Video Of The Week: Kandle

With her new video directed by Natalie Rae Robison, Kandle tackles the hard subject of violence against women and hardcore depression, and released it in collaboration with canadianwomen.org - a community-based organization that looks to help balance the bad on this planet with a bit of good.

Not Up To Me is a terrific song, and I hope she doesn't tire of singing it any time soon, but because its message is so powerful and it's so well-crafted, it could have the Jeremy (Pearl Jam) or Creep (Radiohead) effect, where the artists just can't bring themselves to perform their signature song because it stirs up too many conflicting emotions in them.

In any event, I'll be attending her show next week as she performs in this year's Jazz Festival - she probably would have fit better playing at Pop Montréal, but I'm happy I'm seeing her in July rather than September. If anything, the walk home will be less painful (mentally) in the summer heat than it would have been in the chill of autumn (and possible rainfall).

Juggaling For Money

I cannot believe that Cypress Hill and La Coka Nostra are participating in the Gathering Of The Juggalos this summer...



Like, seriously, maybe they're strapped for cash, but there are other ways...

R.I.P. John Pinette

Another beloved talent left us before we could find a cure for mortality, yesterday. John Pinette was a very funny overweight man, who was a regular at the Just For Laughs festival, and he died at age 50 of ''natural causes''... he had long-standing liver and heart problems.

His two stand-up specials remain with us (Show Me the Buffet, I'm Starvin'! and Still Hungry), as does his role in the Seinfeld finale, though most fans of that series would prefer to have it wiped out of their memory.

Here's a sample joke:

Skinny people decide what they want at McDonald's... Now skinny people, I love you, we're all God's children. But the food situation, you piss me off. You browse, you pick... get out of the line! Get out, go over there, and think! Skinny people decide what they want when they get to the front of the line; what were you doing in line, your tax returns? I knew what I wanted before I parked the car.

The Decline Of k-os

k-os' debut record, Exit (2002) was full of promise. I even went around praising his all-around talent for the music's production as rivaling Beck, and his lyrics and flow as ''eventually in the same league as Outkast''.

His second output, Joyful Rebellion (2004) still showcased his talents, but had a decidedly more old school vibe, relying less on k-os' knack for melody and creating music from various inspirational sources and leaned more towards classic hip hop.

But then it turned to insipid pop and un-researched music pretty fast, starting with 2006's Atlantis: Hymns For Disco and perpetuated with the sample-heavy Yes (2009) and this year's uneven BLack On BLonde.

And apparently, it's transpired to his live shows as well, as per The Gazette:

k-os, 1:30 p.m., Mountain Stage

And the award for Osheaga drama queen goes to… k-os.

The Toronto rapper is well past his prime. And his new album Black on Blonde – despite guest appearances by Emily Haines, Black Thought, Shad, Saukrates, and Sam Roberts – is a bit of a mess. So when he took the stage 20 minutes late, as the day’s first show on the mountain stage, there was reason to worry. He began to rhyme over an amped up Public Enemy sample, but stopped after a few minutes. “I can’t do this right now – I can’t hear myself,” he said. He threw his all access VIP bracelet into the crowd,and walked off the stage. Very rock ‘n’ roll, man, but it’s not going to win you any new fans. And next time, maybe skip the Blue Jays cap.

Jesus.

For a guy who performs in Montréal four times a year, perhaps he should have done his research a tad. When playing his own shows at Club Soda or Théâtre Corona, where his own fans - by definition a forgiving following - show up, sure, you can use your Canadianism as a factor for common ground, as much as ''supporting the local underground''.

But at a festival show, with a broad audience representing pretty much everything your usual crowd isn't - there's a difference between playing to a thousand folks who know your shit and 35,000 who've never heard it before - perhaps it'd be nice to take an hour out of your bubble and read about where you're playing.

Most of us will never cheer for the Blue Jays as ''Canada's Team'' for the simple fact that we had the Montréal Expos - Canada's first major league baseball team - and the way they were taken from us left such a sour taste in our mouths we were turned off by the sport altogether. So... Jays? No. NO. NO. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work in Vancouver so much either, with the Seattle Mariners basically playing in their back yard.

Also, though they don't go to your usual shows, 50% of the population wanted out of Canada altogether at any cost twice in the recent past - and would have won had it not been for shady politicking and backdoor money dealings the last time around, to say nothing of those who think it would be a good idea on paper but weren't convinced by the arguments brought forth as the focal points the last time. So even if the Jays had been Canada's team, it's like wanting Puerto Rico to cheer for the Washington Nationals.

And what's up with not trying to work out the issue with the sound guy? Any band who's played in a bar will tell you that 3 times out of 4 it can be worked out if you're clear on what you want. The other time you'll wish you had walked out - which he did - but he should have tried to fix things first. By showing little patience with the staff at the very first show of the very first day of Osheaga - kinks are bound to occur - he instead showed great disrespect to the thousands who had paid fifteen times the price of entry as the first edition 5 years ago so it could attract artists ''of his caliber''.

And that attitude of ''artist vs staff'' usually escalates throughout the day as one side becomes more defensive and the other reacts accordingly, which ultimately led to headliners The Cure having the plug pulled on them in the middle of their mega-hit Boys Don't Cry at 11:05 PM, instead of being given the chance to finish the song before it happened so that the crowd could at the very least go home with the illusion that it went down well.

Instead, here is the evening's score card:
k-os: 0
The Cure: 0
Osheaga: 0
the public: 0

And instead of it being a 4-way tie, it's a 4-way loss. With k-os proving to be the biggest loser.

Amusement Cube

It's called ''Once'', and was made by the arts collective known as The Glue Society. It is currently on display in Denmark, at the Sculpture by the Sea, Aarhus festival...

 It is made of the entire remains of a former amusement park, crushed into a 13-foot cube.

San Fran-hips-Co Beer Week

Because I had fallen behind on my Maxim, Summum, and Playboy reading, I had no idea February 10th-19th was San Francisco Beer Week!

How thoughtful of them to tack on 3 extra days to factor in hangovers.

Lucky for me, I've been on a steady diet of 10-ish beers per day since early December when my Life turned to shit. Although I've mostly been drinking Tremblays, so my shit has turned into pudding.

Blast From The Past: jraff's Poster For Raw Madonna's UnPop 2010 Show

Just happened to fall on jraff's blog page showing off his amazing UnPop 2010 poster:

 I am blessed to have so many generous, talented friends. Truly.

Do You Realize?

One show I would have liked to see at last weekend's Osheaga Festival was the Flaming Lips. Well, Cypress Hill too, but FL the most.

For one, it seems they played their album The Soft Bulletin from start to finish - and claim it was perhaps for the last time. But I would also have liked to have witnessed frontman Wayne Coyne officiate a wedding ceremony right before the last song, their biggest hit, Do You Realize?

My friend Albérick seems to have liked it as well. (He disliked the Hill). Jordan Zivits of The Gazette - I'd never heard of him before either - loved it, too.

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.

The Unanimous Success Of Philémon Chante

And to think that just last Fall, Philémon Chante was performing a free concert at UnPop Montréal, my annual festival, for a half-full Cagibi... and that I got to share a stage with him, opening for Daniel Greer in an empty Brasserie Ste-Ambroise on a sad Tuesday night...

Like Patrick Pleau before him, Philémon Bergeron-Langlois has accomplished much in a short time span, not content with playing the Fringe Festival on June 12th, but performing at the peak of francophone music, Les FrancoFolies on the 15th.

A quick rise to glory for the man who, just two days ago, released his first record, Les Sessions Cubaines, at Casa Del Popolo, packed full of sweaty, loving adoration. Sure, it wasn't perfect - his usual charming and über-talented magnificent violonist Zoé Saint-Pierre couldn't make it... and neither did the records; despite a lauch show with nothing to launch, it seems the show garnered nothing but praise.

Here are a few articles in French preceding the show: Voir, Nightlife and L'Actualité!

And some pertaining to the show itself:
en français: on 4MTL and Bombe.tv
in English: from Free After Four and Examiner

The votes that matter are in, and despite being eliminated in the Francouvertes semi-final a month ago, we all know in our heart of hearts who the real winners are: those who get to witness Philémon singing.

When Did Festivals Start To Suck?

I hate to write about this now, what with my recent posts self-promoting my own UnPop Festival, but it's more of an anti-festival anyway, isn't it?

But when it isn't bad enough that they overcharge bands to apply, overcharge for tickets, overcharge for programs and souvenirs - now there's a chance you might, literally, lose your clothes at these events, even whilst wearing the buggers.

And if I read that right - it's people's own friends that do that to them?

There's just one thing to do - become a recluse. Listen to music at home, alone - you've paid for the CD or mp3 - or downloaded it. You can listen to what is likely the best version of each song, right in your home, where the drinks and food are affordable, too. And none of your freaking friends will get you naked for the fun of seeing you walk home in the buff with no cash for a cab - 'cause it was in your pants.

And if you want to full concert experience, buy the Live DVD, or download the live bootleg.

UnPop Montréal 2009

Well, it's official: UnPop Montréal 2009 will take place, starting August 24th, hopefully until September 15th - I really like partying on my birthday, and beyond.

All shows, as usual, will be free for the public to attend.

The start-off show will be held at Soundcentral, an independent record shop situated at the corner of Coloniale and Mont-Royal, and will feature myself, Sébastian Hell, and Small Wars - UnPop founder Nate Munn's acousti-punk alter-ego.

The most massive show will be an outdoors extravaganza on St-Laurent street, Friday, August 28th, from 4PM to 10PM, during the street fair - a collaboration with our nemesis Pop Montreal (as in 2006, we've given peace a chance, more specifically, the chance to play outdoors to a bunch of people). And it'll rock onwards and upwards from there.

Some shows are still being booked as we speak, some bands have yet to confirm, but this year, Year 5, looks to not only be a good yet, but possibly the best yet.