Immaculate Concert and Album

I'm listening to my newly purchased Immaculate Machine album, Fables. I got the CD at the show I went to yesterday and it was amazing (hence the album purchase). First, the show:
It opened with local group Saidie Hell. I find the concept of this band very interesting as it is a duo with only one half having consistent membership. Ben Welland plays guitar and represents the consistency. His last member was Cindy Olberg of As The Poets Affirm. At this show he had a woman playing a compact xylophone.
Next, another local band played The Allrights. this band played some catchy rock that kept me intrigued and entertained. I still was really tired from the long week, so I listened to them from the bar as I drank my non-alcoholic drink. Actually, to wake myself up I decided to concoct a new energy based beverage. My friend, Stephan, the barkeep and I made the HypoGloboMegatron! This drink is 1 part Redbull 1 part bar lime. It was excellent and kept me up enough to go up front and enjoy Immaculate Machine.
This band was great. I was thoroughly entertained and impressed with their loud yet harmonious music. The band played very synchronously and I was blown away. However, the real treat came when I started listening to the aforementioned album. Fables features a litany of guests, including Final Fantasy's Owen Pallet, that creates a sound much more complex than the already excellent live show.

A concert in awhile

Wow, it seems like it's been a long time since I posted about a concert. Trust me, living it has been much longer than reading about it. However, the wait was worth everything. Last night I saw three amazing bands play and the show really refreshed me and reminded me of what a great concert should be - along with video screens, hand claps, and fishing nets for percussion. The first band, actually person, to play was Rich Aucoin. Not only was his music amazing, but he is touring across Canada from Halifax on his bike for The Childhood Cancer Foundation. And even more, he played his entire album to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"! And yes, if you buy his album it syncs perfectly with the movie. He played his amazing, lovingly danceable, music in a santa suit and then emerged into the crowd, clapping and cheering, with his mini synth.
Next came They Shoot Horses Don't They? who were also amazing. This 7 piece band played horns, tubas, trumpets, guitars, shoes, bicycle handle bars and a lot more. Their music made you want to dance in a frenzied marching-type fashion and I definitely did not resist. I danced all over the place to their music and even head butted one of my friend's in the process - dangers of dancing I guess.
Finally Shapes and Sizes came on stage and just overwhelmed me with their relaxed yet intense music. There is something about lead singer Caila Thompson-Hannant's voice was incredibly hypnotizing and I really just enjoyed sitting and watching this band.
The fact that I was extremely tired from a long work week didn't hamper my enthusiasm at this show (note dancing injury). Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures.

Update from the brain front

Recently I find my thoughts drifting to one thing - my trip to Ireland. On August 6th I will depart to this beautiful country for 10 days. I arrive in Belfast, which is in the North, and eventually make my way East to the county of Donegall. Donegall, while North, is in the Republic of Ireland. I am going with my Mom, Dad, and two sisters. 5 out of 6 of my Dad's brothers and sisters live in Ireland, as do most of my cousins. My Grandfather and step Grandmother will also be in Ireland at the time.
I plan on playing a few round of golf, seeing some castles, swimming, and of course, taking lots of pictures. I will try to post every day and put many of these photos here.
Oh yeah, there is the matter of some wicked family I haven't seen in 2 years. There are going to be lots of parties, visits, and good eating. The country is so beautiful, and because it is at a higher latitude the days are much longer. I can't wait!

Love is art

I just returned from the movie Paris je t'aime and must say that I am emotionally moved. This movie of 20 short films by 20 different directors is one to see. Not only are the films wonderfully creative, brilliantly written, imaginative and well acted, they are moving. They are moving in a touching way that has left my head in thoughts of emotion, hope and life. To see over 20 different groups of people all whole-heartily agree on something so profound as love - to say that this is true purpose and meaning in life - really carries heart (pun intended).
I think of the loves of my life, the family, the friends, the women and I can see how those people have caused me to focus more intensely on my life than any other force could. However, it is the love in these movies - the cosmically complete love that seems to speak its own language that transcends any and all differences - that I still long for. Films like these give me hope for humanity, and moreover, my own happiness.
Happy loving.

The advantageous precludes the honnorable

What happened to decency? Did it just up and leave the table of human interaction? No, every so often it shows up to the party in the form of a kind stranger holding a door open, or someone saying "you're welcome" when you respond "thank you" to their service done. So then, why has decency become less and less frequent? Does the difficulty of being honest and selfless in hard situations play a part? I think so.
I myself am guilty of trying to please everyone simply so I don't have to look like a villein, only to realize that I have lied and failed to be up-front with the people I was trying not to upset. Being honorable means answering to yourself and doing the honest thing. I think people are so afraid to let others down they forget that our actions always catch up with us.
So why am I writing this? It is because tonight was just another reminder of how it is becoming increasingly difficult to find good friends, and how when you've found them you probably will leave them under appreciated at some point. This is inevitable. Reminding them that you haven't forgotten your appreciation is up to you. To all my true friends: I love you.

What does "off the rails" really mean?

Sitting listening to Icky Thump with a cold cappuccino from Bridgehead trying to finish an accounting assignment I realize my life has become slightly derailed somewhere along the way. I don't know where this happened and I don't know exactly when I found out, but there are a few indicators to this crisis (I'm not calling it that, I'm just using someone else's description....so I am using it). The first would be the random thoughts (see previous sentence). The second would be my ever-growing (aka never shrinking) to-do list both at work and at home. The third to infinite (minus the in-between points I care not to write at the moment) would be my chaotic inner feelings. Hope? Despair? Fear? Anxiety?
Quite frankly, I feel like a top that has been spun.
So...what will I do?? I first will finish listening to this album as I finish this assignment. Tomorrow I will go to work. Friday night I have no idea about. The worse thing is I will spend more time figuring out what I want to do after work than actually doing anything. Metric is playing tomorrow at Bluesfest. I think I want to dance.

Final Fantasy at Bluesfest

I've just returned from an incredible evening of music down by the Ottawa river at the 2007 Bluesfest. I arrived after the first band, Relief Maps, played on the Blacksheep stage. As I had already seen them at the Capital Idea! Festival it was not a huge loss. Before the concert began I left the friends who were accompanying me to talk to some other people I knew. Then In-flight Safety started setting up. I work with the cousin of the keyboardist so I introduced myself. The band played an amazing set that was filled with cool enthusiasm while still being chilled out - perfect for a warm and humid summer day. Despite frequently playing in Ottawa I think many people were new to In-flight Safety (from Halifax) but the band really won people over by the end.
Then, anticipation grew amongst the crowd and people started to make their way from the grassy knoll at the back to the front of the stage. I was standing front row the entire time, so I knew I would have a great view. As Owen Pallet and his aide in charge of the visual aspect of the evening, Sara, began to set up the crowd went silent. Then, a shrill note from a recorded violin echoed out over the amps. Owen Pallet, sole member of Final Fantasy, silently walked on stage and began to warm up his violin with musical excellence. He played an incredible set mixed with music from both his albums and a projector light show that visually explained the 8 schools of magic which his new album, He Poos Clouds, is based upon. Every time I listen to Final Fantasy I am amazed, overjoyed, and left in wonder. These feelings were only out-done by watching Owen himself be overjoyed by making other people just as happy with his playing.

In-flight Safety

In-flight Safety

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy

Workmates, Pools, and a Wii

Yesterday was the most fun I've had with my direct colleagues since I've started. On Friday we had the third team-building session since I joined the team in October. We went to one of the team member's houses for swimming, hot tubbing, a BBQ, and of course to play Wii. The house was beautiful and featured an amazing kitchen, a baby grand piano, and a pretty intense multi-room sound system. There was also a beautiful pool that eventually everyone ended up hanging around. By the time everyone was fed with some excellent Barbecuing, the hot tub and pool had been fully utilized, and a few people had left, 5 of us headed downstairs to play the Wii. From about 8pm 'till 12 we enjoyed this wonderfully social gaming system. As I enter my last few weeks of work I am glad that I was able to enjoy such a good time with the people I work with. We really opened up and shared some good laughs. I am going to miss everyone at my work.

In the Car

I wrote the following in a notebook on my ride home from the US on July 2nd, 2007:

I'm sitting with my family at 8:40pm barely moving along the 401 highway, agonizingly close to the end of our trip. As I stare out the window listening to Bright Eyes and Modest Mouse I meet the eyes of passengers in other vehicles. I observe the ongoings within many of the cars that pass. As I begin to feel slightly ashamed for watching I realize that while we were previously all separate in our lives, now, for this brief moment, we are all connected. I want to communicate with the families and individuals who are now physically, and in an odd way emotionally, close to me. I want to say, "hello," and hear their stories.

Today at work someone showed me a video about this guy giving away free hugs. I think a lot of us are thinking the same thing and feeling like we need to connect more. Hopefully we can get over our own insecurities and reach someplace wonderful.

Canada Day in the US

I am traveling home from a weekend trip to visit my family in a Philadelphia suburb of Pennsylvania. Even when some of these visits are filled with typical family arguing they are wonderful, memorable, and nostalgically hard to leave. This trip is no different. It began with me intersecting with my parents and two sisters who were driving East from the GTA and me driving south from Ottawa. We arrived early Saturday morning so I crawled into bed with my 15 yo cousin. Saturday afternoon would be filled with him and me arranging lights in the backyard for his brother’s HS graduation party that evening. In between a frantic search for more strings of white lights at local stores we would visit an exceptional Japanese garden off one of the local roads. Here are some pictures:




The party that evening went smoothly well and lasted late into the night. It began with hors d’ouvres and a catered barbeque. The lighting done by myself and my cousin looked amazing and received many compliments. To give you an idea of the setup there was a patio that you walked onto from the sliding glass doors of the house. There was a large and small table on this patio along with a full bar and tub of beer. The patio was slightly enclosed with hedges and lanterns with an opening that went out onto the grass and stone pathway. If you headed in one direction the path lead to the BBQ and front of the house. To the other direction you would stay behind the house and eventually reach a flower garden. Behind this path were bushed and trees and a wooden fence. The fence and bushes were lined with white lights. The trees had bunches of lights hanging in various places. There were three tables with flower centerpieces on the grass and they had white ball lights overhanging in strings that went from the house to the trees. Each table was lit with candles.

The next day I played basketball outside with my cousins and went shopping in a village with a cobblestone walkway all through downtown. We had pizza from the local shop and then some of the family left for home. That night I watched Alpha Dog with some of the family and then chilled outside with my two sisters and two of my cousins. We went for a late night drive to the convenient store and stocked up on candy that you can’t get in Canada. This included Now and Later and Peanut Chews. We all watched the Sopranos then my two cousins and I went long boarding all around town. This was probably the second best moment of the trip after the Japanese gardens. The streets were completely barren and there were a tone of hills that let us cruise around endlessly. It was a really calming experience.