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Electric Six + Johnny Headband + Half Baked @ Le Cabaret du Mile End
It should be no surprise to anyone that I sometimes like things that are a bit on the absurd side. I'll break out albums by Mindless Self Indulgence or even reach back and pull out a classic like Weird Al, but one of my staples in what I like to call “Records of the Absurd” has to be Electric Six's Fire. Not only are all of the lyrics ridiculous, to say the least, but the album just has a dancey feel good quality that is undeniably catchy.
I have followed Electric Six for a long time; I even did an interview with the band before Switzerland came out. I saw them twice as they toured on that album; each time I was thoroughly happy, and left the show with the biggest smile I could muster, which was quite a feat as I was in Philadelphia and Baltimore on those occasions - two cities that don't make me feel like smiling. If anything, they make me feel like I’m trapped in a terrible cesspool the likes of which I cannot escape. But I digress…
Alas, soon a dark cloud would roll over the band. Their albums became more serious, and took on a more somber tone. Most of the fun, dancey songs that were present on the first two albums began to slowly fade, and were replaced by less upbeat, standard songs. And even though glimpses of it were to be seen again by their fifth album, Flashy, the band that I had been enthusiastically listening to had all but been replaced by what is almost a caricature of themselves. But surely this recorded band wouldn't be the same group that had brought me such joy at two live shows. I had to believe that I was just missing something and that once I saw the band perform I would understand this sudden twist of attitude. When I saw that the band would be in Montreal, bringing their unique brand of inanity to the stage, I willingly signed up to be in attendance. Also, I was hoping that I could wash away some of the disappointment brought on by the first live show of the year, Finger Eleven. Incidentally, if you care to read what I thought about that show in more depth, you can read it here.
I'd like to take a small break here to point out that Electric Six has now put out seven albums, including their latest release from 2010, Zodiac. I'll let that sink in for a moment. This band, who most people might (and I stress might) know as "that band that did that 'High Voltage' song," has released six other albums of inane, ludicrous songs, all of which have little to no commercial airplay. In this respect, I began to understand why they may have gotten darker and less vibrant over time. A simple lack of notice can do that to anyone, much less a group that just wants to see people have a good time... and of course readily accept their money for this aforementioned good time.
The show started off with a band called Johnny Headband, who I managed to see all of like 15 minutes since parking around Le Cabaret Mile End was sort of nightmarish. As I walked in and found a seat at the strangely laid out club, I thought to myself, "Ima Robot? Is that you playing onstage?" They certainly had the same ridiculous, dancey, funky synthesizer rock that I would expect from Ima Robot. Even the vocalist sounded similar. Turns out they have nothing to do with one another... except for their nearly identical sound. Regardless, they were perfect as an opener for Electric Six, and being from Detroit, I can see why they would be asked to open for them on this tour. I found the last part of their set, which consisted of everyone removing their shirts and the guitarist participating in an extended dance sequence, to be a bit longer than I would have liked, but in the end, I can't fault them for it.
After a brief break, a group came onstage who called themselves Half Baked. Now my French isn't very good, but I believe what I understood is that they won a contest to open for Electric Six. If that's true, that's pretty awesome, but since I can't verify that info, I have to believe that perhaps I heard it wrong. They were pretty rockin', and had a certain punk sensibility that I really enjoyed. The songs were simple, both lyrically and in their structure, but I found myself thoroughly entertained by the afro sporting frontman in his suspenders, jumping around and trying to get the crowd as involved as possible; at one point he did a run around the room encouraging people to clap along with the song. They did throw in a slightly of out of place synthy dance song, but even though it did stick out, I really enjoyed it. Perhaps the best thing was that, about halfway through the set, it suddenly dawned on me that this was all being done by a three piece. I'm not sure why, but I somehow thought the band had more people in it. They just sounded fuller than a three piece, and the fact that three guys could produce what I was hearing amazed me to no end.
Then came the moment of truth. Out came the band, dressed in their suits, with lead singer Dick Valentine holding a bottle of wine, which he then drank directly from and addressed the crowd, informing all of us that we were the reason that they kept doing this over and over again. He then told us that the synthesizer player was absent, which I'm guessing was due to some border crossing issue, so in his honor they played the song "Synthesizer". As the songs from albums old and new began to pile up, I felt the glee that met me whenever I had seen them in the past slowly returning. I got to see "Danger (High Voltage)", and "Gay Bar", and a bunch of other classic and not so classic songs; and as they played, my grin just kept getting bigger and bigger. By the end of their sixteen song set, I heard what they decreed their ultimate songs ("I Buy the Drugs", "Down at Mcdonnelzzz", and “Dance Commander”) and I left feeling satisfied and happy beyond words.
After the show, I felt confident that the Electric Six I knew from Fire still exists at their live shows, and maybe, just maybe, elsewhere as well. After I got home I listened to Zodiac via online streaming sources, and it seems like they may be heading back towards being the upbeat purveyors of fun that I previously had come to accept as a given. Who knows if they'll ever be able to get fully back to the simple irreverence that they used to have, but any step towards it is okay in my book. All I can say is, "keep it up boys."
So in conclusion, and in the words of Dick Valentine from the song "Germans in Mexico", "Deutsche! Deutsche! Vaya con dios, amigos!"
-Andrew Wixq hosts Grade A Explosives on Thursdays from 3-5pm
Fear of nuclear catastrophe rises in Japan
In Japan, fear of a full-blown nuclear catastrophe rises after radiation levels surge at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, north of Tokyo.
A new fire at one of the plant’s reactors is believed to be the cause of the dangerous rise in radiation levels. Safety concerns forced emergency workers at the plant to withdraw on Wednesday, paralyzing efforts to cool down the overheating reactors.
Since last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami, Japan is trying desperately to avoid an environmental catastrophe, but radiation leaking into the air is making it difficult to control the disaster.
A plan for military helicopters to survey radiation above the crippled nuclear complex and dump water onto the site was deemed too risky.
Meanwhile, power outages are a looming threat in Japan, where the death toll is 3,676.
Foreign tourists and temporary residents afraid of the effects of nuclear radiation are attempting to book last-minute flights home.
Canada has no plans to evacuate Canadians from the disaster-stricken country.
8,000 people are still missing in Japan and 10,000 are expected dead.
Habs Fans Protest Before Tuesday's Game
Photo from: CBC News
Two hundred hockey fans demonstrated outside the Bell Centre before Tuesday’s game. The protesters want the NHL to have tougher injury rules.
The demonstration was in response to a game hit last week. The hit sent Habs forward Max Pacioretty to the hospital. Pacioretty suffered from a concussion and fractured vertebra.
Bruin’s player Zdeno Chara, who made the hit, did not receive any punishment.
The demonstrators want the NHL to have have tougher measures against head hits. Montreal hockey fans say the league is not properly addressing how to deal with serious injuries.
A hockey fan at the protest compared it to high-sticking. Asking why they could not just take head hits out of the game as well.
It is unknown when Pacioretty will be back on the ice.
NHL Says Headshots Stay
The NHL and its board of GMs believe stricter enforcement of boarding and charging penalties are necessary for making the game safer. The GMs statement includes harsher supplemental discipline for repeat offenders.
A rise in concussions this season put the issue at the top of the GMs’ agenda. In particular two high-profile cases are responsible for the increased interest in safety rules. In January, Pittsburgh Penguin star, Sidney Crosby, was sidelined because of a concussion. Last week the Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty endured a severe concussion and a cracked vertebra. He was driven into a glass partition by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara. In response to the NHL's refusal to suspend Chara Air Canada threatened to remove its sponsorship.
Commissioner Gary Bettman called the Chara/Pacioretty incident a horrible hockey play accident. However, the league decided a ban on all headshots would be too radical a response. The board believes that the referees and the players should interpret the newly defined standards for boarding and charging. This should create a safer game environment, especially along the boards.
News March 15th 2011
Read by Adrian Sousa
Produced by Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo
Stories by Erica Fisher, Joel Balsam and Aisha Samu
Concordia students safe in Japan
Two Concordia students studying in Japan are alive and well. Philippe McKie is a film production student living in Tokyo. He spoke to several Montreal news outlets and wrote a blog post about his experience.
On Monday, University spokesperson Chris Mota confirmed he and the other student are fine. She said that when disasters happen abroad, the university contacts exchange students to make sure they are safe.
Film Review - Battle: Los Angeles
I must say, when I see a sci-fi film I escape from anything and everything; I get excited that I have something new to discover. Alien films, in particular, are my favorite! When you have the freedom to create your own alien movie, you need to take risks and make people remember your aliens and their story. The audience doesn’t want to see a boring, dry movie; they are curious, they want action and, most importantly, they want to feel what it would be like to fight for your life during a battle with aliens, which brings us to Los Angeles. Writer Christopher Bertolini takes us straight into the action with a group of marines headed to a random police department where some civilians are hiding out. We have an enormous group of marines, which means lots of characters – naming them all would take up half of my critique! We are given all of their back-stories immediately to try and pull us in emotionally right off the bat. One of them has a pregnant wife, another has a dead brother, one of them is a virgin, etc. It feels forced, and, not to spoil anything, most of them don’t survive anyway! Towards the end of the film we have a stronger bond with the characters because there are fewer of them. Top dog, Aaron Eckhart, is the king of close ups in this one; he provides support with his twenty motivational speeches, his leadership, and his sheer badassness that comes from his years of experience in the Marines. I like Eckhart as an actor; he has played many good roles in his career (Thank You for Smoking) and this role was not bad at all. The dialogue was major cheese, but the delivery worked.
The story is pretty self-explanatory: aliens arrive on earth, for reasons I will not spoil, and we fight them off. What I loved the most about this film was the camera work; it’s fast paced and mostly filmed with a handy cam, but it’s not too much. You kind of feel like you are there with them, blowing up a lot of stuff up and shooting a lot of aliens. I won’t spoil too much of the plot because there are some events that I would like you to see for yourself. The effects are brilliant and the aliens are pretty neat, although you don’t really see them up close for very long, but why would you show your monsters right away when you can keep their appearance and abilities a secret for added suspense.
Director Jonathan Liebesman brings us into this chaotic battle with full force. The sound is loud and the explosions seal the deal. This film is action packed and really entertaining to watch. It looks good, it tugs at your heartstrings, and despite the cheesiness factor, I will see it again and I suggest you see it too. Give this sci-fi film a chance and you might even think that it’s out of this world.
3 out of 5 stars
-Andrea Boulet
Concordia sleeps outdoors for 5 Days
Nearly thirty students felt what it was like to be homeless Monday night. They are participating in a national campaign called 5 Days for the Homeless. The Montreal chapter raised a record thirty three hundred dollars yesterday.
All the funds will be donated to local charity Dans La Rue. Three nights remain. Tuesday night CTV Montreal's Christine Long and former Montreal Canadien Georges Laraque will be sleeping over.
You can donate and find out more at 5days.ca.
Photo by Joel Balsam.
2011 CSU campaign starts with a stampede
Minutes before the clock struck midnight, candidates for next year’s Concordia Student Union chanted and screamed for their respective parties. The annual Concordia stampede, where candidates run through the two campuses plastering the walls with campaign posters, ran without a hitch. This is thanks mostly in part to a change in rules.
This year, Chief Election Officer Oliver Cohen announced that candidates would be released floor by floor for the first few levels of the Hall building. Then, they would have the chance to put up posters on several billboards-on-wheels that would be placed throughout the campus.
Candidates from both parties were happy with the change as they remarked about the civility of the ordeal. Still, candidate Gonzalo Nieto accused other candidates of throwing elbows. This is only the beginning of controversy in a campaign expected to be a dogfight.
Action Concordia, backed by the current CSU will compete against underdog Your Concordia.
The rumours that swirled last week about Morgan Pudwell and Lex Gill running against a CSU-backed team turned out to be true. Gill is looking to take hold of President while Pudwell is trying to become VP Advocacy and Outreach. Pudwell resigned from the current CSU on Mar 4 from her position as VP Sustainability & Promotions amongst great controversy. Her resignation letter attacked the CSU on several issues including a lack of accountability, and back-door dealings. The result was a heated CSU council meeting on Mar 9 where the current executive spoke to a room clearly mounting against them.
CSU President Heather Lucas and VP External & Projects Adrien Severyns were seen last night at the Hall building talking with members of Action Concordia. Their presence, along with the great number of former CSU executives suggests strong ties between this group and the last CSU.
Action candidate for President Khalil Haddad begs to differ. Haddad is the 2010 President of the Undergraduate Psychology Society. He said that he was upset with the way certain things were handled with the CSU this year. This includes finances and accountability. He also mentioned that he does not know CUSACorp President Amine Dabchy very well and refutes that he is the mastermind of his party.
One story already shooting up from this campaign is the amount of former Arts and Science Federation of Association executives running for the Action party. ASFA 2010 President Aaron Green, VP Loyola & Academic Affairs Terry Seminara and VP Communications Natasha Launi are all running. Launi and Seminara are in the hunt for the coveted executive positions. Left out of the fray is former ASFA VP Sustainability & External Affairs Chad Walcott who will be running against his former colleagues. Walcott said that he does not like how the current CSU handled things and that students need a change.
There remains a couple weeks before election time as the two parties have hinted at lengthy platforms and plenty of promises. Stay tuned to CJLO for all your election coverage.
Photo by Joel Balsam.
NHL GMs meeting zeros in on concussions
The first day of meetings with NHL General Managers focused on the issue of head shots in hockey.
The commissioner of the NHL has proposed a five-point plan to deal with the rise in concussions. One change is to modify the concussion protocol and have doctors look at injured players in a quiet area. GMs will also be looking at what makes a hit legal or illegal.
The league is under pressure after Canadians forward Max Pacioretty received a concussion in a game against Boston last week.
Talks will go on for another two days before deciding if a rule change is necessary.
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