Geddy Lee

Since this blog seems to have an obsession with Rush, I thought it only appropriate to talk about my Geddy Lee sighting. One caveat - I have actually seen Rush live, and only because they performed at SarsFest in the summer of '04. They are actually a decent band, but not one that I would go out and buy or listen to were they not played on the radio. Yes, they had one classic, IMHO, "The Spirit of Radio", brilliantly covered by the Catherine Wheel (who seem to do a lot of great cover songs - "Wish you were here" for example). Anyway, I digress here. This posting is supposed to be about my Geddy Lee sighting. Well, I was walking to the gym one evening last week, and who did I happen upon, but the man himself. He was walking with his daughter into school (it must have been an open house evening or parent/teacher night). He is hard to miss. The hair. The glasses. The skinny legs. The walk. Anyway, it was not my first sighting of Mr Lee. The last time I saw him was in 1996 at the Cumberland Cinema at a screening of Big Night! Are our paths destined to continually cross? Who knows.....stay tuned for more Geddy sightings.

Snow Patrol

Well, I heard the whole Snow Patrol album last night (after having been bombarded nonstop with the awful awful awful Chasing Cars for the last weeks) , and there wasn't much to write home about. After the Final Straw album from 2004 (which wasn't all that wonderful!) , Snow Patrol well and truly have ruined it for themselves. As the Obeserver Music Monthly puts it in their review,

"Big, bold, cleverly-executed, thoroughly hollow stuff."

And that sums it up. Sure, there are a few hints of greatness such as the duet with Martha Wainwright, or "You are all that I have" but that's it, which is pretty much what the reviewer from Now Magazine says. Quit with the jangly guitars already!

Dave Day

The cult of Dave Day. Never did I know that such a day existed, but I am glad it does. Everyone should celebrate the continued existence of Dave Gahan (and be thankful that he did not meet his maker during those couple of occasions when he OD'd in the 1990's). Imagine being in Moscow in May 1992 and watching newly freed Moscovites sing along to Depeche Mode songs. Wow! Who knew that DM had made its way into communist Russia - illegal taping is the answer. Its like current illegal downloaders. Put an obscure/unavailable artist onto the internet and watch their popularity grow.

I admit it, I am a huge DM fan. I have seen them live on 6 separate occasions. I once even had front row seats, and was rewarded with a hand tap from the man himself! Heaven for a 20 year old DM fan (who continues to be even at this age). I have stayed with them through their musical changes, through band departures, Dave's drug addictions, and solo ventures. Their most recent album Playing the Angel is one of the best of their career, in my personal opinion. Will DM be the Gen X Rolling Stones. Quite possibly. No matter how good or bad their albums may be, they always sell out shows. They play worldwide to audiences from Eastern Europe to Asia to North and South America. As long as they keep touring, I will continue to see them live!

Movies and music

Well, I am fully recovered from TIFF now. It was a busy September - movies, birthday, trips! Ahhh...well, we are now into the throngs of autumn now. It's a cool and rainy day in Toronto, and I'm listening to my ipod - Refugees by the Tears. Glad that Brett and Richard patched up their differences. Let's hope for another album.

I'm disappointed that the Scissor Sisters show didn't happen last night. I hope to see them when the show is rescheduled. I don't mind the new album, but no one song stands out like Comfortably Numb (from the first album) did. Oh well. You can't expect lightning to strike twice, can you?

Instead of seeing a concert I began to watch the movie Kind Hearts and Coronets . An excellent black comedy featuring Alec Guiness (Obi-Wan) performing eight different roles! I have a few of his older Ealing comedies coming in the next few weeks. I can't believe how much I am enjoying this film. In the role of Louis Mazzini, Dennis Price plays a scheming cousin who has been disinherited from the D'ascoyne riches because his mother ran off with an opera singer (a man of lower standing) and was disowned by her family. Well, Louis decides that he deserves a chance to become Duke of the manor and takes matters into his own hands (by any means possible). This involves doing away with each of the 8 remaining members of the D'ascoyne clan (Alec Guiness).