and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make

Fleetwood Mac totally exceeded my expectations. I gotta say - Lindsay Buckingham is a bad mama jama. He busted out an incredibly epic guitar solo on "I'm So Afraid", and when they did "Oh Well" - a Peter Green track - Nicola and I screamed, hugged and near-cried. Stevie was looking gorgeous, and did a couple costume changes. (Check out her dancing with her scarf a bit here.)Mick Fleetwood had a stellar 7-minute solo near the end and whenever the Jumbotron (is that what they're called?) landed on him, he had excellent facial expressions. John McVie was on the opposite side of the stage, so I couldn't really see him, but I'm sure he was chillin'. I'd chosen 5 songs I wanted to hear - "Oh Well", "Tusk", "Dreams", "Gold Dust Woman" and "The Chain", and lucky me (as usual), I got to hear them all.

Anyway, WAT wants to know my Top 5 Beatles songs and, though it's a tough request, I think I can give it to ya. Though I respect them a lot, I don't listen to the Beatles very often, but when I do I much prefer late-era Beatles. One guess at my favourite two Beatles albums...

My Top 5 Favourite Beatles Songs:

1. "The End" from Abbey Road
I love love love hearing John, Paul and George trading off solos on this one. Each has such a distinctive playing sound, and Ringo ain't lagging either.

2. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" from Abbey Road
Heavy indeed. I love Eddie Hazel's cover, but I must confess that the original is still tops. I love hearing the Beatles dark.

3. "Glass Onion" from The Beatles
"Pop! Pop! Pop! I told you bout strawberry fields" - love the opening. Mocking the fans that over-analyze all the tiny details, it does leave me wondering....what's a "dovetail joint"? I've asked some of the biggest stoners I know, and nobody seems to be aware of this term.

4. "You Never Give Me Your Money" from Abbey Road
I really can't think of anything to say about this besides that it's an amazing song all-around.

5. "Happiness is a Warm Gun" from The Beatles

You know, I was this close to giving this spot to "For No One", but the "She's not a girl who misses much..." intro did not allow me to exclude this song. Anybody who says "The Beatles Aren't That Good" (yeah, all 11 of you) are pretty much retarded.

I just realized I forgot to post the playlist....my bad, here ya go:

THE BEATLES

if you don't love me now, you will never love me again

Seeing as how tomorrow I'm going to be seeing Fleetwood Mac (well...if it's not cancelled), I think it would be fitting to tell you my favourite Fleetwood Mac songs. Since I couldn't decide whether I should give you my favourite Peter Green Fleetwood Mac songs (since they are the version of Fleetwood Mac I prefer) or my favourite Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac songs (since they are the version I'm seeing in concert), I'll simply have to give you both.
Just to remind you, the distinction is that Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac is late-60's/early 70's blues-rock, while Stevie Nicks' Fleetwood Mac is mid-late 70's California pop.

My Top 5 Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac Songs

1. "Before the Beginning" from Then Play On

2. "The Green Manalishi"
You may perchance be familiar with the Judas Priest cover, but - obviously - I prefer the original. For one thing, a Fleetwood Mac song without Peter Green's heavenly voice is automatically a lesser Fleetwood Mac song.

3. "Oh Well" from Then Play On

As infuriating as it is to hear the incredibly sexy Peter Green (who was gifted with one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard) say "I can't help it bout the shape I'm in, I can't sing, I ain't pretty and my legs are thin", the stupendous guitar riff makes this song classic. It's also the Peter Green song we have the best chance of hearing the current incarnation cover tomorrow night.
And if you watch the video linked above, you will not regret it, as you will be gifted with Peter Green's breathtaking smile and laugh.

4. "Man Of the World"

The gorgeous contrast of the fast and slow parts are what make this song interesting. I really love the fast parts, but know they wouldn't be as good without the slow parts to contrast them.

5. "Worried Dream"
Written by B.B. King (who, for the record, once stated that Peter Green was the only guitarist alive he was scared of), this incredibly blues-y track wrenches right to the very soul.

PETER GREENS FLEETWOOD MAC

My Top 5 Favourite Stevie/Lindsay Fleetwood Mac Songs:

1. "Tusk" from Tusk
This labouring Buckingham-penned track is my favourite late-era Fleetwood Mac song. Special bonus: Listen closely around 2:11..."real savage-like".

2. "The Chain" from Rumours
This might be my favourite Fleetwood Mac song. We all know I'm a sucker for a good bassline.

3. "Dreams" from Rumours
I particularly like the bridge of this song, and the lyrics.

4. "Gold Dust Woman" from Rumours
Forget what you heard...Stevie Nicks said in an interview that she wrote this song before she was a coke addict. Still, it's an awesome track.

5. "I'm So Afraid" from Fleetwood Mac
I was convinced for so long that that was Christine singing, but it's Lindsay. If you're a fan of goodlooking guys with stellar hair shredding on their guitars, check out that link above. I wouldn't letcha down.

STEVIE/LINDSAY FLEETWOOD MAC

i ain't the type of woman who'd make your life a bed of ease, but if you just wanna go drinkin', honey, won't you invite me along please?

One of the most important things to know about me is that I have insane concert luck. Among the many acts I've seen live are Prince, George Clinton & the P-Funk Allstars, Neil Young, Arlo Guthrie, Arctic Monkeys, Bob Dylan (twice!), Crosby, Stills & Nash and many more. Anyway, Nicola and I were strolling around downtown, heading to Value Village for the usual harassment of their entire stock, when we passed by the Macpherson Theatre and saw a sign saying that Big Brother & the Holding Company were playing there that night. (I really hate to have to add this, because you should know, but if you were aware Big Brother & the Holding Company used to have a very famous frontwoman by the name of Janis Joplin)

Now, we had known that they were coming but for some reason that I can't remember had decided not to go. But we were passing right by the theatre, in high spirits, and decided on a whim to check if they still had tickets. They did and, in fact, because we were students (or, well, because I was a student) we were able to get them for only $32!
Unfortunately, original guitarist (and my favourite member, who has the honour of being one of the first people I posted a picture of on this blog ever, before I even knew how to post pictures, which is why the picture I posted ended up a mess) James Gurley would not be in attendance and neither (obviously) would Janis, three of the five incredible members were there: Sam Andrews (guitar), Peter Albin (bass) and Dave Getz (drums).
Needless to say, I was pretty stoked.

Big Brother - Janis to the left, and then clockwise from bottom: Sam Andrews, Dave Getz, Peter Albin and James Gurley

I was excited, mainly, to be in the same room as three original members of Big Brother & the Holding Company, as I wasn't really expecting them to deliver much musically. However, I was incredibly wrong. The show was phenomenal.
On a purely musical level, I would say definitely on par (if not better) than seeing them with Janis. They had a beautiful woman named Mary Bridget Davies singing lead and she was a true find. Her voice was incredible - definitely reminiscent of Janis, but not like she was trying to sound like Janis. She even looked a bit like Janis, at least from the stage.

Mary Bridget Davies

They ran through the Big Brother staples, and I was very excited that they did my favourite, "I Need a Man". They did a couple new songs which were great as well. The musicianship was on point and Mary Bridget Davies (I have to try very hard not to gush here, because she was really something) brought so much energy, emotion and pure talent to the performance that at some points I was in (very happy) tears.
Here's a clip of her with the band doing "Ball and Chain" (not from the show I was at, unfortunately):

Afterwards, they had a little table set up to sign autographs so I was actually able to meet the band and make a little chit-chat. Unfortunately, I had no cash to buy a concert shirt but I took off the shirt I was wearing (which took some clever maneuvering inside my oversized Cowichan sweater to not flash the crowd, or the band) and got them to sign that.

Peter Albin commented how much he liked my shirt and asked where I got it, and when Mary Bridget sitting next to him also asked where I got it, he answered for me ("Target" - ha). She then told me I was the luckiest girl in the world (which I knew), and all I could say was "I'm not the one singing with Big Brother & the Holding Company." She laughed and replied that she was a lucky girl too. Mary Bridget also had a selection of spectacular rings, and she showed Nicola and I where she had hurt her finger from grabbing the microphone too hard.
The moral of the story? Big Brother & the Holding Company rules, Mary Bridget Davies is a goddess and if you get the opportunity to check them out...do it! Now! What are you waiting for??

listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness, like a heartbeat drives you mad

I think we all know that the one area of my life where I am most blessed is in the concert department (also, hair - I have great hair). My lucky streak continues - yesterday I acquired tickets to go see Fleetwood Mac in May!
Sadly, it isn't my preferred Fleetwood Mac (i.e. early Peter Green) but in any case it should be wicked. Stevie Nicks used to be my idol, and I still think she's ridiculously cool. Lindsey Buckingham is, of course, also rad. It will be a huge honour to see two members of the original Fleetwood Mac (Mick Fleetwood and John McVie). True, Christine McVie won't be there, but I'm not gonna let that bring me down!
Here's a great video of Stevie Nicks-era Fleetwood Mac covering Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well".

Anybody else score Fleetwood Mac Unleashed tickets? Get on that shit, it'll be the bee's knees!

don't bring me no bad news, don't tell me the concert's been called off

The Top 5 Concerts I've Been To:

1. George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic
Date: July 20th, 2008
Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Proximity to stage: About 20 feet
Highlight: "Cosmic Slop" featuring Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton
Youtube clip for your enjoyment: A heavy badass version of "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" , an awesome version of "Bounce 2 This" featuring the ridiculously cool Kendra Foster
2. Prince
Date: August 17th, 2007
Location: London, England
Proximity to the stage: About 1.4 miles
Highlight: Hearing a brief excerpt of one of my favourite Prince songs, "If I Was Ur Girlfriend", and a gorgeous version of "Shhh"
Youtube clip for your enjoyment: Ha, yeah, right!

3. Arlo Guthrie
Date: April 6th, 2007
Location: Vancouver, BC
Proximity to stage: About 15 rows back
Highlight: All his fantastic stories, and hearing one of my favourite songs of all time "Coming into Los Angeles" done live...oh, yeah, and meeting the guy!
Youtube clip for your enjoyment: Unfortunately, none from the concert. However, anyone can get a kick out of Arlo Guthrie's legendary Woodstock performance of "Coming into Los Angeles", which (fun fact) is my favourite part of the Woodstock movie
4. the Arctic Monkeys

Date: September 30th, 2007
Location: Vancouver, BC
Proximity to the stage: About 5 feet
Highlight: "From the Ritz to the Rubble"
Youtube clip for your enjoyment: "Nettles/The View from the Afternoon", featuring Alex going "Someone's got a laser pen...didn't know you could still get those" around 1:27...another special bonus is that the person who filmed this was standing right behind me so you can see the exact view I had, and as well, at about 3:27 you see my turn my head to say something to my friend

5. Black Mountain
Date: August 29th, 2008
Location: Victoria, BC
Proximity to the stage: Front row...I was sitting on the stage during some points
Highlight: When they played one of my favourite songs of all time, "Wucan"...and when I met the keyboard player, who told me the secret of "Wucan"
Youtube clip for your enjoyment: Unfortunately there's none available from the show I was at, but here's "Wucan" live at a different show

[all pictures from the original concerts I was at; none taken by me - I don't want to waste my time at a concert I really enjoy trying to get a picture!]

Of course, I've seen more than 5 concerts, and my apologies to Talib Kweli, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, REM, Crosby Stills & Nash, k-os, Marianne Faithfull and others...all of whom put on excellent shows. These are simply the best of the best, and if you happen to notice that any of them are in your town, I must insist that you go see them. You'll thank me for it later!

out of the blue, into the black, they give you this, but you pay for that

This week was the week of concert epic-ness. For those of you paying attention, the Universe loved me enough to bless me with consecutive Neil Young-then-Bob Dylan concerts.

On Wednesday, Nicola, Michele, Shannon and I went to go see Neil Young. Our seats were balcony, our view was as such:

and that's with the camera on zoom!

but the concert was absolutely phenomenal. It's a cliche, I know, but I can't put it any other way: He just plain fuckin' rocked. Thrashing around, spastic guitar solos, pissed-off wails...I have so much respect for him, but I had never really thought of myself as a "Neil Young fan". No more! The hightlight? Probably the epic cover of "A Day in the Life" for the encore. Any Neil Young fans should check it out here. There was a fierce intensity behind his second "I love to turn you on", and at the end of the song, he starting ripping out his guitar strings and mashing them against his guitar, pressing it against the amps. In the video I linked, the strings start flying around the 6:00 mark, and its pretty damn rock'n'roll. He played for almost 2 1/2 hours too.The next day, we headed home to mentally prepare ourselves for seeing Bob Dylan.
In case you forgot, my friends and I had third row tickets. That meant we were pretty damn close.
Close enough to see ever time he smiled (about five times!! Be still my heart..) or nodded a cue to the band. Frankly, a lot of the songs he played were unrecognizable he changed the melody so much. This might be why the local paper gave him a poor review. However, it's not a Pussycat Dolls concert...you don't go there to be entertained by an "artist" trying ridiculously hard to sell you something you didn't know you needed. You go to bask in his glorious presesnce, to gaze upon his unearthly being with your very eyes, to swoon over his clumsily graceful stomping pseudo-dance.
I had seen Bob Dylan before, but I hadn't seen him play guitar, so I was elated when he played guitar (instead of keys, which he played for the rest of the show) on "Just Like a Woman".

Both concerts were also a study in Baby Boomers Behaving Badly. Bending over to toke up where the security couldn't see, trying to sneak into seats they didn't have, getting ridiculously wasted and flailing around...the over 50 set clearly thought they owned the place solely due to their proximity in age to the artist. While us teens and young adults watched in quiet, respectful awe, the Boomers were having the time of their lives. It was a joy to behold.
In forty years, that will be me, drunkenly dancing offbeat while a grizzly old Alex Turner mumbles "I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor" from onstage.
I can't wait.

a voice like sand and glue, his words of truthful vengeance, they could pin us to the floor

Another post, another reason for you to passionately hate me...
There's no easy way to put this so I'll just come out with it.
I'm going to see Neil Young. Amazing and exciting, I know. The end of my fantastic news? Hardly!
For I also recently acquired tickets to another concert...I can hardly speak his holy name, but a picture's worth a thousand words and this post is kind of runty.

Yes, that's right...Him. I can almost not type the words, for I am not worthy enough, but in a few short weeks, I will be seeing

Bob Dylan

for the second time. Yes, the second time. If you know of someone luckier than I, speak now or forever hold your peace.
What a life I lead! (The only bad news is that my Sly & the Family Stone concert was postponed and then cancelled, but I can live with that) Did I mention my Dylan tickets are third row? Did I mention that it's the day after the Neil Young concert? Did I mention it's Bob Dylan??
Oh, yeah, I did. Just so you don't hate me too much, I'll gift you with these amazing Dylan pictures.