boy I missed him!!!
Mark is home and he got here in one piece (I have terrible thoughts of dead in the ditch along the 401 scenarios whenever we don't travel together) and he brought home dinner, from Chinatown so yay!!
And he had a good time, he had great visits with friends, saw an awesome show so yeah, good all around.
Me, I got some cleaning done, the laundry finished and just vegged (watched way too many movies but that's another post).
weekend = good
can't believe that it's almost over already though.
Showing posts with label concert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concert. Show all posts
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
yeah
wow.
the spree were great. awesome even.
just before we left for Montreal I found out that the show was moving from the Metropolis to the Spectrum. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
When we arrived at the club, there was a tiny little line up to get in. St Catherines street was closed in front of the club because of the Jazz Festival so it was a strange environment. It was pleasant though, we stood around watching people wander by, en masse toward the festival stages. Not having to deal with cars was a nice change too.
The doors were supposed to open at 7 but I don't think we got into the club until close to 8. When we walked in, we discovered that the Spectrum is about half the size of the Metropolis. Not good, not for the band anyway. I wandered upstairs to find the ladies room and saw that the balcony area was closed off so the club wasn't expecting it to be too busy.
Mark and I were able to get a table very close to the stage. When the show started, it was very easy for me to get down to the front of the crowd and take some photos. I really wish that I had taken my Nikon with me. I was worried that they may be checking bags at the door so I left it at the hotel. I was worried for nothing, they didn't check anyone. Of course, had I brought it with me, they would have. Oh well, some of the shots I got were okay. My Olympus isn't great in low light conditions.
Despite the smaller crowd, the show was amazing. really amazing. A lovely young lady from California opened the show. Her name is Jesca Hoop and she sang with an acoustic guitar. I thought that her voice was absolutely lovely and I look forward to hearing her album when it's out this September.
Jesca stood at the very front of the stage, in front of a piece of red fabric which had been stretched to cover the entire stage. After she was finished and the spree were ready to start, the lyrics to "Gimme Some Truth" were flashed across the red fabric as the song played on the PA. At the end of the song, you could see scissors cutting away at the fabric, making a heart shape. Eventually, the fabric was cut into two pieces, revealing the band on stage. It was a great start to their set!
Personally, I thought that the sound in the club was a little too loud (my ears are still ringing right now) and the mix wasn't great. Having said that, the joy, enthusiasm and energy that the Polyphonic Spree displayed, and the frenzy they were able to work the 400+ crowd into was authentic. Having seen them before only in a festival type environment, where they played an abbreviated set, I wasn't quite sure what to expect for a full-on spree show. It was just plain fun. They are a joy to watch, they played all of my favourites (including Soldier Girl!) and they definitely left me feeling satisfied.
I think it's a shame that the place wasn't packed to the rafters... or that the Metropolis wasn't packed to the rafters. Perhaps it was having to compete with the Jazz festival that made for the low numbers. I'm not sure. What I know is that a lot folks missed out on an experience. Sound issues aside, this was a musical extravaganza that I know I won't soon forget and I don't think anyone else who was in that room last night will either.
the spree were great. awesome even.
just before we left for Montreal I found out that the show was moving from the Metropolis to the Spectrum. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
When we arrived at the club, there was a tiny little line up to get in. St Catherines street was closed in front of the club because of the Jazz Festival so it was a strange environment. It was pleasant though, we stood around watching people wander by, en masse toward the festival stages. Not having to deal with cars was a nice change too.
The doors were supposed to open at 7 but I don't think we got into the club until close to 8. When we walked in, we discovered that the Spectrum is about half the size of the Metropolis. Not good, not for the band anyway. I wandered upstairs to find the ladies room and saw that the balcony area was closed off so the club wasn't expecting it to be too busy.
Mark and I were able to get a table very close to the stage. When the show started, it was very easy for me to get down to the front of the crowd and take some photos. I really wish that I had taken my Nikon with me. I was worried that they may be checking bags at the door so I left it at the hotel. I was worried for nothing, they didn't check anyone. Of course, had I brought it with me, they would have. Oh well, some of the shots I got were okay. My Olympus isn't great in low light conditions.
Despite the smaller crowd, the show was amazing. really amazing. A lovely young lady from California opened the show. Her name is Jesca Hoop and she sang with an acoustic guitar. I thought that her voice was absolutely lovely and I look forward to hearing her album when it's out this September.
Jesca stood at the very front of the stage, in front of a piece of red fabric which had been stretched to cover the entire stage. After she was finished and the spree were ready to start, the lyrics to "Gimme Some Truth" were flashed across the red fabric as the song played on the PA. At the end of the song, you could see scissors cutting away at the fabric, making a heart shape. Eventually, the fabric was cut into two pieces, revealing the band on stage. It was a great start to their set!
Personally, I thought that the sound in the club was a little too loud (my ears are still ringing right now) and the mix wasn't great. Having said that, the joy, enthusiasm and energy that the Polyphonic Spree displayed, and the frenzy they were able to work the 400+ crowd into was authentic. Having seen them before only in a festival type environment, where they played an abbreviated set, I wasn't quite sure what to expect for a full-on spree show. It was just plain fun. They are a joy to watch, they played all of my favourites (including Soldier Girl!) and they definitely left me feeling satisfied.
I think it's a shame that the place wasn't packed to the rafters... or that the Metropolis wasn't packed to the rafters. Perhaps it was having to compete with the Jazz festival that made for the low numbers. I'm not sure. What I know is that a lot folks missed out on an experience. Sound issues aside, this was a musical extravaganza that I know I won't soon forget and I don't think anyone else who was in that room last night will either.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
start of a summer storm
Because I'm nosey and like to know what is going on at City Hall, a few years ago I signed up for their newsletter. It's handy in some ways because I'm always in the loop about road closures and planned power outages. It's also silly because I receive notices about all kinds of municipal events which I would never participate in.
Many of you may have heard that our town leaders are attempting to build a large venue event complex in the downtown area. While I agree that Kingston does need a venue like this, I'm not a huge fan of the location. Having said that, I've been amused at some of the fundraising efforts that the city is making to fund this project. The best one so far, I received a notice about in my inbox for today.
In their infinite wisdom, the city is holding a free concert starring April Wine and Kim Mitchell. Now, I've seen both of these folks before. April Wine I saw in August 1981 with my high school buddies, I think I was in college in the late 80's when we saw Kim Mitchell in a bar. Neither one was terrific but they were mildly amusing for the time. I cannot imagine going to see them now, even if the event is free.
Apparently, commemorative tshirts will be sold and the proceeds from the shirt sales will go to the arena project. This makes no sense to me. Why not charge for the concert and sell tshirts at the same time? This just seems really odd to me. I get why they probably figure that they won't sell any tickets to this show but I can't for the life me imagine that they will actually sell enough shirts to make this worthwhile. Kingston is full of gawkers, even on the start of a long weekend and these folks will not want to put their hands in their pockets for a tshirt commermorating a half-rate concert.
Then again, what the hell do I know? I actually thought that the new arena should be built somewhere with parking. Foolish huh?
Many of you may have heard that our town leaders are attempting to build a large venue event complex in the downtown area. While I agree that Kingston does need a venue like this, I'm not a huge fan of the location. Having said that, I've been amused at some of the fundraising efforts that the city is making to fund this project. The best one so far, I received a notice about in my inbox for today.
In their infinite wisdom, the city is holding a free concert starring April Wine and Kim Mitchell. Now, I've seen both of these folks before. April Wine I saw in August 1981 with my high school buddies, I think I was in college in the late 80's when we saw Kim Mitchell in a bar. Neither one was terrific but they were mildly amusing for the time. I cannot imagine going to see them now, even if the event is free.
Apparently, commemorative tshirts will be sold and the proceeds from the shirt sales will go to the arena project. This makes no sense to me. Why not charge for the concert and sell tshirts at the same time? This just seems really odd to me. I get why they probably figure that they won't sell any tickets to this show but I can't for the life me imagine that they will actually sell enough shirts to make this worthwhile. Kingston is full of gawkers, even on the start of a long weekend and these folks will not want to put their hands in their pockets for a tshirt commermorating a half-rate concert.
Then again, what the hell do I know? I actually thought that the new arena should be built somewhere with parking. Foolish huh?
Thursday, June 07, 2007
home, home again
wow.
we just got home. the show was quite good. theatrical, dazzling, overwhelming really.
it's been a long day so we're heading to bed now.
I'm sure that I'll more to say about it tomorrow.
for now, it's just, wow.
we just got home. the show was quite good. theatrical, dazzling, overwhelming really.
it's been a long day so we're heading to bed now.
I'm sure that I'll more to say about it tomorrow.
for now, it's just, wow.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
ready to go
So, finally, tonight, we're going to see Roger Waters.
I say finally because there have been many hurdles to get over before this day arrived. So far, we're having a lazy morning and we're going to take off for Ottawa this afternoon. After two days of stormy weather, it looks like we have a gorgeous travel day ahead of us which is nice.
Mark assures me that he slept last night but I know he's very excited about the show tonight. Due too many different sets of weird circumstances, he's not seen Roger since 1999. From what Mark tells me, there is no way that he'll be disappointed by the show tonight, no matter what happens. I'm sure he's right.
I say finally because there have been many hurdles to get over before this day arrived. So far, we're having a lazy morning and we're going to take off for Ottawa this afternoon. After two days of stormy weather, it looks like we have a gorgeous travel day ahead of us which is nice.
Mark assures me that he slept last night but I know he's very excited about the show tonight. Due too many different sets of weird circumstances, he's not seen Roger since 1999. From what Mark tells me, there is no way that he'll be disappointed by the show tonight, no matter what happens. I'm sure he's right.
Monday, June 04, 2007
hey, it's the tickets
Happy Monday! And Happy Anniversary to my parents. Today they celebrate 41 years of marriage. That's pretty incredible, when you think about it.
I'm working a very short week this week. I booked off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as vacation days. The downside of this (and it's really the only one) is that my work day was nuts today. I expect that it'll be the same tomorrow too.
When I got home tonight, I was feeling kinda shitty about it all until I saw an envelope from Quebec in the mailbox. My Polyphonic Spree tickets arrived!! That totally turned the day around and made me forget about the pile of stuff on my desk and focus more on hearing the new album and seeing them again. Yay!
I'm working a very short week this week. I booked off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as vacation days. The downside of this (and it's really the only one) is that my work day was nuts today. I expect that it'll be the same tomorrow too.
When I got home tonight, I was feeling kinda shitty about it all until I saw an envelope from Quebec in the mailbox. My Polyphonic Spree tickets arrived!! That totally turned the day around and made me forget about the pile of stuff on my desk and focus more on hearing the new album and seeing them again. Yay!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
gorgeous
We received some good news yesterday. It's about the concert.
I still don't like hockey much but the tour promoters were able to swap the dates of the Ottawa show with the Quebec City show. So now, we're off to see the Dark Side of the Moon on a different night.
All's well that ends well right?
I still can't understand why, whoever was booking this thing in the first place, would have booked a big ass rock show in the arena on a night when they could be in a hockey playoff.
Honestly, head's should be rolling over this one!
I still don't like hockey much but the tour promoters were able to swap the dates of the Ottawa show with the Quebec City show. So now, we're off to see the Dark Side of the Moon on a different night.
All's well that ends well right?
I still can't understand why, whoever was booking this thing in the first place, would have booked a big ass rock show in the arena on a night when they could be in a hockey playoff.
Honestly, head's should be rolling over this one!
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