Video Of The Week: Cowboy Junkies

As I've mentioned previously when featuring Joseph Arthur a year and a half ago, covering Lou Reed in a straightforward, stripped-down manner can prove to be a great idea.

The first ones to be extremely successful with the idea were the Cowboy Junkies - technically from Toronto, though all four band members were born in Montréal - when they covered the Velvet Underground classic Sweet Jane:


I won't go as far as saying it's better than Lou's or the Velvets' versions, but it is certainly on par with it, which is still saying quite a lot.

The song is from 1988's The Trinity Sessions and is based on the Velvets' moody 1969 live version. Margo Timmins' vocals are on full display, as is the subdued-yet-consistent playing of her brother Michael; third sibling Peter Timmins plays drums, while childhood friend Alan Anton handles bass duties.

Loaded Aftermath

I've been asked how our show went, last Thursday. I've got to say, it was our best show as Loaded, and everyone in the crowd and the band seemed to have a great time.

Here are a few of the comments I gathered, first from the performers themselves:

Patrick Hutchinson (guitar, vocals):

Well, that was a blast & a half...what a gas to be part of that huge throbbing wall of sound! Mighty kudos to Loaded co-conspirators Dave Lines (keys/vox) Luca Fantigrossi (guit/vox) Jordi Rosen (accordion/vox) Caroline Glass (cor anglais/oboe/vox) Sébastian Hell (guit/vox - completely nailed that Heroin!) JW Triangles Stuart (bass/vox) Allan Lento (guit/vox) all anchored, grounded & mainlined into the 220v by the incomparable rock'n'roll queen of la batterie, Jackie Gallant (drums/vox) !!!!!

Luca Fantigrossi:

"What goes on in your mind?" well, thanks for asking... I'd like to say that I'm still reeling with joy from last night's festivities! It's such an honor to play with such wonderful musicians... 

Mr. Hutchinson put it perfectly by saying "what a gas to be part of that huge throbbing wall of sound!" Thanks to Dave for bringing us all together last night, and his awesome band A Devil's Din, to Jackie for making our hearts throb with your drumming, to Jordi for your always inspiring presence and lovely vocals, to JW Triangles for rocking that bass and providing us all with a space to rehearse, to Allan for getting this whole thing started a few years ago and for allowing us to keep it going - also you sure can rock those songs! Thanks to Caroline for giving that special extra sound to the band, and to Sébastian for rocking the house as always as well, and to Patrick for all those wonderful leads that sore the band real high! 

Also, much thanks to L'esco, and all you wonderful people who came down to experience it with us! Much love, and happy holidays!

JW Stuart :

You think the last thing one would want to do after playing a Velvets tribute show would be to listen to them the next day. But the song below really moved me this morning. Partially because it represents Lou's love of 50's music... but mainly it got me thinking about the dear people I shared the stage with last night. 

Allan who started the whole shebang years ago. His Waiting For The Man and Venus are really mind-blowing. He is a truly kind and loving soul who has the gift of seeing joy and beauty in small things.

Dave - whose musical prowess still astonishes me. His calm admist the chaos, his sly sense of humour and contagious love of music.

Jackie - well what can you say about her. Humble, brilliant, and always spot-on. I loved last night so much because I turned away from the audience and watched/fed off her the whole night.

Jordi brings light and beauty to everything she does, and her voice at once innocent and wise gives me shivers.

Patrick - again where do I start with this madman. He's been plucking on stages across the city for decades, and his positive/giddy/talky- talky personality is a rare and beautiful thing. The moment I met him (for a slide lesson) I wished I had known him my whole life. A real treasure.

Sébastian Hell - he's quiet, wickedly opinionated, and a brilliant interpreter of songs. I can think of countless Sake Of the Songs performances that really should go down in local music history.

Caroline - a stunning and brilliant musician. And holy shit that Femme Fatale... again shiiiiivers... Keep your ears attuned to her, brilliant.

Luca - well you just want to hug that guy. He's an inspired and deep soul.
& yes I missed Will too.

I love you guys, look forward to the next time.

And a few choice words from folks in attendance:

Bill Gould:

Thanks! for a real swell time!,everybody got along so really well, I can hardly wait until the next time!

Mikhail Doborvlianski, who taped the show and whose footage is all over YouTube and Facebook:

It was a great show! Thanks to everybody!!!

Victoria Smutova:

Absolutely agree :) awesome guys, awesome performance! Thanks to everyone!

 And now, a few short videos from my friend Anne-Marie Martino:

Heroin:


We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together:


Who Loves The Sun:

Re-Plug: Loaded Sings The Velvet Underground, December 19th At L'Esco

It had to happen, and it will. Lou Reed left us, and left a huge void countless musicians are vying to fill, and tributes to the man's work came left and right.

In my neck of the woods, there is one collective that has attracted hundreds of people to their shows, specializing in his Velvet Underground era, the one I'm in, Loaded.

There will be absentees (Ingrid Wissink, Will Austin, Zuzu Knew, Cassie Doubleday), but enough will be around to make it worthwhile: grandmaster Allan Lento, maestro Dave Lines (also in A Devil's Din, who will close out the evening), Patrick Hutchinson, Jackie Gallant, Jordy Rosen, Caroline Glass, John Stuart, Luca Fantigrossi and myself, playing all the songs you'll want to hear, from Sister Ray to After Hours, from Heroin to Femme Fatale, from Pale Blue Eyes to White Light, White Heat.

The only ones we're forgoing are those usually sung by absentees and those off Squeeze, because, let's face it, it's not a real VU album.

Each musician will sing at least one, as usual.

Five bucks gets you in, on December 19th (2013), at L'Escogriffe, corner St-Denis and Mont-Royal.

Top 10s This Week

Top 10 Songs:

10. LE RÉPONDEUR, Les Colocs (1998)
9. YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH, Metric (2012)
8. RUN THIS TOWN, Jay-Z (featuring Rihanna & Kanye West) (2009)
7. BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES, Atoms For Peace (2012)
6. COPY OF A, Nine Inch Nails (2013)
5. AREA 52, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2013)
4. SIRENS, Pearl Jam (2013)
3. GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS (Peter Gabriel cover), Arcade Fire (2013)
2. COSMIC CANNIBALISM, UUBBUURRUU (2013)
1. REFLEKTOR, Arcade Fire (with David Bowie) (2013)

Top 10 Lou Reed (Solo) Albums:

10. METAL MACHINE MUSIC (1975)
9. STREET HASSLE (1978)
8. THE BLUE MASK (1982)
7. NEW YORK (1989)
6. ECSTASY (2000)
5. LOU REED (1972)
4. THE BELLS (1979)
3. SET THE TWILIGHT REELING (1996)
2. BERLIN (1973)
1. TRANSFORMER (1972)

Top 10 Lou Reed (Solo) Songs:

10. DOWNTOWN DIRT, Between Thought And Expression boxed set (1992)
9. STREET HASSLE, Street Hassle (1978)
8. SET THE TWILIGHT REELING, Set The Twilight Reeling (1996)
7. MEN OF GOOD FORTUNE, Berlin (1973)
6. I LOVE YOU, SUZANNE, New Sensations (1984)
5. DIRTY BLVD., New York (1989)
4. CAROLINE SAYS I, Berlin (1973)
3. WALK ON THE WILD SIDE, Transformer (1972)
2. BERLIN, Berlin (1973)
1. PERFECT DAY, Transformer (1972)

Top 10 Lou Reed (Solo) Songs Not In Previous List:

10. MODERN DANCE, Ecstasy (2000)
9. SEX WITH YOUR PARENTS, Set The Twilight Reeling (1996)
8. THE KIDS, Berlin (1973)
7. NYC MAN, Set The Twilight Reeling (1996)
6. THE POWER OF POSITIVE DRINKING, Growing Up In Public (1980)
5. ROCK MINUET, Ecstasy (2000)
4. I CAN'T STAND IT, Lou Reed (1972)
3. THIS MAGIC MOMENT, Till The Night Is Gone (Doc Pomus tribute album) (1995)
2. VICIOUS, Transformer (1972)
1. SATELLITE OF LOVE, Transformer (1972)

Top 10 Velvet Underground Songs:

10. I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
9. WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT, White Light/White Heat (1968)
8. FEMME FATALE, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
7. VENUS IN FURS, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
6. I'M WAITING FOR THE MAN, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
5. ROCK & ROLL., Loaded (1970)
4. SWEET JANE, Loaded (1970)
3. SISTER RAY, White Light/White Heat (1968)
2. HEROIN, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
1. PALE BLUE EYES, The Velvet Underground (1969)

Top 10 Velvet Underground Songs Not In Previous List:

10. OCEAN, Live (Volume 2) (1974)
9. HERE SHE COMES NOW, White Light/White Heat (1968)
8. BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT, The Velvet Underground (1969)
7. AFTER HOURS, The Velvet Underground (1969)
6. I'M STICKING WITH YOU, VU compilation (1985)
5. EUROPEAN SON, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
4. I'M SET FREE, The Velvet Underground (1969)
3. RUN RUN RUN, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
2. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
1. LISA SAYS, Live (Volume 1) (1974)

Pearl Jam: Lou Reed Tribute

As tributes came left and right to mark the passing of Lou Reed these past few days, my favourite band got in the mix and covered one of the Velvet Underground's hardest songs - not because it's complicated by any stretch of the imagination, but because it's repetitive and almost toneless. The song is Waiting For The Man; it's from their show in Baltimore last Sunday:



Notice how even Eddie Vedder can't stop himself from moving into his actual, loud voice for the last verse...

Plug: My Saturday Show's In The Paper

Once again, we made the Montreal Mirror!

This time, the Mile-End Mission benefit shows organized by my friends at Four Minutes To Midnight (also called the Sake Of The Songs benefit series) got a full article in the Mirror, in which I was even mentioned as a regular in the series (a ''usual suspect'' if you will), alongside many others who were in our Velvet Underground cover project last year.

There's a different theme each time around, and this time it's a tribute to the Red Wedge movement and tour because organizer John Stuart feels there are too many similarities between Stephen Harper and Margaret Thatcher - and wanted to make a political statement about the Conservatives winning a majority during the last elections despite 60% of voters voting against them, meaning they got roughly 20% of the votes from the eligible electorate.

Re-Re-Loaded: Tributing The Velvet Underground For The Third Time

It was a one-off, a tribute to The Velvet Underground just in time for the Jazz Festival while Lou Reed was in town. I wrote about it here, it was amazing.

So amazing, as a matter of fact, that the venue asked us for a repeat performance two months later. And that went even better. And, in the course of hanging together, we all became friends.

And word has gotten around that this is an amazingly talented band, and offers are coming left and right for more performances. It's scary.

Which is why we accepted this Halloween gig: for the fun of playing together, for the fun of doing it at Barfly, and to scare the living shit out of your principles.

So be there, Saturday, October 30th, 2010, at 10 PM (or as soon as the Habs' game ends), and let the team that Allan Lento (guitar, vocals) assembled take you on a wild ride, under the supervision of Dave Lines (keyboards, vocals), the aural charms of Jordi Rosen (vocals), the wisdom of Patrick Hutchinson (guitar, vocals), the influence of Sébastian Hell (vocals, bass, guitar), the hospitality of Triangles Stuart (bass, vocals), the enchanting eye of Ingrid Wissink (violin), the sober steadiness of Jackie Gallant (drums, vocals), the experimental medecines of Will Austin (guitar, vocals), the inhumane sexiness of Luca Fantigrossi (vocals, bass), and the sheer brutality of Cassie Doubleday (percussion).

Can you imagine? Three important band members won't be there - and it'll still be a supergroup, the best band playing on the continent on that night. Devil's Night.

Saturday, October 30th. 10 PM.

Barfly, 4062 St-Laurent, near Duluth. Just five bucks - a steal. Actually, like stealing candy from a dandy.

Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson And John Zorn: The Jazz Festival Experience

I briefly mentioned Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson in my previous post, but I've been holding back all week writing about them in a totally different context: their appearance at the Montréal International Jazz Festival with John  Zorn for a set of improvised music. Totally improvised. And, yes, that means no Velvet Underground stuff (that's ok, the tribute night more than made up for that!), and definitely no ''Walk On The Wild Side''.

Some people, who didn't seem to realize this was a jazz festival, not a pop one, booed and walked out. Zorn got so mad after booing started following the second piece that he said something along the lines of ''if you don't like this music, get the fuck out!'', which many did - most wanting a refund. About a third of Place-Des-Arts attendees left before the show was over, a large amount considering it barely lasted an hour and the expensive ticket prices - well over $100.

Spinner had this to say, while, somehow, The Guardian (in the U.K.) also got wind of the story. There were, however, satisfied customers, such as my friend Albérick, who some of you may know as art-sound creator .Cut from the Montreal Nintendo Orkestar, who wrote this review (and whose image I'm stealing for this entry).

Myself, I didn't go because I didn't know what to expect with the price range. I've been waiting for Reed to come to town with either his solo act without a concept or for one of his tours re-performing either the Berlin or Metal Machine Music records, and I was afraid this was going to be fluff - not because of Reed or his guests that night, but because the Jazz Fest, which has definitely gone from groundbreaking to very, very soft in the span of my lifetime (Lionel Richie being the opening concert of the festival attests to that). Basically, I was afraid the organizers would cut his balls off.

I'm glad to see they didn't, and I'm sad I missed the show, because, apparently, I was exactly the target audience for this. Luckily, it's available for download, recorded by a user named Patook, with artwork by schnitstelle. Go ahead, make your own mind up.

Loaded: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground

Unlike the Seattle band of the same name fronted by former GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan, Montréal's LOADED is a limited-edition-in-its-life-expectancy band created for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not to be missed: a show called "Waiting For The Man- A Tribute To THE VELVET UNDERGROUND", to coincide with LOU REED's presence at the Jazz Festival.

Some of the City's most storied musicians will partake in this spectacle of delights, which will involve simultaneous video projection work by Zuzu Knew, who will also be playing viola in the band. Drummer extraordinaire Jackie Gallant (LaLaLa Human Steps, Lesbians On Ecstasy, American Devices, Rhythm Method) will beat the skins; Dave Lines (A Devil's Din) will shine on keys, John Stuart/Triangles Falling (the Mile-End Mission Tribute Benefit series, Papercrows, FingerDog) will man the bass with a style unequaled; genius and virtuoso Jordi Rosen (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Rufus Wainwright) will work the accordion who will be begging for more; Ingrid Wissink (Gigi French) will expertly take the lead with her violin; and Richard Rigby (Lake Of Stew) will manhandle the mandolin with man-love and affection, while Allan Lento (Chinese Backwards, skllffkk, Alien Lentil) and Will Austin (Normal Humans, There Is Still Time... Brother, skllffkk) will complement and compliment one another on their respective guitars bringing a unity of sound probably superior even to the Velvet's own early-90s reunion shows.

Joining them on vocals will be Patrick Hutchinson (Swift Years, Bare Bones) and myself, Sébastian Hell (the UnPop Montréal annual festival series, Unknown People, The Inferno Racket, Lame De Fer), the City's lone constant Lou Reed rip-off-er - as well as Lines, Lento, Austin, and Rosen each taking turns behind the microphone to help bring these tunes to life.

With such a display of talent, I'm sure you'd expect the show to be a costly affair at Place-Des-Arts, and while we will be playing like as if it were, it will instead take place at St-Denis street's beautifully intimate venue L'ABSYNTHE (1738 St-Denis), near the corner of Ontario street, close to Berri metro. Five bucks gets you in, drugs not included.

It's on June 25th, which isn't a Holiday, but we'll make it so just for you. Be there or beware.


LOADED
(Gallant, Knew, Stuart, Lines, Lento, Austin, Rosen, Rigby, Hutchinson, Wissin & Hell)
"Waiting For The Man- A Tribute To THE VELVET UNDERGROUND"
Friday, June 25th, 2010
@ L'Absynthe
1738 St-Denis
$5