The Early Bird Gets... Duffy?

Yes, it's true. It has been a while since my last post, thought or idea made it's way to the pages of StrictlyLampin'. I've been pretty busy. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that's the self professed story of my entire life (which is true). I can't help being important, I've got a lot fo things to get done and only so much time to do them in. For this very reason it has become important to plan my time wisely, to pay attention to things that I have no control over and attempt to schedule them into my life. One such event that is seemingly impossible to schedule correctly is the mid week concert.

This past Tuesday I had tickets to see the newest soul sensation from across the pond "Duffy", who would be performing one of a very limited number of shows in North America. Let me qualify that, myself, my girlfriend, and a few others had tickets for the show, one we were anticipating for weeks. The tickets arrived in the mail and read 7:00pm ddoors open. That is one thing that has always bothered me about ticketed concerts. Why do I care when the doors open? It's such a random yet effective way of ensuring I have no idea what time the show starts, when I need to be there, or even how much money to bring along when I'm stuck holding the bar up for 3 hours waiting for the headliner (or anyone in some cases) to light up the stage and make something happen. How many shows have you been to where the mere sighting of a roadie can set off the drunken masses into a hysterical rush of hoots and holla's. No doubt they, like myself have fallen victim to the idea that a time posted on a ticket is really a marathon starters gun shot, announcing to the world that you may begin spending at the bar. Is it too much to want a utopian society where concert times are posted for paying customers to ensure they can arrive when they feel ready? Even movie theatres stick pretty true to the formula of starting 15 minutes of comercials and previews at the exact time the show is posted to start. Whay can't we get it right in the music industry (bar profits aside, which I suspect is the only logical reason for such ambiguity surrounding start times). Moving on...

Mid week concerts are tough to take in. Actually make that early in the week concerts are tough. When you work full time (not from home Ryan) in an early to start office environment you can rarely afford to take a significant hit in sleep so early in the week. Drinking compounds this problem. For this reason I had decided to use my experience with club shows over the past 10 years or so to my advantage as an older, wiser, office wolf in mid week concert going sheeps clothing (so to speak). If the doors opened at 7:00pm, I'll show up at 10pm, catch the set I've paid to see, and head home. I'm so clever. No, make that strategically equipped. Despite the concerned stares from my girlfriend, who on several occassions had this worried look on her face regarding my strategy, I was instilled with confidence. I know how these things work honey. Relax, and enjoy a drink in the less crowded confines of our dining room, taking in the warm up sounds of Rockferry (Duffy's first album).

As we exit our cab in front of the Mod Club at approximately 10:15pm it is immediately apparent that people are laving the club, and not in any sort of a "we're all heading out for a smoke" fashion. No, I had become a victim of my own creation. My clever idea had turned on me, and the music industry decided at the worst possible moment to take an interest in something I have always wished for - earlier mid week start times at club shows. I for one feel there is a valuable lesson to be learned from this situation. If and when I figure out what it is, I will let you know.

Oh My LOLLA!!!

When I was in high school, everyone looked forward to summer holidays (something that I'm sure hasn't changed). For some it was the opportunity to travel abroad, head to the cottage, louonge by the pool, get a summer job and the list goes on. For myself though (who had a job all year round, and didn't have a pool) it always meant the start of the summer live concert season! Leading the charge as one of the more anticipated line up announcements would be that of Perry Farrell's travelling alternative road show "Lollapalooza".

For two summers I went to Molson Park in Barrie to take in a diverse range of acts such as The Breeders, Cypress Hill, George Clinton & the P Funk All Stars, The Beastie Boys, Moby, Elastica, Hole, Sonic Youth, A Tribe Called Quest, Pavement, and the list goes on. It wasn't until the festival took a turn for the commercial worst, booting Farrell from any creative contribution (or so I was lead to believe at the time... I haven't fact checked that one) that the touring side show took a turn for the worst (although to be honest, I'm sure it would have been proper to see Orbital rince out at the 1994 edition of the festival... even if it was at Kingswood).

Fast forward to present day and Lolla has gone from cultural turning point, to the depths of insignificance, back to prominence in it's current one stop 3 day incarnation. Perry is back at the helm and the logistics of staging a touring troup of musicians has been abaondoned in favor of the festival format so popular in Europe.

Today the 2007 line up was announced featuring headliners Pearl Jam, Daft Punk, Ben Harper, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Interpol, the Roots, My Morning Jacket, Muse, and approximately 100 other bands or musical acts set to descend on Grant Park that will grace numerous stages over 3 days in Chicago... smells like a summer road trip to me!

Check the link for the full line up... and if your looking for me August long weekend, you know where to find me!

http://www.lollapalooza.com/default.asp?fd=1&sid=1

Absolutely "ESSENTIAL"!!!

Yes, it's been a little while since my last post (or entry... I'm still getting used to all this blog talk). I can assure you it's all been time well wasted. If it's not school or work occupying my time it's the amount of things worth going out for in February and March, namely birthdays. In fact, it really makes me wonder what everyone in the world is doing in June and July (actually it doesn't, and I will let you do the math on that to your own conclusions... anyways...!!!).

One other thing that has been occuppying my time of late is going to the gym. This is an evolution in my life that is certain to baffle most who have known me for years. The benefits of working out can not be discounted though. It's a great stress release, there are the obvious physical benefits, my heart likes me a lot more now than it ever has, and of course the most important benefit; I get a solid 90 minutes - 2 hours of time to listen to great music un-harrassed by the outside world (with the exception of tht guy who interupted a blazing mix by High Contrast last week to find out how many sets I had left on the Leg Curl machine... you know who you are!!!). It amazes me how quickly the time can fly if you are wrapped up in a Derrick Carter "Ministry of Sound" mix down, or hanging out with Underworld "Live". In fact Mark Farina regularly gets me through 15 km on a stationary bike, only to have Mylo work me over in some resistance training.

Lately though, my iPod has been feeling too familiar. I know all of these mixes. I know all of these albums. And like any work out, the routine needs to be switched up every so often to maximize it's effects on you. Enter the "BBC Essential Mixes blog".

For those who don't know, Essential Mix is a weekly series of 2 hour sessions hosted by the legendary Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1 that showcases the best DJ's from around the world flexing the latest and greatest wax for discerning legions of electronic music fans (and I'm certain it's soundtracking the late night, post club piss up at some blokes house in Cardiff). If you're like me and your schedule does not revolve around weekly television or radio shows (I think I might be in the minority here given the number of people who talk about Jack Bauer like he's a close personal friend) you need someone to put it all together for you, a place where you can peruse 10 years of great weekly shows in one glance. That's what the BBC Essential Mixes blog has done for me. With sets from the likes of High Contrast, Grooverider, Carl Cox, Laurent Garnier, and Pete Tong himself the list is long and nothing short of legendary.

My sincere thanks to the person who started this blog and has taken the time to post not only the sets themselves, but the track lists that accompany each one. I would highly recommend doing a strict regimine of at least one new set a week. Just remember to stretch.

http://bbcessentialmixes.blogspot.com/

This Saturday Night!!!

So, I'm playing a party this Saturday for some friends, none other than the "Notorious Walkers" Kerry and Scott. It just so happens to be Kerry's birthday, which just so happens to be the excuse we need to all get together, have a few drinks and get down with our bad selves. Always fun times and good people (and of course you can be assured of some groovy tunes courtesy of yours truly. Peep the deets... hope to see you then!

Hey there friends,

we are having a very special party, this Saturday February 24, 2007 at Harmony Lounge on College Street, to celebrate multiple birthdays (Tommy, Agnes, Auggie, Frankie Guns, and myself), Aquarians, the Age of Aquarius, and life in general. We would love it if you would join us for some cake, some sweet beats, and some proper Bachanalian fun.

Scott, and myself will be playing some fine house muisic for your listening/dancing pleasure, and Desroy will be sure to get your booty shakin with his awesome djembe skills. Joining us in this musical venture: the truly talented, musical maestro, and fellow funk warrior, K2. He'll be soothing our souls with his fine blend of uplifting, jacking beats.

Hope to see you there, and all the best from the Spiral Groove Sound Collective.

Harmony Lounge

589 College Street, West of Bathurst
9 until late
no cover

Flute Boxing?

Now I'm not one to scour the internet in search of useless home videos of un talented hacks who want their 15 seconds of fame. I don't forward many links or chain letters, and I don't watch television on my laptop. That said, the internet has brought many wonders of the modern music world to light that might remain unappreciated if not for websites like YouTube. The link attached is one such marvel that can only be described acurately by clicking and enjoying.

Ladies and gentleman, two minutes of pure musical, artistic genius.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=crfrKqFp0Zg

Roy Hargove Quintet w/The Bad Plus @ Massey Hall

Last Saturday night I went to Massey Hall to see what has become somewhat of an annual ritual for me - to see a big name jazz show at the famed concert hall. On the bill this night was the Roy Hargrove Quintet with opening act the Bad Plus. To most people in Toronto if you mention Massey Hall they will immediately think of cramped seats built in a by gone era, at times hurting sound, and the odd "obstructed seat" (at least they have the good nature to print it right on the ticket). Speak to anyone in the jazz community outside of Toronto and they will recant that Massey Hall was the sight of what is commonly referred to as the "Greatest Live Jazz Concert Recording". The recording in question is performed by the Quintet (Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach), a concert that was organized by the Toronto Jazz Society to bring together the great artists from the bop era for a showcase. The recording, which features quite an assortment of lore surrounding it (including Parker playing the entire show on a plastic saxophone and the amount of empty seats in the hall as a result of a title fight booked at the Gardens on the same night) is simply as good as the catalogued title of the album suggest; "The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever".

With that said, you can certainly understand how excited many jazz musicians are to come and play in Toronto. That was certainly the case with the opening act "The Bad Plus", an avant trio from the U.S. that do anything but stick to the standard piano led, bass and drum accompanied grouping. Working their way through a lively, and quite personable opening set that included many tunes from their up coming studio release (look for it in May 2007) The Bad Plus set a great tone for the evening. The group's personality seemed to shine through as you could genuinely sense they were having a great time playing their own material, not to mention an incredibly well paced version of Ornette Coleman's "Song X" and a crowd pleasing rendition of Rush's "Tom Sawyer". They even made a point to pay tribute to old Massey Hall before announcing one of their final selections, an ode if you will from the young lions on stage and the reverence they had for the spirits of the elders who had filled the cavernous ceiling of the building 50 years before them.

A well dressed Roy Hargrove quintet graced the stage 30 minutes later. Hargrove, no stranger to Massey Hall having been apart of the 50th anniversary tribute to the great Quintet set of 1953, was certainly the main attraction of the night. Discovered by Wynton Marsalis as a young trumpet prodigy many years ago, the young Hargrove has been playing to expectations for years. More recently he's been touring with both his live hip hop/funk outfit the "RH Factor" and his quintet, keeping both relevant at the same time. It became apparent early in his set that either he's been playing way too much or not practicing nearly enough. I've personally seen Hargrove in various groupings 5 times over the years, but on this night he definitely sounded flat. Not in energy, but in ability. I commented to my friend Steve early in the set "is this the second or third show he's played today, because he sounds blown out?" As if his lip not producing wasn’t enough, the microphone on his alto player was doing much of the same. The rhythm section seemed to lock up pretty tight, but I couldn't help but be somewhat distracted by the lop-sided amount of energy coming from the drummer's side of the stage.

One thing that has hampered the shows I've seen at Massey from time to time is the inconsistent quality of the sound. Not the natural sound, but the mic'ed up mix that seems to lack the professionalism you expect to receive when you pay $60 (or a lot more in some cases) to see a show that for all purposes should only be seen in a small club anyways. Ever since Norman Granz took jazz out of the clubs with his 1940's series of "Jazz at the Philharmonic" shows, the live jazz experience has taken on all the difficulties putting on big venue concerts has to offer. That said, Hargrove's band came to play and they certainly did play well. It's just too bad in my opinion they had the misfortune of following up the real headliners on this night, The Bad Plus.

Opinions Are Like...

Only days after making my last post, which featured a short word of praise for the latest album from Brit singer Amy Winehouse, I was informed that she we will be making the trek across the pond to North America for a tour (March 23rd, The MOD Club, Toronto). What excellant news, a chance to perhaps see if it's simply "studio magic" that makes her stunning, authentic sound hold up (somehow I doubt it). Surfing my way through the internet I am directed to a review on popularly opinionated bible of music "Pitchfork.com". The quick review touches on the first single from Back to Black, more specifically how London outfit "Hot Chip" have made it sound good with their own reworking of her recorded material. The text doesn't just put down the original, it bluntly proclaims it as "awful, awful" (yes, for some reason there really was a need to make the distinction between an awful rating of "one" to the sensational, yet highly effective "two").

What is my point? Am I blasting the writer for not making the same connection I have made with the song and the album? Does she know something I don't? On the contrary, my point is simply this; If a reputable source, a demi god if you will of musical taste like Pitchfork can simply dismiss something that I have taken a liking to, then all is right in the world. It's important that people in the business of waxing poetic about the sounds they like and dislike (music journalists and bloggers alike) air their thoughts and feelings without pressure to make something sound like it's great, when it's shite. It opens up discussion and proves that there are people out there with differing opinions about what constitutes really great music. Isn't that the whole point of art? It's objectivity?

If there is one thing I've learned while DJing all these years it's that everyone who listens to music has an opinion or two to share. And some of them are actually right.