Playing Catch Up

I know that I suck at the blogging lately, I even have a to-do list on my desk at home of stuff that has to get done and updating the blog is one of those things, but some days after work are so rough I just cannot bring myself to log on and do it. The main reason is because I want to add a bunch of pictures which takes forever and then there is a lot of stuff I want to talk about so I just avoid like the avoider I am, and now I have a pile up of random stuff to rant on.

So, starting off, I've been to a lot of concerts recently... David Gray, John Mayer Trio, The Bravery and this coming Tuesday, Franz Ferdinand at Ricoh Coliseum which is where The Toronto Rock play (that's our kick ass #1 ranked Lacrosse team by the way -- a bit of a random fact for sports enthusiasts). I actually might have to sell those tickets since I bought two but no one seems that interested in going or if they are, they live very far away and the only way I can foresee them attending this concert with me is if Teleportation travel is implemented by tomorrow evening. So you see, I may lose some money on this transaction which is always a piss off.

Of the concerts I have seen so far, I have been really pleased with the quality of the performances, all of which were very different from each other. My cousin Erin and I saw David Gray on a Sunday night at the ACC, which had cordoned off one of the oval ends of the arena to make a smaller more intimate theatre like venue. It was a nice relaxed evening of sitting down and watching David bounce back and forth from guitar and mic stand to the piano. He is quite the performer... his voice has a clarity that could easily belong to musical theatre, which I believe I also said about Tim Rice from Keane earlier this year. He also wore a suit to perform in which I always find endearing, like he is dressing up for us because he is trying to make a good impression. Sometimes musicians don't give a damn, but I liked that he put forth the effort.
The music that was played was mainly off of the new album (Life in Slow Motion) and White Ladder. The songs are so well written and powerful that it was quite an emotional experience to hear them being sung live. There were actual moments when I felt like crying, but I held back. I think there was probably enough emotion in our section, mainly from the hideously drunk woman who kept screaming out in a very drunken slur 'I looooooooooove yooooooooooouuuu Daaaaaaavid Graaaaaaaaaay'. At one point he did hear her and turned around on stage to look over his shoulder in our direction, and what could he do but laugh a little? Needless to say, even though she got the reaction she wanted after some good effort, she still kept doing it which got to be bloody annoying. Many people turned around to give her a disgusted look and even though she was hanging off of her husband's arm, he acted so unattached and indifferent (probably due to extreme embarassment) that it was like she had found some random to hang off of all night. I was kind of annoyed that he didn't do more to tell her to shut up, but whatever. I guess he is the one that has to deal with her at home at night.

The second concert that I saw that same week was John Mayer's new musical venture, a blues trio, originally called, the John Mayer Trio. The trio consists of John (obviously), Pino Palladino on bass, and Steve Jordan on drums. I was a little skeptical going into this concert because all the material was new for the audience (even though the earlier shows on the tour are available for download on line) and it's always a bit weird to go to a concert not knowing the material. However, I have to say that the Trio did an amazing job of pulling off the set and everyone in the place was extremely pleased with the show. John was up to his old tricks and when someone handed him their digital camera from the front of the stage, he took some photos while simultaneously playing guitar and then proceeded to use the camera as a slide on the guitar. It was pretty cool to see, but I would be more interested in seeing the surface of that camera after he stopped wailing on the guitar with it. Obviously camera manufacturers need to think of these things when deciding on a durable case design...
So, it should probably also be said that John Mayer needs a friggin haircut. I'll be posting some of my pics from the concert below later, and then you can see what I mean. He looks a bit of a mess.
I also want to remark on the fact that the people at the concert were kind of bitchy, which I guess can be easily attributed to all the girls at the show who are desperate to do groupie things with the man or the band or whatever, but rudeness just sucks all around. I got icy glares from people when I had to fight the crowd back to where my friends were standing after having gone off to purchase a $4 bottle of water. That reason alone makes me grateful to go to concerts where you have an assigned seat, so you have a set destination to aim for and no one is glaring at you for standing in front of them or blocking their view or whatever. Anyways, I think I can end this little rant for now.

The Bravery I saw this past Tuesday. Two bands opened, one which I completely missed (People and Planes) but they had cool merchandise, and I caught the tail end of the set by the other band (International Noise Conspiracy) who were pretty damn energetic.
The Bravery themselves were pretty decent but I am really glad that I waited to go much later in the evening to see them rather than having to stand around for four hours of opening band shenanigans. I went away on the annual family Thanksgiving vacation last weekend but I had a cold the entire time, so I was still feeling pretty low on Tuesday but on the other hand I didn't want to waste the money I spent on my ticket, so I just sucked it up and went. It was a decent show, pretty small, but a good time, and I was tired at work the next day, which just shows me that I have to stop going out so late on weeknights. I think I am averaging about 5-6 hours of sleep a night because I toss and turn and stress out about meeting my crew on time. Our times change everyday so there is no consistency anymore and damn it, I need a routine.
Anyways... this update about concerts is done and I will post again later today about the ASI 25th Anniversary party I went to on Friday and Oktoberfest at the Aud last night with Kristy. I also need to fill out my Thanksgiving post which is rather sparse, and I have some nice photos of Ontario autumn tree colours which are awesome. The pictures probably don't do the reality justice, but you will all just have to take my word for it and appreciate it. So there! Until later... I need to find a hangover cure.