Havin’ a Good Time at One Of Them Weddin’ Things

Our friend Tanya got married today. On a boat! We had a blast while the boat toured around False Creek and I got to chill out and see everyone. It’ll be the last time I see Tanya for a while since she and Barry have moved to Calgary where he’s from. She had a crazy awesome dress too. One of the coolest and most unique dresses I’ve ever seen.

I was a little wound up from work and stuff the last couple of weeks but I’m feeling pretty mellow again after hanging out with everyone tonight. Thanks peeps!

Tomorrow I’m hooking up with Tamara for dim sum. Then I’ll check out Got Craft where Miranda and Kimli are selling cool things. Got Craft is one of the neatest things to check out. Everything’s funky and super-artistic. Not traditional crafts like your Grandmother would be into. More like fun things that are cool and interesting to some punk like me. Finally I’ll be picking Sharon up from the ferry when she returns from her visit to Victoria.

So I should get some sleep! Or should I watch another episode of The Office, my latest addiction (thankfully coming to an end since I’m halfway through season 5)?

Corin Tucker Solo Album

One more thing: I mentioned before that Carrie Brownstein is playing with Janet Weiss in a new band. Now it looks like Corin Tucker, the main voice behind Sleater Kinney, is working on a solo album! Oh happy day! Word is it’ll be out in October.

Winnipeg, Noise, and the Canucks Are Canada’s Only Hope!?

Winnipeg

Theresa, my sister, arrived in town last weekend to collect her and her husband’s stuff which landed in Vancouver after being shipped over on a container from Dubai. We got to hang out all weekend, which was nice, and then on Monday, with the help of Dave, she loaded everything up on her Ford Ranger for the drive out to Winnipeg. Dave said it was about as much as the truck could carry and they used several tarps and 200′ of rope to tie the whole load down! Then they took a test drive up to Horseshoe Bay, adjusted a few of the ropes, taped down some loose tarp corners, and she went on her way. I got word that she made it back alright and now has a mountain of stuff to unpack and sort out.

This was probably the last time I’ll see her in Vancouver for quite some time but I’m planning on going to Winnipeg in the next couple of years to check it out. I’d like to spend a few days exploring the culture out there and I’m going to try and tie it in with a show happening there. Maybe the Weakerthans will do another performance at the Burton Cummings Theatre.

She even brought me cookies from The Tall Grass Prairie Bakery! They were some of the best cookies I’ve ever tasted. The bakery is obsessive about quality ingredients to the point that they mill their own flour. So I need to go there and sample more of their goods.

Noise

Reilly and I jammed downstairs on Thursday night sans singer since Shan’s enjoying Thailand where Josh’s brother is getting married. Reilly and I have occasionally been making noise under the guise of making music in the jamspace downstairs. We have one song which is about greasy bar hookups. We started writing another one and we had an idea about another greasy hookup gone wrong. Then this morning I had a flash of inspiration about another song featuring greasy people hooking up at the bar and I’m hoping this leads to a third song!

If anyone’s wondering how sleazy people hook up at bars then consider our music your formal education minus the STDs.

The Canucks Are Canada’s Only Hope!?

Montreal and Ottawa are facing elimination which leaves Canada’s playoff hopes pinned on the Canucks. Pandemonium! Dogs and cats living together! When I first moved to Vancouver I tried to root for the Canucks but I found they would fizzle out in the playoffs every season. So I formally said, “stuff it” to the Canucks and trumpeted my love of the Calgary Flames to all who would listen. I was born in Calgary so the Flames will always be my #1 despite this season’s poor showing.

But the Canucks!? Art Ross trophy for Sedin and Luongo taking Canada to gold at the Olympics! It seems too good to be true. I’ll believe it when I see them enter the 3rd round. Long way to go until then.

Matt Anderson and Wil!

Last Thursday Sharon and I went to the St. James Hall in Kitsilano to see Matt Anderson’s show. Sharon was excited about this dude named “Wil” who was opening. I’d never heard of him (aside from her mentioning his name) and was surprised at how good he was! Near the end he was getting so intense that he blew out a guitar string, which he ripped off and kept rocking out. I discovered later that his website is at ibreakstrings.com. Fitting.

Matt Anderson is this huge (physically — he’s a big dude!) blues singer from New Brunswick that we were lucky enough to see at the Atlantic Canada House during the Olympics. This time he was doing a solo show and I wasn’t sure it was going to measure up to the last performance he did with a small band. Thankfully, I was wrong! He’s funny, and pokes fun at himself with songs about breaking up with ex-girlfriends and jokes about his size.

I’ve got a ticket to Folk Fest this year and I hope he makes an appearance. Dude’s one singer I don’t want to miss.

Spoon!

Last weekend Sharon and I rolled over to the Orpheum with Mark and Melanie to see Spoon perform. Spoon first came to my attention in 2005 after Gimme Fiction was released. There was one song that I liked but the rest never caught me until recently when I began listening to them again. Now I think they’re “the best band ever!” (I say this about a different band every week so don’t take my proclamations too seriously)  That album in particular is huge for me and I kick myself remembering passing up the opportunity to see them when they played smaller club shows.

When the show was announced I nearly peed myself and made sure I was on Ticketmaster’s website to buy tickets at precisely 10am when they went on sale. What I didn’t realize at the time is the opening band was going to be the night’s highlight.

Deerhunter opened and I quite liked their sound. After a few songs, the singer jumped down into the front aisle and started rocking out his guitar. One girl jumped in beside him to bounce around and this triggered an avalanche of people piling in front of the stage to dance. When the guitar solo was over everybody stayed in front and kept the energy up for the rest of Deerhunter’s performance, which continued to be awesome.

Spoon was a more muted affair and I enjoyed their show but found myself nodding off halfway through when they got into some of the slower stuff. It was cool to hear my favorite Spoon songs live though. The problem with Sunday night shows is I have to be up early to run on Monday morning and don’t usually have much energy for late nights. On the way home I was talking to Mark and crashed right into one of the new low-level benches they’ve installed on Granville Street. I shoulda had more than one beer that night. Then there would have been an less-embarrassing explanation than sheer clumsiness. Doh!

It’s Been a Quiet Week

I wrote this a couple of weekends ago and am finally pushing the “publish” button. I’m going to attempt to write up more recent events in the next few days. It’s been busy. Without further ado:

This past week has been chill. Last night was the first night I spent at home for the whole week since Sharon and I have been spending our evenings at her place. She’s up on Main Street and it’s a nicer area to go for runs in. I don’t pass people shooting up in doorways in East Van nor do I cross paths with hookers stumbling home after their evening shift. Not to worry, those things don’t happen regularly, but they have happened.

Speaking of running, this past week I completed the Couch to 5k program so I’m consistently running 30 minutes, three times a week. I put two gym workouts in between and I’ve got a solid week of activity! I feel great and it’s nice to have the cardio worked into my routine. I’ll be ready for the Grouse Grind when it opens up in a couple of months.

Upping the level of activity has left me a little tired at nights. I’ve found the past couple of weeks I’m wiped in the evenings and I end up going to bed early and sleeping like a bear in hibernation. So it means I haven’t done a whole lot and I feel like I’ve retreated from the world. Between people visiting, my new activity level, and spending as much time as I can in the romantic bubble of a new relationship, I’ve been a little disconnected from everybody I normally hang out with.

All’s been quiet on the music front the last couple of weeks too. We’ve all been busy so meeting up for jamming has been tough. With everything going on in my life I’ve let drumming slide for the past month and it was only Thursday night that I picked up the sticks for 15 minutes and banged around. I am planning to work drumming back into my routine, starting this weekend. With my practice schedule back I’ll have everything in place and will feel like I’m accomplishing the things I want to do.

Cooking is something I’ve begun to get into again. Last night my friend Dave, who I’ve known since high school, and his girlfriend Amelia came over for a BBQ. Dave’s taking a Home Inspectors course over at Ashton College downtown and has just moved into a new place near Denman Street. I’m looking forward to spending time with him now that he’s close. We’ve only managed to get together once or twice a year since he moved out to Tofino some years back.

But back to cooking! I used to eat out quite a bit and it would cost me a small pile of cash each month. I’ve scaled that right back and now I barely go out at all. Feels good to be making my own stuff again. It’s something I did more of before I moved to Vancouver 10 years ago and now it feels like it’s time to jump back in. I’ve mostly been focused on getting my dough figured out and I’ve made a few pizzas and some buns. They’ve turned out ok so far, but it’ll take some time before I get things dialed in.

New Sleater-Kinney?

The other night I read an IFC interview with Carrie Brownstein where she mentions that she’s in a new band with Janet Weiss and that she can potentially see Sleater-Kinney becoming active again! Being that Sleater-Kinney is my all-time favorite band I am, in the words of the article that first alerted me to this, on the verge of having a million excitement-induced heart attacks.

I’m hopeful that this new band puts out some material soon too.

Quasi, the band that Janet Weiss is in, has put out an amazing new album that’s becoming my favorite right now. They’re playing in Portland this weekend and I’d contemplated going, but I really need some downtime after a whirlwind few weeks.

Now to see if Reilly wants to make some noise under the guise of making music.

Danger! High Voltage!

Saw the Electric Six tonight. Singer dude looked like he’d stumbled off a bender in his rumpled suit and half lidded eyes. Good show though. I had to sneak out after Gay Bar since I’m a little wiped this week.

Sharon had wanted to see this band called Paper Lions from PEI. We missed them at the Olympics but they were opening for Electric Six tonight so we made sure we got there early. Good thing we did because they were fantastic! Second song in and the drummer went off on a wild drum solo while the rest of the band put down their gear to sit back and watch. I think I have a new favorite drummer now. Sharon knew I’d like them and I’m happy we went. Their music is diverse but everything sounds really good. Other cool thing was the band dropping into Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody during one of their songs. That got the drunken fratboy in front of us enthusiastically pumping his fist and jiggling his beer gut around the dance floor.

Bed time now! Been a little wound out this week so I’m looking forward to sleep. Am planning on not doing much this weekend. Maybe stare at the wall. Might chew on some chocolate, if the doggy drops it.

Whirlwind

My sister’s on her way to Winnipeg now. It was good to see her before she ran off east. At least I have an excuse to visit Winnipeg. Probably not this summer but likely the next. CBC was broadcasting the Vinyl Cafe from Winnipeg on Sunday and I got to hear Stewart McLean talk about his favorite stops in the town. The place I’m most interested in is the Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company which sounds like the ultimate bakery experience. They mill their own flour and everything! It’ll be my first stop when I roll into Winnipeg.

Saturday night was our good friend Miranda’s 30th birthday party. She and Reilly threw a party at their place to celebrate the occasion and asked that people try and fancy it up a bit. Everybody went over the top with their ensembles as you can see below. Reilly, Josh, and I hit Watts Costumes for some cool outfits. Reilly and I were parading around like upper crust Britons all night.

Good times… this is the way parties should be done! Esp. when you have a camera set up.

Update: Just discovered that Reilly put together a 2-minute video with all the shots taken that night. So much fun to watch!

My Sister Avoids the Deep Dark Woods

I’ve only got a few minutes so I’ll make this quick.

My sister has rolled into town on her way to Winnipeg, where her and her husband are moving to after living in Dubai for a couple of years. It’ll be a big change for him; he’s only lived in India and Dubai.

It’s been good to see Theresa for the past few days. We’ve been hanging out, talking about stuff and playing cribbage. On Thursday Sharon, my sister, and I went over to Naam for tasty vegetarian food. Last night Theresa was dealing with the Ford dealership where she’s buying a new Ford Ranger. She’s pretty excited about that.

While she was working the deal over there, Sharon and I went down to Granville Island to see a Saskatchewan band, The Deep Dark Woods, lay down some jam music. Great band! Lead singer is a lanky lumberjack lookin’ fella who speaks in growls and whispers but sings very well. They’d go on these great jams and it wasn’t long before people were spilling into the aisles to dance.

Wednesday night our band got back together for our first jam in almost a month. It sounded better than I thought it would and I was worried that I’d had forgotten how to drum. My timing was a little shaky but I was able to get through our session without sounding too much like a drunken ape.

Alright, Sharon and I are heading back to my place to make a late breakfast and see how my sister’s truck deal turned out. She was going back to the Ford dealership this morning to seal the deal.