My Life in Concert.com

(EP 33, no.026) UB40: So Here I Am, Centennial Hall, London, Ontario, March 7, 1984 & Alumni Hall, UWO, London, Ontario, March 14, 1985 with Phil Robinson & Skye Sylvain

Birmingham UK’s reggae outfit UB40 made two trips to London, Ontario, in the mid-80s, playing to a packed and joyous Centennial Hall on March 7, 1984, and then returning a year later almost to the week, to pack out Alumni Hall on the Western University campus on March 14, 1985.  The first show came on the heels of their international breakthrough with the “Red Red Wine” single and its accompanying covers album, Labour of Love, while they were riding high in the local charts with their Geffe...

(EP 32, no.015.5) The Stray Cats: Rock This Town, Alumni Hall, UWO, London, Ontario, Canada, Saturday March 26, 1983 and Dr. Rockits, Wednesday, October 5, 1988 (also London) with Phil, Noelle, and Marc

The Stray Cats arrived to rock London, Ontario in 1983 at the peak of their fame. With this episode, I’ve once again jumped backwards in my story, just not as far back as that cabaret show I saw with my parents in the UK in 1977 that was the focus on EP 31, Mum’s the Word. This time, I jump back to March 26, 1983, when the Stray Cats rocked Alumni Hall here in London, Ontario. Technically this should have been Concert no. 16, falling between no.15/EP 21 on The Gang of Four at Wonderland G...

(EP 31, no.1.5) Mum’s the Word!—In Town Tonight—In the City—UK ’77: My Mother’s Life in Music + a Portsmouth Cabaret with Susan Maughan, Tessie O’Shea, Pam Ayers, & more + Our UK Trip Amid Punk Rock Mania, August 1977

With this episode, the series jumps back in time to a Cabaret show I saw in Portsmouth, UK, in August 1977 with my parents when I was 14.  The cabaret took place between my first (Roxy Music at the London Arena, February 8, 1975) and second (Bob Seger at the London Gardens on May 19, 1978) official concerts.  My initial plan was to include it as part of an upcoming compilation episode.  However, I’ve decided that this cabaret was a unique live performance along with being the only one I e...

(EP30, nos.23&24) The Circle Jerks/Psychic TV, The Reggae Lounge, Wednesday, November 16/Danceteria, Thursday November 17, both in New York City, USA, 1983: Back Against the Wall with Discopravity

My final 1983 gig-going-entry recaps a couple of shows I took in during a crazy/nuts four-day trip to NYC.    While I will be discussing the performances by hardcore titans The Circle Jerks and post-Throbbing Gristle offshoot Psychic TV, I’ll also be looking at the madcap trip to Manhattan as a whole, recounting the hijinks that MZ, Miss B, myself, and others got up to.    If you’ve heard or read EP 25 on the Flipper show at Fryfogle’s, then you’ll have somewhat of an idea of what to expec...

(EP 29b, no.22b) David Bowie with Rough Trade: Let’s Dance, CNE Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Saturday September 3, 1983

This is the big one! THE ultimate! The single most anticipated show I ever attended, when I—along with my co-hort Miss B—and 60,000 other fans, all of whom who were going Absolutely Freakin’ Bananas, moseyed on down to a packed CNE Exhibition Stadium during a sweltering Labour Day weekend in 1983, for David Bowie.  He was on his global Serious Moonlight tour for his worldwide smash hit album, Let’s Dance, with the great Rough Trade opening the show and warming up the troops.  On the exact ...

(EP 29a, no.22a) Changes: Bowie, The ‘70s, and Me (A Prelude to EP29B, Let’s Dance: Bowie @ the CNE in ’83)

David Bowie’s Labour Day Weekend concert in 1983 at Toronto’s CNE Stadium remains the most anticipated and exciting show I’ve ever attended. He was on his global Serious Moonlight tour for his worldwide smash hit album, Let’s Dance, with the great Rough Trade opening the show and warming up the troops.  I discuss the show itself in Part 2—(EP 29b, no.22b) Let’s Dance: David Bowie with Rough Trade, CNE Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Saturday September 3, 1983.  First, however, in this pr...

(EP28, no.21) Marianne Faithfull: Dangerous Acquaintances, Fryfogle’s, London, Ontario, Canada, August 15, 1983

Ten days after the final Police Picnic in Toronto at the massive CNE Exhibition Stadium, I took in a more intimate, but hotly anticipated, show by the legendary Marianne Faithfull. The by-then gravel-voiced ‘60s pop icon and former Jagger paramour was in the final throes of a triumphant, early ‘80s comeback.   She was undertaking her first-ever tour of Canada, where her records had performed very well, conveniently beginning her tour at my local watering hole here in the Forest City.   The...

(EP 27, no.19) Police Picnic ’83 featuring The Police, Peter Tosh, James Brown, King Sunny Adé, Blue Peter, and The Fixx: Walking on the Moon CNE Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Friday August 5, 1983

It’s the third and final Police Picnic on August 5, 1983, once again at CNE stadium as well as the 4th and final consecutive summer of attending a huge, open air festival.   This time around the fest featured James Brown, Peter Tosh, King Sunny Adé, Blue Peter, and The Fixx along with the titular hosts.  While the first fest ran overlong but otherwise smoothly, the 1982 edition was the worst concert experience of my lifetime, even if the music was good.  As was also the case with 1982, th...

(EP 26, no.18) John Cale: I Keep A Close Watch, Fryfogle’s, London, Ontario, Canada, Monday June 13, 1983

The Velvet Underground’s John Cale comes to Fryfogle’s and plays an intense, riveting solo set in June 1983.   It was particularly extraordinary for me that I finally got to see him at this point in time, not only because I was way deep in Velvets-mania in the early 80s — with all the original Velvets albums finally being widely and easily available, arriving alongside “Edie: An American Biography” — but also because I ended up sitting cross-legged on the stage about two feet in front of Ca...

(EP 25, no.17) Flipper: Fucked Up Once Again, Fryfogle’s, London, Ontario, Canada, Monday May 30, 1983

Flipper, San Francisco’s sludge rock contrarian refuseniks, come to town one month after that  Beat/R.E.M. show from April of 1983.  An evening of debauchery and over-indulgence ensues for myself and crew of people on that night, with Flipper — both as persons and performers — interweaving with us at various points of our night (and their lining up to see Return of the Jedi, too). Tune in for missing persons, dangerous fire escapes, hostile groupies, and massed stimulant consumption.   Ne...

(EP 24, no. 16) The (English) Beat with R.E.M.: End of the Party Alumni Hall, UWO, London, Ontario, Canada, Tuesday April 12, 1983

This concert crystalizes a moment in time, representing a changing of the guards in the alternative music world, when The Beat—or The English Beat as they were called on this side of the pond—come to Alumni Hall in London, Ontario with a new, unknown American band called R.E.M. in tow as the opening act.   The show took place as The Beat were in the last throes of their career but also peaking in popularity in North America.  Meanwhile, R.E.M. released their classic debut LP, “Murmur,” duri...

(EP 24, no. 16) The (English) Beat with R.E.M.: End of the Party, Alumni Hall, UWO, London, Ontario, Canada, Tuesday April 12, 1983

This concert crystalizes a moment in time, representing a changing of the guards in the alternative music world, when The Beat—or The English Beat as they were called on this side of the pond—come to Alumni Hall in London, Ontario with a new, unknown American band called R.E.M. in tow as the opening act.   The show took place as The Beat were in the last throes of their career but also peaking in popularity in North America.  Meanwhile, R.E.M. released their classic debut LP, “Murmur,” duri...

(EP 23, no. 51) Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos: Connection, Fox Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA, Thursday December 8, 1988

Welcome to my first anniversary episode, celebrating the second anniversary of the mylifeinconcert.com podcast (I didn’t do one the first year so I’ll be doing two this year to make up for that).  For these anniversary EPs, I will be jumping into the future of my series and selecting gigs from throughout my concert=going years that are personally significant for me or that I really want to highlight or talk about.  And this first anniversary podcast jumps into 1988 and a gig wherein I had ...

(EP 23, no. 51) Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos: Connection, Fox Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA, Thursday December 8, 1988

Welcome to my first anniversary episode, celebrating the second anniversary of the mylifeinconcert.com podcast (I didn’t do one the first year so I’ll be doing two this year to make up for that).  For these anniversary EPs, I will be jumping into the future of my series and selecting gigs from throughout my concert=going years that are personally significant for me or that I really want to highlight or talk about.  And this first anniversary podcast jumps into 1988 and a gig wherein I had ...

(EP 22, no. 205) Caribou: Suddenly, London Music Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Saturday November 20, 2021

In February 2020, Caribou returned with his first new album after an absence of six years.  It was released to universal critical acclaim and commercial success, and an extensive world tour was planned.  And then …. Suddenly …. Everything was off, as the Covid pandemic shut down the planet, including live music.  2020 turned out to be the first year since 1976 wherein I did not see a single live music performance.  A seriously depressing proposition for an admitted live-music addict.  It a...

(EP 21, no. 15) The Gang of Four with The Hoi Polloi: I Found That Essence Rare, Wonderland Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada, Saturday March 5, 1983

Leeds’ furious and funky post-punk innovators The Gang of Four make an indelible, unforgettable visit to London, Ontario’s Wonderland Gardens, four months after the chaotic Iggy Pop gig at the same venue.  Euphoria ensues.  I had been listening to the band incessantly during that 1980-83 corridor and was thrilled they were coming.   This March 1983 concert was not only my first ticketed gig of a musically busy year, it also marks the start of a new and welcome chapter in my life as well. ...

(EP 20, no. 14) Iggy Pop with Nash the Slash: Gimme Danger, Wonderland Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada, Wednesday October 27, 1982

Three weeks after the Joe Jackson concert, Iggy Pop comes to town with Toronto’s bandaged electronic mummy, Nash the Slash, in tow.  I first and finally got to see Iggy the previous year when he gave a spirited performance at Police Picnic ’81, a festival I covered in EP 15: The Boiler.  So how did this second appearance, this time at the historic Wonderland Gardens, stack up against that first one from the previous year?  Tune in dear listeners for musical scuffles, pushed buttons, and a...

(EP 19, no. 13) Joe Jackson: Night & Day, Alumni Hall, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, Monday October 4, 1982

One month after The Clash—and from one Joe to another—I take in a second, very different five-star, three-hour show from Joe Jackson.  This marathon set is the subject of Episode 19, Night & Day.  Once again, the effervescent triumvirate of Lady B, Le Chateau et moi take in another concert together: one that far surpassed all our expectations.   And with the best view in the house.    The music was ebullient, spirited and unforgettable, even if a certain someone was intermittently beset b...

(EP 18, no.12) The Clash with Black Uhuru: Clash City Rockers, CNE Grandstand, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Sunday September 5, 1982

It was one of the best and most exciting concerts I have ever seen.  After five years of obsessing over my favourite band in the world, I finally get to see The Clash as part of a huge, passionate, and excited audience at the CNE Grandstand.  Black Uhuru also delivered a stunning and memorable opening set.  It was also one of the best double bills of my lifetime.  To say that this visit to CNE Stadium was a far better experience than the 1982 Police Picnic just three weeks earlier is an u...

(EP 17, no.11) Police Picnic ’82 with The Police, Talking Heads, The (English) Beat, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, A Flock of Seagulls, & The Spoons: What A Day That Was, CNE Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Friday August 13, 1982

It was Friday the 13th in more ways than one.  Dear Listeners and Readers: Welcome to THE WORST CONCERT EXPERIENCE OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!  One poster for the show read “…make this your lucky night.” Yeah, right.   While Police Picnic ’81 was a fairly sober and orderly experience for me and my compadres, the ’82 edition felt like a sadistic joke that wouldn’t stop.  It was a day of being trolled by the concert gods.  The Talking Heads once again completely blew me away and The Police were rad...

(EP 16, no.10) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) with Mettle: Electricity, Centennial Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Tuesday March 9, 1982

Electropop comes to London, Ontario on a freezing March evening with Liverpool’s Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, or as they are more simply known, OMD. Their set may have been egregiously delayed amid a brutal Ontario winter storm, but OMD more than made up for it, playing a blazing show to a small but dedicated audience who danced right through the whole thing.  London’s own Mettle, featuring former Demics guitarist Rob Brent, also delivered a terrific opening performance.   My spec...

(EP 16, no.10) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark with Mettle: Electricity, Centennial Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Tuesday March 9, 1982

Electropop comes to London, Ontario on a freezing March evening with Liverpool’s Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, or as they are more simply known, OMD. Their set may have been egregiously delayed amid a brutal Ontario winter storm, but OMD more than made up for it, playing a blazing show to a small but dedicated audience who danced right through the whole thing.  London’s own Mettle, featuring former Demics guitarist Rob Brent, also delivered a terrific opening performance.   My spec...

(EP 015, no.9) Police Picnic ‘81 with The Police, The Specials, Iggy Pop, Killing Joke, The Go-Go’s, Nash the Slash, John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett, The Payola$, Oingo Boingo, and the David Bendeth Band: The Boiler, The Grove, Oakville, Ontario, Canada

My next podcast jumps ahead 17 months (as I have already covered The Ramones and the Heatwave festival) to August 1981 and the first of three consecutive, annual Police-headlining festivals. It was the second of four consecutive summers where I went to a big open air festival following Heatwave in 1980, and then followed by Police Picnic '82 (concert no. 11) and Police Picnic '83 (concert no.19). It was also my sole live gig for that year. And while free of mind-altered shenanigans that...

(EP 14, no.6) The Boomtown Rats with B.B. Gabor: The Fine Art of Surfacing, London Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada, Wednesday March 19, 1980 + A Meditation on the Amorphous Nature of Memory & Why the Present Is Always in the Past

Dublin’s Boomtown Rats surfaced at the London Gardens in March of 1980: my first live show of the new decade.  They had been an obsession of mine over the previous 2.5 years since I had picked up their debut 45, the charging and furious “Lookin’ After No. 1,” on a trip to the UK in ’77.   At this point, they were three albums in, superstars in the UK, and just coming off an international smash, “I Don’t Like Mondays,” which went Top 10 here in Canada. I kicked off a boatload of ‘80s gig-g...

(EP 13, no.5) NFG’s Second Annual Halloween Bash with The Regulators and Sinners: What’s In the City, Polish Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Friday November 2, 1979

My last live show of the 1970s was an even smaller and more intimate gig than The Jam’s Toronto concert seven months earlier, featuring a trio of the city’s then most-prominent punk bands: NFG, The Regulators, and Sinners. I’ll be discussing how important our local scene—but also local music scenes in general—were and are, especially to and for marginalized people and communities. 1979 was the year I started seeing local live music in bars such as The Cedar Lounge and The York, something t...

(EP 13, no.5) NFG’s Second Annual Halloween Bash with The Regulators and Sinners: What’s In The City, Polish Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Friday November 2, 1979

My last live show of the 1970s was an even smaller and more intimate gig than The Jam’s Toronto concert seven months earlier, featuring a trio of the city’s then most-prominent punk bands: NFG, The Regulators, and Sinners. I’ll be discussing how important our local scene—but also local music scenes in general—were and are, especially to and for marginalized people and communities. 1979 was the year I started seeing local live music in bars such as The Cedar Lounge and The York, something t...

(EP 12, no.4) The Jam w/The Dwight Twilley Band: This Is the Modern World, Rex Danforth Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Tuesday April 10, 1979

This was a seriously thrilling gig from UK Mod-Punks The Jam, six months after the Elvis Costello show in November 1978 (EP8: This Year’s Model).  It also coincided with a fresh tray of live concert firsts (A gig outside of London!  In Toronto!  At a tiny theatre!  With an authentic ***punk*** audience!).  The Jam’s debut LP “In The City” was the first punk rock album I purchased, on a visit to the UK in 1977, and I became an instant fan. Between 1978-82, Weller & Co. shared the “My Favour...

(EP 12, no.4) The Jam w/The Dwight Twilley Band: This Is the Modern World, Rex Danforth Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Tuesday April 10, 1979

This was a seriously thrilling gig from UK Mod-Punks The Jam, six months after the Elvis Costello show in November 1978 (EP8: This Year’s Model).  It also coincided with a fresh tray of live concert firsts (A gig outside of London!  In Toronto!  At a tiny theatre!  With an authentic ***punk*** audience!).  The Jam’s debut LP “In The City” was the first punk rock album I purchased, on a visit to the UK in 1977, and I became an instant fan. Between 1978-82, Weller & Co. shared the “My Favour...

(EP 11, no.20a) You Won’t See Me: 20 Acts I Wish I’d Seen (1920s-1980) featuring Billie Holiday, The Sex Pistols, Fela Kuti, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, and more.

Since this was Covid Summer of 2020—The Summer Without Live Music—I have paused my story and am presenting the second of two podcast episodes devoted to performances that were missed rather than remembering those I attended. In this episode, I pick the 20 artists from the past who I would most like to have seen between the 1920s and 1980 but have now sadly missed forever. Hindsight is 20/20, or so the saying goes.  So, for my Concert no.020 entry in the original blog series, I published a ...

(EP 10, no.8) Heatwave Festival at 40 with Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, B-52s, Pretenders, Rockpile, Teenage Head & more: Once In A Lifetime, Mosport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, Saturday Aug. 23, 1980

The legendary Heatwave Festival happened 40 years ago this weekend: August 23 1980. 100,000 people turned up for the Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, The B-52s, Rockpile, Teenage Head & more (but not the no-show headliners, The Clash).  It was not only my first fest and one of the best single-day bills I would ever see, it was the centerpiece of an insane long weekend adventure that saw me stranded and broke in the middle of nowhere on Sunday morning after two days of partying...

(EP 9B, no.20b) Waiting in Vain: 22 Performances I Missed 1980-2020 (Part Two nos.9-22 with U2, Arcade Fire, The Grateful Dead, Simon & Garfunkel, Lollapalooza 2004, Bonnie Raitt, & more)

Here is Part Two of my look back at 22 Performances I Missed. Since the Covid Summer of 2020 is also The Summer Without Live Music, I am going to pause my story and instead present two sets of podcast episodes devoted to performances that I missed by artists such as U2, Arcade Fire, The Grateful Dead, Simon & Garfunkel, Lollapalooza 2004, Bonnie Raitt, & more. Hindsight is 20/20, or so the saying goes.  So, for my Concert no.020 entry in the original blog series, I published a two-part tri...

(EP 9B, no.020b) Waiting in Vain: 22 Performances I Missed 1980-2020 (Part Two nos.9-22 with U2, Arcade Fire, The Grateful Dead, Simon & Garfunkel, Lollapalooza 2004, Bonnie Raitt, & more)

Here is Part Two of my look back at 22 Performances I Missed. Since the Covid Summer of 2020 is also The Summer Without Live Music, I am going to pause my story and instead present two sets of podcast episodes devoted to performances that I missed by artists such as U2, Arcade Fire, The Grateful Dead, Simon & Garfunkel, Lollapalooza 2004, Bonnie Raitt, & more. Hindsight is 20/20, or so the saying goes.  So, for my Concert no.020 entry in the original blog series, I published a two-part tri...

(EP 9A, no.020b) Waiting in Vain: 22 Performances I Missed 1980-2020 (Part One with The Clash, Bob Marley, XTC, Sonic Youth, & more)

Since the Covid Summer of 2020 is also The Summer Without Live Music, I am going to pause my story and instead present two sets of podcast episodes devoted to performances that I missed by artists such as The Clash, Bob Marley, XTC, Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, and more. Hindsight is 20/20, or so the saying goes.  So, for my Concert no.020 entry in the original blog series, I published a two-part tribute looking back at what DIDN’T happen: one remembering 20 specific performances/concerts I was ...

(EP 9A, no.20b) Waiting in Vain: 22 Performances I Missed 1980-2020 (Part One nos.1-8 with The Clash, Bob Marley, XTC, Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, & more)

Since the Covid Summer of 2020 is also The Summer Without Live Music, I am going to pause my story and instead present two sets of podcast episodes devoted to performances that I missed by artists such as The Clash, Bob Marley, XTC, Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, and more. Hindsight is 20/20, or so the saying goes.  So, for my Concert no.020 entry in the original blog series, I published a two-part tribute looking back at what DIDN’T happen: one remembering 20 specific performances/concerts I was ...

(EP 9A, no.020b) Waiting in Vain: 22 Performances I Missed 1980-2020 (Part One nos.1-8 with The Clash, Bob Marley, XTC, Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, & more)

Since the Covid Summer of 2020 is also The Summer Without Live Music, I am going to pause my story and instead present two sets of podcast episodes devoted to performances that I missed by artists such as The Clash, Bob Marley, XTC, Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, and more. Hindsight is 20/20, or so the saying goes.  So, for my Concert no.020 entry in the original blog series, I published a two-part tribute looking back at what DIDN’T happen: one remembering 20 specific performances/concerts I was ...

(EP 8, no.3) Elvis Costello & The Attractions w/The Battered Wives: This Year’s Model, Alumni Hall, UWO, London, Ontario, Canada, Monday Nov. 6, 1978

It’s six months on from the Bob Seger concert in Episode 7, and my world had fully transformed.  The old wave was (mostly) banished from my turntable by this point as I completely surrendered to the electrifying bang of punk which was delivering an exciting and ear/eye/mind-opening flood of completely new sounds, triggering several unprecedented years of relentlessly morphing sonic innovations and hand grenades.   While I had followed the development of the US, and then UK, punk/new wave sc...

(EP 7, no.2) Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band w/ Toby Beau: Still the Same, London Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada, Friday May 19, 1978

Three years after Roxy Music, I finally make it to a second, proper live show.  While the Roxy show kicked off a new era in my life—concertgoing—this gig instead closed an era.  This episode is less about Bob Seger and more about discovering punk rock and new wave as the old wave left the building for me.  I no longer wanted still the same.  Tune in for imbibing masses, gesticulating specks, and wanting “completely different.” Read the original blog post from 2010 here.  mylifeinconcert.com

(EP 6, no.175) Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, December 7, 2012

After giving up hope that I would ever get to see him live, Leonard Cohen goes back out on the road for a final North American leg of a multi-year comeback tour that brings him back to Ottawa for one last time.  One of the best shows I have ever seen. Cublet also drops by once again with a few of his memories from a concert he rates as one of his Top 5 best shows ever. Tune in for knee-slidin’ dexterity, elbowing patrons, and compelling intensity. Read the original blog post from 2012 her...

(EP 6, no.175) Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Friday Dec. 7, 2012

After giving up hope that I would ever get to see him live, Leonard Cohen goes back out on the road for a final North American leg of a multi-year comeback tour that brings him back to Ottawa for one last time.  One of the best shows I have ever seen. Cublet also drops by once again with a few of his memories from a concert he rates as one of his Top 5 best shows ever. Tune in for knee-slidin’ dexterity, elbowing patrons, and compelling intensity. Read the original blog post from 2012 her...

(EP 5, no.104) David Bowie w/Polyphonic Spree: Never Get Old, Corel Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 2, 2004

David Bowie comes to Ottawa on his A Reality Tour along with the culty, psychedelic choir stylings of The Polyphonic Spree.  This last of the five times I got to see him may have been the best of them all musically, as Bowie delivered a long show with some obscure and particularly wonderful song treats. Tune in to the Podcast for lucky accidents, set list surprises, and being relatively up-close-n-personal. Cublet also drops by to share his memories of the show. You can also read my past ...

David Bowie w/Polyphonic Spree: Never Get Old, Corel Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 2, 2004 (EP 5, no. 104)

David Bowie comes to Ottawa on his A Reality Tour along with the culty, psychedelic choir stylings of The Polyphonic Spree.  This last of the five times I got to see him may have been the best of them all musically, as Bowie delivered a long show with some obscure and particularly wonderful song treats. Tune in to the Podcast for lucky accidents, set list surprises, and being relatively up-close-n-personal. Cublet also drops by to share his memories of the show. You can also read my past ...

(EP 5, no.104) David Bowie w/Polyphonic Spree: Never Get Old, Corel Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Friday April 2, 2004

David Bowie comes to Ottawa on his A Reality Tour along with the culty, psychedelic choir stylings of The Polyphonic Spree.  This last of the five times I got to see him may have been the best of them all musically, as Bowie delivered a long show with some obscure and particularly wonderful song treats. Tune in to the Podcast for lucky accidents, set list surprises, and being relatively up-close-n-personal. Cublet also drops by to share his memories of the show. You can also read my past ...

Lollapalooza ’92 w/Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, & Lush: Flower, Molson Park, Barrie, Wed Aug 5, 1992 (Concert no.76, Podcast EP 4)

This podcast looks back on the first post-Nirvana-explosion Lollapalooza hitting the Toronto region with your host Various Artists attending in the middle of a thrilling cultural and personal upheaval. Aided by notes I wrote in real time as the day unfolded, I look back at the festival, the era, and the music and how it intersected with my life at the time. With the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Lush, Listen to the podcast for scaffold climbing, levitation, ...

(EP 4, no.76) Lollapalooza ’92 w/Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, & Lush: Flower, Molson Park, Barrie, Ontario, Canada, Wednesday Aug. 5, 1992

This podcast looks back on the first post-Nirvana-explosion Lollapalooza hitting the Toronto region with your host Various Artists attending in the middle of a thrilling cultural and personal upheaval. Aided by notes I wrote in real time as the day unfolded, I look back at the festival, the era, and the music and how it intersected with my life at the time. With the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Lush, Listen to the podcast for scaffold climbing, levitation, ...

(EP 4, no.76) Lollapalooza ’92 w/Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, & Lush: Flower, Molson Park, Barrie, Ontario, Canada, Wed Aug 5, 1992

This podcast looks back on the first post-Nirvana-explosion Lollapalooza hitting the Toronto region with your host Various Artists attending in the middle of a thrilling cultural and personal upheaval. Aided by notes I wrote in real time as the day unfolded, I look back at the festival, the era, and the music and how it intersected with my life at the time. With the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Lush, Listen to the podcast for scaffold climbing, levitation, ...

Lollapalooza ’92 w/Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, & Lush: Flower, Molson Park, Barrie, Wed Aug 5, 1992 (EP 4, Concert no. 76)

This podcast looks back on the first post-Nirvana-explosion Lollapalooza hitting the Toronto region with your host Various Artists attending in the middle of a thrilling cultural and personal upheaval. Aided by notes I wrote in real time as the day unfolded, I look back at the festival, the era, and the music and how it intersected with my life at the time. With the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Lush, Listen to the podcast for scaffold climbing, levitation, ...

(EP 3, no.7) Ramones w/The Demics: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, Centennial Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, May 20, 1980

After kickstarting punk rock in NYC in the mid-70s, the Ramones finally made it to London, Ontario, along with London’s own local-punk-scene launchers: The Demics. The gig marked a moment when the Ramones were to ascend to North American commercial success with the Phil Spector-produced “End of the Century” while London’s Demics were on the verge of breaking nationally. And then? Join me and former London, Ontario resident “Special Guests” from Leeds, UK on a journey back to one of the mo...

Ramones w/The Demics: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, Centennial Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, May 20, 1980 (Episode 3, Concert no. 007)

Ramones w/The Demics: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, Centennial Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, May 20, 1980 (Concert no. 007, Podcast Episode 3)

(EP 3, no.7) Ramones w/The Demics: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, Centennial Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Tuesday May 20, 1980

After kickstarting punk rock in NYC in the mid-70s, the Ramones finally made it to London, Ontario, along with London’s own local-punk-scene launchers: The Demics. The gig marked a moment when the Ramones were to ascend to North American commercial success with the Phil Spector-produced “End of the Century” while London’s Demics were on the verge of breaking nationally. And then? Join me and former London, Ontario resident “Special Guests” from Leeds, UK on a journey back to one of the mo...