The Buried Inside review is still coming, I just haven't been in the right mood to write it as of late.
I would like to extend a very warm wish of happy holidays to absolutely everyone. Please be safe and drink moderately (that doesn't mean be moderately safe while drinking).
I'm not going to go on with this entry, I'm in really terrible spirits for reasons that are partly uncertain. I've been lifted of virtually every aspect of my life that could lead to melodrama or negativity, and yet here I am, a day after Christmas, feeling terribly unfulfilled. Something's amiss, and obviously I have a vague idea of what that might be. Maybe I'm simply not willing to admit it to myself, or maybe I'm not rationally judging the situation and that acting on it would be folly and ultimately destructive. Shit, I just don't know. It's entirely too frustrating to be put into this situation, knowing full well that I have no reason to be bitter, yet being in a position where I find myself not really living and not feeling things to the fullest. This is something that must be fixed, sooner rather than later.
So it's on these vague musings that I'll end this entry. I hope it doesn't come off as some bullshit emo cry for help, because it isn't. Writing things out tends to put them into perspective just abit more, if not simply for a better understanding of the situation (or situations) at hand. But honestly, cheers to everyone.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Thursday, December 09, 2004
I want the blindingly cute to confide in me
Well it's been almost a month since I'd last updated this, so given the fact that I was slightly bored in class, I figured I'd drop another post of hopefully not-too self-indulgent rambling. Things have been incessantly hectic around these parts, my time being utterly divided, with no remainder, between end of term school projects and studies, work and of course TPD.
Quite a few things have been brewing in the band camp as of late. First and foremost, we managed to finally release our often delayed record Straight, No Chaser to a non-chalant public. Yes indeed, I'm told these shiny discs actually contain music of some kind, around 30 or so minutes, all for the meager sum of 7$. Hell you even get a really nice package with it, if black and white photography, pretentious writing, spots of ink and record players are your thing. But in all seriousness, I am quite proud of our efforts, I think it looks and sounds great, and I'd be more than happy to arrange for you to get a copy if you'd be interested, just drop me an e-mail.
Also of note is the fact that we're playing a show tommorow (friday the 10th..holy short notice Batman!) at Le Café Contraste, which is located within the walls of the Gabrielle-Roy campus of the CEGEP de l'Outaouais. The show is at 7 pm, it's 5$ at the door and we're going on second. I highly encourage you all to come down and see us, we'll be playing some chart topping hits from our new record, along with some brand new jams, complete with bitingly witty and clever titles like "Sardanapale, a Paradigm for Catharsis" and "Shit, I didn't know Hector was packing Greek Fire". Oh and we just might play our cover of Explosion in the Sky's Greet Death, it'll depend on our set length.
Finally, kids, are you looking for that perfect compliment to your tight girl's jeans, Converse All-Stars, tight zip-up hoodie and pink studded belt? Then look no further! Yes we now have shirt designs, and consequently we'll have shirts soon enough. Buy one, we guarantee you better luck with the opposite sex if you do.
I'm fairly happy to say that for reasons unbeknownst to me I've been in reasonably good spirits these last few days. I was on a considerable down note, thanks in no small part to the rather large quantity of school projects I have to hand in by term's end and by my complete lack of motivation to accomplish any of them, given my absolute disinterest for what I study in. Thankfully, I managed to get past that and I'm simply looking forward to all the good things that await me once I'm through with it.. namely my potential trip to Europe this summer and studying in political journalism at Concordia in Montreal. On a shorter timeline, I'm simply looking forward to unwinding abit, reading up on the pile of books I have gathering dust in my room, catching up on all the movies I've missed lately, hanging out with good friends who I haven't seen in awhile, devote abit more energy to the band and songwriting and finally maybe meeting some new people, that'd be nice. Impressive, my life isn't that empty or devoid of purpose. I encourage anyone who has the holiday/end of term blues to simply elaborate a little list of hopeful prospects (long and short term).. you'll find it to be much more comforting than you expect.
Well woah, this wound up being abit longer than expected. A doubtless consequence of my mind wandering just abit too much after so little sleep. I'll be back soon (honestly this time) with my review of Chronoclast.. and maybe something else if I find anything worthy of mentionning.
Cheers...
Playlist as of late:
Owls - Great band.. basically Cap'n' Jazz v. 2.0 awesome if you like a nice helping of jazz and wacky time signatures with your indie rock..
Owen - Mike Kinsella of Owls/Cap'n Jazz's solo project... beautiful stuff, great lyrics, instrumentation, everything... get I Do Perceive
American Football - Another Mike Kinsella band (see the link here?).. not as stripped down as Owen, abit mathier.. awesome
Sufjan Stevens - Brilliant singer/songwriter.. acoustic guitars, banjos, hushed vocals.. very pretty.. very nice.. thank you Rachel ;)
Shotmaker, One Eyed God Prophecy and Union of Uranus - Yay mid-nineties Ottawa hardcore + post-hardcore.. so good, too bad all these bands broke up..
Quite a few things have been brewing in the band camp as of late. First and foremost, we managed to finally release our often delayed record Straight, No Chaser to a non-chalant public. Yes indeed, I'm told these shiny discs actually contain music of some kind, around 30 or so minutes, all for the meager sum of 7$. Hell you even get a really nice package with it, if black and white photography, pretentious writing, spots of ink and record players are your thing. But in all seriousness, I am quite proud of our efforts, I think it looks and sounds great, and I'd be more than happy to arrange for you to get a copy if you'd be interested, just drop me an e-mail.
Also of note is the fact that we're playing a show tommorow (friday the 10th..holy short notice Batman!) at Le Café Contraste, which is located within the walls of the Gabrielle-Roy campus of the CEGEP de l'Outaouais. The show is at 7 pm, it's 5$ at the door and we're going on second. I highly encourage you all to come down and see us, we'll be playing some chart topping hits from our new record, along with some brand new jams, complete with bitingly witty and clever titles like "Sardanapale, a Paradigm for Catharsis" and "Shit, I didn't know Hector was packing Greek Fire". Oh and we just might play our cover of Explosion in the Sky's Greet Death, it'll depend on our set length.
Finally, kids, are you looking for that perfect compliment to your tight girl's jeans, Converse All-Stars, tight zip-up hoodie and pink studded belt? Then look no further! Yes we now have shirt designs, and consequently we'll have shirts soon enough. Buy one, we guarantee you better luck with the opposite sex if you do.
I'm fairly happy to say that for reasons unbeknownst to me I've been in reasonably good spirits these last few days. I was on a considerable down note, thanks in no small part to the rather large quantity of school projects I have to hand in by term's end and by my complete lack of motivation to accomplish any of them, given my absolute disinterest for what I study in. Thankfully, I managed to get past that and I'm simply looking forward to all the good things that await me once I'm through with it.. namely my potential trip to Europe this summer and studying in political journalism at Concordia in Montreal. On a shorter timeline, I'm simply looking forward to unwinding abit, reading up on the pile of books I have gathering dust in my room, catching up on all the movies I've missed lately, hanging out with good friends who I haven't seen in awhile, devote abit more energy to the band and songwriting and finally maybe meeting some new people, that'd be nice. Impressive, my life isn't that empty or devoid of purpose. I encourage anyone who has the holiday/end of term blues to simply elaborate a little list of hopeful prospects (long and short term).. you'll find it to be much more comforting than you expect.
Well woah, this wound up being abit longer than expected. A doubtless consequence of my mind wandering just abit too much after so little sleep. I'll be back soon (honestly this time) with my review of Chronoclast.. and maybe something else if I find anything worthy of mentionning.
Cheers...
Playlist as of late:
Owls - Great band.. basically Cap'n' Jazz v. 2.0 awesome if you like a nice helping of jazz and wacky time signatures with your indie rock..
Owen - Mike Kinsella of Owls/Cap'n Jazz's solo project... beautiful stuff, great lyrics, instrumentation, everything... get I Do Perceive
American Football - Another Mike Kinsella band (see the link here?).. not as stripped down as Owen, abit mathier.. awesome
Sufjan Stevens - Brilliant singer/songwriter.. acoustic guitars, banjos, hushed vocals.. very pretty.. very nice.. thank you Rachel ;)
Shotmaker, One Eyed God Prophecy and Union of Uranus - Yay mid-nineties Ottawa hardcore + post-hardcore.. so good, too bad all these bands broke up..
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Oh instincts are misleading.. You shouldn't think what you're feeling...
Innumerable school projects, a college program I absolutely do not care for, a strange predisposition towards procrastination, a ridiculous amount of time spent listening to everything from the softest indie pop to the most brutal hardcore, Hunter S. Thompson's insane chemical-fueled ramblings, my growing dependency towards coffee, evenings spent with nothing but my guitar, vainly stabbing at the idea of writing that one song/riff that would somehow manage to convey the entire gamut of moods/emotions I've been going through lately, all while being totally fuckin' rockin' , visits to Montreal where nights are spent spooning with 2 of my bandmates (see pictures below) on the most inhumanely uncomfortable sofabed in existence, my (now resolved) unkemptness (again please consult pictures) and last but certainly not least, the elaboration of a ridiculously long sentence, mainly consisting of an overblown enumeration, are just a tiny sample of the things I've been up to lately. Honestly, I'd write more (yes, I do care that much about all three of you who read this) but I must be getting up in a matter of hours to go to work. I'll be back shortly, possibly with more of the pseudo-enigmatic existential babbling I brought up in that last post, potentially with a review the brand new Buried Inside record Chronoclast, because you simply need to experience it's majesty, but most assuredly with more pictures of me and the guys spooning.. oh yes, so sexy. No wait, forget that.
Cheers...
Cheers...
Friday, October 29, 2004
And I write this for the loveless and for the risks we take...
For those of you reading this, I ask you, do you ever experience those moments of deep reflection where you can't help but think back at specific time spent with someone in particular? Of times that are devoid of complication and uncertainty, where nothing else exists but the one you're with, the conversation (or moment) at hand and the bright intrigue of the unexpected, the excitement of not knowing where this could lead, but the intangible hope that it could be truly amazing. Of evenings spent with someone who'se company is simply and beautifully fulfilling, where you couldn't possibly care less about what you're both doing, where the most seemingly uninteresting event becomes truly memorable, wether it be simply driving around and chatting it up, or laughing over coffee about anything and everything. Those situations when you meet someone who'se mere presence in your life seems to brighten all the things that were drab and monotone, that can make even the most dire situation seem perfectly easy to overcome. Yes indeed, I'm referring to those moments. But what of the realization that you probably won't get the chance to experience those things with that person again? That those moments are lost, ultimately vain and that they now exist only as slow fading memories? Truly such a realization will hit you like a ton of bricks, a sack of doorknobs, a sock full of quarters or a bag of sweet valencia oranges (whatever your poison happens to be).
Now to be fully honest, I began writing that last paragraph with little to no direction, but with the faint utopian propsect of having a revelation of sorts, a means to explain and rationalize these bittersweet reminders. It seems I came up short. That's probably not much of a surprise to anyone, including myself. What I can offer as conclusion however, are these few simplistic thoughts. Despite the bleak outlook that these moments might be meaningless now, there's a definite chance that when they occured they had a world of purpose and that this design was reciprocal.. that reality in itself should be more than enough to comfort ourselves, and we should consider ourselves lucky to have experienced these things and to have the faculties to remember them. The only absolute we possess is what we can perceive in the moment. Okay.. I'm done now, thank you infinitely for tolerating my incoherent ramblings. Now onto more tangible things!
The Perfect Dystopia's Straight, No Chaser album is finally complete in both it's visual and auditory aspects. We are ridiculously proud of how everything turned out, including the artwork and layout, which we wound up designing ourselves. We're sending the package out to Healey Disc Manufacturing either today (friday) or on monday. So expect the record to be sold at HMVs and Music Worlds across the continent in about 15 days.. I don't think I need to specify the extent of my sarcasm in that last phrase.
The .Moneen. show last week turned out to be really enjoyable. I initially went alone, but I wound up meeting a bunch of lovely people I hadn't seen in quite some time. The evening was filled with great sets, particularly the ones by Moneen, Despistado (whom I mentionned in an earlier post.. they get better everytime) and The Junction, the last of which I spent my last 20$ on in order to get a sweet t-shirt and a copy of their EP, which is amazing.
Finally, I'd like to extend a rather large thank you to those of you that came out to support us at the UQO show last friday. We all had an awesome time both on and off stage. I'm of the opinion that it was arguably our best live performance, we'd never given ourselves to a show in such an emotional and physical way as we did at that one, hopefully that energy will be kept up at further shows. Also, we miraculously managed to play the new song almost without mistake, and it seems the reaction to it was quite favorable. Despite the glorious titles pitched last week, it wound up being called Sardanapale, a Paradigm for Catharsis.. go figure!?
So I must be going now, I think I've bled my mind onto this figurative page for long enough today. This week-end is halloween week-end, so I'll leave with a list of stuff you should be doing on such an occasion.
- Going to the movies to catch SAW and NOT The Grudge, which is a horrible movie
- Getting together with buddies to watch Jacob's Ladder, arguably the scariest movie ever made
- Checking out Halloween Hardcore at Babylon on sunday evening.. Buried Inside are playing, they are the greatest.. you owe it to yourself and to them to be at this show
- Driving by kids trick-or-treating and yelling stuff at them.. fun times
- Listening to the new Isis and Jimmy Eat World records because they are amazing..
That is all..
Cheers to everyone.. see you soon!
Now to be fully honest, I began writing that last paragraph with little to no direction, but with the faint utopian propsect of having a revelation of sorts, a means to explain and rationalize these bittersweet reminders. It seems I came up short. That's probably not much of a surprise to anyone, including myself. What I can offer as conclusion however, are these few simplistic thoughts. Despite the bleak outlook that these moments might be meaningless now, there's a definite chance that when they occured they had a world of purpose and that this design was reciprocal.. that reality in itself should be more than enough to comfort ourselves, and we should consider ourselves lucky to have experienced these things and to have the faculties to remember them. The only absolute we possess is what we can perceive in the moment. Okay.. I'm done now, thank you infinitely for tolerating my incoherent ramblings. Now onto more tangible things!
The Perfect Dystopia's Straight, No Chaser album is finally complete in both it's visual and auditory aspects. We are ridiculously proud of how everything turned out, including the artwork and layout, which we wound up designing ourselves. We're sending the package out to Healey Disc Manufacturing either today (friday) or on monday. So expect the record to be sold at HMVs and Music Worlds across the continent in about 15 days.. I don't think I need to specify the extent of my sarcasm in that last phrase.
The .Moneen. show last week turned out to be really enjoyable. I initially went alone, but I wound up meeting a bunch of lovely people I hadn't seen in quite some time. The evening was filled with great sets, particularly the ones by Moneen, Despistado (whom I mentionned in an earlier post.. they get better everytime) and The Junction, the last of which I spent my last 20$ on in order to get a sweet t-shirt and a copy of their EP, which is amazing.
Finally, I'd like to extend a rather large thank you to those of you that came out to support us at the UQO show last friday. We all had an awesome time both on and off stage. I'm of the opinion that it was arguably our best live performance, we'd never given ourselves to a show in such an emotional and physical way as we did at that one, hopefully that energy will be kept up at further shows. Also, we miraculously managed to play the new song almost without mistake, and it seems the reaction to it was quite favorable. Despite the glorious titles pitched last week, it wound up being called Sardanapale, a Paradigm for Catharsis.. go figure!?
So I must be going now, I think I've bled my mind onto this figurative page for long enough today. This week-end is halloween week-end, so I'll leave with a list of stuff you should be doing on such an occasion.
- Going to the movies to catch SAW and NOT The Grudge, which is a horrible movie
- Getting together with buddies to watch Jacob's Ladder, arguably the scariest movie ever made
- Checking out Halloween Hardcore at Babylon on sunday evening.. Buried Inside are playing, they are the greatest.. you owe it to yourself and to them to be at this show
- Driving by kids trick-or-treating and yelling stuff at them.. fun times
- Listening to the new Isis and Jimmy Eat World records because they are amazing..
That is all..
Cheers to everyone.. see you soon!
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
With this song I will destroy myself..
Well hey there people. It would seem that I've yet to prove that I am a man of my word seeing as it's been, once again, more than a full week since I last updated this thing. My apologies to those of you who care. I had a pretty uneventful week, so no lyrical tales of grandiose road trips or music induced epiphanies this time. However I have something of an announcement to make for those of you that might have the unexplainable urge to read this site rather than my band's homepage. We, The Perfect Dystopia, have a show coming up this friday, at the Bosco Campus of the Université du Québec en Outaouais, located at 101 St. Jean Bosco in Hull. The show is at 8:00 pm, we're opening and tickets at the door are 6$. I would strongly suggest that if you have even the vaguest interest in TPD, that you come out to this. As of late, jam's have been fruitful, new songs have been written, we've become tighter and better performers than we ever were.. in essence, we have ascended to the level of musical behemoths, capable of unleashing untold aural destruction upon unsuspecting scenesters and hipster kids.. oh yes. That and we're damn sexy to boot. So yeah, come to the show, hang out with us before or after the onslaught.. and we promise to put on a damn good performance, complete with a new song and maybe even a cover.
Alright well, I have a radio show to do in a few minutes, so I'll once again leave you with a few musical recommendations.
- Moneen show at Babylon on wednesday evening (great band.. chances are I'll be there)
- Jimmy Eat World - Futures (Amazing cd.. Kill and 23 are already some of my favorite songs)
- Isis - Panopticon (Brilliant stuff.. more accessible than the older stuff, but it still rules)
- Breather Resist - Charmer (Amazing math-core.. possibly the second coming of Botch)
Cheers, take care and all that jazz..
P.S. Tentative titles for the new song include, but aren't limited to: I am now an alcoholic because I loved you, I am now a crack fiend because you never returned my calls, Pythagoras' Theorem is Bullshit and last but certainly not least, I write complicated math-rock songs to forget the time we spent together... ok no, I kid, we're not actually considering any of those titles.. they were just pitched around the jam space as a joke ;)
Alright well, I have a radio show to do in a few minutes, so I'll once again leave you with a few musical recommendations.
- Moneen show at Babylon on wednesday evening (great band.. chances are I'll be there)
- Jimmy Eat World - Futures (Amazing cd.. Kill and 23 are already some of my favorite songs)
- Isis - Panopticon (Brilliant stuff.. more accessible than the older stuff, but it still rules)
- Breather Resist - Charmer (Amazing math-core.. possibly the second coming of Botch)
Cheers, take care and all that jazz..
P.S. Tentative titles for the new song include, but aren't limited to: I am now an alcoholic because I loved you, I am now a crack fiend because you never returned my calls, Pythagoras' Theorem is Bullshit and last but certainly not least, I write complicated math-rock songs to forget the time we spent together... ok no, I kid, we're not actually considering any of those titles.. they were just pitched around the jam space as a joke ;)
Monday, October 11, 2004
The earth is not a cold dead place.. because you are listening.. because you are breathing
Last post, when I said I'd be writing something "tommorow", I really meant next week it seems. But to be honest, I tried putting something together for the blog on the next day, but I was faced with something of a dilemma: how am I to go updating this regularly without actually short-changing any of the people who are reading it? I mean obviously, I could post about how my day at work/school sucked or something equally disenchanting, but what good is that to anyone reading this, and now that I think about it, what good does it do me? The answer is not much. So that little realisation, along with the absolutely high expectations illicited by the amazingly sweet Jen's comment on my first post, made be abstain from writing something so quick.. Not that I thought anyone would actually care, but I did it mostly for myself; I felt like I should find something actually pertinent to write about. So I actually managed to do quite a few interesting things over the course of this week, most of them involving shows in some way or another, so that'll be the focus of this entry.
So tuesday evening, me and Max went over to Club SAW to check out the Despistado/Robot Kill City/The Grey/Federal show and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The bill kicked off with Federal, who in simplest terms is the French Parisian equivalent of Christopher Carraba from Dashboard Confessional. One man, one guitar and one girl who broke his heart. But in all seriousness, the guy did have quite abit of talent, but he didn't seem to fit the bill very well and his voice wasn't exactly my cup o' tea. Up next was the Grey who never fail to impress. It's intense heavy rock with a slightly experimental twist. This was their last show with bassist Steve Martin (also of the brilliant Buried Inside) and it was a sad thing to see him leave the band, he's an absolutely phenomenal bassist and one of the nicest people I've ever met. Robot Kill City followed and somewhat surprised me. I'd heard two of their recorded songs and they came off as a much heavier unit live. But they were still greatly enjoyable with their somewhat mathy & catchy indie-rock post-punk stuff (argh.. I hate categorization). Finally Despistado took the stage and went on to play a really great set of dancy indie-rock, reminding me of a toned down At The Drive-In. Honestly I wasn't expecting all that much, as I hadn't enjoyed the mp3 they have up for download, but it was a really great performance. So all in all, an awesome show.. I recommend you check out all the bands in question, including Federal, if pure emo is your thing.
The next item on my list of stuff to prattle on about is the smallish road-trip I did on saturday. Myself, TPD Max, as well as Dan and Daph drove to Montreal to go check out Explosions in the Sky, who were playing at La Salla Rosa. I had a really great time the entire trip, despite me reprising my position as driver for the billionth time. The coolness started on the drive down, where the gradually setting sun and gorgeous autumn colors painted some absolutely amazing vistas to entertain me while the others slept or read. Once we got there in the late evening, we hit up this way cool and trendy asian restaurant called Zyng! on St. Denis. You basically choose what noodles, meat(or tofu), sauce and vegetables you feel like having, and then they stir-fry that stuff into a majestic meal of goodness.. anyways it's awesome. Finally after that we went over to the show and through some strange occurence of karmic intervention, we managed to be the very last people admitted into the venue without tickets. Now I'm not one to openly tear into a band, but the Frequency put on one of the worst opening sets I've ever seen. Their vocalist had a style that could basically be summed up as a really strange amalgamation of David Bowie and William Shatner, the guitar player saw it fit to strum a D power chord for 98% of the set and the absolutely cheesy synth lines made me cringe throughout. Things got considerably better with the second opener Adem, a bunch of dudes from the UK who played a really beautiful set of stripped down emotive folkish indie-rock. They were made unique by their exclusion of drums in favor of a variety of off-kelter instruments like an electric-harp, bells, a xylophone and a variety of percussions. Last but certainly not least, EITS took the stage. Now I know full well that the next few sentences I will write will seem like ridiculous hyperbole and over-the-top praise.. but I assure you, I do not feel like I'm exagerating one bit. Explosions in the Sky put on the greatest set I've ever witnessed. These boys, consisting of two guitar players, a bassist/guitar player and a drummer, managed to display a range of beauty and emotion that is simply and literally beyond words. They played absolutely flawlessly, with a ridiculously loud yet well defined sound, and it was obvious that they pour every bit of themselves into their performances. This is type of music where you can basically close your eyes, listen and for that brief moment nothing else matters; the fact that by the time you'll get home after the show, you'll only get 2 hours of sleep before heading off to work becomes inconsequential.. those things that have been bothering you for the longest time seem absolutely miles away.. and the ones that you've been fighting for and working hard towards suddenly seem that much closer.. The feeling is really that great, you MUST see this band live. Yes, saturday was brilliant indeed.
For those interested, the EITS setlist was something along these lines:
- Your Hand in Mine
- Greet Death
- Yasmin the Light
- Memorial
- (new song maybe)
- The Only Moment We Were Alone
Okay the end of this entry is in sight, one last little article and I'm out for another week or two.. haha. Something popped into my head at the show we played at 4 Jeudis on monday, and I felt the need to share it with a few people. It occured to me that I have the pleasure of having some ridiculously amazing friends in my life. I would just like to thank all of you who keep on coming out to every show we do, who stick around till 12:30 am on a monday night to watch us play a meager 3 song set, who cheer us on when we feel we played our most horrible, who support us in every way conceivable and who are simply put the best friends and amazing people. My sincerest thanks to all of you, you mean the world to me and you can make even the most horrid day seem amazing.
Cheers to everyone who read through all of that.. that's really quite a feat. I promise I'll make an effort to update more often, albeit with shorter more concise entries than this one.
So tuesday evening, me and Max went over to Club SAW to check out the Despistado/Robot Kill City/The Grey/Federal show and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The bill kicked off with Federal, who in simplest terms is the French Parisian equivalent of Christopher Carraba from Dashboard Confessional. One man, one guitar and one girl who broke his heart. But in all seriousness, the guy did have quite abit of talent, but he didn't seem to fit the bill very well and his voice wasn't exactly my cup o' tea. Up next was the Grey who never fail to impress. It's intense heavy rock with a slightly experimental twist. This was their last show with bassist Steve Martin (also of the brilliant Buried Inside) and it was a sad thing to see him leave the band, he's an absolutely phenomenal bassist and one of the nicest people I've ever met. Robot Kill City followed and somewhat surprised me. I'd heard two of their recorded songs and they came off as a much heavier unit live. But they were still greatly enjoyable with their somewhat mathy & catchy indie-rock post-punk stuff (argh.. I hate categorization). Finally Despistado took the stage and went on to play a really great set of dancy indie-rock, reminding me of a toned down At The Drive-In. Honestly I wasn't expecting all that much, as I hadn't enjoyed the mp3 they have up for download, but it was a really great performance. So all in all, an awesome show.. I recommend you check out all the bands in question, including Federal, if pure emo is your thing.
The next item on my list of stuff to prattle on about is the smallish road-trip I did on saturday. Myself, TPD Max, as well as Dan and Daph drove to Montreal to go check out Explosions in the Sky, who were playing at La Salla Rosa. I had a really great time the entire trip, despite me reprising my position as driver for the billionth time. The coolness started on the drive down, where the gradually setting sun and gorgeous autumn colors painted some absolutely amazing vistas to entertain me while the others slept or read. Once we got there in the late evening, we hit up this way cool and trendy asian restaurant called Zyng! on St. Denis. You basically choose what noodles, meat(or tofu), sauce and vegetables you feel like having, and then they stir-fry that stuff into a majestic meal of goodness.. anyways it's awesome. Finally after that we went over to the show and through some strange occurence of karmic intervention, we managed to be the very last people admitted into the venue without tickets. Now I'm not one to openly tear into a band, but the Frequency put on one of the worst opening sets I've ever seen. Their vocalist had a style that could basically be summed up as a really strange amalgamation of David Bowie and William Shatner, the guitar player saw it fit to strum a D power chord for 98% of the set and the absolutely cheesy synth lines made me cringe throughout. Things got considerably better with the second opener Adem, a bunch of dudes from the UK who played a really beautiful set of stripped down emotive folkish indie-rock. They were made unique by their exclusion of drums in favor of a variety of off-kelter instruments like an electric-harp, bells, a xylophone and a variety of percussions. Last but certainly not least, EITS took the stage. Now I know full well that the next few sentences I will write will seem like ridiculous hyperbole and over-the-top praise.. but I assure you, I do not feel like I'm exagerating one bit. Explosions in the Sky put on the greatest set I've ever witnessed. These boys, consisting of two guitar players, a bassist/guitar player and a drummer, managed to display a range of beauty and emotion that is simply and literally beyond words. They played absolutely flawlessly, with a ridiculously loud yet well defined sound, and it was obvious that they pour every bit of themselves into their performances. This is type of music where you can basically close your eyes, listen and for that brief moment nothing else matters; the fact that by the time you'll get home after the show, you'll only get 2 hours of sleep before heading off to work becomes inconsequential.. those things that have been bothering you for the longest time seem absolutely miles away.. and the ones that you've been fighting for and working hard towards suddenly seem that much closer.. The feeling is really that great, you MUST see this band live. Yes, saturday was brilliant indeed.
For those interested, the EITS setlist was something along these lines:
- Your Hand in Mine
- Greet Death
- Yasmin the Light
- Memorial
- (new song maybe)
- The Only Moment We Were Alone
Okay the end of this entry is in sight, one last little article and I'm out for another week or two.. haha. Something popped into my head at the show we played at 4 Jeudis on monday, and I felt the need to share it with a few people. It occured to me that I have the pleasure of having some ridiculously amazing friends in my life. I would just like to thank all of you who keep on coming out to every show we do, who stick around till 12:30 am on a monday night to watch us play a meager 3 song set, who cheer us on when we feel we played our most horrible, who support us in every way conceivable and who are simply put the best friends and amazing people. My sincerest thanks to all of you, you mean the world to me and you can make even the most horrid day seem amazing.
Cheers to everyone who read through all of that.. that's really quite a feat. I promise I'll make an effort to update more often, albeit with shorter more concise entries than this one.
Monday, October 04, 2004
I am the alpha and the omega (ok.. maybe not so much the omega)
Well hello, seems this is my first entry in this journal or any for that matter, so I guess I should bid you all welcome or something equally inconsequential (seeing as chances are no one is going to read this).
Now I know what you're all wondering, and I'm sure it goes a little something like this : "Why exactly would I want to read about some random dude's uphill battle with the opposite sex, or about what complexity devoid meal he woefully managed to cook for dinner or better yet about the pointless activities that surround his so-far unsuccessful band?" Well to be honest I don't have said answer, I merely write this as a vain attempt at exteriorizing some of the stuff that stresses me out and keeps me up at night. However what I can say, is that I'll try my best to make these posts as insightful and witty as I can, all while staying clear of "Oh my god! I totally, like, saw this girl at, like, school today who I think is so hot.. but, like, she totally ignored me! That sucked!" type entries. So yeah, I think I've spent enough time combing over these two paragraphs to make sure they're semantically sound.. I'll leave you all with these few musical recommendations and I'll be back maybe tommorow with some hopefully interesting stuff to say:
- Say Anything : Is A Real Boy (brilliant brilliant stuff)
- Garden State soundtrack (gorgeous movie, gorgeous soundtrack.. especially that Frou Frou song)
- The Weakerthans Live (Saw these boys on saturday.. amazing stuff, check it out if you can)
Now I know what you're all wondering, and I'm sure it goes a little something like this : "Why exactly would I want to read about some random dude's uphill battle with the opposite sex, or about what complexity devoid meal he woefully managed to cook for dinner or better yet about the pointless activities that surround his so-far unsuccessful band?" Well to be honest I don't have said answer, I merely write this as a vain attempt at exteriorizing some of the stuff that stresses me out and keeps me up at night. However what I can say, is that I'll try my best to make these posts as insightful and witty as I can, all while staying clear of "Oh my god! I totally, like, saw this girl at, like, school today who I think is so hot.. but, like, she totally ignored me! That sucked!" type entries. So yeah, I think I've spent enough time combing over these two paragraphs to make sure they're semantically sound.. I'll leave you all with these few musical recommendations and I'll be back maybe tommorow with some hopefully interesting stuff to say:
- Say Anything : Is A Real Boy (brilliant brilliant stuff)
- Garden State soundtrack (gorgeous movie, gorgeous soundtrack.. especially that Frou Frou song)
- The Weakerthans Live (Saw these boys on saturday.. amazing stuff, check it out if you can)
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