The Cineplex movie theatre at the AMC Forum 22 was filled with Deadheads on Sunday, July 5th for the simulcast of The Grateful Dead concert in Chicago. The sixty or so fans were joining, if not in person then in spirit, with the 71,000 in attendance at Soldier Field for the final night of the Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of The Grateful Dead tour.
Carmen from Plebeian Pleasures (Mondays 11 AM) reviews the frenzied night.
The Cat Empire killed two birds with one stone on April 11th, as they offered a second sold-out and stunning performance at Metropolis. Actually, forget "performance". It was a party.
Winter drags on in Montreal, and yet the spring touring season has begun. Over the next few months, bands from around the world will stream through our city and make the emergence of the grey tidal wave of trash buried under the ice a little more palatable.
I've seen Torche twice before. The first time opening for Boris in 2008 (touring for Meanderthal), and the second time opening for Corrosion of Conformity (touring for Harmonicraft). So when I heard that they were finally headlining a local show, I was beyond excited.
I fell in the love with The New Pornographers when I was twelve years old. I was an awkward pre-adolescent with truly, utterly terrible taste in music. But then I discovered the Vancouver-based indie rockers and their 2003 sophomore album, Electric Version, and I knew I found something special.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Samson and Delilah, a brief summary of the story as presented in the opera will precede the review of the show:
Act 1 – A Square in Gaza
The Hebrews are being held in slavery by the Philistines. Samson, bestowed with incredible strength by God, encourages them to have faith in their God and hope for the future. Abimélech, governor of the city, arrives with guards to mock, discourage and oppress them. Samson beats Abimélech in a fight and encourages his people to revolt. They win and the High Priest of Dagon (one of the gods worshipped by the Philistines) is angered.
So the Devin Townsend Project was in town on December 1, and I'm sorry to say that if you missed it we are no longer friends. It was way past my bedtime and so I didn't even stay for Animals as Leaders, but you have no excuse. Monday is the new Thursday, after all. In any case, I got what I came for, but now I face a mild dilemma. As the guy who got in trouble a couple months back for overplaying DTP's latest issue Z², it'll be hard for me to write this without it coming off as a love letter, so fuck it. Committing to the form.