joel plaskett - london - 11.24.06

checked out joel plaskett at call the office on friday night... and it was the first time i just didnt enjoy a joel show. after all these years of seeing him with the hermit, the emergency, and on his own, i guess that's not bad, but really, this was just a disappointing show. this time it was the emergency, and they dropped a lot of new stuff on us - bad new stuff. these songs sounded like he was really trying to write a "plaskett" song, but c'mon, we dont need another 'come on teacher'.. "drunk teenagers" was possibly the worst song i've heard in 2006. the direction he was headed with la de da was such a step forward, but this show took the songs 2 steps back... none of the songs had much power behind them with this new emergency arrangement, there wasnt much depth to the sound, and overall they just felt sluggish to my ears.

i guess if you go see someone for long enough you're bound to see something you dont like - i've seen disappointing shows from all my favourites - and i guess this time it was joel's number that was up.

i'll say im very much looking forward to the next show, though.

rollin' stones

we've been on a bit of a tear recently.. 5 points to start the month, 4 points 2 weeks ago, and 3 points this past week... still hangin' on. we limped into the alley down one doctor, up one nurse, walter with a bum back and me low on blood, and luckily $hakey's brain was no where near the exam he was to have the next day - hope it went well, buddy.

a game pitting the Twin Towers of Brunswick Huron against each other, we steamrolled game 1, and dropped the next 2 against the mooseknucklers, thanks to a couple huge 200+ games from one of their guys.. but we stayed close enough those games to get the overall score and the extra point to take the series 3-2.

the week prior we dominated the bombers, who lived up to their name and did nothing but get bombed all night. good show. we bombed the last few frames of the last game and it cost us the game and the 5th point, but still a solid 4 points and a total team effort on the lanes.

only a few weeks left in the first half and then we'll have to kick in high gear for our second half rise to the top...

burt neilson band 10 year anniversary photo story

vil and schwampy


burt neilson band - opera house


mike and vince spilchuk


serena southam (w/ jeff in background)


mike filipowitsch


mike and peter elkas


josh williams and jer


todd gilles and jeff


jeff heisholt (w/ gavin mcguire in background)


mike filipowitsch (gavin in background)


danny simmons (banjo) and b jay nathans (mandolin)


the bass laser


mark crissinger


mke and mark


scott farmer


jer little


mark crissinger hitting it!


from L - R: danny simmons, jeremy little, josh williams, mike filipowitsch, matt barber, shelby kerr, steve "elmo" murphy, mark crissinger, jeff heisholt


SET ONE

By the Door
These Days >
The Bench >
Yellow Pants (1)
Finer Than Fine Print (2)
Holes
Stop Draggin My Heart Around (3)
Full Tilt (4)
Hungry Heart (5)
Rotan (6)
Waves (7)
St Andrews
In the Belly


SET TWO

Distraction
Fresco Lopez >
Revolution Blues > (8)
Fresco Lopez
Stuck Inside (9)
Down with the Sound (10)
Glad Tidings (11)
Whipping Post (12)
Martian
Stop 28

E1

Acadian Driftwood (13)
Funkin Shoes (14)

E2

Don't Do It


(1) w/ Vince Spilchuk on trumpet
(2) Bodega song, w/ Andrew Rodriguez on guitar/lead vocals
(3) Steie Nicks & Tom Petty cover, with Serena Southam on lead vocals
(4) w/ Serena Southam on backing vocals and Vince Spilchuk on trumpet
(5) Bruce Springsteen cover, with Peter Elkas on lead vocals/guitar, Serena Southam on backing vocals, Robbie Grunwald on organ
(6) Fat Cats cover, with Todd Gillies on guitar/lead vocals, and Josh Williams on vocals/harmonica
(7) with Todd Gillies on guitar


(8) Neil Young cover
(9) with Danny Simmons on banjo and B Jay Nathans on mandolin
(10) with Shelby Kerr on backing vocals and Mark Crissinger on guitar
(11) Van Morrisson cover, with Scott Farmer on lead vocals and Peter Elkas on acoustic guitar
(12) Allman Brothers cover, with Mark Crissinger on lead vocals/screaming guitar


(13) The Band cover, with Matthew Barber, Shelby Kerr, Steve Murphy, Scott Farmer, Mark Crissinger, Todd Gillies on lead vocals, plus lots of people on stage... all the other performers and friends, and Danny Simmons on fiddle
(14) with Shelby Kerr on vocals, Robbie Grunwald on clavinet, Vince Spilchuk on trumpet


what an incredible show!! cheers to the burt neilson band and congrats on 10 years - cant wait for the 20th anniversary!

once the boys settled down and stopped worrying about playing a great show, and just started playing, i thought they put on an amazing show. some great guest appearances - it was nice to see these guys going off and challenging the bnb boys... gilles, andrew rodriguez, crissinger, particularly... they werent novelty guests, they obviously came to play. the 2nd set was an absolute monster highlighted for me by the fresco > revolution blues > fresco - they destroyed that neil cover! what a heavy hitting beast that was. stuck inside followed, and that was a real treat for me - it's been a favourite of mine since i first heard By The Door, and i dont believe i'd ever seen it live.. but when picked up the acoustic and the harmonica, i mean, i didnt know it was comin'.. but i knew, y'know? sweet tune. the crowd picking up the down with the sound vocals was tingle worthy and whats to say about crissinger on whipping post??!! martian makes me move exactly the way i love to move, and the encores were fantastic.

quite a rager afterwards, and the whole night was just a big celebration. so great to see some old faces and meet some new ones. thanks to everyone involved, it certainly was quite a night.

these guys are canada's premier "jamband", but they're truly the definition of "indie"... having crisscrossed this vast country a good 15 times, on their own, released 4 albums independantly, and developed a legion of fans across canada by word of mouth, the sharing of music, and keeping it entirely grassroots, these guys are the real deal and we're lucky they keep doin' it for us.

long live the bnb!!

and in other news...

... bob dylan played the JLC on friday nite... and it was terrible. i missed the thunder of the double drums and the dual guitar attack from the previous show i saw, and this didnt even carry any of the energy i witnessed at darien... this band sounded to me more like watered down blues for a soft rock radio station. i actually like what dylan does with his arrangements, i like his attitud and approach in that regard.. i just didnt like the way the band played them. they werent engaging in the least, and quite honestly, i found myself nodding off at least half a dozen times. the 3rd wasnt the charm this time...

5-0 stones

few days late and a few dollars short, but the stones came up big last thursday with a 5-0 vic against greg's ladies... which was a bit of an anomaly, considering neither greg was there, nor were enough of his ladies to make them plural. 9-pin Lynn was there for her team, but that 10th pin just never seemed to be and it cost 'em... BIGtime. $hakey rolled off as well, so with just the 4 of us on the lanes, we cruised through a relaxing few games in record time and got a much needed boost to the point total just in time for our big climb. walter's got a new ball and it's working like a dream, and i've found myself a new line that's keeping my ball from crossing over brooklyn, and i've been smashing the pocket. i had a perfect no-tap game in my 2nd. walter also did the monthly mystery score roll off and, like $hakey a month before, struck on his first ball to go to a final... where he landed an 8, matched by his opponent to go to one more sudden death final... where he lost 9-6... that's 2 months in a row, who's it gonna be next month?

about 6 weeks to go in the 1st half... we're climbing... the huskies are running slower... things are gonna change... i can feel it...