[...music...]

2010-10-10

on sunday, one week ago, i went to the gorillaz show at the bell centre, with roxanne, fil, lucia. we got some pretty good seats, in the middle, a bit higher than stage level. we had a good view of the whole stage, although a bit far.

the openers were we are wolves, from montreal. they first appeared with ridiculous props on their backs. they started with a few garage-rock-ish songs. meh. then they went more electro-dance-rock, and i liked that more. the only track i recognized was "fight and kiss", from their previous album, i think.

with gorillaz, it was a full orchestra and band on stage, with various guest vocalists. unfortunately, i didn't know any of them... on the other hand, i was pretty excited to see paul simonon and mick jones touring as part of the gorillaz band, as i am a big fan of the clash, and am too young to have seen their live shows in their prime. i only wish i was close enough to the stage to have seen them play, and not just shadows of musicians moving around on stage...

for most of the show, my eyes were on the animations on the big screen, since there wasn't much happening on the stage; the "cartoons" were much more interesting. i didn't know the songs enough to sing along, but i did dance throughout most of the show.

roxanne has a blog post of the event, including the setlist:
orchestral intro
welcome to the world of the plastic beach
19-2000
last living souls
oh green world
stylo
melancholy hill
rhinestone eyes
superfast jellyfish
tomorrow comes today
kids with guns
empire ants
dirty harry
el manana
white flag
to binge
dare
glitter freeze
plastic beach

encore:
cloud of unknowing
feel good inc.
clint eastwood
don't get lost in heaven
demon days

this was my most expensive show, with the ticket costing 3-4 times my average show budget. but it was fun to attend with friends. i can't deny that it's a completely difference experience from the tiny club shows. i still have one more arena show coming up (in a week). after that, i should probably stick to $15 shows for a while...

~~~

Labels: bell centre, gorillaz, shows, we are wolves

2010-04-11

new stuff

on tuesday this week, my first day back from the weekend trip where i already bought a pile of cd's, i passed by hmv megastore. i was in a musically receptive mood, which meant that i sampled new stuff at the listening boths, and walked out with some impulse purchases.

the first thing i picked up was jónsi's solo release "go". from the samples i heard, it seems similar to his sigur rós material, but more whimsy.

next, i got gorillaz's "plastic beach", the 'experience edition' that includes a 'making of' documentary dvd and online access to additional media. roxanne had recently blogged about them, and i liked what i heard. it's an interesting mix of sounds.

i saw the new dillinger escape plan release "option paralysis" at the listening booth, and sampled a few tracks. i had an idea of what they sound like, from the show i saw. it's 'brutal' stuff, compared to what i am usually into. but what really surprised me was the lovely piano beginning of "widower". contrast that with the opening track "farewell, mona lisa".

the dillinger escape plan - widower

the dillinger escape plan - farewell, mona lisa

finally, i sampled melissa auf der maur's "out of our minds" at the listening booth as well. she's really good at rocking out.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, gorillaz, jónsi, melissa auf der maur, the dillinger escape plan

2008-07-15

hmv promos

i had lunch today with cousin e. after the meal, we went to hmv. i got some cd's that were on special.

i got some newer releases that were part of the 2/$25 promotion:

armin van buuren - imagine
a reminder of when i first started listening to music; it was dance mixes.

ladytron - velocifero
the first track i heard from this album is "black cat", with a slight industrial feel to it; i like. after listening to the whole album, another track i enjoy is "the lovers".

i also got some older releases, part of the 2/$20 promotion:

gorillaz - demon days
no comment. actually, this was rather disappointing; i only got this to pair with the nada surf cd.

nada surf - let go
at first listen, their music is nothing special. but i find myself liking their songs more and more with every listen. their songs are perfect pop sweetness, and the vocalist's voice sounds so kind. my favourite track is "inside of love". it's such a beautiful love song.

~~~

Labels: armin van buuren, cd purchase, gorillaz, ladytron, nada surf