a month in the making...

well i've managed to neglect this little place pretty good over the last little while. lots has been goin on, though... lets see, we had the may 24 weekend, i turned 26, seen some bands, been to a couple weddings, went on the work retreat.... consider this the monster update...

so i've seen a few shows since i wrote last.. first was Islands, they did an early gig at Call The Office a few wednesday's ago... i dunno... they werent really my thing, exactly... i decided they were indie's answer to the string cheese incident... SCIslands. they had an equivalent sound and persona, just in a different genre... i got a kick out of that, actually. i remember the fiddle players standing out, but thats all i remember standing out. for the most part, they were pretty predictable and boring, i found... an amalgamation of a lot of sounds and bands, certainly falling within the canadian indie rock mantra, but just ultimately weak.

the jimmy swift band also rolled through town at the beginning of june, and that was actually a real treat to see them... it had been about a year and a half or so, at least, since i'd seen them, so i was excited to hear some new stuff - had heard a lot of this new drummer and some of the new rocker tunes... well, the new drummer certainly wasnt a disappointment, but i dont think he's the god-send that some people make him out to be. though, he certainly fits their sound nicely, and may be part and parcel to an emerging sound from them... that bigger heavier arena rock sound. some of the new tunes they unleashed on us in their 50 minute or so set were full of fresh pop goodness, catchy and full of hooks for sure. Medicine Chest is a stand-out new song that goes from 0-60 in about 2 and a half seconds, cranks it up Van Halen 1984 style, eases into a sweet dub/ska groove (surely inspired by fellow east coasters, slowcoaster), then finishes with a strong left hook. all in just over 3 minutes - there's no reason it shouldnt the radio hit of the summer. lookin' forward to their new release, slated for july or august, im told. nice to get back into some JSB, i think that shorter set was perfect for what they gave us, and im lookin' forward to more from them in the near future.

up next was g. love in toronto - went out to the big smoke to hang out with aagaard and catch the show... had a big fattie meet-up with basher and julia in the park beforehand, and once the heads were taken care of, into the show we went. it'd been 7 years since i last saw g. love, that was also the last time he did a headlining slot in toronto, so im sure im not the only person who was just buggin' to see him... this time, a bit of a step up venue-size-wise, i think... the Phoenix this time, vs. Opera House last time. truth be told, i preferred him the first time around. by no means was he bad, or having an off night, i dont even think, i just dont think this incarnation of the band did as much for me as the last one: this time he had a 5 piece, the main trio, plus a 2nd drummer, and a guy on keys. at times the show (and playing) seemed to lack some cohesiveness, and the vocals were mostly lost in the mix. that said, the band seemed to have a lot of energy on stage, and the set was pretty good, too. the thing i really love about g. love's guitar playing, although he may not be the craziest virtuoso out there, he gets this great sound from his sweet touch and carries a brilliant tone.. he really is a treat to listen to when he's goin on off on his laid back swanky blues... i really coulda used more of the laid back and swanky g. love and special sauce trio feel, but the sound this band puts forth is a little more rock than that... setlist highlights: baby's got sauce, and cold beverages for sure. love the old school.

last on the showlist was bright eyes, that happened last tuesday. another hit and miss show. the band seemed to really lack the intensity that they can carry on their albums... which is usually backwards in a live setting, but oh well... a tuesday night in london to a half empty concert hall, i think maybe they can be forgiven. Connor Oberst had his moments, but he seemed to be really choosey as to when he was going to let loose for us... i wish he would just go off - the guy seems to have endless potential. the band was mostly a disappoint.. i didnt think they had any real stand-out players at all, and in fact the drummer was just terrible to watch. too.much.ro.bot.ics.


so, what else? oh ya, i mentioned i turned 26. yes i did. may 29th. i feel pretty good about that, so far so good for 26. i didnt really do anything for my birthday, had dinner with rachelle and hung out with some friends at scottie's later on - it was cool of him to have some people over for me. the last few years have been some pretty crazy show-goin birthday times, so maybe it was time i took a year off. haha. we'll see how we can up the ante next year...


james had his surprise wedding and it went off without a hitch... i wish i was there for the whole thing, but the box of wine after JSB got me and i spent most of the next day horizontal - i did make it for the dinner and reception, though... just wish my stomach was in better shape to enjoy that roast beef. gotta give the guy credit: he totally pulled it off and set the romance bar at an astronomical height. way to go, big guy.

and also marian had her hawaiin wedding last night, and man that was a blast, too... all the people in their hawaiin/polynesian get-ups were awesome to look at... some beautiful colours for that wedding...

so congrats to all of them, too... james and steph, marian and ryan - way to go, guys!


and lastly to finish this update... the managers retreat was last weekend. and sweet holy jesus, what a time. Henry's did a good job for us at the White Oaks Golf and Spa Resort in Niagara-On-The-Lake - from tee off till the moment we left i had a blast. played a great round of golf sunday morning, i dont think i'd ever been consistently hitting the ball better, both off the tee and in my short game, i had a great day. rode with Nathan as well, and that was a lot of fun - it was good to catch up throughout the afternoon.. and he brought wicked stogies! dinner and drinks the first night brought a lot of laughs and was a great ice breaker with the baby picture/current picture game... though, i think the real ice breakers came with the card games and the excess boozing later on, but thats where the real conference takes place, right? heheh. i won the first poker game and the weekend continued on the up and up from there.. had a blast getting to know different people, and getting different perspectives and approaches to our jobs... enjoying the company of some people i probably never would have had the opportunity to, otherwise, and generally, just loosening up and letting our guards down, so to say... there certainly was not a dull moment from 8am - 3:30am, action packed, and fun. even the facilitations were interesting and informative, and good groups of people to keep it serious, but light enough as well. they brought in a comic on the last night for us, and she was a riot, too... they loaded her up with a lot of personal ammo on all of us, and she went to town... good sports, around.. really, i cant say enough of how good a time it was. and i succeeded in not puking in front of the owner, too.... though, the same cant be said for all of us.

:)