Random Channel Surfing

So after a long search for someone to go to concerts with, my friend Lucina is officially my concert buddy. This is the same girl that I would see every time Nix and I would go to a show. She and her sister Fabiana are as music obsessed as we were back in the day and it's nice to know that Lucina is still trying to keep going to shows, despite the fact her sister moved away to Toronto this past year. Last night Lucina and I met at The Artery to support Bedouin Soundclash's front man's new project: Jay Malinowski and the Deadcoast. I got there earlier than we'd agreed (social anxiety makes me overly punctual) and I settled in, ruminating over the fact that the majority of Edmonton's population are hipsters in flannel and beanie hats. Or, at least that's what the audience last night would have you believe. The Artery is a fairly small venue and I'd been there previously for my friend Sean's band's CD release party last February. It had been packed...

Seriously, whenever I read things in which Jay or Eon say that things are "better than ever" in the band, it makes me sad. How bad were things when Pat was in the band?

That absolutely terrible moment when you find out that the boy you cared about so so very much is now dating a girl who's equally obsessed with the band you introduced HIM to. I know I shouldn't care... I don't own Bedouin, but the fact that she likes--nay, LOVES them makes my heart hurt. I curse you, facebook. You let me in on things I shouldn't care about.

Well, no. It's not really "mort", but it is sad. COD? Death by knowledge . Sometimes I am positive that ignorance is bliss. I wish they were still together. My Bedouin.

Pedestal: Pronunciation: \ ˈ pe-dəs-t ə l\ A position of high regard or adoration. When you put someone on a pedestal, you idealize their existence. People typically placed on pedestals range from parents, significant others, and people you adulate (read: celebrities). If by chance you meet this person you adore, odds are you'll be too frightened to act as you normally would or say things that are unexpected... that is to say, without the presence of liquid courage. The first Bedouin concert Nix (a Psych major) and I went to, I remember her turning to me and saying, "You know why the stage is higher up, don't you?" When she saw my blank expression, she quickly informed me that it all stemmed from the idea that by placing the stage higer up, we idolize our favourite bands and singers. It's society's way of manipulating us into adulation. The idea has stuck with me and to this day, when I think someone is too good to be true, I'll think back on Nix's wor...

Jay apologized for his naughty behaviour at the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival. Personally. Through a letter . awwwwwwww! Jay! He wrote to the organizers and even got in touch with someone who was injured when he (stupidly) threw a bottle into the audience. Bad, Jay! Though I also thought he acted very immaturely stupidly, I always find that people are too quick to judge. That's why I liked one of the comments on this article. The author of this comment acknowledges that while what Jay did was a no-no, that she wondered whether "the audience members who threw bottles,etc at the performers would be willing to acknowledge their errors in judgement[.] Easy to critique someone in the spotlight..harder to shine a spotlight on yourself. [sic]" You tell 'em Theresa04! Ugh. I miss their music... so much. Okay... maybe not just their music, but their former-drummer, too. Hey! Can you BLAME me? Look at him! I think this is the best Pat picture I took. le sigh.

“'Over time, being in a band’s an intense thing,' Malinowski told Metro, not adding much in the way of specifics expect that things seem amicable. 'We pretty much reached the end of that chapter.' [sic]” What did Jay mean by all of this... and what did the reporter mean when he wrote "things seem amicable"?! I never thought that there was any animosity between the former-Bedouin and Jay and Eon, but this article makes it seem like there is. But then I find videos like this one  and I realize that there can't be animosity... Just look at the comraderie between them! Jay affirms that he can't live without Pat! In other Bedouin news, these dudes were (*apparently) very naughty at the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Fest . Tsk tsk, Eon and Jay, tsk tsk.  Naughtiness aside, the more I think about it, the more I realize that if it weren't for Bob Marley and Bedouin, I wouldn't be as into music as I am. Sure, it all started with Bob Marley and the Wailers,...

... when I said I would stop at 8 concerts. I blame Fabiana. I was all set to stay home and mourn my lack of loyalty towards my favourite band when she phoned to see if I wanted to join her--and I wouldn't have to pay her back! How could I say no? She's a temptress !! haha! In any case, Bedouin was, as always, A-fucking-MAZING! And their opening band was from Edmonton! They support local talent--how can I NOT adore them? Anyway, the above picture is of Fabs and Luls. Both these chickies (having attended all of the Bedouin shows in the city, haha!) were pulled onstage by Jay! It made my heart happy to see them up there! Especially since they literally haven't missed a single one of their shows and this show was phenomenal (though I hate to admit that the horn section almost stole the show...) During Bedouin's  Rudy  cover, these dudes played two of the wickedest solos I have ever heard (the only exceptions being Taylor Hawkins' solo at the Foos concert last March ...

To date, I have been to seven shows.  Arkells - February 21 Hey Ocean - April 8 The Killers - April 27 Green Day (though I went because of The Bravery ... *blush*) - July 6 Arkells (Opening for Pilot Speed) - July 18 Blink 182 - July 31 Virgin Fest - August 8 and 9 My cameras have been... difficult, so I only have pictures for the Green Day/Bravery show and VFest. I did take pictures for the other shows, but as my camera is being a lil bitch, I won't be posting them anytime soon. In any case, here are pictures I took at the Green Day concert. Truth be told, I wasn't going to go to this show because, though I like Green Day, they're not among my favourite  bands. However, I check my favourite bands' websites once a week. It's part of my Monday work ritual; it was then that I discovered that The Bravery was opening for Green Day. My gosh...! How I love them! Sam Endicott  is amazing (and not just because he looks like that... swoon). He's so chill and I lo...

What do you know?! *sigh* I found this nugget on my quest for information on Bedouin... It seems that their Bad Brains mash-up is FINALLY going to be released. Oh how I miss my Bedouin Soundclash. Oh how I wish I was going to the No Doubt concert in July! Ah well...

Yep. For all of those people who say that my favourite band is disbanding... YOU'RE WRONG. Bedouin have announced their { temporary } new member(s) Marco Raposo is the new drummer  Dennis Passley is a temporary sax playah and Danny Depp is their trumpet player. I might have already heard Dennis and Danny in action back in November. I'm curious about Marco. He sounds pretty rad on his myspace, though. Yay! I can't wait to see them live, again...!! Is that disloyal to Pat...?

Worst news ever. My favourite band is basically disbanding (I take no joy in my pun!). I know that Pat will be touring with Black Lungs and all (who knows?? Maybe he'll become the permanent drummer for Black Lungs...), but a Pat-less Bedouin will definitely take some getting used to. I am so uber-frustrated. I do, however, take comfort in knowing that Bedouin Soundclash will continue making grade-A quality music that will never cease to inspire me. It's still shitty, though.

Seeing Bedouin Soundclash live, makes me want to hug everyone. I'm still on my high from last Thursday and knowing they're going to be in my hometown tomorrow (yes, tomorrow!), makes me want to be in two places at once. I wish I could apparate . Anyway, they were set to play a free concert in Vancouver yesterday in support of Insite  (North America's only supervised injection facility). Unfortunately, the event was shut down by Vancouver police, who stated that the organizers didn't have a permit to put up tents and that they obstructed traffic and blah, blah, blah... This has all caused a huge ruckus. Oh my.  One thing I forgot to mention in my last blog entry was Jay's freestyle during Money Worries! He ranted about how unfair things are, about the stupidity of the last election, and about Stephen Harper... The entire crowd went ape-shit. I wonder if he'll freestyle once more tomorrow...? Their latest vid is (as is always the case) very well-d...

So as you know, I went to the Bedouin show last Thursday night. I went with my kickass roommie, Laura . She'd heard "When the Night" years ago when it came out and loves it! It's now "our" song, hahah, we're geeks! Anywhoodles, I educated her on Bedouin's awesomeness, and she was hooked. And last Thursday night sealed the deal: the boys have a new fan : ) Laura and I managed to snag killer spots--front / centre (despite getting there late). The opening acts were Mishka (who's going to E-Ville) and Zaki Ibrahim. The bass player for Mishka was incredible. He could play like nobody's business! Zaki was amazing! She's so hyper-talented and cool... I definitely want to see her do her own show. Also: she was asked to come back out and play an encore!! Wowza...! Then Bedouin came on at around 9:50... how do I know?? Because Laura and I had sworn that we'd leave at 11:45 the latest  to catch the metro home... l...

Okay, last night was a joke.  Why did we even have an election? Who told him he had a chance of winning in Quebec?  En tout cas, life goes on. We're stuck in a Conservative minority government (again!) but... life goes on. In other news, BEDOUIN!! Tomorrow!! Oh how I love them!

I. Am. On. A. Guest. List. Yep.  Me. I am going to one of the coolest music festivals ever because I managed to snag a spot on the guest list. Eeeeeee!! I am uber-stoked! Thing is, I will most likely be by my lonesome... :( That kinda sucks but I won't mind too much... I hope.  How did I snag said-spot?? By supporting the world's best indie label: Dine Alone Records . Please check them out!! Their bands are sooo amazing. Don't believe me? Just check out this mini-list: Bedouin Soundclash , Sleepercar , Black Lungs , Attack in Black , Arkells , City and Colour ... and the list goes on. So Osheaga will most likely kick ASS! I will be witnessing the greatness of Sleepercar, Plants and Animals and Metric tomorrow!! (Oh, and the Killers, too but I am not too big a fan of theirs... but STILL!!) Knowing that Iggy and the Stooges will also be in my vicinity is very awesome, too. *SIGH* I am very excited.

I was in Toronto on Friday for the NXNE Dine Alone Showcase. Damn! Dine Alone music is the best in the world! Bar none.  So the day started off with me going to the bank because my damn access card wasn't working. Not fun. Then I went to the metro station near my house to go to the "Gare Central" to get to Toronto on the Via Rail train. The lady I asked really had no clue what she was saying, but was nice enough to give me a metro map. Yay, Montreal hospitality. They're so nice in this city! So anyway, I get on the metro and five hours later... I'm in Toronto at th is motel. It was so cheap and so nice and SO fucking close to everything. I literally walked to and from the concert. So I get to the El Mocambo and see Jay doing an interview (YAY!) as well as members from Moneen, Kenny and Hippy. It was damn hot, though, so I decide to walk across the street to the 7-Eleven (random observation: there's no 7-Elevens in Montreal... odd), and see seven shirtless du...

Instead, I am on facebook, blogger and myspace all at once. I love multitasking. At least I'm semi-done my html assignment. *whew!* Learning html puts websites into perspective. I'll never look a website the same way, again. So much work goes into design and usability. Really, it's hard stuff. Juno comes out on DVD today!! WOOT! I should race out and buy it... but alas, I must study. *yawn* I have to keep reminding myself: only two more tests and one assignment... then I'm HOME FREE!! For now, here's a random interview with Bedouin.... hahaha!! "I actually just shaved my rat beard..." Oh. My.

This past weekend was the best weekend of my young life. Reason? Ummmm... MUSIC , son. On Thursday, I went to Cowtown with my bestie and two of the most chill girls in the world. Reason? The inaugural JUNO concert that was going down in Calgary, that's why! Two of my most favourite bands in the whole stinkin' world and my friends??? What's not to like, right?? So anywhoodle, on Thursday it was Fabiana's birthday (and also the day our faves Bedouin Soundclash and Sloan played). So we left at noon in order to get into Cowtown at around 3:00. We get to my aunt's and leave our junk at her casa. It's all good. I look at the clock and realise that it's 3:45 and we should probably get to Olympic Oval before 5:00. We leave, take the C-Train to downtown, get to the venue and watch Calgary's The Dudes who are followed by the New Odds, which we missed because Char and I were FAMISHED and it took the concession people 45 minutes to serve us.... Oh dear. Then.....