Yes, I know, I usually post these on Wednesdays, but I haven’t been able to do so the last couple of weeks so I thought..Friday? Sure, why not.
Is it fair to call Chris Isaak a one-hit wonder? I think so. I mean, I know the guy has been steadily recording, touring and acting over the last two decades. But really, when someone mentions his name, what’s the first thing you thing of? That’s right…the song and music video for Wicked Game. Can you name another Chris Isaak song? Unless you’re a die-hard Isaak fan, I doubt it.
Although Wicked Game was originally released in 1989, it wasn’t until it was used in the David Lynch film Wild At Heart that it became a hit. The song eventually went Top 10 in early 1991, the only time Isaak achieved such commercial success. And then there’s that video. Directed by photographer Herb Ritts, the video featured Isaak and a topless Helena Christensen rolling around on the beach. The video went on to win several MTV Video Music Awards. IMHO, the video is definitely a classic.
While Isaak has released over a dozen albums, when all is said and done, I think it’s this song (and video) that Isaak will be most remembered for:
John Mayer will be hitting the road in February to support his upcoming album, Battle Studies. The winter/early spring tour launches February 8th and will make several Canadian stops:
February 13 – Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
February 16 – Ottawa, (Scotiabank Place)
February 17 – Montreal (Bell Centre)
April 1 – Vancouver (General Motors Place)
April 3 – Calgary (Pengrowth Saddledome)
April 4 – Edmonton (Rexall Place)
April 6 – Saskatoon (Credit Union Centre)
April 7 – Winnipeg (MTS Centre)
Michael Franti & Spearhead will be guests on the tour. Most dates on the tour will go on sale November 21st, with a pre-sale for Amex card holders Nov. 16-20.
I stated in a recent post that I while I am a John Mayer fan, I prefer his bluesy side with the JM Trio as opposed to his more introspective work. Here’s an example of what I mean:
I’ve been a fan of the musical chameleon otherwise known as Elvis Costello for a long time. Not that everything he’s ever released has appealed to me but for the most part I’ve been happy to be along for the musical ride for the last 30-plus years.
In his first season as TV host with the series “Spectacle: Elvis Costello With”, EC treated fans to a lively mix of interviews, conversation and musical performances with a wide-range of guests including (Spectacle co-producer) Elton John, The Police, Reneé Fleming, Lou Reed, Roseanne Cash and the other half of one hell of a talented musical couple, Diana Krall.
Anyone who’s watched the first season knows that this is a program for not just your average music fan, but for music enthusiasts. It’s obvious that EC is just as much a music die-hard as the rest of us, and he’s having a great time. Whether its watching him interview one of his guests or sharing the mike with them, performing not only the songs made famous by his guests, but tackling interesting and sometimes obscure songs by other artists for whom both guest and host share affection, the series is a treat. It’s made abundantly clear throughout Season 1 that EC is having the time of his life doing these shows.
Some big ticket names will be featured in Season 2, including Bruce Springsteen and U2 (airdates for Season 2 in both the U.S. and on Bravo! here at home are TBA). The U2 episode was filmed at the Concert Hall at the Masonic Temple in Toronto back in September. On November 2nd, Mrs. Sidetwo and I were among the lucky few to be in the audience as EC returned to Toronto to film what is apparently not only the Season 2 finale, but the series finale as well which is a shame. But the series will live on forever on DVD, so if you haven’t seen it, it’s worth picking up.
So who was the guest for the final show? Why, none other than the affable host, as it were. The original plan was to have Elton John, who was ECs guest on the first show, turn the tables on the host and play interviewer instead. Unfortunately, due to Elton’s current bout with the flu, he was unavailable. As a last-minute substituion they brought in actress and part-time music critic (and mega die-hard EC fan) Mary-Louise Parker (“Weeds”). She did a great job.
Interviewer and interviewee seemed to both enjoy thenselves. They talked at length about Elvis’ career, influences, songwriting process… a lot of ground was covered. And then there were the performances, what the crowd really came to see, and EC did not let them down. Backed by the incredible Imposters (Steve Nieve on keyboards, Pete Thomas on drums and Davey Faragher on bass) the evening kicked off with the one-two punch of Accidents Will Happen and (I Don’t Want to Go To) Chelsea, both of which were played twice (more on that in a sec).
Other highlights included a spirited (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes, Bedlam and My Three Sons. But the absolute highlight of the evening was at the end. When it appeared the taping was complete, it was announced to the crowd that EC and band were going to perform two more songs for the crowd. Turns out they were Take 2 of Accidents and Chelsea, which of course everyone loved to hear again. But then he treated the crowd to one more song. Then another. And another. And it kept on going. EC was having a blast as was the small crowd, and he didn’t want it to end. So the crowd got treated to absolutely fantastic takes on I Hope You’re Happy Now, High Fidelity, Man Out of Time, In Another Room, I Want You…and about four more cuts. Remains to be seen what if any of these last few songs will make the final version to air.
The whole evening ran close to 3.5 hours. For those in attendance, it was an evening they’ll not likely soon forget, myself included.
Here’s a clip of early Elvis, just a kid at 23. Amazing how the music has held up:
A true class act, and one of my favourite Canadian bands, Blue Rodeo have a busy schedule ahead. Up first, their new cd The Things We Left Behind, hits stores November 10th. From what I’ve heard, this one sounds like everything you’d expect from these guys. In other words, s’all good.
The band is currently streaming music from the disc on their website. You can check it out here. Just click on “The LP Stream” to access the media player.
Next up is an appearance at the halftime show at the Grey Cup on November 29th in Calgary. Fans can vote online for the three songs they would like the band to play from a list of ten.
The band’s stop at the Grey Cup comes in the middle of upcoming road trip which starts with a few U.S. dates on Nov. 13th. Then they head back north starting November 24th for a handul of dates in Victoria, Vancouver and Stratford. The major push starts January 5th back in Calgary and the guys will criss-cross the country until April 10th with a show in Saul Ste. Marie. Toronto gets two shows at Massey Hall February 2nd and 3rd. The complete itinerary can be found here. The on-sale dates for the shows starting in January have not yet been announced.
From the new disc, here’s the lovely “One Light Left In Heaven”:
The Shuffle Report: 10 songs I listened to, in order, on my iPod in shuffle mode at a given point in time. No editing, no skipping. It is what it is.
Nothing like a massive morning subway delay to end an already stressful week. Here’s hoping the weekend is better. Even had time listen to all 17 minutes of song #2.
1. I’m The Greatest—Ringo Starr (Photograph: The Very Best Of) [Fun John Lennon-penned track from 1973.]
2. Dogs—Pink Floyd (Animals) [Never was a huge Floyd fan, but always liked this album. Think it's the longest song on my iPod.]
3. Little Queenie—Chuck Berry (The Chess Box) [A rock 'n roll classic.]
4. Who Loves You—Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (The Very Best Of) [Mid-70's hit from the powerhouse vocal group.]
5. One Gun—54-40 (Show Me) [Great Vancouver band.]
6. Monkey Wrench—Foo Fighters (The Colour and the Shape) [Kick-ass.]
7. Watchin’ You—Kiss (Alive!) [From the album that launched them into the stratosphere.]
8. Jesus He Knows Me—Genesis (We Can’t Dance) [From the last studio effort Phil and the boys released. A decent record.]
9. Saturday Night—Earth Wind & Fire (Greatest Hits) [70s funk at its finest. Not a single dud track on this compilation.]
10. Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby—Etta James (Rocks The House) [Excellent live blues recording from 1963.]
Toronto-based R&B and soul outfit Jacksoul, led by Haydain Neale, are set to release their first album of all-new material since Neale was seriously injured in the summer of 2007 after being hit by a car while driving a scooter in the city.
According to their official website, the band’s fifth disc titled “SOULmate” will hit shelves December 1st. All 10 tunes were written before the accident, and the group spent the last six months in the studio laying down the tracks. The first single, “Lonesome Highway,” is already streaming on the band’s website and will be available on iTunes November 3rd. You can listen to the new track here.
All proceeds from the sale of SOULmate will go to the Haydain Neale Family Trust which was set up to help with the costs incurred with Haydain’s rehabilitaton and therapy.
While we wait for Haydain’s return, lets’ go back to 2000’s Sleepless and the awesome Can’t Stop:
U2 have announced an additional run of North American tour dates running from June 6th to July 19th, 2010 and there are three Canadian stops: June 23rd in Edmonton @ Commonwealth Stadium, July 3rd in Toronto @ Rogers Centre and July 16th in Montreal at a venue TBA, although Olympic Stadium seems likely. U2.com presales for Edmonton and Toronto start Tuesday Oct 27th @ 10 am on Ticketmaster. Public onsale starts Monday November 2nd @ 10am. Prices range from $32-$252.
Did anyone catch Sunday’s night live stream on Youtube in fromnt of 92,000 faithful in Pasadena? In case you missed it, you can watch the whole thing here.
For fans of ’80s hair bands, these two items are for you.
Further to my post last week about Bon Jovi’s new album, The Circle, and their partnership with NBC comes the announcement of their upcoming tour. According to their website, the tour will launch February 19th in Seattle and the band will spend the better part of the next two years on the road. Included in that tour will be a residency at London’s O2 Arena in June 2010 before returning to America in the fall for an additional nationwide leg, and further dates well into 2011.
Canadian fans take note: the band will hit Montreal’s Bell Centre for two shows March 19th and 20th, the only Canadian dates on the first leg of the tour. They won’t return to Canada until the summer, with dates in Edmonton (July 15th–Commonwealth Stadium), Winnipeg (July 17th–Canad Inns Stadium) and Toronto (July 20th–Rogers Centre).
Tickets are expected to go on sale November 9th and 16th for the bulk of the shows.
Mirvish Productions have announced a 2010 Toronto run of the hit broadway musical Rock of Ages. The show begins April 27th at the royal Alexandra Theatre. For those not familiar with the show, the story is as follows:
In 1987, on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl meets a big city rocker and in LA’s most famous rock club, they fall in love to the greatest songs of the ’80s. It’s ROCK OF AGES, an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Foreigner, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more.
The musical was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Sounds like a dream come true for fans of ’80s hair bands. According to the Mirvish website, tickets go on sale November 28th, but a link from their website to TicketKing shows tickets already on sale, so I’m not sure what that’s about. Based on the success of We Will Rock You, this is sure to be a hit with Toronto audiences.
Elton John–November 4th, 2006 (Air Canada Centre, Toronto)
Third time seeing Reg, and it far outshined the previous two occasions. The first time was in 1980 with opener Judy Tzuke (who you ask? Exactly. Actually, she was signed to Elton’s Rocket Records label at the time. Guess Elton was hoping to give her career a boost in North America. No such luck) and then two years later with opener Quarterflash (Harden My Heart).
Elton has a strong affinity for Toronto via his partner David Furnish, so it was as if he was playing for family. From the opening strains of “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”, you couldn’t ask for a better hits-filled show. There are few performers ‘still standing’ that can match Elton’s catalogue of hits, and on this particular night, there was no shortage of crowd-pleasing trips down memory lane. While officially the purpose of the tour was to promote his most current release The Captain & The Kid (which is a pretty decent album), it was the hits the fans came out to hear, and Elton did not disappoint: Bennie & The Jets, Tiny Dancer, Take Me To The Pilot, Daniel, Levon, Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting, Rocket Man, The Bitch is Back, Crocodile Rock, Your Song, and on, and on.
As a lifelong Elton fan, it was also great to see the guitarist Davey Johnstone and drummer Nigel Olsson who played with Elton during his 70s creative peak. If only bassist Dee Murray were still around.
Elton will be playing about a dozen shows Stateside starting November 4th with some other guy who also plays piano…Billy something…:-)
Here’s an absolutely brilliant version of Rocket Man, taken from the “Elton 60 – Live at Madison Square Garden” DVD.
Ah, a Canadian classic. I absolutely loved this song when I was little. Montreal-based Mashmakhan (named apparently for a drug sold by a local dealer) had a huge hit with their single As The Years Go By when it was released off their 1970 debut album. It sold 100,000 copies in Canada and almost half a million in the U.S. It was also a huge hit in Japan. Band members Pierre Senecal (lead vocals, keyboards), Brian Edwards (bass), Jerry Mercer (drums) and Rayburn Blake (guitar) did not expect the single to be the hit that it turned out to be. Senecal wrote the song as a novelty addition to their debut album, not expecting it to really go anywhere. Little did they know…
The party didn’t last however. The band released one more album in 1971 but soon parted ways. The only member of the band that went on to have futher success in music was Jerry Mercer, who joined April Wine around 1973, who of course went on to have quite a few hits themselves.
In 2003, Mashmakhan was among the artists featured in the rockumentary Festival Express , a film about a 1970 train tour across Canada taken by some of the world’s biggest rock bands, including The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and The Band. The film chronicled the concerts held in Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary plus the train ride itself, as well as newer interviews with some of the participants.
Here’s a clip of Mashmakhan from the film performing As The Years Go By from Festival Express (The song kicks in around 1:35)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=acd1e84f-8e71-4721-9843-1857be0a23eb)
