don't listen necessarily to the same music that I do and they were further impressed. To top it off, these guys were tons of fun and knew how to party late into the night.

...Partied so late that I literally stumbled (with some help) the next evening (Sunday) over to a great venue - Hugh's Room - in Toronto to see Richie Havens play. Richie was in town both Saturday and Sunday night and played there both nights to a packed crowd. Last time I saw Richie Havens was at the Comfort Zone a few years ago. Hugh's Room was a bit better venue to see this particular artist in because there were tables to sit at to have dinner and watch the show. Also, there were a few different levels of seating so that all of the audience had a great vantage point to see the performers. The sound was also impeccable.

Richie Havens is an amazing performer. He was accompanied on stage with another guitarist and a conga player. One of the strangest things happened during his show... as he was intro-ing "Handsome Johnny", he asked for the man who had written it, an old friend of his who was in town, to come up on stange and join him. Turns out his old friend was "Academy Award Winner" Lou Gossett Jr. The two of them sang that song together.

I attempted to write down the setlist but things get a bit blurry near the end:

Set One:

Maggies Farm

Tuepelo Honey => Just Like a Woman

High Flying Bird

Alone Together

Stardust and Passion

Here Comes the Sun

Set Two:

Handouts in the Rain

Love is Alive

On the Road to Calvary

Paradise

Handsome Johnny *

Sandy

??

Freedom => Motherless Child

E: You Are So Beautiful (a capella)

Richie Havens is touring in support of a new album he has release called "Wishing Well" which actually also has a Pink Floyd cover on it. He does a version of "On the Turning Away".

Anyways, a great week in music has passed and another is up and coming: The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Swift Band, Bodega, Beck. etc.

Looking forward to it.....

Glad you had a good time Ms.Hux! It was good to see that you guys had made the trek to Toronto!!

It was a fun, fun night. We partied it up with Smokestack until 11am the next morning. They had nothing but great things to say about Canada and the people they met while they were here. They contributed a post around 6:30am to that effect .... (see "Thank you Canada, We Love You!").. too funny.

The White Stripes are also opening for the Rolling Stones tomorrow night at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto... should be an awesome show.

I've got backstage passes! So excited!

Hi - we've got Smokestack here... partying late night - checking in.. wanting to comment on the night... here they are:

Hey all-

Just a quick note to say thanks and say what's up to our new friends North of the Border. Special thanks to Dave, Brad, Graham, Yo, Shain S., Shain M., James, Mary, Martha, Sylvia, Brandon and all of the people that made us feel at home up here

Here are a couple comments from the peanut gallery:

B-Mac (Ist Round) : Uhh...superb herb

James (Ist Round) : We gotta be honest with ourselves

Brandon (Ist Round) : USA...A-OKAY

Chuck (Ist Round) : Can you come back to me, I haven't had anytime to prepare.

Mary (Ist Round) : Sorry no comment

Reegs (Ist Round): For not if we don't

Pedro (Ist Round) : It's a logistal matter.

Bare with us - now for the second round of our impromptu quotes.

B-Mac (2nd Round): The older the grape, the sweeter the juice.

James (2nd Round): Round two is so much better than round one...always...http

Brandon (2nd Round): I'm wondering what's next...

Martha (2nd Round) : I got skipped over in the first round.

Chuck (2nd Round): Lets get down to brass tacs, how much for the ape?

Mary (2nd Round): Can I have another grape...maybe two.

Reegs (2nd Round): The best thing about Canada is....

Pedro (2nd Round): Well, we're pleased as punch to be here in Ontario...

B-Mac (3rd Round): Negotiably

James (3rd Round): speaking,

Martha (3rd Round): we

Chuck (3rd Round): the people of Canada

Mary (3rd Round): are

Reegs (3rd Round): expecting

Pedro (3rd Round): a large influx

B-Mac (3rd Round): ------

James (3rd Round): of monkeys

Brandon (3rd Round): accelerating

Chuck (3rd Round): through

Mary (3rd Round): time

Reegs (3rd Round): .

Thank you for putting up with this nonsense.

Jimmy Swift Band are mentioned in this week's NOW Magazine.

Click here to read the blurb.

October 25, 2002 > Carlton Cinema - Toronto - 416 598 2309

November 9-11, 2002 > Bytowne Cinema - Ottawa - 613 789 4600

>> From the WILCO Film website

" I am Trying to Break your Heart is a feature length black and white film about Wilco. More specifically, it follows the band through the making of their fourth album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." The film shows the conflict that arises when a band creates an artistic and challenging record while signed to a record company in the midst of a giant corporate takeover.

The movie (was) shot on super 16mm black and white film and (covered) the beginning of the recording of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," the band's parting ways with their former label, Reprise, band member changes, touring, and signing with their new label, Nonesuch.

The filmmakers have financed this film independently. Neither Wilco nor their record company is financially involved in the film, making it a true documentary, rather than a glorified music video or EPK. "

CLICK HERE to view the trailer

For any Rheostatics fans, Martin Tielli will be playing this Friday and Saturday at the Rivoli in Toronto.

For those who haven't seen him before, he's an amazing musician with a phenomenal voice and definitely worth checking out.

Plastic beer bottle unveiled

WATERLOO, ONTARIO - An Ontario company has produced the country's first plastic bottle for beer.

Brick Brewing of Waterloo, Ont., unveiled its new light-weight alternative: PET or polyethylene terephthalate. The bottle had been in development for more than a year.

Brick will be selling its Yellow Label Lager in a four-bottle (each 473-ml or 16 oz) plastic pack.

Brick officials say plastic bottles have several benefits:

> chills quickly

> stays cold longer than glass and cans

> are re-sealable

> unbreakable

The bottles are also recyclable.

Plastic bottles have been used by European breweries with little success.

"This isn't your typical 'you-brew' plastic beer bottle," says Jim Brickman, founder and president of Brick Brewery. "This innovative and unique wide mouth plastic beer bottle has taken years to develop and test."

Marketing experts say Brick is taking a chance on the plastic bottles. Most consumers still prefer glass which accounts for 70 per cent of all domestic beer sales in Canada. The rest is sold in cans or on tap.

Brick was also the first brewery to bring back the stubby bottle.

ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS

Directed by DA Pennebaker. (PG) 91 min.

> Oct 4-6, 7pm at the Paradise (1006 Bloor W)

> Oct 7, 7pm and Oct 8, 9:40pm at the Danforth Music Hall (147 Danforth)

> Oct 9, 9pm and Oct 10, 7pm at the Royal (608 College).

BY JASON ANDERSON

"Not only is it the last show of the year, it's the last show we'll ever do." With those words, David Bowie pronounced the death of Ziggy Stardust, the creation that made him a star. After retiring the fabulous guise of this messianic space alien, Bowie would adopt many more personas in the next three decades of his career but none so brazen or audacious. As the androgynous, shock-haired Ziggy, the pale, skinny Bowie -- who'd been slogging it out as a third-division pop figure (and mime artiste!) for years -- was suddenly sex on wheels.

If the audience members that night at London's Hammersmith Odeon were shocked at the announcement (which also signalled the end of Bowie's hardest-rocking band), they didn't show it. Then again, if D.A. Pennebaker's film of the event is to be believed, those fans were feeling far too orgasmic to acknowledge any bad news.

Filmed in 1973 for a half-hour film to be released on RCA's new Select-a-Vision laser-disc format, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars was later released as a crummy-sounding home video in 1982. Watching it in the '80s, I remember that it was hard to hear what all the fuss was about. Thanks to the new and much-improved audio mix by Bowie and Tony Visconti, this stunning reissue proves that the crowd's excitement was warranted.

While not the cinéma-verité pioneer's greatest music documentary -- Monterey Pop and Don't Look Back vie for that honour -- Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars is certainly Pennebaker's lustiest. Lit principally by their own camera flashbulbs (Pennebaker encouraged the fans to take pictures), the fans are portrayed as a series of flickering bodies and strobe-lit faces. Young nubiles of both sexes writhe and gyrate in Bowie's direction as they mouth the words of hits like "Space Oddity" and "Moonage Daydream."

Like all the best stars, Bowie knew how to seem both remote and intimately close, an impression reinforced by the placement of Pennebaker's cameramen (behind the stage, in the first few rows and way, way up in the balcony). Bowie stokes the fans' frenzy with his coy gestures and ever more outlandish outfits. But for the most part he keeps his distance, except for one moment during the closing song, "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide." As Bowie and the band cry, "Gimme your hands!" again and again -- a finale lifted wholesale by John Cameron Mitchell for Hedwig and the Angry Inch -- a bouncer wrestles the singer back from those hands lest they pull him offstage and tear him apart.

Though groundbreaking at the time for its use of theatrical conventions, Bowie's Ziggy stage show now seems unusually raw and unpretentious. In fact, never again did Bowie so successfully balance his flamboyance as a performer and taste for stylistic excess -- tendencies that would later result in the woeful Glass Spider tour in the '80s and execrable performances in films like Labyrinth -- with pure rock fury. The unsung hero of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars is guitarist Mick Ronson, whose thunderous solo in the middle of the film (while Bowie's doing another costume change) reduces the audience to a steaming puddle. Renditions of "Watch That Man," "Let's Spend the Night Together" and "Suffragette City" are just as hot -- clearly, this band is going out not with a whimper but a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am.

Startling and invigorating, Pennebaker's film captures not only Ziggy's last stand, but the end of a wave of extraordinary concert films in the '60s and early '70s. One reason for the scarcity of later movies as potent as Don't Look Back is that relatively intimate theatres like the Hammersmith Odeon were becoming less popular as venues, since there was more money to be made packing bodies into sports stadiums and arenas. As a consequence, the modest theatrics of Bowie's Ziggy show gave way to the larger, more overpowering spectacles of rock giants like Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull. Rock films of the era grew equally huge and self-indulgent. (Can you imagine sitting through The Song Remains the Same or Tommy without the assistance of hash oil?)

And in the wake of the MTV revolution, major rock shows were designed to appeal to the viewers at home as well as the kids in the nosebleed section. Musicians began to live for the camera and choreographed their moves accordingly. In Pennebaker's film, it's the other way around, the cameras reacting as quickly as they could to capture the action. When a sax player emerges from the darkness at the back of the stage to play the outro to "Changes," a camera careens in his direction and barely has time to get the player in focus.

Even the footage of Bowie offstage in Ziggy has a rare immediacy. The notion of "going behind the scenes" in the music world seems so tired now, what with music-video channels devoting less time to videos than to tell-all profiles and overmediated "documentaries" about stars making videos or even fans pretending to be stars making videos. Shots of Bowie reading a Telex from his manager, getting dressed or having his hair blow-dried are almost shocking for their ordinariness. The only mystique here is that of an actor preparing to go onstage, and the fact he doesn't stumble out of some bacchanal makes his prowess as a performer even more impressive.

Despite the essential raunchiness of the event, Ziggy's final performance is remarkable for its innocence. There's the sense that the various rituals of the musicians and the fans are still fresh to both and that Bowie is just beginning to realize the potential of his music and his image. All these elements would calcify as rock moved into an era of grandiosity, which was undermined but not extinguished by the emergence of punk. Bowie would hit his artistic peak later in the decade when he relocated to Berlin to record Low, Heroes and Lodger. For his part, Pennebaker went on to make other concert movies, including last year's Down From the Mountain, about the musicians who created the mega-platinum O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, and the forthcoming soul story Only the Strong Survive. However, the subsequent work of both artists would lack a certain zest, the kind only an ambisexual space alien can provide.

Warren Miller's annual extreme snowriding movie is playing some cities in Canada in Oct/Nov. For those of you who haven't seen a Warren Miller film before, check them out. Beautiful footage from around the world of extreme skiing and snowboarding set to music. MMW, Rusted Root and Gomez are some of the musicians that have their songs featured in the film. This year's film is called "STORM".

For cities and showtimes click here

This year's film has the crew and riders in:

•VALDEZ, ALASKA

•THE ISLE OF SOUTH GEORGIA

•LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA

•ST. ANTON, AUSTRIA

•US MARINES WINTER WARFARE TRAINING CENTER, CALIFORNIA

•CORDOVA, ALASKA

•BLUE RIVER, BC

•WHISTLER/BLACKCOMB, BC

If you buy a ticket to see the movie you'll also get a two for one lift pass to either Whistler/Blackcomb, Sunshine or, Tremblant (depending on which city you're in).

An old man walks into a confessional. The

following conversation ensues:

> > Man: I am 92 years old, have a wonderful wife of 70 years, many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Yesterday, I picked up two college girls, hitchhiking. We went to a motel, where I had sex with each of them,............. three times.

> > Priest : Are you sorry for your sins?

> > Man : What sins?

> > Priest : What kind of a Catholic are you?

> > Man : I'm Jewish

> > Priest: Why are you telling me all this?

> > Man : I'm telling everybody

Click here to find out how to enter....

Levon Helm (amazing musician formerly of The Band) and the Barn Burners are playing Thursday September 19 at Healey's in Toronto (Jeff Healy's bar).

**Photo - Levon Helm at the Varsity Stadium, Toronto, July 1969.

This was their first Canadian concert as the Band. ****

The Barn Burners are a blues band with Levon Helm on drums, his daughter Amy on keyboards and vocals, guitarist Pat O'Shea, lead vocalist and harmonica player Chris O'Leary and upright bassist Frankie Ingrao.

I read an article recently saying that Levon doesn't sing anymore b/c he had throat cancer... does anyone have any info on this?

I want to go to the show but a big thrill would be hearing him sing b/c I've never seen him perform live before....

That's ok Shainhouse... I actually wasn't banking on getting any tickets through mail order... the big deal for me is just the combination of how great it all would have been.... the pristine package of 1st night back in NYC on new year's eve coupled with front row centre....... being that close on that particular night.

Oh well... I'll just obliterate myself elsewhere I guess!

------

Brain - Thanks..... I know... I don't think the person did it to be nasty but I'm sensing some bribery was involved (?)

anyways, the same person who did this also got me into Radio City for Phish so I guess I can;t complain too much....

I am going to have issues though being around these two for both the hype and aftermath of this event..... distance could be the best remedy....

Ms. H - I spoke with John and the drummer and they both had Aussie accents... I can't confirm but I think they are all from Australia.

I was there last night also.

I had never heard of the John Butler Trio before but I quite enjoyed the show. He's an awesome guitar player/vocalist and there were some definite high moments to the evening. I thought at times though that the music ventured into middle-of-the-road territory; however, the band managed to veer away from overly mundane musical stylings before the songs could be deemed too tedious.

My favorite parts were during the first half of the show... the drummer had kind of that Rusted Root driving drum beat happening and the energy and sunny sweetness of John's playing rivalled some great Bela Flec moments I've heard. The stand up bass was a treat to see and hear also.

So many Aussies in the bar last night... I've never seen so many tall people at the comfort zone.

John gave Mark Wilson a free CD which was pretty cool. Mark Wilson and the Way It Is opened... I missed them (I got there during the final "thank you very much have a great night" chord) but I saw tons of people going up to Mark and his band giving them kudos after the fact which was great.

On one note though, I felt a bit bad for the rest of the John Butler Trio band... after the show people were shoving past the drummer and the bassist lining up to get John's autograph. I can't determine whether it would be a relief or get tiring to constantly have the focus on one, rather than all, members of the band.

Thanks guys.... I actually shed a tear about this when I found out... people at work think I am strange, no doubt....

I do not think I will be able to socially interact with these people until late next year....

I've had break-ups that have been easier than this....

OK, look at the email I was greeted with in my inbox this morning.... no joke.... this is the person I THOUGHT was giving me my New Year's extra....

...I need help..... someone please cheer me up or else provide me with appropriate methods of revenge.......

********************************

"Bad news. I initially made the deal with Shakey - so

basically, it's his. Please don't hold this against me.

Even worse news - these ARE front row centre (check the

MSG seating chart). I've felt sick to my stomach ever

since I found out."

------- Start of forwarded message -------

Subject: Phish Ticket Request

From: "phishtickets@rlc.net" phishtickets@rlc.net

Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2002 17:46:58 (GMT)

To: XXXXXX

Order # XXXXXXX

Congratulations! You have just purchased the following

tickets for the Phish shows

Dec 31 2002 Madison Square Garden New York, NY (2 x

$49.50 = $99.00)

Section - 2/Row - A/Seat - 7

Section - 2/Row - A/Seat - 8

Total Cost of Ticketing $99.00

Shipping Fee $15.00

Convenience Fee $9.00

Order Total $123.00

If you requested tickets for any other shows, we regret

to inform you that

we were unable to process the request for these shows.

Your tickets will ship the week following December 2nd,

but

expect a follow-up email detailing your exact ship date

as well as

your tracking number. If you have any problems or

questions, please reply

to this email or call 434-951-0330. Enjoy the show!

The show was awesome... we ended up late night/early morning partying with some of DBB back at their hotel rooms... very debaucherous.... they said to pass on how much of a great time they had playing for the people that came out that night.

I agree with you (BradM, H) with your point about the hidden gems... when I responded I was thinking of playing the tunes for people who wouldn't know that these albums were obvious choices. These were more choices for "non connisseurs" of music.

Especially with the Stones, I was thinking of those people who have only ever heard the "Hot Rocks" album, for example, or maybe "Angie" on the radio and hadn't ever been exposed to "100 Years Ago", "Moonlight Mile", etc.

Hidden gems is another story.... I'll rethink this one....