Without a Yard

Words are not enough - or was it Tears, Christ, I don’t remember. Live8 looks LiveLame - especially if it’s gonna be in Barrie Molson Park - ahh boo…the could’ves & should’ves of concert promotion & organizing. A worthy cause but just a meh lineup - FYI - this opinion, like most of mine, is all based on rumour & speculation. Not much else to report - working a ton, trying to negotiate some free-timin’ with buds, but to no avail, the UrbanMan is comin’ down pretty hard on me. I seek solace in this:

http://www.mymeanmagpie.com/boyfriendsong.html

Peace
Meegs

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Originally uploaded by meegs.

Well the first day of NXNE reg was absolute chaos - & as far as I can tell it didn’t have to be….This fest; - tho it’s over 10 years old is undergoing some serious growing pains as a result from a long & drawn out regime change….I have discovered that I am more old-school in ways than I thought…I much prefer working with the original NXNE class of professionals, people that recognize the time & energy of their volunteers, greet everyone, thank profusely, take time & avoid taking out their own petty insecurities on helpers…argh! Getting that out of the way I can chat about what it’s all about - the music…

On Wednesday night, the launch party was relatively successful - it was at the beautiful Church on Berkley, Chart was the big sponsor & finnegeled some useless sponsorship chicks from West 49 Music - how do girls get these ‘walk around, give buttons & look pretty’ jobs? I guess I shouldn’t playa hate, but IMHO, adding Britney lookalikes doesn’t add the street cred of a music shindig….& also, while I’m griping, if you’re budgeting a party for a music mag - wouldn’t you skip the DJ & hire some new & up & coming bands? Just a thought….

Besides that - After work @ Healey’s on Thursday night, Mike Evin, Sarah’s bf from MTL was absolutely badass, as if Ween had taken Ben Kweller under their wing & became a tongue-in-cheek cabaret act…The songwriting was top-notch, witty & unique…Ron Sexsmith’s presence & endorsement certainly is a testament to that….& the Creegan bros from BNLadies, Kurt Swinghammer’s sitting in & work on the album speaks volumes of this guy’s career trajectory.

Afterwards we crossed the street to Reverb to take in Most Serene Republic - newest Arts&Crafts golden children….& all I can say is meh. I wish these guys well - they certainly have a ton of hype to propel them into indie quasi-stardom…but they are very young & need to remember to hone their live act to retain any credibility from here on….
Holy Fuck - Brian Borscht’s noise masterpiece didn’t fail to impress me afterwards…I was blown away when I caught him @ SXSW & it was the same goosebump-inducing feeling again…

Friday was less than stellar - Enjoyed the now traditional experience of watching White Cowbell Oklahoma bonsai the Queen Street strip on a flatbed truck & perform guerrila style in front of the ‘Shoe with boss fire flingin’ chickas. Afterwards we caught Jeff’s showcase heading the Big Three @ the Black Bull - christ, what an unforgiving venue for artists…There’s that brutal post that obscurese the vue - the upfront booths that noonw wants to sit inside for fear of blowing out their eardrums & becomeing mired in wires…harried waitstaff bustling thru the kitchen path & fighting with people trying to take a lean on the pool tables - fak! But Jeff made the best of a poopy situation & did some AC/DC ish jiving wherever he could…Things shuffled after that - a happy surprise happenstance had us catch local Rainbow Quartz act Frontier Index in the Drake basement (after giving up on the impossible line @ The Gladstone for Fembots/Uncut/etc…). I look forward to picking up their soon-to-be-released album & catch’em again at the CD Release party…just brilliant skill, poise & songwriting - perfect for the No Depression reader in your life…but by that set’s end we were wiped - even the promise of a reunion with WHOklahoma at the afterparty wasn’t enough to keep me runnin’…

Saturday the beau & I took it slow - we caught a sweaty set @ the Cameron House…just exhausted & delirious from the heat - we ended up wandering around - popping in here & there, eventually giving up on having the attention span or self-assuredness vis a vis body odor to stick it out through another entire set…walked thru Trin park & enjoyed the massive Portuguese festival, eventually making our way home.

Sunday was a well-needed day of rest - no conference work to do (for me at least), we did the traditional 2 paper double whammy, park campout & readathon followed by a Kensington Market visit…Had a brilliant quiet dinner that was temperature apropriate & then returned into the fray for the wrap party…
Unfortunately, this was an equally sweaty venue (the El Mo can’t afford an army of fans?) & I spent more time outside chatting it up with the smokers than inside listening to the self-congratulaory schitck & watching people root through swag bags & redeem complimentary drink tix. ugh.
Anywhoo - I gotta week of work ahead of me & some additional resting up & e-mailing to do…
Mom’s big appointment is tomorrow & I need to rearrange my sched - again! argh! & R-dog sent the first of many AUS photos - will post soon.
peace
meegs

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Originally uploaded by meegs.

What a weird day yesterday was…Sometimes I absolutely hate being a chick in this day & age…Despite the perks of overdoing jewlerly, having doors opened & copping out of carrying heavy stuff….the pervy dudes in the world remind me of what I’m giving up in terms of rights & freedoms overall…Yesterday an absolute freakshow entertained himself watching me work for the better part of 20 mins…& they were a goddamned creepy 20 mins. at that…just when I was approaching snap-dom & looking for my big-black fellow employye Dave, the perv caught my unimpressed grimace & bolted from the store…just unsettling.

Anyway, yesterday I also found out that 360 has shut it doors - which sucks ass for NXNE because that’s a scheduled venue…WTF is going on??? There was a huge benefit gig scheduled with Controller.Controller & Republic of Safety this week…I just don’t get it, how can a club owner with any shred of dignity carry on pretending that he was afloat only to shut down on the effing eve of the city’s biggest music series. Bizarro. Found out thru Zoilus that Cinecycle isn’t gonna host shows anymore either! I guess that some punk show went beserk last week & that owner just said ‘no more.’ Fak.

I don’t know what else to report on the state of music in this city - yesteray at work we were constantly rotating the new Coldplay. ugh. So it was like eating three squares of oatmeal. You know that classic Mitch Hedberg (R.I.P.) joke about pancakes? Yo that. I am sick of pancakes & Coldplay for the same reasons.

Tonight is the gala VIP party that I hope to sneak the beau into…I’m finally giving more than a cursory glance to the overall fest sched. to plan my week out…I even took off Sunday so I could recover, maybe take Mrs. D to the Coronation Street brunch on Ossington & gear up for a let loose part at the ElMo for volunteers.

Talked to the ‘rents last night & they’re set to meet me & my sibling buds Andrew & Steph @ Rama for a Huey Lewis & the News retro concert extravaganza. My pa’s more excited about hanging out with Andrew than catching the News rehash ‘Heart of Rock’n'Roll’ it seems…Speaking of nostalgia - I should probably pick up the Moore (Thurston, not Micheal) book on Mix Tapes…but I’m still lurching thru Lot’s Daughters slowly…& I also scavenged some Rudy Weibe & Finland tomes from a classic Book Store shutting on Queen W. weeks back…

Anywhoo - there will probably be less & less as the ‘fest progresses…Hopefully I’ll remember enough to sum it up afterwards…

Peace
meegs

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Originally uploaded by meegs.

Where to begin - It’s been too long since I’ve posted…I feel like I’ve been totally frazzled of lates…apologizing for not returning phone messages & e-mails, etc….

But yeah, the Coles Notes version is that I’ve been putting in what time I can with NXNE - but I left on a low note on Sat….after booking that day off, I was pretty unimpressed with the inefficiencies of executing a massive task at hand - badge making. I was so pleased that Evelyn conducted our walk through super fast & simple at the Conference Centre…only to be brutally disappointed in the mastery of time-suckage.

I understand that for some people, working on their weekends sucks bigtime & that nose to the grindstone ethos is tough on a sunny Sat in the T-dot….but from what I learned about volunteer coordination, it’s just as bad to over-work your vols as it is to underwork&use’em….& that’s how I felt…so I jetted after about 6hrs…of which I don’t want to think about how many were actual work-hours…

Ended up going to Cobalt for the first time in 4 years (?) for the ‘Easy Tiger’ DJ nite with the beau’s old-school friends & new school friends & Martin…very impressed with the spinning & selection - kudos, guys.

Work-work is going really well - tho I punked out on checking out Phoebe’s Diablero’s show on Friday in Kensington…sorry, girl - I suck - not even for a decent reason….I feel asleep watching DVD extras from the 10th anniv. edition of Reality Bites. Sad. But even sadder is that I love that movie more & more everytime I check it out…feelin’ more & more like Jeanine Garofolo probably….

Yesterday was rushed also - I work-worked & booked it to the Phoenix for the hyped (in my mind - wasn’t a well-publisized gig IMHO…). Despite the poor pre-gig promo….the venue was pack full of all shapes, sizes, genders(?), orientations & styles.

I was super proud to be a Torontonian sweatin’, boppin’ & pogoin’ harder than I would in private to ‘Rock Lobster’ in my skivvies alongside Feys & Grrls & Bears (oh my!). Thank Christ for gay culture infusing indie rock with showmanship, musicianship, dance-ability & theatrical sass. And, of course, Gentleman Reg didn’t fail to disappoint. He was absolutely divine in a dress shirt, tie & vest combo - his blindingly albino-level blonde hair shimmering in the stage lights…swoon…

But this being the Phoenix, there must be a but added to this glowing review of what was a spot-on set of (surprisingly a ton of) new material, old favs from the 1st album (except Golden Streams…ahh boo) & new Mississauga Goddamn gems….Did I mention the choir of faux-facial-haired singers? & The string section? & The enthusiastic crowd screaming & clapping mod-stylee in syncopation???

Anyway, the big ‘but’ is the staff (adhering to the benue’s rules…no doubt), but they got all Nazi-Russia on everyone’s ass before, during & after the gig - which ended loooong before 10 - to accomodate the shitty tradition of having a lame-o 80s nite every Sabbath. Brutal. Doors were @ 7 (?), we missed Pony da Look, who went on from 7:15-7:45…just ridiculous…

Anyway, I should be grateful of the musical bliss that Joel shared with his hometown crowd & just accept the Phoenix realities…

Working tonight & errand-ing today. Thankful to have e-mail access & ordering hi-speed soon-ish…to be continued….
meegs