bankrupt artist v.3 » live music

So Fucking Rock

xinit — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 03:01:53 +0000

Saw Tim Minchin at the Winter Garden Theatre tonight, and it was even better than I expected. I’d picked a seat in the theatre in one of the boxes on the left of the main floor. I’ll never pick a seat in the middle of the floor again, especially when they’re the same price. No heads in the way, no shared arm rests, and nobody trying to trip past you to get to the bathrooms.

The first song of the night, as he’s singing along, his spot light goes out…. comes on… goes out… apparently at some places in the balcony, you can get in the way of the main spotlight if you stand up… a couple late arrivals found this out on their way to their seats. Tim stopped mid-song to point this out to the offenders. To paraphrase “The light comes from an external source – I don’t fucking phosphoresce.”

Two empty seats, right in the middle of the front row attracted Tim’s attention right off; to get those seats right in front shows intent, and to not show up shows, at best, apathy “If they show up? Standing ovation.” They didn’t show up.

Tim had a dictator joke that morphed from a line about sex toy Dick Tator to arrive at Cock Spud. He says he’s letting Toronto keep that one because it’s not good enough to be used again.

The set list, from memory, so it’s not in order, nor likely complete; Pope Song, Cont, Lullaby, Prejudice, Confessions, White Wine In The Sun, Rock and Roll Nerd, Dark Side, Storm, Prejudice, If I Didn’t Have You, Thank You God, and the less well-known Second Encore Song

I’m a bit disappointed that Tim didn’t do the dance when he sang the Pope Song for us.

Chancing across a Chi Pig

xinit — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:44:01 +0000

It’s nice being in a real city, even if it’s only for a couple days. There is traffic and construction and people moving around at nine in the morning. I wasn’t able to check in early, so wandered off to find breakfast and take some photos.

The streets are alive. There is a vibrancy in the fabric of the place. There is also a refreshing feeling of anonymity. It’s something I can only guess comes from being in a place where nobody cares where you are from or who you know. People from Halifax might call that an uncaring, unfriendly attitude, but I’ll take this over what Halifax calls friendly.

There are posters up all over for live shows, club nights, events of all sorts. It doesn’t take long to find SNFU posters all around and follow them back to the origin at The Kathedral.
I find an alley paralleling Queen West that is lousy with graffiti, with posted signs declaring ‘ARTISTS WELCOME.’ The quality is stunning in much of the work. There are stencil works and high quality colour paste ups…and yet the streets feel clean while retaining some character.

I found a $4.25 breakfast, and it arrived looking good, with what appeared to be deep fried bacon. It was alright especially considering the price. As I was writing up notes in by book in the Java House on Queen and Augusta, head down, I hear another sound of the city…

“Hey,you have any spare change?”

I look up to answer, and I’m faced with a toothless, grinning Mr. Chi Pig. He and Ken from the band saw me from the street and even Ken recognized me. Chi is looking better than I ever remember seeing him. SNFU (save the drummer, who was off retreiving brand new merch from Purolator) sat down for the low rent breakfast as well.

Back to the hotel around noon, I checked in and had a shower and laid around a bit… not really able to waste time sleeping, or risk falling dead unconcious and missing out on tonight’s show.

I think it’s nearly lunch time… chicken schwarma with no illusions of being donair.

The are no end of fabric, bead, finding stores around this area… if only I knew anyone who needed anything like that.

Toronto Trip

xinit — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:49:18 +0000

The Toronto gigs with SNFU get better, as Mr. Plow will be there in addition to 3tards and Left Spine Down. I thought Plow wasn’t showing up in Ontario until after the Toronto shows, but he popped up on Facebook to tell me otherwise yesterday.

The shows are taking place at The Kathedral which reminds me a lot of a clean version of the Cobalt based on the pictures I’ve seen of the club and the street outside. It’ll be nice to see a live show again…

Ozzy in Halifax; maybe he is still crazy

xinit — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:01:53 +0000

I’ve checked in on the Ozzy web page and sure enough, they will be playing in Halifax on January 26. Tickets go on sale on Saturday to the general public, but the Ozzy fans get first crack. I thought, “Hey, I’ll just sign up for that and get the pre-sale code for Ticketmaster (TicketsAtlantic, whatever)”

The fan club is handling the sales directly, so it’s not just about finding the presales code to use on the ticket agent’s site. You need to pay $45 to join the club, which raises the potential price to around $150 for just the one ticket.

I have no idea how many seats they have available, but they were already bitching about having to take upper bowl seats. I’ve sat in the upper bowl seats, and they’re pretty shitty sight lines for the most part.

This just brings up the question of how many tickets were available for presale, and how many will be available to non-fans come Saturday. I’m not entirely sure if I want to spend $100 for a ticket or not; but it is Ozzy… I’d mostly want to be there for photo, but I’m not really on any sort of assignment.

Maybe I can find someone on crew with a spare set of laminates…

The Nardwuar 20th Anniversary Weekend starts NOW !

xinit — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:15:46 +0000

Posting the latest newsletter to MySpace, Facebook, etc… Nardwuar’s CD and DVD launch tomorrow with the FREE all-ages gig at UBC. Too cheap to buy the album? Go listen to the whole thing for free on (yeah yeah, I know) the Myspace site we setup for this at http://www.myspace.com/nardwuar

Hi! It’s Nardwuar the Human Serviette here again with some new updated news in this day that is the 20th Anniversary of my radio show! (see below) ! The Nardwuar 20th Anniversary Weekend starts NOW !

Also thanks to all those that asked for “Nardwuar” Floatie Pens! Hope you liked them! If you didn’t get one, they come free to all that buy the new Evaporators CD or “Welcome to My Castle” DVD

Plus in the spirit of lookin’ back we will leave you (at the bottom of this missive) with a vintage interview I did with Alice Cooper way back from 1994 ! (When the Nardwuar show was only 7 years old!)

Thanks again for all the support!

Keep on rawkin in the free world!
Have a good water!
Nardwuar / The Evaporators

**

NARDWUAR NEWS (20th Anniversary Edition!)

1) Just found out that my new MuchMusic Special “Welcome to My Special” (featuring a few new Evaporators songs! ) will be re-broadcast this Sunday Nov 4th at 8pm (pacific), 11pm (eastern) on MuchMusic !

Nardwuar the Human Serviette presents…

“Welcome To My Special” is a new 60 min special of Nardwuar’s favourite interviews from the past couple of years featuring everyone from Franz Ferdinand to Snoop Doggy Dogg, from Queens of the Stone Age to Juliette Lewis, from Ice T to Ice Cube to Vanillla Ice, and from Slipknot to Stephen Harper! Doot doola doot doo… doot doo!
***Sunday November 4 2007 at 8pm (pacific) 11pm (eastern) on MuchMusic in Canada.

2) Nardwuar Radio Show “20 Year, 20 HOUR Anniversary Show” Begins TONITE !

Nardwuar the Human Serviette will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of his radio show (1987-2007) on CiTR 101.9 in Vancouver with a 20 hour “Live on Air Nardwuar Interview Marathon” starting at Tonite ( Thursday November 1st ) at 9:00pm(pacific) and ending at 5:00 pm (pacific) on Friday November 2nd. Email Nardwuar at nardwuar@nardwuar.com to request your favourite interview of the past 20 years! Listen live at www.citr.ca

Interviews to be aired during Nardwuar’s 20 Hour Marathon Include:

Al Goldstein, Alice Cooper, Anthony Robbins, Beck, Bill Kaysing, Blur, Corey Feldman, Courtney Love, Crispin Glover, Cythnia Plaster Caster, Dan Quayle, David Cross, Death Sentence,Degrassi Kids, DOA, Echo and the Bunnymen, Elijah Wood, Ernest Angley, Franz Ferdinand, Fugazi, Gerald Ford, GWAR, Harland Ellison, Henry Rollins, Ice Cube, Ice T, Iggy Pop, James Brown, Jean Chretien, Jello Biafra, Lik the Pole, Lydia Lunch, Maestro Fres Wes, Metal Groupie, Michael Moore, Mickey Dolenz, Mikhail Gorbachev, NegativLand, Nina Hagen, Nirvana, Oliver Stone, Paul Gallagher Pierre Berton, Pointed Sticks, Rheostatics, Robert Anton Wilson, Ron Jeremy, Slayer, Slik Toxic, Sloan, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Sonic Youth, Timothy Leary, Tom Vu, Tommy Chong, Tommy Lee, Vanilla Ice, Wesley Willis and Many More!

3) Free All Ages 20th Anniversary Nardwuar Gig TOMMORROW!!

Tomorrow ( Friday November 2nd) there will be a special FREE ALL AGES gig ,to celebrate Nardwuar’s 20th Anniversary, with Nardwuar’s band The Evaporators, plus The Tranzmitors, The Pack and Kid Kordene at the Sub Ballroom in Vancouver.

Who: The Evaporators, The Tranzmitors, The Pack and Kid Kordene
When: Friday November 2
Where: Sub Ballroom, UBC, Vancouver
Time: 7:19pm
Who: ALL AGES
Tix: FREE !
Info: 604 822 1242 and www.citr.ca

A gig in Victoria is also happening:

Sat November 3 – The Jamaican Jerkhouse (607 Pandora Ave. next to A-Channel), Victoria, BC w/ The Evaporators, Vincat, Final Verdict. ALL AGES. Doors @ 7:30 Tickets $7 + s/c@ Lyle’s place & Backstage Pass (*Note venue change… venue WAS Fernwoo,)

4) Nardwuar “Welcome to my Caste” 2-Disc interview DVD out Tuesday !

A “prequel” to Nardwuar’s mind-numbing “Doot Doola Doot DooŠ Doot Doo!” DVD from last year, “Welcome to My Castle” is an interview only (no music) compilation featuring two of Nardwuar’s Public Access TV Specials from the 1990s. Also included is a bonus DVD (called “Nard Raw”) of stimulating bonus interview material. Total Running time of the 2 DVD set is 5.5 hours!

More info at:

http://mintrecs.com/index.php?component=releases&action=details&id=117&artist=nardwuar

5) The Evaporators (Nardwuar’s band) new Enhanced CD/LP out Tuesday!

Named after Vancouver pioneer Captain John Deighton who got his nickname (“Gassy”) from talking non stop rather than farting, The Evaporators new release will attempt to school you on such topics as how to “Shake with the Shaggy Shaker,” how to “Do the Eggbeater” and why you should care about “E.J. Hughes” and “Evatone Soundsheets!” The LP and Enhanced CD (featuring many Evaporators vids) will also be available on Tuesday.

The Evaporators will be releasing one video per week, from their new CD leading up till the release date.
You can view the videos released so far at http://mintrecs.com/players/video/

Info on the new Evaporators “Gassy Jack and Other Tales” CD/LP here: http://mintrecs.com/index.php?component=releases&action=details&id=116&artist=evaporators

6) And now a wyrd from Richard , NardWebHelper at Nardwuar.com:

Richard sez “Less cowbell, more theremin!”

and…

Grab your candy bag from Halloween to sustain yourself on Fun Size snacks so you can dedicate the rest of the weekend to Nardwuar

20 Years after beginning the take-over of radio, television and print, Nardwuar is taking over the Internet, one social networking site at a time. The full listing of “official” sites…

For those outside of the range of CITR’s broadcast in Vancouver, BC, the 20 hour marathon that begins tonight (Nov 1) at 9:00pm Pacific (1:30 in Newfoundland) should be up on the Live Stream you can access from http://www.citr.ca/first.php

If you miss anything or want to replay other interviews, swing by http://www.nardwuar.com and check out the years and years of audio on the site!

Search iTunes for “Nardwuar” and you’ll find the Podcast of interviews that Nardwuar personally selects for your listening pleasure. No iTunes? Subscribe to the RSS feed at http://nardwuar.com/nardblog/

Facebook’s ‘Nardwuar the Human Serviette is a Punk Rock Legend’

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2372732878

MySpace Gassy Jack CD Exclusive stream

http://www.myspace.com/nardwuar

Mint Records on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18392455912

Mint Records on Myspace

http://www.myspace.com/mintrecords

7) VINTAGE Interview: Nardwuar vs. Alice Cooper

Interview done over the phone on June 14, 1994.

Nardwuar: OK, Hello.
Toby [Alice Cooper's Manager]: Yeah, Nardwuar? It’s Toby, still. You just about ready? We’ve got about ten minutes or so.

Nardwuar: Ten minutes. O.K.
Toby: Because we have to leave for a flight to Montreal. I just want to make sure you know. When he says he’s gotta go, it’s ’cause we gotta go. Heh heh heh heh heh…

Nardwuar: Okay, so I’ll have to be quick then.
Toby: Yeah, it may go a couple minutes, but he’ll let you know.

Nardwuar: Okay, give me a couple minutes warning, if it’s two minutes or whatever.
Toby: Yeah. So hold on, the next thing you speak to will be Alice Cooper.

Nardwuar: Great !
Toby: Okay.

Alice Cooper: Hello?

Nardwuar: Hello
Alice Cooper: Hi.

Nardwuar: How are ya?
Alice Cooper: Ok, great.

Nardwuar: So, I guess first off, umm… Hey Stoopid, who are you?
Alice Cooper: Heh heh heh heh heh. Now, wait a minute. How do I take that?

Nardwuar: Hey Stoopid, how are you?
Alice Cooper: [ silence ]

Nardwuar: Who are you?
Alice Cooper: Are you talking to me?

Nardwuar: Yeah, I am. Maybe we should start over again, Alice, I guess. Hey Stoopid,who are you?
Alice Cooper: I… [ silence ]

Toby [Alice Cooper's Manager]: Hello.
Nardwuar: Hello.

Toby: Its Toby.

Nardwuar: Hello, Toby.
Toby: What’s going on?

Nardwuar: No, I was just saying “Who are you?” to Alice Cooper and I was hoping he would say, “Alice Cooper.”
Toby: Yeah, but is this an interview or a game we’re playing?

Nardwuar: No, it’s like an interview. It’s like, “Who are you?”, “Alice Cooper.”
Toby: Right. But we know that.

Nardwuar: Yeah, well, but I was hoping that he would be able to say that.
Toby: Pardon?

Nardwuar: I was hoping that he would be able to say that.
Toby: And why is that?

Nardwuar: Just because I begin interviews with, “Who are you?” so we can play it back on the radio and-
Toby: Oh, so this is taped.

Nardwuar: Right.
Toby: Nobody told us that this was being taped for a broadcast.

Nardwuar: Oh, Yeah, for a broadcast and..
Toby: We were told this was for a magazine.

Nardwuar:This is for a magazine as well as for a broadcast.
Toby: Okay. Well, you see, we didn’t know that.

Nardwuar: Oh, okay. So I guess we should just start again then..?
Toby: Okay, and what are we doing?

Nardwuar: I just said, “Who are you?” to Alice Cooper I was hoping that Alice Cooper would say, “Alice Cooper.”
Toby: Okay, and then what happens?

Nardwuar: Then I will ask some more questions.
Toby: Okay. Okay. [Off the phone]: He just wants you to introduce yourself on the tape… I’m sorry we didn’t get that… Okay, here you go.

Alice Cooper: Hello!

Nardwuar: So, Alice Cooper.
Alice Cooper: Okay, do it again.

Nardwuar: Hey Stoopid, who are you?
Alice Cooper: [in scary voice] This is Alice Cooper.

Nardwuar: So, Alice, where were you on January 1st, 1994?
Alice Cooper: 94? January 1st, 1994? I didn’t do it, whatever it was.

Nardwuar: Weren’t you with Willie Nelson at Bill “Microsoft” Gates’ wedding?
Alice Cooper: No.

Nardwuar: No?
Alice Cooper: I never made it.

Nardwuar: You never did, but you were-
Alice Cooper: I was invited, and uhh, I got my invitation about two weeks after.

Nardwuar: How did you meet Bill Gates? Was that thr-
Alice Cooper: I have never met Bill Gates.

Nardwuar: How did you get invited? Was that thr-
Alice Cooper: I have no idea.

Nardwuar: Was that through golf?
Alice Cooper: No. I never met Bill Gates. I didn’t even know who Bill Gates was until after I read it in Time Magazine.

Nardwuar: But you were invited though, to his wedding?
Alice Cooper: Yeah, isn’t that odd?

Nardwuar: He’s from Seattle, just like Chris Cornell.
Alice Cooper: I know – Oh, there’s this cosmic connection there!

Nardwuar: And he’s a real co-conspirator on your new Last Temptation record.
Alice Cooper: Yeah he is. He is. But I don’t think Chris Cornell ever met… Bill Gates.

Nardwuar: He might have been at the wedding-
Alice Cooper: Oh, wait a minutes! They both have electricity in their house!

Nardwuar: So Alice, do you still keep in touch with your old golfing buddies Peter Falk and Mike Douglas at all?
Alice Cooper: [click...] [dialtone]
Nardwuar: Hello, Alice? Hello, Alice? Hello, Alice Cooper? Alice Cooper? Cooper?

Postscript: A few weeks *after* the interview my friend Martin Strong told me that one should never ask Alice Cooper about golf, because the mere mention of that sport will make him hang up! But no one told me this *before* the interview! Not Toby, no one! I was really upset because I had a whole list of questions I wanted to ask Alice, especially about his 60s garage punk band The Spiders! (FYI: Yes, I would have still asked about golf, but that would have been my last question!) The frustrating thing is since this phone encounter with Alice I have read many interviews where he mentions and answers questions about golf! Go figure! In another weird twist of fate, Ronnie Barnett, bassmeister supreme of the band the Muffs, said that he was once approached by Toby , asking if The Muffs wanted his managerial services! Ronnie said “Hey! I know you from Nardwuar’s Alice Cooper interview!” Toby replied something to the effect of “Ya,it’s too bad, we didn’t know where the interview
was going!” Well, the Muffs didn’t sign with Toby, and I’m still confused!

To hear this interview visit http://www.nardwuar.com

Halifax Pop Fizzle

xinit — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:52:06 +0000

I opened up the program for Halifax Pop Explosion ’07, and I stopped dead. One of the local venues has a page add made up of show announcement posters; not unlike the Commodore Ballroom would have in Vancouver; listing a dozen upcoming shows. Three of the listed shows;

KMFDM
3 Inches of Blood
Nashville Pussy

At this point, I’ve been strongly considering checking out any band that originates from west of Regina should they come to this hole on the east coast, let alone any decent band I recognize by name.

Then I realize that the 3 Inches of Blood show was in September. How did I miss that? Wait a second; KMFDM is tomorrow? What the fuck? Wait a minute; Saturday October 8th? That’s not right… oh hell. They were here in fall 2005. So much for that idea.

This isn’t an advertisement for shows; it’s a “See, we can get Big Names to come from away!” piece. Waste of time. I need to keep reminding myself; “This is Halifax, and we don’t do things like the Big City. Why don’t you just go back to Vancouver if you like it so much?” Assholes.

Anyhow, on to the music that I’m going to need to investigate, including a couple Haligonians that somehow manage to have enough initiative to avoid sucking.

Be Bad – “Sonic exploration meets howling blasts of anger and aggression. thunder. scream. thunder.
Vennt – “The sound of Viking warriors, Jerry Falwell, and 1989 Stanley Cup Champion Lanny McDonald fighting with swords in hell.
Torso – “With an ever-expanding arsenal of circuit-bent machines and homemade electronics, Torso creates epic darkness at maximum volume.
Husband and Knife – “This man plays minimal and dark folk. The music reflects urban living, drugs, girls, and death… bring the kids.
The Moist Towelettes – Pop from Tokyo…

There are a couple bands that claim to come from Vancouver, but I’ve never heard of them… apparently they never played anywhere in Vancouver. I’ve run into this one other time when a band from Tofino or Kelowna billed themselves as being from Vancouver. An alt-country band by the name of Ox and a pop/indie rock band called Mother Mother are among those I’ve never heard of, and there’s one I have heard of; Pride Tiger.

I don’t know if I’ll bother with any of these shows or not…

Missed a great show

xinit — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 19:46:48 +0000

Still waiting for word on video from the Mr. Chi Pig’s SNFU pseudo-reunionish show from July 20, 2007 in Vancouver.

There’s also a Flickr photoset of images I didn’t take, but that various locals provided for me to miss having been there even more.

Country Cannibal Cafe

xinit — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:01:22 +0000

I may have posted this tune already, but this is the latest rendition, and they’ve managed to get Mr. Chi Pig (SNFU) to slow down enough that the effect is much more complete. Very Broke Back Mountain now… Chi and Plow and their love that dare not speak its name…

Hellbent Cuntry w/ Mr. Chi Pig present Country Cannibal Cafe

Sweet Merciful Non-Existent God, It’s D.O.A.!

xinit — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 21:45:50 +0000

The first signs of the spring thaw are here in Halifax. D.O.A is coming to town, and sure I’ve seen them play about a dozen times in the past 4 years, but I’m really looking forward to this. I haven’t been going to a ton of shows, partly due to those financial issues that I’ve written about, and partly due to the serious lack of any shows making themselves evident. I have a theory that the punks head west for the winter and only come back to Halifax to play after April.

I’ve seen Die Brucke play and enjoy what I heard on The Crimson Tides’ myspace, so looking forward to this one.

FJS Let Me Puke In Your Mouth

xinit — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 23:55:05 +0000

I mentioned Fat Joe Satan yesterday, and I decided that I just couldn’t wait to share the love. I’m hoping that I have a recording of Joe’s rock wonder duo named Untooned (Untuned?) in the pile of tapes here…

In the mean time, here are two bootlegged live cuts from the front row at The Cobalt…