"The All-Rights"

After a last-minute email from the band itself, Pilate confirmed they were playing the Horseshoe Tavern on Tuesday night as part of Nu Music Night. Woohoo! But Janice couldn't go. And Wendy already had plans. What other friends do I have? None. Well, I considered calling Naomi, but then I remembered when she got back from Japan & listened to them, she was "not very impressed." !!! Anyway, what to do. Go by myself, of course. Monday night, I was determined to go. Tuesday while working, that feeling did not remain so. Then Wendy decided to start dinner without me right after she called to invite me! Anyway, when work was done I trekked over to the Eaton Centre food court to grab something to eat and decide whether I would be conscious enough to go. I was actually zoned out when I got a call from Wendy saying she'd join me!

It has been SO long since I've seen Pilate live. And it's been even longer since I first heard Caught By the Window back in 2003!!! Talk about a long wait. After seeing them last night, I cannot wait for Sell Control for Life's Speed to release. Their first performance of their new songs was tight and showed great promise. And yet they still rocked on their old material. There was a singalong during "Into Your Hideout," even with the 3 girls next to me who were not even there for Pilate (they were there for the next band, Lye). Until last night I had momentarily forgotten how great they are live. Todd Clark's voice was just as angelic as I remembered it, and I'm glad that he continued to break into his beautiful falsettos in the new songs too. He was pretty funny too... He didn't talk too much but at one point he was wiping the sweat off his forehead and trying to push his now-longer hair from his face and he remarked, "Having hair has its issues!" How cute was that. Ruby Bumrah seems so modest & quiet - but when he sings backup, his voice complements Todd's very nicely. Bill Keeley is always smiling. And he played the drums barefoot! If that doesn't prove rock stardom, what does? Chris Greenough played some kickass guitar. He makes playing the guitar look so easy! And I have to admit, I am completely partial to Chris. So my eyes were on him a lot ;) And that was easy to do too since Wendy and I were front left again!

After the set, Wendy grabbed Chris' setlist. We waited for the band while they got their equipment off the stage so the next band could set up. Todd came out and we got a photo & autograph from him. But Chris didn't emerge :( Todd said he might come out later but we couldn't wait much longer so we left. On our way to the car, the girls who were waiting with us after the set to see Todd walked to the back of the Horseshoe (near where we parked our car) and stalked the band while they finished loading their van! I had a serious debate whether I should follow them, especially since I hadn't got a Chris moment yet! But I was so tired and both me & Wendy had to work today so we didn't follow those girls. I regretted it when I got home last night :( But then I thought about it today, and I honestly feel like I would have had a Wendy-meeting-Todd-Clark-at-York moment. I don't know what I would say to Chris! It's different from all the other rockstar boyfriends. I think it's because I was extremely obsessed with Chris Greenough back in 2003/2004. He was my First Serious Rockstar Boyfriend as an adult. HAHAHAHA. Am I embarrassing myself. I don't care. Chris Greenough is the best. And he's the entire reason Concert Gang started the "to the left!" rule.

Here's the official setlist - Pilate (or "The All-Rights") @ Horseshoe Tavern, Feb 21, 2006:

1. Knife - from where album title, Sell Control for Life's Speed, comes
2. Ambulance
3. Over-Ground - "A great song," said Todd. I agree.
4. Into Your Hideout
5. Turn the Lights On
6. Barely Listening - first single off Sell Control for Life's Speed. It's streaming on their myspace site.
7. Don't Stare
8. A Kind of Hope
9. Alright - this song fought a tough battle between "Mercy," "Don't Waste Your Breath," and "Collide" and won my heart over as my favourite song from Caught By The Window

Now somewhere in there, I forgot when, they threw in "Out On My Feet." I think. Hmm.. Now I'm doubting myself! But I definitely know Todd sang some of "Endgame" at the end of "into Your Hideout." Pilate is BACK!!!!

See some pictures here from Wendy's Flickr account.

Wake Up, Canada

So the Juno nominations are out. And I cannot express how disappointed I am with the Canada Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and this country's voters. If you haven't already heard, Nickelback leads the pack with SIX nominations! That's right. Not only are they nominated, they are actually nominated for the most number of Junos this year. The academy decided to stick with their status quo nominees of bland artists who sell a large number of boring albums. It's disappointing to see that they didn't provide a larger recognition to the Canadian indie scene that has practically taken over the music world the past year. Sure, Arcade Fire got 3 nominations, but Broken Social Scene, Metric, & Feist only managed one or two nominations each, and only Feist got one in one of the major categories, Single of the Year for "Inside and Out". But how Nickelback's "Photograph" also got nominated in that same category is mindboggling. And how can two mediocre Canadian idols each get into the Album of the Year category?! And Theory of a Deadman still exists?! *RAGE* What irks me is that there are people out there who actually buy this music. That's the only reason these crappy bands are still producing crappy albums and there. Who ARE you people!!

I guess I can't be too surprised; it's always like this with these types of awards. Award the best-sellers, ignore the best. Like I said, it's disappointing to see that the academy can't or is unwilling to understand the difference between crap and talent.

Actually, it's more like they are quite arbitrary in their crappiness versus talent decision - afterall, Massari and Shawn Desman were thankfully nominated for only one award each.

Full list of nominees can be found here.

hype be damned

In constant rotation: The View From the Afternoon. Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured. A Certain Romance.

Arctic Monkeys will be released in North America on February 14th.

I can't wait until March 21st to see them at the Phoenix.

That is all.

IT IS DONE!

Yes, it's a miracle!!! I've finished cleaning & organizing my room! Here are some pics. The "before" pics aren't a true reflection of the mess that was my room because I decided to take the photos after I had already started cleaning up my room...

Before...

This is that mess in the left corner. I had already emptied some of that shelf and cleaned up a few piles of books.

In progress...

I had to put a lot of stuff in the hallway so that I could move some furniture around.

Almost one month later...

The frames of greg & tim are up :)

So it is done. I am quite satisfied. I just have a few minor organizational matters to finish...like the closet issue. I also had to remove several band posters because it didn't look right next to the fancier framed pics of greg/tim. But overall, I'd say I am happy with the new arrangement. Sorry, all the "after" pics haven't turned out too well... When I turned on the light, there was a reflection in greg's photo, so this is the best I can do. You can come visit if you want a true sense of how my room turned out! Thanks to Naomi, Janice, Liz, and Man Yi (and Wendy? I don't know her part in that bday "surprise") for framing those pics, for the pillows, and for the candles :)