blog post Live on CBC Radio 3 w/ Grant Lawrence: Top 5 Must See Live Gigs w/ Woodpigeon

What the....

did he say "doody"? I thought it was "doobie"

just like he did at the Tegan and Sara show. "Excuse me ghoully gals.." Priceless

Have you not seen the pictures highlighting the similarities between the olympic torch and a joint?

DAMNIT.  There is something wrong with me.  I just looked up a picture of the doobie torch and laughed until I cried.  (It was the first time I've seen it.)  That's fine, except I'm at work.

My taste in music changed drastically when I was 21, which was around the time I became a slave to small venue shows. A year later I became a slave to R3, and still am.

Who Taught You To Live Like That, be sure this is on your wedding playlist!  I have the best memories of it at my son's.

i'm a really big proponent of not getting too old for anything ever.  I really hate it when people say, oh I'm too old for that, or I don't do that anymore.  Why does age have to be a barrier?  If you love doing it then why stop.  I hope to be going to live shows for a long time, at all venues.  Fortunately I'm only 22 so I have lots of time.

I wouldn't mind lighting a doobie with the doobie torch. Maybe that's more of a BC thing to do? boders you may need to investigate.

As for shows: When i was in high school I used to be all over the all age, hardcore, matinee shows that punk bands would put on.  I figured that was the best music ever.

Then I turned 19 and started to bum around the bars and kind of got hooked on Amigos.  That's still probably my #1 spot to catch a rock band or just really party.

Now that I'm MUCH (or a few years) older, I hate standing all night.  If it's a quieter band I need to sit down.  I reallllllly like theatre shows.  There's no BS, it sounds good, and it's all about the music.

So basically, since I have no kids or life, I'm pretty flexible when it comes to venues.  I just hate stadium shows.  Not quite the bang for your buck when it's all said and done though there are some exceptions I'm sure.

Ski tracks in snow.  No, really.

I'm really digging this set.  Keep up the good work!

It is getting impossible for me to get mine to go out on a weeknight anymore.

I keep on telling them one day they will be blankty years old like me, and then they won't be so lame.

Ness Creek is located in the beautiful boreal forest just outside the southeast edge of Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan, near the town of Big River.  It is a Saskatchewan roots festival that started like 20 yers ago... but we get some amazing acts last year we had the likes of Carolyn Mark and Tom Fun Orchestra.  There's stuff happening 24 hours a day and it's the best, cleanest crowd ever... even the bears are tidy.  We're all about sustainability and community (I love the community kitchen).  It's the best 75 bucks you'll ever spend for 4 days of entertainment and camping.

You are totally right about getting hooked on Amigos. I'm going down there (Amigos) at the end of the month.

oh wow, so good, and so weird, to hear the original version of this song, rather than The Be Good Tanyas version.

thanks for playing it.

Yes, it absolutely does change as you get older.

Krib and I commiserated in the last week in the blogs about this very fact. When you have kids immediately your time becomes incredibly more precious.

First because you find any excuse to be home with your child you adore — nothing is more important than just sitting watching them in amazement. Parents know exactly what I am talking about.

Second because when you move into the stage where you realize you need to retain a bit of your own personal hobbies/life back, it is pretty expensive to go out when you add a sitter into the mix. Not to mention you also need to plan this weeks even months in advance.

So about the only thing that happens spur of the moment and cheaply after having kids is when you have to skip out of a planned night out cause the sitter isn't available or your little one is sick.

But, before you go thinking it's all doom and gloom, it is not.

Having a kid means you are a lot more careful about the shows you do go to. I went to tons of shows in my 20's because I could. They weren't all gangbusters let me tell you! My daughter has really cause me to think the shows I want to see.

When I go to shows now, it is because I REALLY want to and can justify the sitter cost and ensuing arrangement required. 

But you had better have a spouse that either shares the same tastes in and love for music or one that understands just how important it is in your life. I am lucky, as my wife is both.

And here's something to think about, if you're going to frown upon the idea of having a kid: My daughter turns 3 on the 27th – I have been to more shows in the last 3 years, than I have in the 5 years prior to that. And they've all been worth it and then some.

Hey Grant, didn't you do my beloved Helmet's first Vancouver show?

such cheesy goodness

Me too: Saved by Grant, David Wisdom, and R3! Listened to Brave New Waves with Brent Bambury as a teenager. BUt then... Very little live or bought music from age 27-35. Now it's R3 all the time. I'm spending $500/year on Canadian indie music. My kids (10, 7, 4) know a hundred songs by the likes of THT, Weakerthans, Metric, Royal Wood, Hey Rosetta!, Starts, K'Naan, Grand Analog, Library Voices, Most Serene Republic, Sarah Harmer, etc, etc, etc. .

I'm going to shows again, but only when there's occasional free babysitting from family! And festivals with the kids. 

Small children keep you home... but only for a few years. Then suddenly they get old enough to stay home alone. YAAY! And they want you to go out. To which I oblige when possible.

So I guess I'm old. But I still don't like theatre show that much, cuz it means you have to sit and not dance. Dancing is one of the main points of live music, isn't it?  Festivals are awesome, the whole family enjoys them. Though when the festival is enormous, it can be overwhelming. Solution: sharpie the necessary cell numbers to your kids in case they get lost. And teach them to love dancing.

How big was the rider?

Danko's great. he apologizes for nothing and for that I commend him. Not really my kind of tunage, but hey. I'll never develop a taste for Ceaser's (Caesar's?) though. Blegh. I vote for 'Doobie Torch' for the next Canadian Dictionary. We spotted that when it went through town and laughed and laughed the way parents do when they want it to go over their kids' heads.

As for shows, I used to go to anything and everything if I could afford it and had a night off work or college. Now, as a parent and as tb3 mentioned, making it count is key. So I'm way pickier, and CBC R3 is THE way to find out who to see next for me. Well, that, and MySpace. Whenever I open up the NOW Magazine in Toronto I see a whack of names I've never heard of...and as far as taste goes, no more metal shows or hardcore/punk (I'll probably get beat up for looking like a Dad). I still love listening to 'em, though. Shows I do go to tend to have more roll in the rawk these days.

Oh, and the outdoor festival scene is AMAZING for kids if you pick the right ones. Hillside Fest in Guelph is awesome...

Hey grant,

The stuff on the rim of a Ceasar is Celery Salt.  

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION 2010:

No more shows on work weekdays.  Not as much fun.

...unless it's Wolf Parade.

...or Bright Eyes.

Fresh ginger is spicy

triyng to think of the shows i saw after i would go home to Port Colborne during the summer... I distinctly recall driving the two hour trip to Toronto to see Death From Above 1979 for the first and only time.

summer in Vancouver, I went to the Sasquatch festival and had a blasty blast..you know...the soaked cow poop fields, having Hail pound down in the middle of the show, bladder infection, overpriced food-booze... it was AMAZING (being serious now). I even got adam brody's drumstick.

^^^^that was all my concert money for the summer spent in one place.

Speaking of which, I will never go to Pemberton again if it even manages to fix the 1000 problems it had.

so those were my lies.

Club shows are rare because of the kids and such but not necessarily.

I am going to the MERA Schoolhouse in Macdonald's Corners to see Jenny Whiteley and Luther Wright this weekend. It is a birthday party of sorts. The kids can come and dance and whatever.

More stuff like this and less clubs.

Giant joint torch. Ha!

I'll make sure to keep tabs on the torch for ya. I know a couple people who were torchbearers...maybe a safety meeting will be in order

Being Single Helps?  And not having kids too I think.  I still go out too much but I'm cutting it back 'cause you add up parking and gas and cover and drinks and eating at a restaurant before or after the show and pretty much all your money goes to it.

I'm still sporting the Vans Grant but I think that has prevented me from attending some shows at the Hotel Cafe because it's always standing room only.  But Room 5, where I missed Jill in July, has seats and excellent Italian food so I go there for every show I can.  Sometimes I just go to see my bartender pals and catch whoever is playing.  That's how I ended up seeing Canadians Justine Bennett from B.C. by way of San Francisco and Tara Holloway from Ottawa who has a killer sort of contemporary Janis Joplin thing going on.

DFA! that makes me feel better :)   

(that night is on my list of favourite concerts ever)

and healthy, so i don't think there's any ink poisoning liability.

rural living + toddler = me not going to a live show for 3 years!  Thanks to Radio 3, I'm able to marginally keep up on what's happening in music, but for me, the true test of whether I can really like or respect a band is if they can pull it off live.  Now that the little tyke is up for it, I'm ready to hit the festivals this summer (love the Sharpie suggestion!) 

Any chance you'll do a show on the top family-friendly music festivals of the summer?

for the mellotron! I think that's 3 or 4 references to it in the past little while. Where did I first learn of the mellotron? Same place most of music education started from, The Smashing Pumpkins...oh billly...

I think I'm going to miss this show tomorrow night :(...damn people getting engaged and wanting to celebrate..who do they think they are anyways!

Love the picture - I grew up in Kimberley.  What brought you to the East Kootenays?

Ferriswheel (Matt Charbonneau of Torngat and Luyas, Simon Trottier of Timber Timbre + more) playing with Musk Ox @ Raw Sugar Cafe in Ottawa.

The amazing and uprising Leif Vollebekk tomorrow at Raw Sugar Cafe.

i wanted to hear Hawksley live over at the peak...they just talked to him and then cut to Marcy's Playground - Sex & Candy...why is that song on the radio still? I didn't know people played it NOT as a joke...

I'm so privledged over here to not have to sit through commercials and out of date awfulness.

Grant, how can you fib when your birth year is on wikipedia!?! ;)

You've only got 1 year on me.  I won't tell.

i've cracked the 30's and am still going to shows. sit down/stand up/theatre/festival/all ages, i don't really have a preference. it depends on the music. i can still be found up front, camera in hand. properly ear-plugged, of course. (FYI: the all ages scene is a LOT more respectable than most bar crowds!!)

i don't think my taste in music has changed, so much as it's grown. i still go to the crazy punk-style shows like i did when i was a teen, but like to think my show attending preferences now include a pretty wide range.

as for shows i'm attending this weekend, i'm going to the smothered in hugs/boxer the horse show at hunter's tonight. i have no idea what i'm doing tomorrow night yet!

Hey hey!

I was raised in the West koots (Fruitvale in the Beaver Valley - true story) and my Dad was from Kimberley. Gran still lives there, so we go at least once a year. Wonderful area to be in as a kid/teen/adult who likes to snowboard or ski, hike, bike, get chased by bears and deer hey? (yes, you will get chased by deer in Kimberley, BC, folks - FYI).

Gotta split outta work, great show as always Grant! Hats off, Twisted Maple.

To answer the blog question, my taste in music has changed in the past 5 years, especially with the introduction of R3 into my life. I've gone to lots of shows, since my mom started taking me to country concerts at least once a year since I was 5, but as a teenager my music tastes expanded I found arena shows were too expensive to see more of. Now that I've started going to more indie shows I've come to detest the arena show. The sound is horrible (I've yet to be to one at the MTS Centre where the vocals aren't drowned out), there is no leg room (keep in mind I'm only 5 feet), and there's no intimacy.

Then R3 came into my life and I started going to so many shows I've lost count for a more than decent price, the sound is great, smaller venues make it more intimate, and you can always strike up a conversation with the person next to you over the band. My favourite place by far to see live shows is Lo Pub, although the Pyramid is pretty good too.

I've had some time to think about today's question, as my wife, Linda, and I had a late breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen.  But what is important in that, is for the first time, she heard your show, Grant, coming out of the microscopic speakers of my iPhone.  Gave her some idea of what R3 is, that besides the music is the interaction we all have that makes it "our" radio station.  Worked out well.

As for going to see shows, I must be the oddball.  (Go ahead, I put that straight line up there on a tee for you to hit it!)  Because my interest used to be in radio, and not music, when I was in my teens and twenties, I hardly ever had any interest to go see any shows.  My first live show was Neil Diamond when he came to Oregon State when I was a freshman.  Back after "Sweet Caroline" and before "Song Sung Blue" in 1970.  But even when other big acts came through, like Three Dog Night, I had no interest in seeing them.  Yet I was fascinated with radio.

Probably the first time I really was interested in the music, was in the days of New Wave at the beginning of MTV in 1981.  Was crazy for The Go-Go's, and saw them each time they passed through Denver, including opening for The Police.  (You prairie Canadians will appreciate that when I went to that show it was -24C in Denver!)  First time at McNichols sports arena, where the Denver Nuggets and the old NHL Colorado Rockies played.  Other two times I saw them was at the outdoor venue of Red Rocks Ampetheter, all sit down enviornments.   But except for going to hear music, it was like going to a big sporting event - a big crowd with the parking hassle.

I've told the story (repeatedly) of how I came to R3.  Now I find the small clubs are far more fun because of the intimacy involve.  I compare seeing Paul McCartney here in Sacramento where I basically watched him on the big screen (inasmuch as our $100 seats were in the very top row of Arco Arena) and he was just a distant figure on the stage.  Just like Neil Diamond decades before.  Great to hear them live, but no intimacy.

And now, as I'm in my (sigh) upper 50s, I want to be right up there.  Whether at The Biltmore Caberet in Vancouver or Cafe du Nord in San Francisco, I want to be up as close as I can without being right at the edge of the stage, and I'm usually off on the side.  Being tall, I can be back aways but I want to watch the performers perform as much as hear their music. 

As much as I envy those of you in Vancouver, Toronto and Charlottetown for the many shows that seem to happen daily, I don't know if I could physically endure it very long.  Acts come through northern California, primarily San Francisco regularly, but usually I have time to plan and prepare for the entire event - including the long drive - and if its a work night, plan to take off the following morning. But still, I'd much rather go to a small venue where I had to stand instead of a big on with just seating.  Come to think of it, the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver has about the perfect arrangement where you can sit or stand, and still be close enough.  Yeah!  That's the ticket!

Seems like I'm regressing in age.  Eh, could be worse, I suppose.

Lee Hower - Sacramento, California

this tune reminds me..the second part of Grant's top 20 of the 2000's should be out today...and if my brain remembered back 5 mins ago to something i did on facebook I would realize that yes, yes it is!

Sounds awesome, thanks for the tip! Will you take me there?

At least you get a nice, relaxing late breakfast with the wife out your Friday's at home..

perhaps!! re Banff! Keep me posted on any details if that's happening!

I haven't seen the list, and assuming you haven't either, what's your personal prediction for top 5 songs?

5. Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a 17...

4. Joel Plaskett - True Patriot Love

3. Constantines - Nighttime/Anytime (full disclosure: my #6 pick would probably be the Cons' soon enough)

2. Feist - 1,2,3,4

1. Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)

I'm basing these on: popularity, influence, and awesomeness

Yup, Furlough Friday for state employees.  Kinda miss that money, however.

And krib, I still have all of my teeth and and still have full control.  Thanks for asking.

Now I wish I had a show to go see.  Right now, nothing on the calendar.  Anyone know of any acts coming south?

Lee

Hey Kids,

I like watching a band from the side of the stage. Saw The Dodos at The Biltmore like this in November.

When I would get "carded" at the door in Saskatoon I would hang out at the stage door listening to the band. Thanks to Amigos for having there stage door right next to the stage.

I love watching bands go for it in small venues. Ya the sound is questionable and the drummer is too loud and the you can't hear the keyboard player's vocals and lead singer's guitar is way too loud and that's what makes it awesome.

Lately, small venues like house shows or galleries etc... have been the cat's meow.

I wish I would have seen Vic Chestnutt's last tour. bugger.

Marek

In my defense, I am a belligerent drunk.

...I've always been an old lady when it comes to live music!  I'm planning on blowing the money I have to see shows for the next few months on rush tickets to Der Rosenkavalier or Tosca or Aida or Carmen (I can't decide!) at the MET and Madama Butterfly at the City Opera.  Last year I spent my budget on the City Opera's Don Giovanni (sexiest. opera. ever.) and the MET's Il Barbiere di Sivigla and Doctor Atomic.  The only shows I saw at clubs were Peelander-Z and Qunintron & Miss Pussycat (because who doesn't love a mad scientist with a drumbuddy?).

21 and choosing opera over rock shows.  Should I be ashamed of myself?  Maybe I'm going backwards and will see less tame live music once I'm a senior citizen...

"...join me, Luke, and learn the power of the Dark Side!"

is fantastic. The little hairs on my neck stand up when Neko's belting out "where has all sensation go-o-o-ne?" at the end

wolf parade - good; mother mother - good; wolf - mother - crap.  Just occured to me.

#12? But the hit single on the best Canadian album of the decade? :p I guess Grant is the resident Prime Minister when it comes to indie-Canadian music so I can't argue too much.

And I already missed out on Lovely Allen, that might replace Broken Social Scene.  Great band, not that great for singles (which isn't a bad thing at all. )

Anywho, Banff: I have no plans as of yet.  But if something cool rolls through, who wouldn't want to be there? I'm sure theres some sort of festival going on.  I'm still inclined to do the BSS/Pavement/Band of Horses show.  Three bands I've never seen that I totally love, and as a random fact I own a record by each one of them.  How that came together? I'm not sure.  If they added the Arcade Fire it'd pretty much round off my "bands to see live" list.

I dunno man, I'm a big fan of both Wolf bands.  Mother Mother? meh

wow. sad. It pains me how true "But do not dare mention the word "tax increase".  Ever." this is...

This was an interesting piece I ran across yesterday re: peoples perception of taxes. Need some good old fashioned chicanery down south..