Consider this a free post. I woke rather late, but not too late to miss my 11 a.m. interview with Scott Middleton from the Cancer Bats -- they play at the Exchange in Regina on Sept. 12...
Surreal Concerts presents: Cancer Bats, Black Lungs, Johnny Truant - The Exchange, September 16, 7:00pm - 11:45pm, www.myspace.com/cancerbats
When I first heard of the band not long after they formed, I thought the name was kinda stupid - but after listening to their first CD, I was less putt off - and with the release of Hail Destroyer earlier this year, I became an official fan. They have a really nice contemporary sound that pays pretty close attention to old-school riffs and melody. Heavy, but not too heavy, if that makes sense.
I'd heard that Scott had used First Act guitars -- and we chatted more about why he likes them and how his relationship with the Boston-based company came about. I won't get into the details here - it will spoil my story slated for the What's On section on Sept. 11 - but he told me the custom-made guitar axe they made for him was the first-ever new guitar he's owned. Check First Act out here.....
http://www.firstact.com/
This show should be a good one for metal fans. For fans of 80's metal, the Cancer Bats are a great band to help get introduced to contemporary metal.
As for shows tonight, the big one is the Backstreet Boys at the Brandt Centre, JJ Voss continues his weekend run at the Pump and there's something called a Hot Pants Party at the Distrikt - no live music at the city's best live music venue. Boo.
Check back on Sunday with a surprise story. It will be worth the visit.
A.M.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Airbourne
It makes perfect for my first post on my first-ever blog about the Regina music scene to be about ... Saskatoon.
But the City of Bridges hosted Airbourne on Thursday night, a sold-out show at the Odeon I'd waited for months to see after listen to and loving the CD Runnin' Wild. I felt weird about the music at first -- it sounds like an ACDC tribute band. But even though the band sounds suspiciously similar to their fellow Aussies, I decided that if I liked it, then I need not debate about whether the similarities should take away from my enjoyment.
Anyway, the show was really, really good. Well worth the drive and well worth the price of the ticket, and the night's stay at the Senator Hotel in downtown Saskatoon. (See, I'm already fishing for advertisers.)
The band plowed through most of Runnin' Wild the crowd, a pleasant mix of young and old, male and female. It was also the loudest concert I'd seen in years -- Ace Frehley at Barrymore's in Ottawa and Motorhead at the Chaudiere Club in Aylmer, Que. Joel O'Keefe sings with a confident growl. It sounds great when he sings, but when he chatted with the crowd between songs and swills from a bottle of Jack Daniels, it was tricky to figure out what he was mumbling about.
The evening began with sets from Parlour Mob (a modern take on Led Zeppelin, but too meandering for me) and Sound and Fury, a Toronto-band with an old-school rock sound and a really neat energy.
Check back here on Sunday - I'll have a neat little story about a surprise gig.
Have a suggestion? See a typo? Write me.
A.M.
But the City of Bridges hosted Airbourne on Thursday night, a sold-out show at the Odeon I'd waited for months to see after listen to and loving the CD Runnin' Wild. I felt weird about the music at first -- it sounds like an ACDC tribute band. But even though the band sounds suspiciously similar to their fellow Aussies, I decided that if I liked it, then I need not debate about whether the similarities should take away from my enjoyment.
Anyway, the show was really, really good. Well worth the drive and well worth the price of the ticket, and the night's stay at the Senator Hotel in downtown Saskatoon. (See, I'm already fishing for advertisers.)
The band plowed through most of Runnin' Wild the crowd, a pleasant mix of young and old, male and female. It was also the loudest concert I'd seen in years -- Ace Frehley at Barrymore's in Ottawa and Motorhead at the Chaudiere Club in Aylmer, Que. Joel O'Keefe sings with a confident growl. It sounds great when he sings, but when he chatted with the crowd between songs and swills from a bottle of Jack Daniels, it was tricky to figure out what he was mumbling about.
The evening began with sets from Parlour Mob (a modern take on Led Zeppelin, but too meandering for me) and Sound and Fury, a Toronto-band with an old-school rock sound and a really neat energy.
Check back here on Sunday - I'll have a neat little story about a surprise gig.
Have a suggestion? See a typo? Write me.
A.M.
What's all this about?
When I was younger, I used to dial up the Chez 106 nightlife line, which was essentially a phone recording produced by the fine people at this fine Ottawa radio station. It was free to call, and it provided the music fans with a simple rundown of the concert and club listings for that day. I called it all the time, just out of curiosity and also when I wanted to see some live music in the Nation's Capital. I remember when an Iron Maiden concert was announced, and I called the nightlife line many times just to hear the news again.
When I moved to Saskatchewan's capital back in October of 2004, I was disappointed that a similar thing didn't exist here. I had trouble learning about the venues, the clubs and what sort of music was playing where. I had to call over the Pump or the old State and hope that someone answered the phone to see if there was a band slated to perform.
Now that I am veteran Regina resident, I still pine for the old nightlife line, a sort of lifeline to local music. I have come to really, really like Regina, especially as a live music city. Sure, we've enjoyed some great shows in recent years -- Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden and the growing popularity of the Craven jamboree and Regina Folk Festival. But I also like the small clubs where local kids get sweaty on metal nights at the Exchange, or country fans enjoy a few amber beverages and some music at the Pump.
I also felt there was something missing. And I'm still not exactly sure what that is. But this little blog is my attempt at filling this personal void of mine. Since there isn't a suitable link between the Regina fan and this city's music, I figured I'd make one, even if it were just to satisfy - and perhaps even entertain - myself with my own thoughts, advice and criticism.
I work full-time as a copy editor at the Leader-Post, a job that I enjoy a great deal. I also contribute to the newspaper's What's On and Arts&Life sections as a freelance arts writer, usually interviewing and writing about concerts that are coming to Regina. I enjoy that work, too -- it keeps me up-to-date with what's happening in the clubs, but it also helps satisfy the so-called "frustrated writer's syndrome," a term journalists use for editors who are former reporters deemed to be heavy-handed with other writers' material. After more than 15 years as a newspaper reporter, I feel great about keeping my hand in the ink, as it were.
An expert? Not me. I like music, and I feel passionate about what I like, or dislike. I'm a hard rock fan, a metalhead since I was a pre-teen, but I like most music and most genres, as long as it's good. For instance, I'm not a fan of Massachusetts rockers Staind, but I do really like the Dixie Chicks. So, whenever someone suggests that my taste in music sucks, I can at least say that I'm inconsistent.
My latest iPOD addition is Abigail Washburn, my second favourite banjo player after Steve Martin. If you're interested in Washburn's stuff -- check this out....
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/whats_on/story.html?id=0e3ff353-3e2b-48db-a46b-78896e29d65b
I really don't know what this blog will be tomorrow, or the next day, or beyond -- but I hope to update it regularly, and chat about music, most of it about local and all of it stuff that is of interest to me and of interest to others.
I won't ever be mean, or defamatory. I'll just be fair and see what happens.
If you have a comment, question, complaint, idea or criticism, lemme have it. Write me at andrewmmatte@hotmail.com, or visit me on Facebook. The kids really like Facebook.
Rock always,
A.M.
When I moved to Saskatchewan's capital back in October of 2004, I was disappointed that a similar thing didn't exist here. I had trouble learning about the venues, the clubs and what sort of music was playing where. I had to call over the Pump or the old State and hope that someone answered the phone to see if there was a band slated to perform.
Now that I am veteran Regina resident, I still pine for the old nightlife line, a sort of lifeline to local music. I have come to really, really like Regina, especially as a live music city. Sure, we've enjoyed some great shows in recent years -- Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden and the growing popularity of the Craven jamboree and Regina Folk Festival. But I also like the small clubs where local kids get sweaty on metal nights at the Exchange, or country fans enjoy a few amber beverages and some music at the Pump.
I also felt there was something missing. And I'm still not exactly sure what that is. But this little blog is my attempt at filling this personal void of mine. Since there isn't a suitable link between the Regina fan and this city's music, I figured I'd make one, even if it were just to satisfy - and perhaps even entertain - myself with my own thoughts, advice and criticism.
I work full-time as a copy editor at the Leader-Post, a job that I enjoy a great deal. I also contribute to the newspaper's What's On and Arts&Life sections as a freelance arts writer, usually interviewing and writing about concerts that are coming to Regina. I enjoy that work, too -- it keeps me up-to-date with what's happening in the clubs, but it also helps satisfy the so-called "frustrated writer's syndrome," a term journalists use for editors who are former reporters deemed to be heavy-handed with other writers' material. After more than 15 years as a newspaper reporter, I feel great about keeping my hand in the ink, as it were.
An expert? Not me. I like music, and I feel passionate about what I like, or dislike. I'm a hard rock fan, a metalhead since I was a pre-teen, but I like most music and most genres, as long as it's good. For instance, I'm not a fan of Massachusetts rockers Staind, but I do really like the Dixie Chicks. So, whenever someone suggests that my taste in music sucks, I can at least say that I'm inconsistent.
My latest iPOD addition is Abigail Washburn, my second favourite banjo player after Steve Martin. If you're interested in Washburn's stuff -- check this out....
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/whats_on/story.html?id=0e3ff353-3e2b-48db-a46b-78896e29d65b
I really don't know what this blog will be tomorrow, or the next day, or beyond -- but I hope to update it regularly, and chat about music, most of it about local and all of it stuff that is of interest to me and of interest to others.
I won't ever be mean, or defamatory. I'll just be fair and see what happens.
If you have a comment, question, complaint, idea or criticism, lemme have it. Write me at andrewmmatte@hotmail.com, or visit me on Facebook. The kids really like Facebook.
Rock always,
A.M.
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