Concert Review: Coldplay, MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB, 6/15/09

4/5

attendance: 13,550 (sold out)

Upbeat openers the Howling Bells from New Zealand had some nice moments with their infectious indie-pop, including playing "Blessed Night," a catchy song that I did not realize was theirs, that I have heard when I randomly play music on one of my computers at the office. I'd like to see headline a smaller venue, as the cavernous MTS Centre seemed too large for them to really connect with the audience, who were largely unfamiliar with their material.

Glasgow, Scottland's Snow Patrol sold out Winnipeg's Burton Cummings Theatre (capacity 1646) in April of 2007, without being a widely recognized band. Clearly, they have a larger following than I expected, based on the audience response to their romantic indie-pop songs, which are not too far removed from what Coldplay offer up. They really caught my attention with their urgent, anthemic, U2-esque sound. I can only see these guys getting bigger. Lead singer Gary Lightbody (1976) performed with confidence, sang beautifully, and won over new fans. The band are touring in support of their 2008 album, A Hundred Million Suns.

It was pretty obvious that Coldplay were going to incorporate some backing music to flesh out the exotic sound of some of their material, such as the opening number "Life In Technicolor," from last year's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. Released in May, 2008, Coldplay's fourth studio album was the number one selling album in the US (over 2 million) and internationally (7.8 million) and it debuted at number one in 36 countries. It's also the most paid-for downloaded album of all time, with over 700,000 downloads to date and counting (statistics courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Early in the show, the burst into "Yellow," one of their first hits from their debut album, Parachutes (2000, 4 million sold.) As the first few notes rang out, members of the road crew walked into the floor area, bearing large yellow balloons, some much larger than beach balls. The fans proceeded to knock them around the floor and stage, but nothing made it into most of the stands. Occasionally, a balloon would burst, spraying yellow confetti. By the time the next song rolled around, only a couple of the yellow orbs were left. The 2005 album X&Y sold over 8 million copies, but was seen as their weakest effort. Still, it was heart-warming to hear so many sing along to the ballad "Fix Me," the only track performed from this recording.

Coldplay could have played it safe, but despite having a bevy of commercial pop songs, they served up songs that were quite quirky in nature and not exactly hit single material, like the moody "Cemeteries of London," the tabla-accented "Lost!," and the atmospheric "Death And All His Friends.". They played every track from the new album, save for "Yes." Of course, it was all eagerly consumed by the crowd who went nuts for all their antics. Lead singer Chris Martin ran around the stage and sang at the same time, without huffing and puffing. At one point, he ran down one of the two ramps that jutted out either side of the stage and lept to the very edge, seemingly defying the law of physics as his momentum should have sent him sailing into the audience on the floor. I couldn't help but turn to my friend and crack a big smile.

The end of the ramp near me served as a mini-stage from which all four members huddled onto the illuminated tiles and played a few tunes, to the absolute shock and delight of the fans who crowded around. There was more. Well into the show, each member briskly walked off the left side of the stage and made a bee line for the back of the floor. From there, they walked up a few rows at the very back of the 100 section and proceeded to play a few unplugged songs. It was all captured for everyone to see on the huge video screens, which were suspended over center ice, roughly. Why at that location and not just over the first few rows near the front of the stage like most bands do? More on that later. The screens showed everyone just how giddy with delight the surrounding fans were, who had purchased some of the less desirable seats in the house, but not with Coldplay just inches away. From this unlikely spot, they performed the Monkees' classic "I'm A Believer," before some more audience participation. Chris Martin asked everyone to turn on and hold up their cell phone. When the audience complied, it was looking into a galaxy of stars. He then asked everyone to hold them to their sides, to hide their lights, and then asked that one section begin to hold theirs up and put them down again, causing the first "Mexican wave" at the MTS Centre. For several minutes, fans played along and the result was an unusual but spectacular.

I really wanted to hear their other night song from Parachutes,"Shiver," which I have recorded onto many mixed CDs for friends, to introduce them what I considered to be great but lesser-known indie pop songs. They may have had indie pop roots, but for a few years now, Coldplay are clearly part of the mainstream, with their fourth album probably outselling even the latest U2 offering. Martin referred to Winnipeg and Manitoba in some songs and rantings, like acknowledging that they were supposed to play here about a year ago, and mentioning the Jets (who became the Phoenix Coyotes) to great applause. Even the lead singer of Howling Bells referred to a few things that makes Winnipeg renown, such as being the Slurpee capital of the world and being the home of the Crash Test Dummies (interesting Neil Young and the Guess Who weren't mentioned.)

It was a four-hour event. During the prelude to the two-song encore, Chris Martin asked us to remember a few things, including to download the song "Nightingale" by Howling Bells and to pick up a free copy of their new 9-track live album on the way out of the MTS Centre, LeftRightLeftRightLeft,which is also available as a free download from the band's website. Why have the screens at centre ice, roughly? I believe it was so that the fans at the side and sitting behind the stage, could look up and see the show, even though the band had their backs to them most of the time. You could see the video feed on the creens from both front or behind the screens. Bravo Coldplay for caring about those fans.

This was the fastest-selling concert in MTS Centre history (8 minutes), and for the first time in a long time, I wasn't able to score floor seats. We ended up on the right side, in the lower bowl.

Set List:
Life in Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Yellow
Glass of Water
Cemeteries of London
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face
The Hardest Part / Postcards from Far Away
Viva La Vida
Lost!
Green Eyes
Death Will Never Conquer
I'm a Believer
Encore:
Politik
Lovers in Japan
Death and All His Friends
Encore 2:
The Scientist
Life in Technicolor II

http://blogcritics.org/music/article/concert-review-coldplay-mts-centre-winnipeg/

Concert Review: Fleetwood Mac, MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB, 6/6/09

Around 11,000 fans showed up for Fleetwood Mac, the legendary Anglo-American band almost as famous for their internal romantic strife as for their 40-million-selling 1977 album, Rumours, as well as other multi-platinum records in their extensive career. The promoter expected a sellout, but at nearly $200 a ticket, prices may have been a deterrent, especially in a year in which the concert market in Winnipeg has been over-saturated with shows. Seats in the first two rows on the floor were still available just days beforehand, for example.

The focal points of the group are still Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, who completely revitalized the Mac's career in the '70s. They walked out hand in hand, reminding everyone of the tumultuous love affair that almost broke up the band but which also yielded some fantastic music along the way. Joining them on stage were drummer Mick Fleetwood (who bashed out a drum solo near the end and was mostly unintelligible whenever he spoke), docile bassist John McVie (who never cracked a smile), a keyboardist, a second guitarist and three back-up vocalists. The performance — which included no opening act — lasted around two and a half hours.

Despite being billed as a greatest hits tour, the show was aimed at long-time fans as it featured — almost exclusively — '70's material. I was hoping to hear tracks from their smash "comeback" album, 1987's Tango In The Night, but all that was played was a fiery, acoustic version of "Big Love." They performed nothing from their four '90s albums.

Buckingham proved every bit the showman, blasting out his signature guitar style with tremendous speed. At times, he would lean over the edge of the stage on bended knee while soloing and allowed fans to touch their fingers on the fret board. Once in while, after intensely performing a song, he would stomp on the stage and yell out "Yeah!" as if to prove to himself that he still had it in him. He clearly carried the band on his back with his performance, both visually and musically.

Stevie Nicks had earlier on began teasing us with her outstretched arms, grasping her shawl as if she was about to twirl around and around; she finally did so towards the latter part of the show. Whenever she and Buckingham walked on the stage, they did so hand in hand with gentle kisses of goodbye to each other before making their way to their respective microphone stands.
Her distinctively warm and husky vocals were clearly worn down. She didn't sound as clear on some lines and not as intense as Buckingham. While Buckingham was busy discharging massive amounts of adrenalin through his finger and feet, Nicks seemed to conserve her energy. Still, fans were going all out with digital cameras and cell phones to capture the photogenic duo.

For some songs, Nicks and Buckingham told the stories of their origin, which also related to how they met each other in high school and subsequently became band mates. Nicks mentioned performing gigs with rock legends like Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, which drew great applause, making me think about how young she was when she started out and how well she now still appears more than four decades later.

The band opened the performance with "Monday Morning," from the 1975 album, Fleetwood Mac. Two solo tracks found their way into the set, Nicks' "Stand Back" as well as Buckingham's "Go Insane." I had hoped to hear his other well-known solo hit, 1981's "Trouble," but that wasn't to be. For some songs, Nicks and Buckingham appeared together with a single acoustic guitar while the other bandmates took a break. In such moments, their selections included "Landslide" and "Never Going Back Again."

Near the end of the show, Mick Fleetwood introduced each band member, beginning with the backing singers and ending with John McVie, who was praised as being the foundation of the group. He then credited Buckingham as being their mentor in the studio and their maestro on stage. And at the end, Nicks bent down and shook one lucky fan's hand while Buckingham carefully gave out guitar picks and handshakes to fans up front.

Despite the best efforts of the back-up singers, the unique vocals of singer/keyboardist Christine McVie — who retired in 1998 — were missed.

Unlike most shows at the MTS Centre, there was no barricade between the front row and the stage, which inspired some clever fans to flee their seats further back on the floor to stand in the aisles for a better view. This proved a frustating situation, sometimes resulting with those who were already standing by their seats having to ask the newcomers to move aside so as not to block their views.

Set List

Monday Morning

The Chain

Dreams

I Know I'm Not Wrong

Gypsy

Go Insane

Rhiannon

Second Hand News

Tusk

Sara

Big Love

Landslide

Never Going Back Again

Storms

Say You Love Me

Gold Dust Woman

Oh Well

I'm So Afraid

Stand Back

Go Your Own Way

First Encore

World Turning

Drum Solo

Don't Stop

Second Encore

Silver Springs

My rating for this show is 3.5/5.

Concert Review: Richard Thompson - Garrick Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, 12/05/2008

Around 500 people showed up to witness one of the world's most famous folk musicians perform an exhilarating 110 minute show.

Well, what can be said about the caliber of musician that Richard Thompson (April 3, 1949) is? Everyone who knows who he is, pretty much agrees that he is among the top singer-songwriter guitar players around. Rolling Stone ranked him as the 19th greatest guitarist in the world. Others list him as the finest guitarist not from the blues tradition. While such lists are very subjective, you'll never hear anyone say that he isn't among the best in the world.

There were many moments when I thought to myself that his acoustic guitar playing alone was well worth the price of admission. Thompson may very well be the finest acoustic guitarist who I've seen live. He's fluid, fast, mistake-free, damn near perfect without ever sounding sterile and machine-like. If you thought folk music was nothing but slow guitar playing, you'd be wrong and Thompson would be one of many examples that would impress even a thrash metal guitarist.

Despite being all by himself on the stage, there was never a dull moment. Like fellow Brit Billy Bragg, Thompson spoke quite a bit to the audience, providing the stories behind the songs and telling funny tales. It was entertaining, especially since he poses a keen intellect and a priceless wit. One of his songs, a decidedly fun number, was about how he prefers girls who wear glasses because they tend to be brainy, as the stereotype goes.

People were constantly laughing throughout that song as he made rhymed references to intellectuals and emotions (Krishnamurti and "dirty," anyone?)

Thompson opened the show with "I Feel So Good," a witty hit song from 1991's Rumor and Sigh. He introduced "Dad's Gonna Kill Me" from the latest album by discussing the various slang references that the US soldiers in Iraq utilize: "Dad" is Baghdad; "Ali Babba" refers to any Arab; "Frankenstein" refers to Humvees with special armor plating meant to thwart road side bombs. Also from his 1991 album was the most requested song on National Public Radio, the guitar finger picking sensation "1952 Vincent Black Lighting."

For fan favorite 1999's "Crawl Back (Under My Stone)" from Mock Tudor, Thompson would sing one part of the rousing chorus and step away from the mike to encourage and hear the audience chime right in. It was a vigorous workout and no less effective given that was playing acoustic guitar for the entire show. He introduced 1988's "Pharaoh" from the Amnesia album as being about when he wonders about the powerful companies and conglomerates who control the world.

His current album, 2007's Sweet Warrior was represented by "Needle and Thread", "Bad Monkey", "Mr. Stupid," "Sunset Song." For his second encore, he called out for requests only to be totally inundated with shouts from the audience, but he must have heard people calling for 1994's "Beeswing." Some songs were speedy, some were cheeky and clever, some were bittersweet but they were pretty much all songs that I would want to hear again.

Opener Dan Frechette, a twenty year (or so) veteran of the folk scene, put on a brilliant set. His first song was practically ripped from today's headlines, about the financial crisis in the US and the interests of Wall Street clashing with that of the average person. Frechette is one of those singer-songwriters who are the real deal, rather than being a wannabe. He's got the music in him and there's so much of it that much of his musical energy exits out of his right foot, which stomps the stage to provide a catchy anchor to his acoustic guitar and harmonica music. Towards the end of a song, the intensity of the foot stomping increases as Frechette's literally picks up his leg and lets it slam down with great force. He has a new album out and I can't wait to buy a copy. See this guy and you'll know that you've seen someone special.

My rating for this show is 5/5.

Concert Review: Neil Young w/ Death Cab For Cutie & Everest, MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB, 10/16/2008

I had a $75 general admission floor seat, and arrived just before 6 pm, when the doors opened. I quickly made my way to the floor where I parked myself, leaning on a railing at the front, for the whole evening.

The barricades seemed farther from the stage than normal, and I quickly realized that this was done to provide the two guys with video cameras ample room to run around and provide footage for the two large video screens. Additionally, there were two more camera crews nestled above the front of the stage. I must applaud Neil Young for providing everyone with a great view of the show, even if they were sitting as far away as possible. Video screens should be mandatory.

Openers Everest reminded me why I like seeing live bands. They were a bit twangy, with catchy indie-pop songs and reminded me a fair bit of Wilco, the Jeff Tweedy-led Chicago band who had opened for several dates on the current Neil Young tour. I was impressed enough to buy their CD at the merchandise booth.

Death Cab For Cutie are currently among the cream of the crop indie bands and one of my favorites. Lead singer and guitarist Ben Gibbard has a distinctive voice and a dynamite stage presence. Unfortunately, for the first few songs, he had problems getting sound from his guitars. In fact, at one point, guitarist Chris Walla began making small talk with the audience, very obviously buying time as a tech tried to sort out Gibbard's guitar problems. As the sound problems continued, Gibbard actually threw his guitar to the ground and kicked over the suspect electronics gear that he thought was failing. The box was replaced but even as he was strumming, I thought there was no sound from his guitar. I was correct.

Eventually, the tech simply removed the replacement gear. Gibbard is an above average songwriter. On stage, when not singing, he made rapid staccato-like movements as he rapidly danced a bit before returning to the microphone. Death Cab For Cutie are one of the cool indie pop bands out there and have become as hip as what REM used to be, before they became mega-popular.

Around 9:20 pm, Neil Young (born 1945) and band walked on the stage for several electric guitar-based songs before playing some acoustic numbers. Young was stunning on guitar and managed to coax extended solos out of the song. His playing was characterized with monstrous riffs, rapidly flying fingers and tons of cranking of the whammy bar. I have seen many bands this year, but Neil Young is among the most violent attacker of strings that I have seen. He is also a master improviser, making every electric song a sonic and visual spectacle. There's absolutely no one quite like Neil Young.

Musicians know that in order to be remembered, they need to be unique. Not only had Young had a distinct career as a recording artist, but on stage, no one moves like him. Even in his early sixties, he still thrills a crowd by merely picking up his knees and moving his feet. The stage looked quite odd with a cigar store wooden Indian, and very old amplifiers. Oddest of all, however, and never explained by Young, was the man at the back of the stage who painted away on one canvass after another, with his back turned to us. There was no curtain at the back of the stage, and fans sitting behind the stage had a pretty good view.

At the end of the first set, a few guitar picks were being tossed by the band and one landed a few feet to my right, but behind the barricade. A really tall guy in the crowd climbed over the barricade to retrieve the pick and was instantly pounced on by security who just as quickly moved him away. All the while, the entire band looked on from the front of the stage as they had just finished offering up their final bow.


Young reached way back to the 1969 album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, his second solo effort, for the title track as well as "Cinnamon Girl" and "Cowboy In The Sand." Among his other classics were "Heart of Gold,", "Cortez The Killer," "The Needle And The Damage Done," "Old Man," and a ferocious "Rockin' In The Free World," in which Young tore the strings from his guitar and still hammered away on the fretboard for an orgasmic grunge effect. It was a stunning conclusion to a set just shy of two hours.

Young didn't play two songs that I really wanted to hear, "Like A Hurricane," from 1978's American Stars 'n' Bars and the title track from the 1992 album Harvest Moon. More people than usual were leaving their seats for breaks when Young played the pop-flavored newer material like "Sea Change" and "When World Collide." For the encore, they played the Beatles "A Day In The Life," which ended with Young climbing to the back of the stage and hitting the very final note, just as it is on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This subtle move brought down the house and made for a memorable conclusion to Young's sixth concert in Winnipeg, the town where he first began his career in music.

01. Love And Only Love
02. Hey Hey , My My
03. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
04. Powderfinger
05. Spirit Road
06. Cortez The Killer
07. Cinnamon Girl
08. Oh, Lonesome Me
09. Mother Earth
10. The Needle And The Damage Done
11. Unknown Legend
12. Heart Of Gold
13. Old Man
14. Get Back To The Country
15. Just Singing A Song
16. Sea Change
17. When Worlds Collide
18. Cowgirl In The Sand
19. Rockin' In The Free World
---
20. A Day In The Life

Neil Young - guitar, harmonica, pump organ, vocals
Ben Keith - pedal steel, lap steel, guitar, organ, background vocals
Rick Rosas - bass
Chad Cromwell - drums
Pegi Young - background vocals, vibraphone, piano, guitar
Anthony Crawford - background vocals, piano, guitar, bells
Larry Cragg - banjo

Attendance: 13,000

Concert Review: Amon Amarth w/ The Absence, Belphegor & Ensiferum - Garrick Centre, Winnipeg, MB, 10/11/2008

Sub-genres of metal were presented in the form of melodic death metal upstarts The Absence, from Tampa, Florida; black metallers Belphegor from Austria, Finland's self-described "heroic folk metal" in the form of Ensiferum and the headliners, Sweden's Amon Amarth, a melodic death metal band, heavily focused on Vikings and Norse mythology.

Fans lined up for over an hour outside the Garrick Centre, Winnipeg's favorite venue for "underground" metal bands. When the doors opened at 7 pm, we were greeted by signs indicating that Amon Amarth would be in the merchandise area of the lobby hosting an autograph session with free posters. I quickly made my way over to the line up, met each band member, bought their concert DVD and a t-shirt, as well as shirts at the Ensiferum and The Absence tables.



Less than five minutes after the doors were opened to the seating area of the venue, Tampa's The Absence took to the stage for an inspired but brief set of less than 30 minutes. Having listened to their current album Riders Of The Plague, a few times, I was familiar with both some of the songs as well as their overall sound, which has an emphasis on melodic guitar playing. There's a ton of similar bands out there and I would hope that The Absence will continue to focus more on melody and music that people can remember over speed and perceived heaviness. For the final song, they played Testament's "Into The Pit" from the 1988 album The New Order, as well as from Riders Of The Plague. It may take a while before they headline a show but I hope to see these guys again.

Austria's Belphegor are one of those bands who could easily get lumped in as inspiration for a new Spinal Tap film. Lead singer Helmuth growled and screamed his way through the set, careful to mention the prince of darkness' name several times, both in song and while speaking to the audience, lest anyone forget that they were flying the flag for black metal. They were fast but not as heavy due to their thin sound and tinny drumming style, so prevalent in European black metal. Not given a decent sound check likely contributed to the poor guitar sound, as well. They may have been exceptional guitarists, but you couldn't tell.

For the last song, Helmuth put on a black leather mask, complete with metal spiked mohawk, for a particularly grizzly look. For these guys, being over-the-top in sound and lyrics means something but they didn't resonate with me. Their current album is entitled Bondage Goat Zombie, I kid you not and it a far better representation of the band's sound than what I experienced. The import version also ships with a bonus 6-track DVD of live performances. If you like epic extreme black metal, you should check them out.

Ensiferum which means "sword bearer," are a bit of an oddity. I suppose if the film Braveheart influenced just one band, these would be the guys. They wore some face paint and were bare chested, save for the drummer and female keyboardist. Their songs have screaming vocals with catchy, anthemic themes.

They didn't seem like headlining material to me, and for some reason, they garnered laughter from the people sitting behind me, who were possibly conjuring up Spinal Tap moments in their heads. It almost seems odd to have these guys and Belphegor at the same show, since they have such different sounds. Nonetheless, the fans on the floor were eating it all up, and clearly enjoying themselves.

The band's new lead singer is Peter Lindross who used to be in the Finnish band Norther. He replaced Jari Mäenpää who went on to found Wintersun. Ensiferum's rich sound, with folk elements and instrumentation, keyboards and backing vocals, actually comes across better on CD than live, based on listening to their latest recording, Victory Songs.

Sweden's Amon Amarth prefer to be known as a death metal band who sing about Vikings, rather than as a Viking metal band. They had a fuller sound, as you would expect, and seemed more like a power metal band with death metal vocals. After several songs, I wondered just how limiting Johan Hegg's vocal style was to their potential success. He doesn't scream so much that you can't make out some of they lyrics, but you can't understand everything he's singing. I say you can't have it both ways. Sing clearly and they would have a chance to reach a wider audience. Just look at US veterans Manowar. They sing about similar things, death, honour, warriors, glory, etc., but you can always hear vocalist Eric Adams.

Amon Amarth are almost like the European version of Manowar, lyrically, except they sing about Norse gods, sailing and related Norse mythology. They have competent musicians but I fear their songs, by and large, just don't sound competitive with the cream of the crop songs from the metal cannon. Some bands just hit the spot and connect with you, and some bands don't. Unfortunately for me, Amon Amarth didn't do much for me, despite their strong musicianship and stage presence. Right now, I'm watching a DVD of one of their concerts from 2005 and my impression of the band hasn't changed one bit. The guitar playing was all right but there is no way anyone would say they compare to the guys from Arch Enemy. For me, the songwriting both in the DVD and from the songs they played at the Winnipeg concert, struck me as being bland. Their name means "mountain of fate."

After the concert, I popped their latest CD, Twilight Of The Thunder God, in my car stereo and listened to a few songs while driving home from the gig. I just couldn't help but wish that they had thrown in a well-known cover tune into the set to provide with at least one truly excellent song. They have most of the components to make for an excellent band, but they need better songwriting and improved vocals. Just writing about Norse mythology and all that it entails, isn't enough. Anyone who enjoys the band should check out the triple disc DVD, Wrath of the Norsemen, for over 7 hours of entertainment.

I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again.

My rating for this concert is 3/5.

Concert Review: Bobby Watson with Horizon - Berney Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, 10/04/2008

This is the first concert of the season in the Izzy Asper Jazz Performance Series in the 180 seat Berney Theatre at the Asper Campus in Winnipeg, Canada. Each concert is also repeated on Sunday afternoon and evening, such is the demand for tickets. And, as in previous years, the entire series is sold out.

The quintet Horizon is comprised of straight-ahead players who share the heritage of hard bop music and some of them have played with the renown Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

The first set was comprised of three long pieces, the first of which started off slow and laid back with ''Quiet As Its Kept," the title track of his 1999 album. The second tune, "For Milt," named after Bobby Watson's son who is a chef, was a dazzling display of virtuosity from all five members, each of who is a group leader in his own right. The final opening set number was "Duke Ellington's Evergreen."

Bassist Essiet Okon Essiet (52) received a lot of applause for his unconventional slapping of the body of his upright acoustic bass, not to mention his dexterous plucking. Bobby Watson, also a renown music professor, was the evening's gracious host and sax player. His playing was smooth and his solos were played with power while appearing to have left some gas in the tank. Pianist Edward Simon (39), is also a jazz educator and had two CDs for sale at the show, which I also purchased. Unicity (2006) features drummer Brian Blade and one of the biggest names in contemporary jazz, bassist John Patitucci while La Bakina (1998) has material he heard as a child in Venezuela.

Trumpeter Terell Stafford (41) performed a variety of styles, including using a plunger and mute. He was particularly engaging during his faster solos, in which he bent over backwards as he blasted out notes in rapid fire succession, fingers pumping and racing up and down his horn. He put so much effort into his performance that I wouldn't have been surprised if he had keeled over from a heart attack. Talk about intensity. I picked up his CDs New Beginnings (2003) and Taking Chances (2007.)

When Watson introduced the band, he mentioned that the group Horizon would not be possible without drummer Victor Lewis (58.) Lewis was flawless whether performing ballads, barnstormers, or anything in between. I was surprised by how distinctive a style he has. You would think that it would be difficult to stand out from other jazz drummers, and while that might be the case, Lewis didn't seem like any number of jazz drummers who I have seen over the years. Like New Orleans drummer extraordinaire, Herlin Riley (52), Lewis has his own way around the drum kit. I'll be on the lookout for some of his CDs.

The group played for about a hour again, and then returned for an encore. Even without an opening act — I was expecting the U of M music students — it was a very worthwhile evening for jazz fans.

Concert Review: Opeth w/High On Fire - The Garrick Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, 09/29/2008

Sweden's Opeth are one of the most celebrated "progressive" metal bands around, and certainly one of the most unique with their unusual mix of folksy, acoustic passages juxtaposed with deep, guttural vocals and rapidly thrashing precise speed metal, with tinges of progressive keyboards. They command sonic textures and wrap up the delicate and quiet with the brilliant and intricate playing that goes from zero to 60 in the blink of an eye.

Vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt played guitar, as did new member Fredrik Åkesson, formerly of Arch Enemy; Martin Axenrot ( who I thought looked like one of the elves from the Lord Of The Rings films) played drums, Martin Mendez was on bass; and Per Wiberg was on keyboards.

Åkerfeldt joked that Sweden is known for having the greatest hockey players, which elicited moans from the jovial audience. He spoke about spending some time walking through Osborne Village, a popular bohemian shopping district in Winnipeg, and how the only thing Sweden has going for it anymore, since they have no good bands, are girls who like to wear very little clothing in the summer. He's quite funny.

Towards the end of the show, Åkerfeldt began to ask for requests from the fans. Finally, he asked that everyone be quiet so that some woman near the front could offer her song request. He responded by saying that they already played it and fielded more requests. Finally, he played a couple minutes of the next few requests, sometimes having to stop because they couldn't remember the song. Opeth's music is among the most complex metal that I've ever heard. As such, it's also not easy to digest in one listen. Their songs are more epic in nature than catchy and anthemic. If you only caught a few snippets, you might think they were all about beautiful folk guitar, or manically rabid death metal. They are one of those bands you have to listen to over and over in order to really absorb their diverse musical ideas.

I know I witnessed what some would describe as the next evolution of heavy metal in Opeth. They are very different but they are also musically interesting. Their current album, 2008's Watershed, hit #32 on the Billboard top 200 in the US, # 7 in Australia and # 1 in Finland, and their 2003 DVD went gold in Canada. I thought the DVD was an excellent introduction to the band. Opeth are definitely not for everyone, but if you're looking for something quite a bit different, check them out, especially live.

Set list
Heir Apparent
The Grand Conjuration
Serenity Painted Death
Hope Leaves
The Lotus Eater
Bleak
The Night and the Silent Water
Deliverance
Demon of the Fall
Encore: The Drapery Falls

Oakland, California's High On Fire, a power metal trio, opened the show, and in the absence of an expected second opening act, played a longer set than normal, about an hour.

I had listened to a few of their tracks months ago, but wasn't overly taken by them. Live, however, they absolutely killed. The sonic assault they presented was very satisfying and created the illusion of cautionary tales of nomadic warriors raping, pillaging, killing, stealing, and drinking as they roamed and terrorized the countryside. I have no idea if this is what they really sing about, but I couldn't make out the cookie monster vocals at all. Was he asking for cookies or trying to conjure up Satan? I don't know.

Despite being a trio, this guys never left me wishing for a second guitarist. There was just a bit more talent in these guys than I have seen in many other similar bands, enough to make we wish I get a chance to see them play again. Drummer Des Kesnel was extraordinary, powerful yet inventive. Shirtless front man and guitarist Matt Pike might actually be able to bring the band to newer heights if he would try singing more than screaming, but even with indecipherable vocals, he was still a magnetic presence. They have some Motorhead in their DNA but unlike many bands influenced by Lemmy and company., these guys are definitely a cut above the rest.

Concert Review: Sheryl Crow At MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB, 09/27/2008

Around 9 pm, the lights went down inside the MTS Centre, Winnipeg's main concert venue, and taped music of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" was played for a few minutes before the headliners took to the stage. I had an excellent view from the third row on the floor and some of the people around erupted in excitement as they spotted the band members climb the stairs to the stage, from the side, partly obscured by the curtains.

Suddenly, there was someone with long, curly blond hair walking on and with the stage still in darkness, Sheryl Crow (46) strapped on an acoustic guitar and began playing a bitter-sweet slow number that referenced 9/11 and the lies that led to the war in Iraq. It was "God Bless This Mess," from her new album, Detours. A giant peace symbol was projected on the curtains for maximum effect, in case you didn't get what the song was about or what helped inspire some of the new disc.

After that number, the curtains fell down and revealed the backing band, which was comprised of a percussionist with a drum kit, a drummer, a bassist, a lead guitarist, a mandolin/ acoustic guitarist, a keyboard player, and two back-up singers. They were tight and sounded good. Crow mistakenly mentioned that it was Friday night and had tomorrow as a bonus. She asked the audience whether or not she had played Winnipeg before. She joked that they were nodding yes but saying no.In fact, she played a rural festival in 1996.

She spoke about watching the debate between the two Presidential candidates yesterday, on their day off, and moaned about how messed up the US was as a result of Bush. She then played another new song, "Shine Over Babylon." Crow supports the US Democratic party. She performed at their convention this summer and in 2007, she famously got into a heated exchange with Republican brain trust Karl Rove at the White House's annual Correspondent's Dinner, over global warming.

Before introducing another new song, she also mentioned how she was engaged and then not, was diagnosed with breast cancer, but beat it. Crow asked the audience if they read the tabloids and wondered why people were famous for being famous and mentioned quickly Paris Hilton before breaking into "Motivation," another new song.

There was also a green bent to one of her songs, an apocalyptic tune from the future about the long past year 2017 and the gasoline crisis, called "Gasoline." Crow is quite the political, social, and environmental activist, sort of like a female Bono. She plans on donating $1 from every ticket sold on the 2008 tour to the United Nations World Food Programme. The audience wanted to hear her best-known songs and they were not disappointed with "The First Cut Is The Deepest," "Leaving Las Vegas," "If It Makes You Happy," "Everyday Is A Winding Road," "A Change Would Do You Good," and "Soak Up The Sun." "All I Wanna Do" and Led Zeppelin's "Rock And Roll" were saved for the encore.

Curiously, she utilized snippets of a couple of songs in the show. "Gimmie Shelter" by the Rolling Stones crept into "Gasoline," Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" and early in the show, Johnny Nash's 1972 hit, "I Can See Clearly Now," which she made into a sing-along.

Sheryl Crow flashes her pearly whites an awful lot, and she smiles and sings a great deal. Bob Dylan doesn't smile when he sings. Crow is the master of it. Her vocals were always spot on. Whether she sang in whispered "come hither" tones or from the bottom of lungs in the rockier tunes, her voiced seemed to be beautiful and flawless.

This was the second time that I've seen Blue Rodeo front man Jim Cuddy open for someone at the MTS Centre. The last time he opened, it was for John Forgerty in 2007.

Cuddy is an excellent singer and storyteller. He looks sincere and passionate, unlike the cold, distant Oasis singer, Liam Gallagher. Some of the songs they played were good, but some were forgettable sound-alikes. Cuddy's weakness lies not in his singing, stage presence, strength of his or the band's musicianship, or his lyrics. The weakness lies with the sameness of the songs. He and his band make for a good opening act, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see them headline. The highlight of his show was when the band played extended songs and did some jamming. His fiddle player, Anne Lindsay, put on a volcanic performance that brought considerable applause when she was finished.

Attendence was 6000 and my rating for this show is 3.5/5.

Wilco - May3, 2008 - Burton Cummings Theatre

Wilco May 2, 2008 Burton Cummings Theatre
4.5/5

This was my third time seeing the band, each time up close, confirming my view that they are one of the best live bands that I've ever seen.
Photo courtesy of Kathryn Yu.

They are not a pop band, and they are very entertaining when they play extended jams. In this sense, they are a bit like Los Lobos and other
bands that have longevity based on the fact that they can really play. Your typical pop artist will be popular so long as they have hits. Wilco have up to three guitar players. Lead singer Jeff Tweedy plays rhythm and occaisionally lead guitar, ditto for keyboardist Pat Sansome. Virtuoso lead guitar player Nels Cline is the newest and oldest Wilco member and is a bonafide star in his own right. He's like an erupting volcano with the music twisting his body as it finally emerges out of his fingers and onto the strings. He was spellbinding. After receiving an avalanche of applause for playing an incredible extended solo, he just kept right on soloing, causing some folks at the front of the stage to become absolutely transfixed with awe.

Wilco's live shows have everything from quiet, slow material to thrashing, intense rock, all played with attention paid to craft and intensity. Tweedy spoke and joked around with the audience, calling some of them douche bags as they were rocking out to quiet songs. He threatened to call his lawyers to check out three teens who were apparently wearing home-made unofficial Wilco t-shirts.

A photographer from the Free Press suddenly appeared beside me at the front of stage, early in Wilco's set. He apologized and I promptly gave him some elbow room, knowing that he would only be there for a short period of time. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw this short woman and her equally short male companion muscle their way towards the front. She actually confronted the photographer about what is doing blocking her view when she paid money to attend the show, etc. He replied that he would be leaving in five minutes. As soon as he was finished, he turned around and gave her a nod and she zipped into the place where he was, elbowing this teen who was leaning on the front of the stage and who expected to reclaim the room she vacated for the photographer. The short woman got into a brief argument with this poor teen, causing the teen to politely mention twice that she was there first. I have two thoughts about this. It's a concert and if you choose to leave your seat to stand at the front, you may or may not get a good view. On the other hand, I totally expect people to move around to get a better view. I've had my view obscured by taller people before so I know the feeling that she must have had. But I wouldn't elbow my way around and not apologize for upsetting anyone I bumped into who became visibly upset. If you sitting in the first few rows at the Burt and people stand up at the front of the stage, your view may be blocked. I have been to some shows there where everyone sat down, allowing good views for all, but such behavior isn't likely at a rock show, and a crowd at the front makes the show look a bit more exciting.

I have to commend these guys for playing for 2 hours and almost 15 minutes, including a 2-3 minute break between sets.

Openers Retribution Gospel Choir are not a choir but a indie rock power trio, if I can describe them that way. The lead singer plays a mean guitar and he drew a small crowd of teens and twenty-somethings to the front of the stage, about 30 minutes into the show. I think I will check them out.

Wilco's last two studio albums have been somewhat mellow, but live, these guys are exciting.

Setlist
Hummingbird
You Are My Face
Company In My Back
Impossible Germany
Handshake Drugs
Jesus Etc.
Pot Kettle Black
Shot In The Arm
She's A Jar
Side With The Seeds
Shake It Off
One By One
That's Not The Issue
Summerteeth
Via Chicago
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Poor Places
Spiders


Walken
Christ For President
Hate It Here
Heavy Metal Drummer
Red-Eyed And Blue
I Got You
Casino Queen
Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Concert Review: Sonata Arctica - Winnipeg, Feb. 8, 2008

Making a return appearance at Winnipeg, located in the geographic center of Canada, Finland's Sonata Arctica drove 26 hours straight from London, Ontario, to make it to the gig, according to charismatic lead singer Tony Kakko.

The doors at the West End Cultural Centre, a renovated church lauded as one of the best live rooms in Western Canada, were supposed to open at 7:15 pm, but a few minutes after I arrived, the promoters were posting notices that the band was running late and one of the opening acts, North Carolina's Sanctity, had canceled.
I wasn't sure if I should sit in my car to thwart the barely tolerable cold weather, head to a cafe, or just stand outside and be among the first in line, practically guaranteeing myself access to one of the few seats. I ran into a friend who I often see at classic rock and metal shows, and we opted to stay in the small line up. He had seen them before and we both marveled that such a quality band would have to return to a venue that sounds great but holds less than 400 people. Ticketmaster lists them as having 311 seats, but I wasn't sure if the gig had more people since there were no more than 50 chairs available, with everybody else standing. Clearly, a lot of metal fans just don't know about them - or fellow Finnish power metal kings, Stratovarius, who also sold out their last show in Winnipeg, appearing at the same venue.

The local opening act, Port Amoral, was actually pretty decent, with crunchy, Iron Maiden-ish guitars and a lead singer who does not rely exclusively on "cookie monster" vocals. They exited the stage around 9:15. I ran into another friend who shares my broad taste in music. I mentioned to him that I sometimes just show up around 10 pm or later for shows at this venue rather than have to sit around twiddling my thumbs for three hours. He said the headliners would likely begin at 10:45, while I was hoping for 10 pm. He was right. Next time, I'm showing up late.

The crowd was packed so tightly that the promoters actually forced people to back away from the front of the stage. Whenever the lights flicked off and on or a roadie appeared on stage, audience members cheered in anticipation. After several false starts, the band finally took to the stage.

Rarely have I seen such an affectionate welcome for a band. It was like the crowd was greeting an old friend, and sure enough, when surveyed by singer Tony Kakko, many fans acknowledged that they had seen the band before. The opening tune was "Black and White," the first song on their most recent release, 2007's Unia.
I was surprised to see what appeared to be a keytar, being played by Henrik Klingenberg, who also happens to bear a resemblance to Lars Ulrich. I had assumed a regular keyboard would be used, given the intricacies of the band's music, but the music didn't suffer at all.



Goateed Tony Kakko was very chatty with the audience and is quite simply one of the most fun front men in metal today. Sonata Arctica's music tends to be uplifting and occasionally romantic, and the set was peppered with blazing, flawless, unstoppable power metal tracks, power ballads, and songs that were between the two in tempo but were sometimes not terribly memorable to me. Ever since I heard they were coming to town a few months ago, I have listened to Sonata Artica more so than any other band, so I was fairly familiar with the standout material.

It was actually fun to watch the fans get whipped into a ferocious mosh whenever the band played a fast tune, and then watch the same group, mostly teenage guys, gently sway their arms back and forth during the ballads. One guy in front of me turned out to be a neck-snapping manic, and I feared he would collide skulls with an unsuspecting fan. At one point, he just went ballistic during yet another gloriously executed power metal piece, and a diminutive fan and I exchanged glances of surprise as we deftly stepped away from him. I avoided the pit by being on the left side of the stage, but once in a while I was almost "caught in a mosh."

The band's strengths lie in their musicianship and brilliant songs. New lead guitarist Elias Viljanen was excellent, but I would have appreciated hearing more of his guitar in the mix. Drummer Tommy Portimo looked as if he could be the elf Legolas from Lord of the Rings with his blond locks, and he almost unexpectedly caused a fight on the floor after tossing out his drum sticks. The fans were reaching to the sky to grab a stick, but it bounced several feet back and the crowd almost seemed to move as one entity as they stumbled over backwards, frantic to grasp the souvenir. A few kids pounced on the stick and a struggle ensued.

It's astonishing how something so insignificant can mean so much to a fan. Had it landed safely in my hands, I would have just given it away to the nearest kid. In the end, the victor, drumstick clenched protectively to his chest, stuck out his hand to the kid who lost the prize. This pretty much summed up the mood of the evening, lots of fun with very little heavy attitude or negativity.

As a treat, the band played one of their classics for the first time in a long time, the juggernaut "Wolf & Raven," from the 2001 album Silence. For me, other gems played included "Replica," "8th Commandment," and "Black Sheep." Missing from the set were some tracks I really wanted to hear like "Weballergy," "San Sebastian," and "Blank File," all incredibly fast, superbly written power metal pillars from their catalogue. These are the tracks I include on mixed CDs when I want to introduce friends to their music.



Not all of the band's songs were memorable. In fact, I think they played too many that did not win the crowd over. Some of the ballads left me cold, but the well-known material was met with more unbridled enthusiasm than I expected. On severalsongs, Kakko pointed his microphone to the audience and they sang out in unison, which pleasantly surprised me. The band also played for 75 minutes, possibly cut short due to the illness guitarist Elias Viljanen was suffering from, as he mentioned on his blog:

"02/08/08 Thunder Bay/ Winnipeg
I'm still sick. At noon I had to get out of bed because we had a shower room in a hotel. We were in a city called Thunder Bay. It was very nice to get cleaned up. Then we headed for Winnipeg. We were afraid that we wouldn't be on time because of the bad weather. It wouldn't be nice to cancel. Finally we were there around 10 pm. It was a close call. The show was sold out. Not nice to perform while you have fever. Well, we met some fans after the show again."

I can only hope Sonata Arctica continues to tour as they are bound to increase their fan base considerably due to their live shows. They need to weed out the weaker material and just not record such songs so they don't feel obligated to play them when promoting new albums.

Led Zeppelin reunion: the review

You might think it couldn't possibly live up to expectation but, it transpires, the opposite is in fact true of Led Zeppelin's first public appearance in 19 years.




They seem buoyed by the deafening roars that greet their every twitch tonight - everyone present in the O2 Arena is willing their performance to the realms of greatness. It's almost impossible to be subjective, to not be sucked in.

It takes plant three songs before he offers a cursory "good evening". By the time they've blasted through an incendiary 'Good Times Bad Times', a dramatic 'Ramble On' and the stop start rhythms of Black Dog'. He needn't say anything.

Next They launch into 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' and Zep are smiling at each other, only occupying about six foot of the enormous stage. You wouldn't believe this is a band who haven't played together for so long.

They do No Quarter' and they're locked in as tight as if it were the 1970s. Only the close ups on the screen at the back give away their advanced years.

Launchomh into a version of 'Dazed And Confused' that seems to last forever but every last second is enthralling.

Jimmy Page is lit up by lasers and at the song's climax Robert Plant yells out "Jimmy Page on electric guitar!" in a moment the resonates right back to their first heyday.

'Stairway To Heaven' follows. Ridiculous in many ways yet it is a song that everyone present thought was fated to only be performed by dodgy pub covers bands and not again by its creators.

Jimmy has the double headed guitar, bassist John Paul Jones is sat at a keyboard and Plant - contrary to the pre-gig rumours is singing beautifully.

Playing this well known classic proves a shrewd move as it gently reminds everyone present just which, giant-sized rock band they're dealing with.

The final half an hour is comprised of songs so omnipresent it's hard to make any sort of tangible judgement.

'Kashmir' finishes the main set sounding incredible the band take a bow and they're gone.

Rapturous applause follows as you might expect but its nothing compared to the sheer mania that greets the first encore song 'Whole Lotta Love'. Not many bands have one of those, you see.

The middle section veers into space rock territory any young band would be proud of and when that riff returns its well you know how it goes.

Then Led Zep blast through a second encoure of 'Rock And Roll' - paying tribute to their old mentor and the reason this concert is taking place, Ahmet Ertegun, on the way - and, well again... you know how it goes.

If there were sceptics here tonight - there weren't but just for the sake of argument consider it - Led Zeppelin silenced them and banished any rotten memories of their shambolic Live Aid reunion.




More importantly though, what they have done here tonight is prove they can still perform to the level that originally earned them their legendary reputation.

We can only hope this isn't the last we see of them.
Hamish MacBain, NME Live Editor

Led Zeppelin played:

'Good Times Bad Times'
'Ramble On'
'Black Dog'
'In My Time Of Dying'
'For Your Life'
'Trampled Under Foot'
'Nobody's Fault But Mine'
'No Quarter'
'Since I've Been Loving You'
'Dazed And Confused'
'Stairway To Heaven'
'The Song Remains The Same'
'Misty Mountain Hop'
'Kashmir'
'Whole Lotta Love'
'Rock And Roll'

Led Zeppelin reunion: live setlist

Led Zeppelin have taken to the stage at the O2 Arena in London tonight (December 10) - and NME.COM will be bringing you the action as it happens.

Currently we're experiencing one of technical issues with our live blog, but we don't intend to let that stop us, so we're going to post up the set and the comments from our journalist in the hall in this news story while we get things fixed.

So while it is a bit basic, if you just refresh this news story every few minutes you'll have the action from the Ahmet Ertegun tribute show.

So far Led Zeppelin have played:

'Good Times Bad Times'
"The set started with a clip from 'The Song Remains The Same' DVD with an American news clip telling of they broke The Beatles' attendance record for a gig in 1973 in California. Simple stage set, video screen behind the band."

'Ramble On'
"'Ramble On' done in extremely slow, bluesy manner, with shards of electric guitar from Jimmy Page."

'Black Dog'
"Page wearing dark shades, quite muddy sound. Crowd singing the 'ah-ah' bits back at Plant."

'In My Time Of Dying'
"Page is playing bottleneck guitar. Plant spoke for the first time before song, saying 'Good evening'."

'For Your Life'
"That's not something you get to hear often these days, Led Zeppelin giving a song its live debut."

'Trampled Under Foot'
"Before starting Plant told the crowd it was the band's attempt to sound like Robert Johnson's 'Terraplane Blues'."

'Nobody's Fault But Mine'
"There are huge screen's dominating the O2 Arena, they split into four sometimes, goes monochrome, colour etc...quite spectacular."

'No Quarter'
"Following the song Plant paid tribute to John Paul Jones, who played keyboards and bass on the track."

'Since I've Been Loving You'
"A bit of a style guide for you, all the band are dressed in black bar Page who is rocking a white shirt. As for the song they gone for the epic version....very bluesy."

'Dazed And Confused'
"Settle yourselves in, we're expecting a ten minute version of this classic... it was. At the end of it of the song Plant told the audience 'On guitar Jimmy Page, just as he did on 'The Song Remains The Same' DVD which was filmed in Madison Square Garden in the 70s."

'Stairway To Heaven'
"What do you think happened? Right! From the moment those opening notes rang out the whole audience went absolutely crazy. The atmosphere is electric. Afterwards Plant said "Ahmet, we did it!"

'The Song Remains The Same'
"A fairly straight version of the classic. The sound is still a bit muddy and quiet though."

'Misty Mountain Hop'
"Plant kicked this one off by praising the job drummer Jason Bonham has been doing, stepping into his late father's shoes tonight."

'Kashmir'
"Yet another epic, as this song cracks the ten minute mark. Plant introduced this one declaring 'We've got people from 50 countries here and this is the 51st'. Afterwards they left the stage to loud applause. Will they do an encore? What do you reckon..."

'Whole Lotta Love'
"... of course they come back to deafening applause. And it's an extended version of the old 'Top Of The Pops' theme. Then once more the band leave the stage with a visibly emotional Plant declaring:
'Thanks to everybody. Thanks Ahmet Ertegun, this one for is Ahmet Ertegun as we remember the days when Atlantic Records was the best label on the planet!'."

'Rock And Roll'
"Just time for one more, as after two hours the night reaches its climax, and what a stomper to go out on. And after the hype, the millions of people who entered the ticket ballot and the speculation, Led Zeppelin's reunion show is over. A one off? We dearly hope not."

We have the world's first Led Zeppelin reunion review, filed from the venue just after the band left the stage. And a massive Led Zeppelin reunion photo gallery from the night

Ozzy Osbourne/ Rob Zombie/ In This Moment, Winnipeg, Oct. 27, 2007, MTS Centre

audience: 11,500
Ozzy 3/5
Rob Zombie 4.5/5
In The Moment 3/5

Overall, I would rate this concert 3.5/5.

Ozzy played about two or three songs from his weak new album. Classic material heard included Crazy Train, I Don't Know, Mr. Crowley, Suicide Solution, Bark At The Moon, the ballad, Mama I'm Coming Home and Black Sabbath's Paranoid. Not so classic material played - Fire In the Sky, Not Going Away, I Don't Wanna Stop. Missing were favorties Over The Mountain, Flying High Again, Iron Man, No More Tears, The Ultimate Sin, Miracle Man and Journey To The Centre of Eternity. Ozzy is a nostalgia act, like many veteran artists, and as such, he continues to survive and draw fans largely based on the strength of his best material, as opposed to his new releases.

Ozzy's vocals were all right. Fortunately for us, he didn't take his shirt off like he did the last time I saw him, about 8 years ago. He looked like he came from a workout with his black outfit appearing as sweats and a sweatband across his head. Throughout Ozzy's set, there was a video camera panning the crowd, which stopped on a woman who was jiggling her breasts. She noticed herself on camer, and pulled her puppeis out to the delight of many. Of course, a few other exhibitionists decided to pull up their tops for camera, including this one woman standing with her girlfriend beside me. One guy in front of me realized that the camera was showing a woman with red horns and turned around to confirm that it was this young woman by me. He pointed towards her bare boobs with his full arm, obviously enjoying the scene and then decided to take a few steps towards her, to get into the party by copping a feel. Well, her friend was having none of that and sternly slapped his hand away. As usual, Ozzy spent a fair amount of time trying to get the audience fired up with his constant beckon on "Make some f**king noise. I can't f**king hear you!" I know Zakk Wylde is a guitar hero to many and is successful with his own band, Black Label Society, but....his ten-minute guitar solo was woefully lame. Maybe I'm spoiled after having seen Eric Clapton solo brilliantly without appearing to break much of a sweat. In comparison, the kilted Wylde was about as good as the guys from Twisted Sister. Randy Rhoads, I miss you.

Rob Zombie played like a headliner and his stage set up was easily the best that I've seen a supporting act perform with, not to mention the endless flames that blasted out in synch with the music. The set boasted six video screens which accompanied all the songs with scary and campy animation and snippets from films, including Zsombie's own The Devil's Rejects. Most of the footage seemed to revolve around vampires, zombies, werewolves, Herman Munster and most common of all, breasts, some clothed, some not, but all jiggling. I'm only familiar with one Rob Zombie song, Dragula. I thought the first song he played was it, but it was saved for the latter point of the show. Zombie's set opened up with the band wearing skull masks, which reminded me of how the last Alice Cooper show began, with the band in masks. The drum kit was on a platform around 20ft in the air, and the platform itself appeared to be a Japanese demon face, almost "Simpsonized." Early on in the set, during More Human Than Human, a 10ft tall robot walked on stage and proceed to thrash around and pursue the musicians. Of course, this is straight out of the Iron Maiden playbook as they came up with the gimmick over two decades ago with their mascot Eddie. Helping out with vocals and eye candy were two scantily clad female singers. Tracks played included American Witch, Demon Speeding, Livin Dead Girl .

With constant visual spectacle, Rob Zombie is tailor made for today's masses of attention-deficit fans who need relentless shock and awe in order to have a great time.

Stars - Burton Cummings Theater, Winnipeg, Canada - Nov. 24, 2007

Quite a crowd showed up for Stars' return to Winnipeg since playing the Garrick Theatre in February 2006.

Doors opened at 8 p.m. and the line to buy merchandise was about 30 minutes long. Not a bad way to kill time, I suppose. I'm not sure what the attendance was but I would bet it was around 1,300 as there were fans even in the second balcony of the 1,646-seat venue.

Miracle Fortress took to the stage around 9 p.m. and at first I wasn't sure what band I was seeing. I can recall that Stars has two lead singers, with the guy having short blonde hair.

I quickly realized that they weren't playing anything that I recognized and they must have been some other band, but I didn't catch their name until later. The music was poppy and yet indie at the same time, but not as catchy as Stars' music. The drummer had possibly the best sound that I've heard at that venue.

Sitting in the centre of row four I could see, but not as well as I wanted. During intermission I went to the bar for water and my vantage point, looking over the tops of mostly teenage girls, was much better. I would say the audience was mostly teens and twenty-somethings with older folks being in the minority.

Opening the show with the infectious "Take Me To The Riot" from their new album, In Our Bedroom After The War, the sound was initially muddy but became better later on.

They played a variety of songs from their recordings, including some that the audience sang along to. During those particular moments the band aimed the mics at the audience and the mood turned warm and fuzzy.

Songs played included "Ageless Beauty," "My Ex-Lover Is Dead," "Personal," "Bitches In Tokyo," "Midnight Coward," "In Our Bedroom After The War," the funky "The Ghost of Genova Heights" (complete with falsetto vocals that recall Michael Jackson), among several others.

The five-song encore began with "The Night Starts Here," another instantly appealing song from the band's new album. Not everything was a simple pop, song however. Some were slow-moving, bitter soliloquies to failed relationships. I wouldn't necessarily describe them as ballads.

Throughout the show bassist Evan Cranely plucked flowers that decorated the set and threw them into the crowd, often trying to fling them as high as possible. It proved to be a popular move among the mostly teen and twenty-something crowd. Cranley's bass often stood out and he added some needed visual interest by dancing around a fair bit.

Co-lead singer and guitarist Amy Millan, who was in town earlier this year to promote her country solo album, didn't really crack a smile or look as if she was having a great time. That may have been her regular stage persona. Her eyes were like lasers, staring into Cranley's eyes without flinching as they two of them stood close together and played their instruments on a few occasions.

Torquil Campbell, the other singer, was an athletic foil to Millan's sombre presence. Stars are one of the few bands around with two lead singers, who sometimes sing the
same lines together while other times, their own verses.

He wowed the crowd as he knelt down right in front of the stage and sang directly in the faces of the stunned audience members. I absolutely love the sound of the trumpet and Campbell played his a few times during the show, which added even more variety to the overall sound.

On a couple of occasions, he praised the audience for showing up, curiously saying that they don't have a lot of friends and that having the turnout was something very special to the band. One thing is for certain, unlike some bands, Stars have managed to play larger and larger venues each time they returned to Winnipeg.

During the encore, at the end of one of the songs, the crowd kept on screaming "Amy!" as she handed out some short-stemmed roses to fans in the front. At the very end of the show, as the band members walked off the stage, Millan stayed behind to play the final chords of a song all by herself with her back turned to the audience. It was a poignant moment. As soon as the final note rung, she sped off the stage.

I would describe Stars as one of Canada's premiere indie bands, and Campbell, Millan and Cranley also contribute to the Canadian indie kings, Broken Social Scene.

Prior to releasing their CD, the band made the entire thing available for a free download, knowing that this would happen anyway, and hoping that fans and newcomers would like what they heard and would buy the CD. Months later, Radiohead tried something similar, where people could pay anything to download it.

My rating for this show is 4/5.

Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular, Nov. 18, 2007 Burton Cummings Theatre

Good turn out at the Burt this evening for lasers, videos and the music of Pink Floyd. This of the best hi-fi that you've heard Floyd on. This was better.

The visuals were far out and tended to follow the lyrics. No spliffs were lit during the performance. Some fans came inebriated. Long lineups for the bathrooms during the 20-minute intermission. The Burt's bathrooms are woefully inadequate.

The first set featured Darkside of the Moon in its entirety. People jumped when the bells rang to introduce Time. Right after the first two songs, people were clapping and cheering.

The second set featured the "best of" Pink Floyd, which of course, it wasn't. They skipped over anything from the early albums and Animals. Lots of tracks from The Wall, some from the Momentary Lapse of Reason with video footage showing a Waters-less Floyd.

Many wore "3-d" glasses , but I opted to not to. Maybe the experience would have been better with the $2 glasses, but I had a good time.

I always wanted to see Laser Floyd when it was playing at the Planetrium in the 70s and 80s, but I missed out. I think I would have preferred seeing tonight's show there, given how more intimate and cosmic it is.

Concert Review: Modest Mouse At Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, Nov. 7, 2007

It was rush seating on the floor to see Modest Mouse, one of the most celebrated US indie bands in recent memory, whose fans are split over their older, more intimate material versus the MTV-friendly direction of their last two albums.

I left the house around 6:30 pm, and after finally parking a bit further away than I had hoped, I joined the line up of around 30 people. The last time I checked online, the show was not sold out, but the 1646 seat venue did apparently run out of tickets. I struck up a conversation with Sean, a young bearded free spirit, originally from Winnipeg, who was based in Taiwan, teaching English and pursuing work with local Asian rock bands. It's always fun to speak with someone as passionate about music as I am, since you can learn about other cool bands to check out.

Finally, the doors opened and I made my way right to the front of the stage, to park myself in row 1. Sean tracked me down and sat beside me, while hoping that his girlfriend would find us, which she eventually did.

Right away, the young fans began to stream to the front of the stage to see the opening band, Love As Laughter. They sounded like any number of melodic indie bands and could go on to bigger things. I will be checking them out.

Nothing could have prepared the audience for the next band, Philadelphia's Man Man. Wearing a uniform of white t-shirts with sweat bands, these guys were part musical act and part performance art, a modern day vaudevillian group.

They were very spastic, with the lead singer / keyboardist jumping around and yet managing to play in sync with the other band members who were bashing out syncopated, frantically paced pop. At one point, all members started playing kazoos to the delight of the audience. The lead singer threw something towards the bassist who batted it into the head of the drummer. Far from seeming out of the ordinary, this was just par for the course with these wacky musical pranksters.

During one of the numbers, the sound changed for the better, with a fuller bottom end. This was due to the two Modest Mouse drummers sneaking onto their kits and pounding away with Man Man. The drummers, dressed as ghosts in white sheets, injected even more excitement into the show and fans went nuts due to their surprise appearance. As much fun as they were, I can't help but wonder that they will have an intense but very limited appeal. People who are into Frank Zappa might want to give them a try.

Unfortunately, almost an hour passed before Modest Mouse took the stage, at around 10:10 pm. During this time, I marveled at the discretion the bouncers showed as they blocked the aisle to the floor many fans had streamed towards, hoping to get into the front row. As the standing area filled up, the bouncers would turn people away while letting others back in who stepped away for bathroom breaks and beer runs. The smart ones would politely get their attention and ask them if they would be allowed back in. Usually, the answer was yes, but as the area became more packed, some were told that they were taking chances.

Some people who were turned away left quietly and found seats emptied by fans who did it make to the front, while a few argued. One guy who either had multiple sclerosis or was a bit smashed (or perhaps a bit of both), had us grinning as he argued with two bouncers for several minutes. Resembling a young, bearded John Belushi, this feisty cannonball eventually did end up at the front and was seen grabbing people by the neck as he took them on a wild bouncing tour of the pit. I had to brace myself as they collided with me a few times. I looked over to this one bouncer and he reached out with his arm to block these guys from crashing into my part of the floor, all the while enjoying the energy of the fans. Everywhere you looked, it was a sea of flashing teeth, smiles and bouncing, happy people.

The band took the stage with "Black Cadillacs," which had several fans in the pit singing along. Lead singer and band leader Isaac Brock occasionally spoke to the audience but it was largely unintelligible. At one point, someone threw something on stage, which prompted him to snap that if they did it again, he would "fuckin' kill" them. Someone threw a scarf in front of this older looking guitar player with a shock of jet black hair.

In the lineup, I spoke about how Johnny Marr, formerly of The Smiths, was now in the band and wondered if many of the predominantly young fans would even know who he was. It was only when someone shouted out his name that it occurred to me who this obviously stellar guitarist was. Marr played superbly and was far beyond the caliber of musician you would expect in an indie band. He only spoke to the crowd a few times, to acknowledge the fans in the upper levels. When the encore was over, Marr picked up the scarf, put it on and offered thanks in the general direction from where it came. Recent news from the UK has Marr also serving as a visiting professor at Salford University. Since the breakup of The Smiths in 1987, Marr has performed and recorded with the likes of Bryan Ferry, Oasis, Beck, The Pretenders, Billy Bragg, and The Pet Shop Boys, among others.

During "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes," Brock took to the front of the stage and flew into a spontaneous rant, but again, it was near-impossible to make out what he was saying. Some of the songs utilized both drummers while some had one on percussion.

Still, Modest Mouse, from my intimate vantage point, were superb and were light years more interesting than a recent Ozzy Osbourne/Rob Zombie show I also attended. Their songs are distinctive, and have become increasingly catchy with their last two albums. Some see this as a sellout, while others view it as progress. About a third of the songs were from their first three albums, and several gems had to be skipped. I would have loved to have heard "Missed The Boat," "Florida," "Spitting Venom," "Ocean Breathes Salty," "Dramamine," "3rd Planet," and "The Stars Are Projectors."

Without a doubt, this was one of the most fun concerts that I have been to in years. Curiously, the major local newspaper thought the show was a bust, as they witnessed people leaving early and complaining about the band being limp and lifeless. I have this theory that the closer you are to the stage, the more likely you're going to enjoy the show. I don't know where the newspaper reviewer was sitting, but I found the band was superb. Sure, in comparison to the manic Man Man, Modest Mouse were a bit sedated, but they still put on a thrilling show. Isaac Brock did find his groove and exploded off his feet a few times on his side of the stage. He also strapped on a banjo for "Bukowski" and "Satin In A Coffin," both from 2004's Grammy-nominated Good News for People Who Love Bad News.

Modest Mouse were strong musically although the sound wasn't as good as I had hoped.

Setlist (in no particular order)

Black Cadillacs
Paper Thin Walls
Dashboard
Here It Comes
Trailer Trash
Broke
Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes
Bukowski
Float On
Fire It Up
Education
Satin In A Coffin
Bury Me With It
The View

Encore

We've Got Everything
King Rat
Parting Of The Sensory
Out Of Gas

Concert Review: Blue Oyster Cult, Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, Oct. 28, 2007

This was the legendary New York band's first appearance in Winnipeg in about 20 years, when they last played a bar to less than 300 people. Without an album to support and with only the memories from classic rock radio playing their handful of hits the show, not surprisingly, was not a sell out. Curiously, the best seats they had they day before the show were in the last row on the floor, but there were many seats in the rows in front of us that were empty.

Boy, do they ever look different. Mind you, there's only two original members remaining. Bassist Rudy Sarzo, of Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and Ozzy Osbourne, looks pretty much the same as he always was in the heyday of hair metal. He's actually 57 years old, but was an absolute sensation during the songs and his solo. I was wondering who he was and the audience gave him a lot of applause when Eric Bloom introduced him.

Singer/guitarist Bloom no longer sports tons of hair in an afro, but the bearded 63-year old performed with the vigor of someone 20 years younger.

Lead guitarist/ vocalist Buck Dharma (Donald Roeser), 60, was unbelievable on guitar.

Unlike a lot of guitarists, Dharma apparently played the same guitar all evening, a curious looking axe with no head. His solos in the jams at the end of their classic tracks, were tasteful without being cliched heavy metal-ish. During one solo, a fan walked to the front of the stage and waved others to join him. And join him, they did as many of the fans flooded to the front. Dharma hammed it up by dropping to his knees and bending over toward the crowd, almost to the point where their fingertips could touch him.

It was a bit funny to watch but the fans that were able to get up close and personal no doubt reveled in the experience. A big surprise to me was the axemanship of Richie Castellano, who also played keyboards and sang. Castellano, Dharma and Bloom could probably wander around any city and not be recognized due to their non rock-star appearances. I had never heard of Castellano but he proved to be an intense and formidable performer in his own right, on vocals and instruments.

Early on, fans were shouting out for "Don't Fear The Reaper" and Eric Bloom responded, "Oh, we're going to play all that stuff, don't worry. You are going to stick around for a while, right? I mean, It's not every day we're here."

Songs played included "Summer of Love," "O.D.'d on Life Itself," "Burnin' For You," "Shooting Shark," "ME 262," "Cities on Flame," "Golden Age of Leather," "Black Blade," "The Last Days of May," "Godzilla," "Don't Fear The Reaper," "Hot Rails to Hell," and "The Red and the Black."

Opening for the band was Alverstone, a young, local band that are obviously into The Ramones, Strokes, New York Dolls. They received a fair amount of applause and while are promising, are not quite ready to headline.

Overall, this was a very fine classic rock concert.

During some numbers, there were three guitarists grooving really loud. I don't know if they are having much of a career anymore, in the last 20 years, but they are still touring and recording and still bridge the gap between the sound of heavy metal and hard rock, without having to rely heavily on cliches to keep them going.

Yes, Eric Bloom played a cowbell during "Don't Fear The Reaper," and yes, the audience went nuts for that song.

I would see them again in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, they had no merchandise for sale. They could have easily sold hundreds of t-shirts to the mostly older crowd.

My rating for this show is 4.5-out-of-5-stars.

Concert Review: Ozzy Osbourne / Rob Zombie in Winnipeg, MB, Oct. 27, 2007

Around 9500 fans showed up at the MTS Centre to see Ozzy's third Winnipeg show in seven years, but I think many were actually bigger Rob Zombie fans.

Ozzy played about two or three songs from his weak new album, Black Rain. Classic material heard included "Crazy Train," "I Don't Know," "Mr. Crowley," "Suicide Solution," "Bark At The Moon," the ballad, "Mama I'm Coming Home" and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid."

Not so classic material played included "Fire In the Sky," "Not Going Away," and "I Don't Wanna Stop." Missing were favorites "Over The Mountain," "Flying High Again," "Iron Man," "No More Tears," "The Ultimate Sin," and "Journey To The Centre of Eternity."

Ozzy is a nostalgia act, like many veteran artists, and as such he continues to survive and draw fans largely based on the strength of his best material, as opposed to his new releases.

Ozzy's vocals were all right, but obviously past their prime.

Fortunately for us, he didn't take his shirt off like he did the last time I saw him, about seven years ago. He looked like he came from a workout with his black outfit appearing as sweats and a sweatband across his head.

Throughout the set, there was a video camera panning the crowd, which stopped on a woman who was jiggling her breasts. She noticed herself on camera and was really delighted to display them for all to see. Of course, a few exhibitionists decided to pull up their tops for the camera, including this one woman standing with her girlfriend beside me.

One guy in front of me realized that the camera was showing a woman with red horns and turned around to confirm that it was this young woman by me. He pointed toward her bare boobs with his full arm, obviously enjoying the scene and then decided to take a few steps toward her, to get into the party by copping a feel. Well, her friend was having none of that and sternly slapped his hand away.

As usual, Ozzy spent a fair amount of time trying to get the audience fired up with his constant beckoning of "Make some f**king noise. I can't f**king hear you!"

I know Zakk Wylde is a guitar hero to many and is successful with his own band, Black Label Society, but....his ten-minute guitar solo was woefully lame.

Maybe I'm spoiled after having seen Eric Clapton solo brilliantly without appearing to break much of a sweat, earlier this year. In comparison, Wylde was about as good as the guys from Twisted Sister. Randy Rhoads, I miss you.

Rob Zombie played like a headliner and his stage set up was easily the best that I've seen a supporting act perform with, not to mention the endless flames that blasted out in synch with the music. The set boasted six video screens which accompanied all the songs with scary and campy animation and snippets from films. Most of the footage seemed to revolve around vampires, zombies, werewolves, Herman Munster and most common of all, breasts, some clothed, some not but all jiggling.

Zombie's set opened up with the band wearing skull masks, which reminded me of how the last Alice Cooper show began, with the band in masks. The drum kit was on a platform around 20 feet in the air, and the platform itself appeared to be a Japanese demon face, almost "Simpsonized."

Early on in the set, during "More Human Than Human," a 10 foot tall robot walked on stage and proceeded to thrash around and pursue the musicians.

Of course, this is straight out of the Iron Maiden playbook that came up with the gimmick over two decades ago with their mascot Eddie. Songs performed and accompanied by stunning videos, included American Witch, Living Dead Girl, Dragula.

LA's In This Moment, fronted by a female vocalist who looked as if she stepped off a Lawrence Welk set in her dress (costume), were quite good with their dramatic and powerful melodic metal, not unlike Lacuna Coil and Evanescence.

I would see Ozzy Osbourne again, but only if I ended up on the floor within the first ten rows or if he released a really excellent album. While I wasn't Rob Zombie fan and still find his music sounding a lot alike, I might see him if he headlined. He truly earned a second look.

Overall, I would rate the entire evening as a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Ozzy's set was worth three stars while Zombie's was easily 4 stars.