5000 Watts pics

Video coming soon!

Best show in a while

Over the weekend I went and saw Damian Marley here in Vancouver. Damn. I enjoyed that show like crazy. Easily the best show I have seen in a long time. If you get the chance to check it out, do it. I have been listening to a lot of reggae and dub lately, so this was the right show at the right time. I will go as far as saying it is in my top 5 shows of all time.

So what are my top five? In no particular order...

Fugazi, Winnipeg, 1991ish
Ice Cube, Minneapolis, 1991ish
Medeski Martin & Wood, Winnipeg, 1995ish?
Damian Marley, Vancouver, 2005

OK so its a top four then. Other honorable mentions:

Jawbox, Winnipeg, 1993ish?
Beastie Boys, Minneapolis, 1993ish?
Super DJ Dimitri, Whistler, BC, 1992
Rheostatics, Toronto, 1995
All, Winnipeg, early 1990's
Mercury Rev, Minneapolis, early 1990's
Rage Aginst The Machine, Minneapolis, early 1990's
Lush, Minneapolis, early 1990's
The Roots, San Francisco, 2000

Good rap shows in a small club:
Third Sight, San Francisco
Atmosphere, Vancouver

Good but not that good:
Tribe Called Quest
Run DMC
Dinosaur Jr

Tyler will probably correct me on alot of this, including shows I liked that I have forgotten about. Word.

So how was tour?

Tour was good. Pretty straightforward. I like being on the road but I really like being home. What can I tell you? Maybe its all the responsibility of road managing a tour that I booked myself and taking care of everybody. I dunno, but it is a relief to be home.

I started by leaving monday morning for a show in Regina on tuesday night. I made it as far as Medicine Hat that night. It rained the WHOLE time, from Vancouver to Medicine Hat. That was a bummer because the day before, my 5000 Watts video shoot was cancelled because of rain. Eff the rain.

We played Regina, Jasper, Victoria, Kelowna, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Saskatoon.

- Regina was fun. Good vibe. No one was stabbed. Def3 opened, he is dope.
- Jasper was pretty good, wierd vibe in the room though. Hunnicutt took out suckers at Big Buck Hunter.
- Victoria was really good. Several old friends from Brandon were there, including Jason Bell, who (to my knowledge) coined the term "Peanuts & Corn"
- Kelowna was probably the best stop on the tour. Such a hype crowd. Sound was a little suspect but the vibe was great and the promoter took real good care of us.
- Vancouver was Vancouver.
- Calgary was good although a little under attended. Sound in the club is good and the vibe is always good in Calgary.
- Edmonton was chaotic, again. The day of the show we get a call that the venue is closed for renovations, and that we are playing in a pool hall. This is the second time I have played Edmonton and the venue had changed on the day of the show. Very frustrating. Thanks to those who kris-krossed town to see us. In the end we played to a handful of people but kept it loose and probably were the most entertaining...
- Red Deer was going great. Although it is a small venue (cafe) we had a vibe going. The promoter (Felipe) had his neice out (she is maybe 10 or so?) , and she knows all the words to "Nothing Is Cool", so Pip gave her his mic and she backed me up. The place went nuts and things were going really well. The very next song, a fight breaks out in the back of the venue and three quarters of the people spill out into the street. What a mess.
- Saskatoon could have been great but the sound was very frustrating. I had a run-in with the soundman, trying to fix things, but to no avail. When he slipped away to go to the bathroom, I hopped up to try to improve the situation.

My car smells like fart. No more new car smell!

Now I'm back and switching gears. I worked on Josh Martinez's video yesterday, and am directing the 5000 Watts this weekend. I am working on several other video treatments too. Its pretty fun to be working on that aspect of things, it has really recharged my creative side and helped me focus.

What else?
- Arrested Development is the best. New shows aren't making me laugh as much though, but maybe when I watch them again? But I broke my no-DVD policy for seasons 1 and 2.
- Lakers 3-1? Kobe looking good but they are average at best...
- As a Buccaneers fan I was excited about their start but it looks like they have crashed back down to earth. Where is the Cadillac Willams of the first three games?
- I got Grand Theft Auto for my PSP. What a fun game. I would love to visit Liberty City for real somtime, feels like I have lived there.
- I got the new star wars DVD. Why? cause im a sucker. I figured since I have the other 5, it was wrong not to.
- I hate the amazing race this year. Who cares about seeing the US? Not me.
- I haven't seen any new movies in a while, whats good? Going to see the 50 cent movie?

I am working on getting new Park-Like Setting shirts. Check them out.