suckingalemon

canada day / cobourg / constantines

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:59:00 -0400

i should have posted this a while ago.

on canada day kate and i went to cobourg for a waterfront festival. there were huge arts tents with lots of jam/sauce/dip taste testing. i bought some amazing horse raddish that i eat everything with.

they also had a small midway on the boardwalk with rides, terrible delicious foods, a peir filled with boats, and a beach. the middle of town had a bandstand and even an official town marching band. as well as a heated lawn bowling tourney.

before going home we went inn town for a bit and came upon the most amazing record store called Zap Records. it had some crazy music memorbillia like old issues of rolling stone from the 60s and super rare vinyl that was $$. we could not mapleleaves that this amazing store existed in cobourg of all places.

at night we went to harbourfront for the chad vangaalen/constantines double bill. another beautiful canada day spent on the lake listening to incredible bands. best constantines show in a long time.

end.

toronto pride '09

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:53:00 -0400

[photos]

pride was nice and busy. we had pals come in from out of town + i got a media pass which was a nice bonus because it meant not waiting in lines and also getting to take photos from backstage which is something i never experienced before. it was especially fun during kids on tv.

friday night: saw MEN at vazaleen. good electro act feat. jd samson.

saturday: dyke march + shooting the village drag stage + the cliks/gentleman reg/kids on tv at the south stage.

sunday: kelly rowland at the wellesley stage + lioness at alexander parkette.

all the music acts were fun times. the crowd loved the cliks, gent reg keeps getting better and better each time i see him, and new kids on tv songs are really tight. kelly rowland played a 15 min. set before running off with 10 bodyguards. it was pretty funny. but her destiny’s child medley made waiting around to see her worth it. finally i told pretty much anyone i could to go see lioness. good way to end pride.

took too many photos/forever to edit.

i also ate So much, like the fattest baby in town.

the end.

nxne '09

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:51:00 -0400

nxne this year was really really good. so much punk and garage. a lot of getting home at 6 am and waking up a few hours later. i lost count how many times i sweated through my clothes. my knees came out pretty bruised. jamie’s 2 am chip dinners.

thursday: black lips at Y&D square was packed and attack of the dancing girls. at the ‘shoe, united steel workers of montreal played one of the better sets iv seen from them but the tag team of king khan and bbq show + health blew my mind.

[photos]

friday: early show by matt and kim at the whippersnapper was another highlight, for some reason way more fun than the previous time i had seen them there. camped out at dee’s for the rest of the night to see coathangers, pterodactyl, aidswolf, mika miko, homosexuals, and teams robespierre. best surprise were pterodactyl and mika miko. kinda letdown by teams robespierre, last time i saw them was amazing, this was kinda underwhelming. wished id gone to see these are powers at silver dollar instead.

[photos]

saturday: six shooter records backlot bbq is one of my favorite summer traditions, kinda bummed that it poured but it was still a great time despite that. delicious business veggie burgers, margaritas, and good music played well by men. martin tielli played an amazing set of rheos tunes and solo stuff, luke doucet covered my favorite Band song, and justin rutledge played the most badass version of jellybean with the beauties.

the rain and eating like a fatsy baby at sneaky dee’s made me miss the sonics but later went to a place i learned was called the commotion house for japanther and davemunthier. it was a loft in industrial land but was way roomier than any house show iv been to. japanther were nice and sweaty, always the best time.

saturday night had so many after parties and house shows i lost count. but this is a part of what made nxne so great this year.

[photos]

sunday: easy day. gza and the cool kids at Y&D square. gza was amazing + had king khan with him and the cool kids were fun: I’m a rebel eating a bowl of them fruity pebble, fruity pebbles, fruity pebbles. How gangsta is that. not gangsta at all?

[photos]

the end/beat.

hoser march

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:17:12 -0400

[photos]

dave bidini led a hoser march from soundscapes to eventually the horseshoe with stops along the way for the release of his bidiniband album. it was a pretty good time that involved kensington market, burritos, and justin rutledge. too bad one of the stops was not at the big chill.

new york!

Tue, 19 May 2009 09:34:51 -0400

[photos]

my first holga photos. it rained for 2 days straight so everything looks pretty gloomy. newyork looks like a joy division record.

words/text version of trip.

dan deacon @ deleon white gallery

Mon, 11 May 2009 20:33:00 -0400

[photos]

[video]

dd/mm/yyyy: dressed as your mother, teeth mountain: sonic drum jams, future islands: if black flag were a dance band. very solid openers.

dan deacon: my sweat was a fountain and never stopped. most intense dance party i have ever been to.

this guy gets it.

great review in eye.

i love this video. perfectly captures the pure joy of dan deacon.

new york! this is life!

Tue, 05 May 2009 11:15:00 -0400

may 3 - may 4.

i took my new holga with me because i didn’t really feel like carrying around fancy cameras, so i have to wait till next week to get the film developed. took 3 rolls of 400. we’ll see if anything actually turns out.

it rained for 2 days straight, but it don’t matter. had martin tielli’s ‘rain, rain, rain’ stuck in my head. along with every ryan adams song that mentions a street in new york. i was totally at houston & 3rd.

sunday//

cab ride through queens, borough park kosher subway: this is real!, bus tour through cobble hill/prospect park/park slope, vegan wings at red bamboo in clinton hill: totes charming area with great brownstones with some walt whitman connections, beacon’s closet thrift store finds, bedford street in williamsburg: jewish hipster island mix of kensington/college/queen, east williamsburg: tons of jesus, 3rd ward street party with phil/lisa/mak/corrinne: moved indoors but afuche and Aa repped so hard, it was a good time and felt like a toronto show.

dark was the night @ radio city music hall:

radio city music hall inside is beautiful.

my faves dirty p’s up first performing Useful Chamber and Stillness Is The Move and 2 songs with david byrne including Knotty Pine. amazing performance, amber killed it dead on Stillness. cannot wait till everyone hears this album/song.

the national sound really great with a small male choir backup made up of members of bon iver’s band, new songs are incredible and may prompt me to see them here. live mp3’s here: http://www.nyctaper.com/?p=1098

many bands backed by small wood, brass, and string section which were solid. sometimes even out shining the performer if your name is my brightest diamond. i guess sufan was too busy.

somewhere in the first half david sitek perfromed. he looked and sounded like a crooner. didn’t recognize him at all.

david byrne led in by a samba squad dancing behind them, i could watch him dance all night. performed a cole porter cover! dueted with feist and i think bon iver. i am a fan.

by the sound of applause, phil, and some reviews iv read, bon iver might have stolen the show. he didn’t for me but he was still very good though it had a lot to do with his wonderful band, those were some sweet harmonies.

feist played acoustic covers of little wings, bob dylan, etc. i was really tired by this point and took a bit of a nap, no offense feist but iv seen you play a hundred thousand times. woke up though for her duet with bon iver performing the song she did with ben gibbard on the DWTN album, it was actually pretty nice.

sharon jones and the dap kings are show stealers and show offs at being awesome. they are an incredible band and she is a world class performer. mid set breakdown homeage of james brown dance moves solidifies she is the female james brown. she received a well deserved standing O, that tiny woman took over that entire theather.

the end of the show was pretty clever. everyone got together and played an acoustic camp fire homeage to pete seeger with This Land Is Your Land. then sharon jones came back and was all hold up, let me show you how it’s done by performing her version of that song which takes it to entirely new levels. video of performance. stone cold, sharon.

show was A+ and worth the trip.

phil and i passed out after some pizza in makeda’s hotel which she kindly let us crash in. it was one of the better sleeps iv had.

monday//

coney island: would love to go when it’s actually opened but still took photos and enjoyed the boardwalk - anyone who loves ryan adams as much as i do will understand why i had to take a photo of the wonder wheel, brooklyn heights: wayyyy nice area - walked along the promenade for an amazing view of NY and the bridge, DUMBO: right underneath the bridge - area reminded me of the distillery district, manhattan: SHAKE SHACK!!! veggie shroom burger is incredible and i sat in the middle of the park to enjoy my feast even though it was pouring which included the cutest little bird taking one of my fries - hale and hearty soups for some wonderful 10 veggie soup - ludlow street for some nostalgia - tried to find peanut butter and co but never did, sad city, but got a cupcake at a kosher bakery and after taking a few photos of B & H diner i grabbed a cab to the airport.

trip was mega fun and i tried to do as much in two days as i could. brooklyn is a rad place. wish i had gotten to eat at curly’s, next time. after my third trip to NY still so much i want to see and tons of places id like to hang out at.

the end.

ponytail @ deleon white gallery

Sat, 02 May 2009 18:59:05 -0400

[photos]

ponytail fought the law and won. this show ruled!

nice review.

justin townes earle // close up the honky tonks

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:18:00 -0400

[photos]

jte is a legend, by g-d. a timeless classic, just like his namesake.

listen to tons of live stuff here.

heavy vessel is a new music series, it was supposed to be in a...

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:11:00 -0400

heavy vessel is a new music series, it was supposed to be in a boat in a sandbox. like an adorable version of extermination music night. but it was too cold so the show was relocated to the bellwoods house.

neko case in a church one night, stripped down acoustic bruce peninsula in a basement the next. pretty good or an alright thing.

i took some photos. but also my first show video, maybe just pretending to be colin. mostly because bp acoustic is a beautiful thing.

pre show waffles + veggie noodles. post show howlin’ wind.

missed record store day to line up for neko case. ...

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:21:00 -0400

missed record store day to line up for neko case.
that’s fine, cause that’s okay.
neko and garth hudson down by the church yard (setlist).

pre show icecream. post show bento box.

summer jams

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:33:00 -0400

woahhhhhh!

extreme lifesytles (japanther pit). - playing around with...

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 09:28:00 -0400

extreme lifesytles (japanther pit).

- playing around with poladroid.

French Fry High: Sodium, Brantford.

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:16:00 -0400

French Fry High: Sodium, Brantford.