Lodestar

A few gems for sure, but a lot of it's pretty forgettable. "Elizabeth" was always one of my fave tracks on 29, but this version blows it away IMO.

I too would have a very happy weekend if I could locate these!

Has no one mentioned Final Fantasy/Owen Pallett? He's a lot like Andrew Bird in terms of style and act, but a lot more interesting in my opinion. If you can get your hands on 'He Poos Clouds', give it a listen; if you ever have a chance to see him live, do not pass that up.

Absolutely every band that comes to Victoria from mainland North America talks about what they did/saw on the ferry.

Maybe this is light years gone by now, but I interviewed SM today for a local paper and he mentioned being upset that Paste made it look like he was dissing the loft. He thinks he was misquoted, and had nothing but nice things to say about it and the band, especially Jeff. Among other things, he also talked about the NBA for a long, long time.

I couldn't find this posted anywhere ("GQ" is too short to search), but I found it pretty surprising and awesome. This month's GQ is a thick 50th-anniversary commemorative thing. The 22 albums weren't in any order, but here's the entire list: Neil Young - Tonight's the Night (1975) Dr. Dre - The Chronic (1992) The Clash - The Clash (1977) Ramones - Ramones (1976) Nirvana - Nevermind (1991) Pavement - Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (1994) The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet (1968) N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton (1988) Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV (1971) Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Mi

I'm not usually a box-set guy, but I am totally psyched for this EP. Unreleased tracks aside, the two best songs the band played when I saw them last summer in Seattle were "Dear John" and "This is It" -- which honestly couldn't have come as more of a surprise to me. They also played "Down in a Hole" for the encore (duh, Seattle) and did a superb job of it. Awesome news.

I just bought mine, yeah. Now to see about getting time off work...

Awesome news. Oh! but wait -- I have more questions for you hardened Vancouver concert-goers: I've only been to the Orpheum once, which was to see Wilco in 2004, but now I've ended up with two pairs of tickets for Ryan Adams' show there in July and I need to choose between the two. The first ones are 14th-row floor, right-centre; the others are 1st-row dress circle, left-centre. When I saw Wilco, we were 4th-row dress circle, and it looked great, sounded great -- but I hope someone has the scoop on what the floor is like. Thanks!

So do we know if it's seated, or is it GA? The pre-sale is Wednesday morning, but it shouldn't matter too much if it's GA. And if it is the latter, is there any general advice regarding Malkin Bowl? (ie. how early to arrive, necessity of blankets, warm clothes, etc.)

It makes me sad that I'll never see The Arcade Fire in Victoria again, and at this rate, nor will we see them any time soon at the Commodore in Vancouver.

I use Elixir strings on my Larrivee, and they definitely reduce the squeak -- but no so much as to remove it completely. The squeak is an integral part of guitar-playing.

"Summer Teeth" doesn't count?

I'm pretty much about to cry over the lack of a Vancouver date.

I agree with Carson, though, that the review seemed really weirdly personal. Rather than reviewing the actual concert, the writer seems set just on attacking Meloy, like he's been waiting to do it for years.

Hahaha, I was heartbroken when I found out it was "no way" in Radio Cure. Actually I still quote Tweedy sometimes, without the "no", just because it's so goddamn touching the other way. What about, There's a random painted highway, and a muzzle of bees My sleeves have come unstitched from climbing your tree I like that.

Tom Waits - House Where Nobody Lives

If Wilco played in Victoria, I would die. Straight up. I would die.