I love FOO

Dave Grohl.  He is one of the best front men to ever exist in my opinion.  This man never fails! I went to the Foo Fighter’s concert last Tuesday; it was my third time seeing them live.  They are one of my favourite bands and their last concert in 2008 was my favourite concert I have EVER been to.  (From Rush coming out to play “YYZ” to the circle stage falling from the ceiling, it was unreal.  If you went to it you know what I am talking about.) This past concert at the ACC also did not disappoint.

I have seen a lot of concerts at the ACC.  But this was the first time I saw it FULLY sold out.  I mean all seats, beside the stage and behind the stage, were full.  So much energy in the room.

There was not one moment during their two and a half hour set where I felt they were losing the crowd.  Dave captured the energy of every person there.

Their set list was perfect.  Here it is listed below:

-          Bridge Burning

-          Rope

-          The Pretender

-          My Hero

-          Learn to Fly

-          White Limo

-          Arlandria

-          Breakout

-          Cold Day in the Sun

-          Long Road to Ruin

-          Stacked Actors

-          Walk

-          Generator

-          Monkey Wrench

-          Let It Die

-          These Days

-          Skin and Bones

-          This is a Call

-          All My Life

-          Encore:

-          Wheels

-          (Dave acoustic solo)

-          Best of You

-          (Dave acoustic solo)

-          Times Like These

-          Young Man Blues

-          (Mose Allison cover)

-          Everlong

The combination of new songs, old songs and hits worked well. 

I would just like to apologize to the guy sitting beside me having to listen to me sing every song. I’m sorry.

Next time the Foo’s are in town, I will be there no matter what! Been a fan since I was 11 years old and I’ll be a fan till the end.

October's Very Own

I went to OVO Fest. It was my first time seeing Drake live and I think he killed it.  I arrived late and missed The Weeknd and Rick Ross.  I would LOVE to see the Weeknd but I thought the Molson Amphitheatre just wasn’t the right venue for them.  Tickets for their Mod Club show sold before I could grab a pair. Not the biggest Rick Ross fan so I wasn’t too upset about making a late appearance to the show.

I was completely shocked when Stevie Wonder came out.  I love him. But not everyone was feeling it.  People in front of me where sitting down.  Ok. I can understand that Stevie changed the vibe of the concert when he came out. But COME ON! It’s STEVIE WONDER!

Lil Wayne wasn’t a huge surprise considering Drake and him are part of the YMCMB family.  And Nas didn’t really blow me away. But I am excited to see him perform at Rock the Bells in September though. 

Drake performed all his hits and some new stuff.  Here is a song he performed at the concert that I love.  He lays down a verse on SBTRKT's "Wildfire".

Overall, it was a great concert and I will be attending next year’s OVO, no doubt.

A warm welcome to Echo Beach

So I attended the Robyn concert a few weeks back and I just want to say FINALLY Toronto has another outdoor venue. This was a long time coming. Echo Beach is located in Ontario Place and it’s exactly where the name suggests, it’s on a beach.

Prior to Echo Beach, the only out-door venues that hosted concerts were large ones like the Molson Amphitheatre, Molson Park (RIP)  and Downsview Park. But you have to get big name artists to get these places filled.  Echo beach has a capacity of about 4000 people. That means Live Nation can book artists with less pull. Which I think is great, considering a lot of my favourite bands can't fill 16 000 seats.

Hurry up and start putting on more concerts here! There is nothing better than listening to music outside in the summer.

5 online tools to help promote your b(r)and

Using various social media applications are essential nowadays to promote your band.  Justin Bieber wouldn’t be the mega superstar that he is if it wasn’t for YouTube. He would still be on the streets of Stratford busking for coins. His situation shows how influential social media can be for an artist. I have compiled a list of must-have social media tools for bands or artists looking to promote their music. Check it out:

Facebook Fan Page

If you’re a band and don’t have one, get it NOW! Well, not right this instant; please do so when you’re done reading my blog. With over 500 million people actively using Facebook, a Fan Page is almost becoming essential for artists.

RootMusic's BandPages 

If you already have a Fan Page, make sure you add this application.  It's a great tool that makes sharing and promoting your music on Facebook easy for your fans. 

YouTube

I love watching live performances, interviews or even vlogs by artists.  It is a great way to connect with fans and give them insight into what you or your band is all about. Also, never underestimate the power of YouTube. Ever heard of a girl named Rebecca Black? Yeah, enough said.

Twitter

I have recently become obsessed with Twitter. It is a great way for bands to interact with fans. An occasional unique message or reply to a question generally increases your follower count and ultimately will amplify your reach.

Tweet For a Track

I saw this the other day and I think this is an AWESOME tool. Artists upload a track, tweet a link to their followers and encourage them to help spread the word. Twitter users that retweet the link and are then emailed the track. Genius.

These are just a few applications that can help artists and bands promote their music online. But remember it’s about quality not quantity. Focus on certain applications and make sure you stay active on them. With that being said, I would love to know what other online tools you think are great for promoting artists or bands?

Did you watch the Junos?

Last night I was at the Juno Awards attending as a seat-filler and I was fortunate enough to get the same seat for the whole night (I guess someone decided to not show up, lucky me!).  I was sitting beside Jim Creegan from the Barenaked Ladies and ironically enough his wife was wearing a green dress (yes I almost asked if it was a “real green dress”).  I really enjoyed the show and here are some highlights:

Drake “Old Money”

First I would like to say that my boy Drizzy looked fabulous last night.  Classic black suit accompanied with facial scruff was a very attractive combination I must say.  But if you didn’t get a chance to see his “Old Money” skit then you have to watch it above. Comedy works with Drake and it is a good laugh.

Neil Young: A heart of gold

Sitting in the same building let alone only a few feet away from Neil Young was my main highlight of the night. His music, words and spirit are the representation of a true legend.  One quote from his acceptance speech for the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award stuck out to me:

"And the musicians, they should not worry about helping others, they should focus on their music first, because the music is the language of love and the language that we all feel together.

"So music makes it happen, and then if you're lucky and you have an opportunity, it's a good thing to do, to go ahead and try to do something yourself."

Other memorable moments of the night:

-  Shania Twain acknowledging the fine “bush” we have here in Canada

-  Arcade Fire putting on another fantastic performance

-  The super-group of stars (Sarah Harmer, Jim Cuddy, Sarah Slean, City and Colour, The Sadies, Greg Keeler, Derek Miller, Justin Rutledge, Serena Ryder and Kevin Hearn) paying homage to Toronto's rich musical heritage covering songs by Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young and The Band.

The show was very entertaining and overall I thought Drake was a fantastic host. What do you guys think? Let me know!

Oh my god! This is totally my song

Do you ever go to a bar and a song comes on that instantly triggers you to scream out in excitement: "This is totally my song"? Usually this is immediately followed by you singing every word or migrating towards the dance floor.  I have had this happen to me quite a few times and it has gotten me thinking, what is the soundtrack to my life?  Here are some songs I have come up with:

MY THEME SONG

I first heard this song when I lived in Australia, and I was immediately hooked on it. The beat would always get me dancing no matter where I was.  If you haven't heard of Dizzee Rascal you need to check him out.  He is a hip hop artist from the UK and has won statues at:
- Brit Awards
- BET Awards 
- Urban Music Awards
His album Tongue N’ Cheek, was a huge success overseas and is a favourite of mine.

MY PARTY SONG

No matter where I am at a bar I will rush to the dance floor when I hear this song, and yes, I’m that girl rapping every word.  This is an old school jam that always takes me back to the days of Next Friday, Save the Last Dance and when Ice Cube wasn't making family movies.  

Fun Fact
Did you know that Ice Cube created his own social media site back in 2008 called UVNTV?  It's the same sort of idea as YouTube, but the site unfortunately didn't survive. It is nice to know that even gangsta rappers are contributing to Web 2.0. 

MY LOVE SONG

I’m not a hopeless romantic but this song always makes me feel warm and mushy inside.  Neil Young is one of my favourite Canadian artists and at this year’s Juno Awards he is being acknowledged for not only his music but also his humanitarian efforts.  I absolutely love this song; make sure you take a listen.

Hopefully I introduced you guys to some new music or reintroduced to some solid tunes you might have forgotten. I would love to know: what is your theme song? or what songs would be on your soundtrack?

And the Grammy goes to....

The 53^rd Grammy Awards were on last weekend. Did you watch them? Here are my thoughts on the show:

Eggtastic!

Some people thought Lady Gaga’s “outfit” choice to the Grammys was gimmicky or just plain weird.  Yes, it’s a tad odd to be carried down the red carpet in an egg, by people who look like aliens, in nude lycra outfits – but, what do you expect? That’s her thing! She started out in the industry shocking people, and she’ll continue doing it.  It’s her art.  She had to step up the shock value for this event.  I mean, how can you beat a meat dress?

My favourite performances of the night were:

-          Mick Jagger and his spastic dance moves

-          Dr. Dre 45 and he’s still got it!

-          Mumford and Sons / The Avett Brothers / Bob Dylan – Fabulous folk combination

-          “Jimmy Brooks” and Rihanna

Who were your favourite performances?

Hey America this is what good music sounds like.

The award for Album of the Year, went to Montreal‘s Arcade Fire for their record The Suburbs. I haven’t heard every song off the album, but what I have listened to I really enjoyed. They beat out Eminem, Katy Perry, Lady Antebellum and Lady Gaga, for the coveted statue.  Well, some Americans were not pleased by this decision.  Someone started a website posting angry tweets from numerous Twitter users and there is even a Twitter account called “Who is Arcade Fire?” with this display picture:  

I feel I need to clarify some things. Firstly, the Grammys are not given out to artists based on sales they are selected by the Recording Academy based on talent. Secondly, Arcade Fire has been nominated five other times for a Grammy.  I think Arcade Fire deserved their Grammy win and Americans should take this opportunity to get to know some new music.  Do you think Arcade Fire should have won Album of the Year?