I swiped my buddy Mic’s feet from my face. He was passed out on the bunk just above the couch I slept on. I sat up, grabbed the nearest bottle of water, and got back on the long road of cooling and rehydration. I turned on the RV’s generator to crank up the air conditioner. I wasn’t ready to put a shirt on yet though. I opened the side door and stepped back into the heat and sun. I looked around at all the other RVs, and wondered how many of them foolishly shut off their air conditioners in the middle of the night.

It was a long trip getting to that sweaty and foul Saturday morning. I got a Facebook message at the end of the winter from one of my lifelong friends Matt, who was serving in Afghanistan. He was due back in Canada at the start of June, and was looking for something to do to celebrate. He suggested the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee. I took a quick look at the lineup and said hell yes. It sounded like a great reason for a road trip, and I was in.

We planned to take an RV on the 1300 km trip from southern Ontario. We tried recruiting lots of friends and family, and ended up five people altogether: Matt, his wife Ruby, his brother Mic, Mic’s girlfriend Paula, and yours truly. The planning was all worked out on Facebook, and as soon as June 9 rolled around we were picking up an RV from a rental joint in Hamilton.

What followed was a long haul through one province and four states that involved stops in the middle of nowhere to park and sleep in Walmart parking lots. The heat intensified the farther south we went. It peaked once we reached the outskirts of Manchester. Although we were mere miles from the festival site, we had to line up with thousands of other RVs arriving at the same time.

After a four hour wait, we were in.

The beauty of an RV is we had nothing to set up once we parked. We were driving our camp. We cracked a few cold ones and made our way to the site, eager to see the festival setup and whatever bands we could see.

11:15PM – Blitzen Trapper – The Other Tent

The first venue upon entering the festival grounds is The Other Tent. It was already packed with thousands of people. Blitzen Trapper is gaining steam on the indie scene, and whenever I hear something through the hipster grapevine I’m always a little apprehensive. But these guys played really solid folk-rock, a revival of sorts of some of the folkier rock acts of the 1970s. I was pretty impressed.

12:30AM – The xx – That Tent

Again, more hipster hype pulled me toward That Tent to check out The xx, but it also pushed me away. I’d seen these guys on Letterman before and was a little underwhelmed, but this set was a little more psychedelic and interesting. Pretty decent, but this venture was more valuable for getting our bearings among the festival’s dozen or so music stages.

1:00 AM – Wale – This Tent

Psychedlic indie rock only goes so far, so luckily This Tent was just across from That Tent. We pulled out of The xx to see Wale play a pretty bangin’ set of hip-hop. Rap music is always better with a live band behind it, and that’s further elevated when the dude rapping is an exceptional showman. Wale kept the party going for another hour.

Beat after a long day of driving, we headed back to the RV to have a few more beverages and crash. We had a heavy schedule of music and partying in the three days ahead of us. Little did we know how heavy it’d be.

FRIDAY

The lineup into the festival site Friday at noon

The 30 degree heat woke us up bright and early. We were getting used to it, and ignored it as a minor nuisance because we were all stoked to get the day on the go. We got started right away, planning on seeing Conan O’Brien open the day’s festivities.

1:00 PM – Conan O’Brien – Comedy Theatre

Little did we know, Team Coco lined up as early as 5AM to ensure they got into the theatre. Those of us who showed up at 12:30 had to watch it on a screen just outside. While it would have been killer to see his set “live”, the next best thing still sufficed. Conan tore through a 90 minute set of standup, music, guest appearances (Deon Cole and Andy Richter) and bitter but hilarious anecdotes of his departure from the Tonight Show.

3:15 PM – The Gossip – This Tent

We all had our own agendas for music, so this is when I parted from the group. We toured the festival grounds in the daylight for a bit, then I checked out the eclectic punk/soul/rock of the Gossip. It was a fantastic set and Beth Ditto is a really charismatic and talented singer.

Although we didn't get to "see" his show, Conan hosted the What Stage all day

4:00 PM – Damian Marley & Nas – What Stage

We reconvened back at the What Stage for one of the most anticipated sets of the weekend – Damian Marley and Nas. Their Distant Relatives collaboration had dropped just weeks before the festival; an album combining Marley’s soulful reggae and Nas’ gritty classic hip hop. They opened with a few off that, before trading off on their own solo classics – notably cuts from Nas’ Illmatic and Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock. They closed the set with father Bob’s “Could You Be Loved”. It was one of Bonnaroo’s best shows.

5:00 PM – She & Him – This Tent

I rushed back over to This Tent to check out another celebrity collaboration. She & Him are actress Zooey Deschanel and folk hero M. Ward. They’ve put out two albums of sultry, soulful ballads and they treated the crowd to note-perfect versions of those songs here. I think every single person in the audience fell in love with Deschanel after this set.

6:00ish – The National – Which Stage

I had to eventually make my way back over to the What Stage to see my beloved Tenacious D. I had about half an hour to kill, so I stopped by the Which Stage to see what all the hype around the National was about. In short, I wasn’t too impressed. Catchy tunes, but nothing original.

6:30 PM – Tenacious D – What Stage

Back in the late 1990s a friend showed me a clip he found on what was then called the “Internet” of a duo called Tenacious D. It was an acoustic performance unlike anything I’d seen before and I fell in love. The only time I saw them live was in 2002 so I was extremely stoked for this Bonnaroo set. They played all the classics like “Tribute” and “Double Team”, along with some apparently new ones. Hopefully there’s a new album and a tour in the works.

The D totally had us rocked out. By this point in the day, that rock combined with the heat, sun, lack of water and food, and small amounts of beer began to take a toll. A few of us needed a little nap, and sadly we missed out on a few stellar acts like Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Les Claypool, and Michael Franti. But we were up and back at it for Kings of Leon.

9:30 PM – Kings of Leon – What Stage

These dudes are huge pop stars now, but few who know them in the mainstream realize they have their roots in southern rock and began their journey to stardom here at Bonnaroo. This set was a bit of a homecoming for them as big stars. I won’t pretend I’m a big fan (hence the lack of good pictures from their set) but it was nice to hear some good southern rock next to their current hits.

Midnight – The Flaming Lips performing Dark Side of the Moon featuring Stardeath and White Dwarfs – Which Stage

This is one of the shows I was specifically looking forward to all weekend. I’ve been a fan of the Flaming Lips‘ poppy weirdness for a long time, but I’d missed out on a few chances to see them live over the years. I was happy to hear they were gonna play a greatest hits set, followed by their take on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Although I loved songs like “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” and “She Don’t Use Jelly”, the DSOTM set didn’t totally thrill me. But the stage show was a massive spectacle.

And since I was pretty sure I was suffering from heat stroke, I went back to the RV to crash. Too bad, because I missed out on Kid Cudi, one of the rap acts I really wanted to see.

SATURDAY

And now we come to that rude awakening with the feet. The heat (and beer) did this set of Canadians in, and we were much slower getting up Saturday. I got up earlier than the others to try, in vain, to get into the Comedy Tent for Conan’s second show. No dice. I returned to find my festival friends slowly getting everything together to get back to the site for the second full day of music. Saturday was the day I was looking forward to the most.

2:30 PM – Norah Jones – Which Stage

Paula, Ruby and I went to check out this superstar who I thought had a pretty early set for someone of her stature. I only know about an album’s worth of her material, but I was delighted to see her open up playing guitar before sitting down for her trademark piano chops. It was a really sweet set. Then I parted from the ladies to dig some metal.

3:30 – ISIS – This Tent

ISIS play a unique style of epic, psychedelic metal that really defies any sort of specific label. Their shows are immense and powerful, and when I heard this was their last tour, I was especially thrilled they were on the Bonnaroo bill. They played an emotionally monumental set and although the fans will miss them, we’re glad they shared their stellar music with us over the past decade.

4:45 PM – Clutch – Sonic Stage

This was one of two Clutch sets at Bonnaroo, and since I had time to kill I wanted to check them out on the shorter more intimate Sonic Stage. It was nice to hear more stripped-down versions of their songs.

5:15 PM – The Melvins – This Tent

The living metal legends were one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Bonnaroo. They’ve been around for decades and have released some of the most kickass heavy music ever. Their new album also recently dropped and I loved it right away. They devoted about half of their set to it, but also played recent gems like “Billy Fish” and the “Civilized Worm”. Not much older stuff, but I love this current lineup so playing a set heavy on newer material was cool with me.

6:30 PM – The Dead Weather – What Stage

Anything Jack White touches is gold. This newest band is my least favourite of his projects, but since they’ve released two solid albums in two years, I’m loving them more with each spin. This was a raw rock set that firmly established my love for singer Allison Mosshart. What a stage presence.

7:30 PM – Weezer – Which Stage

Everyone knows their hit songs and their hardcore fans will annoy you at any show. Still, this was a really enjoyable set by a band that should be really admired for its longevity. The other highlight from their set was randomly running into Matt and Ruby again. I’d been on my own for hours, and to see them there was like Christmas.

8:30 PM – Stevie Wonder – What Stage

I’ve always believed you need to respect and experience the music that flourished in the generations before yours, and continue to echo throughout your life. That’s what Stevie Wonder is to me, and seeing a living legend like him in this setting was unbelievable. Hits like “Higher Ground” and “Superstition” were amazing, but hearing “Another Star” in the encore blew my mind.

11:30 PM – Jay-Z – What Stage

These were probably the two most anticipated consecutive headlining acts of the whole festival. Jay-Z put on the show of the weekend, hands down. He is already a legendary showman who dipped deep into his catalogue to craft a set unrivalled by anyone else at Bonnaroo. Almost all 80,000 people were there to see him at the What Stage, and he thoroughly impressed.

Again, our asses were kicked and we couldn’t handle anymore. We went to chill by the mushroom fountain, grabbed a bite, and went back. Sadly, this meant we missed another highly anticipated band – GWAR – but I wasn’t too sad because I’ve seen them before. It took all my will and strength to handle another day.

SUNDAY

Gimme shelter

Sunday was by far the hottest day and fortunately the most lax. There was only a handful of bands I really wanted to check out so luckily we could take it a bit easier, with more time to chill in the shade. The heat was seriously that bad.

So I went to watch my first game of this year’s World Cup – Germany vs. Australia. The Germans won handily and I was pleased.

From there I checked out a band called Lucero who played a pretty cool style of country music.

Then it was off to see Against Me! and then Blues Traveler for a couple quick tunes, before moving on to the bulk of what we wanted to see.

Blues Traveler at the Sonic Stage

4:00 PM – John Fogerty – What Stage

This was pretty much just a set of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s greatest hits. The former CCR frontman milked nostalgia, but it was still pretty fun listening to some of the tunes I grew up hearing from my parents. “Ramble Tamble” was the standout.

5:00 PM – Ween – Which Stage

Anyone who knows me knows Ween is my favourite band. I love their ability to play almost any kind of music and how well those studio gems translate live. This was a pretty standard show of lots of songs I’d seen them play live before, but that’s nothing to complain about. Also, a water balloon hit me right in the face before the show started. It was just what the doctor ordered.

6:30 PM – Zac Brown Band – What Stage

It seemed authentic to wind down our first Bonnaroo experience down with some seemingly authentic country music. The Zac Brown Band fit the bill so their tunes more than sufficed.

9:30 – Dave Matthews Band – What Stage

One of the few DMB songs I like is “Don’t Drink the Water”. He opened with it, so there wasn’t much else for me to see. I stuck around for about half of the set and dug it. His fans love him and most of the crowd was there to see him, so you gotta give him props for that.

And that was my first experience at Bonnaroo. It was truly the most eclectic music festival I’ve ever been to, and that was just the music. There was a lot of comedy and other artistic performances I didn’t check out. We’re already planning next year’s trip. The people of Tennessee were truly kind and hospitable, and the 80,000 other music fans there were fun and open-minded. Next year is the 10th edition of Bonnaroo, so you can expect something huge.

If you wanna see more of my pics, check out this facebook album.

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High on Fire
Snakes for the Divine

The adrenal gland needs its own theme music. When that rush of adrenaline is pumping through your body, there are very few fitting genres of music. High on Fire has been specializing in brutally powerful riff metal for a long time, and their formula will have the meekest music enthusiasts ready to pound down brick walls. Matt Pike and his band have honed a very distinct brand of metal that’s based entirely on fast, loud, and ethereal guitar chops, rounded out by growling vocals and the tightest and heaviest rhythm section in the genre.

As usual, the album comes out swinging with the title track. A searing finger-tapping opening riff reminiscent of a cross between Black Sabbath and Van Halen. But it’s Pike’s expansion on that seemingly basic theme along with the ferocious bass licks and pounding drums that elevate this music well above that basic comparison. The riffs also begin simply on other standout tracks like “Frost Hammer” and “How Dark We Pray”, but as the cornerstones of most High on Fire songs, they unravel into beautifully complex heavy metal melodies. It’s an evolution that’s thrilling to trace within each track.

That’s the trademark High on Fire sound, and it’s a formula they’ve stuck to since 2005′s Blessed Black Wings. Fans won’t hear much of a departure from that album. But if there’s anything metal fans appreciate, it’s consistency, and you can count on these guys to get your adrenal gland pumping album after album.

Blakroc

Aerosmith and Run-DMC thought it’d be a good idea back in 1986 to record a rap/rock collaboration of “Walk this Way” and bring it to the mainstream. Then Anthrax and Public Enemy did a better job with a heavier “Bring the Noise” in 1991. Then a couple years later, the Judgment Night soundtrack came out, a full album’s worth of rap/rock/metal collaborations from the most popular artists of the time. But as the 1990s progressed, bands devoted their whole careers to mashing rap and rock, and with each copycat the music got progressively worse and we listeners got dumber for hearing it.

But finally in 2010, Blackroc has reversed that trend. The brainchild of Akron, Ohio’s The Black Keys, this album captures the original spirit of that partnership of making revolutionary music and building bridges. Here you have soulful melodies and beats rapped and sung over by some of today’s best artists in rap and R & B, like Raekwon, the RZA, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, Ludacris, Q-Tip and Nicole Wray. They even dug up some old Ol’ Dirty Bastard vocal tracks and made a song around them.

It’s a very energetic and eclectic project, due largely to the obvious enthusiasm and dedication of everyone involved. The Black Keys have always played stripped-down and soulful blues-rock – something that’s very translatable to hip-hop. Almost any of their older albums could have easily become Blakroc, because of the universal riffs and rhythms. Perhaps they waited until now to release it because of the saturation in the rap/rock genre earlier in their careers. Regardless, this album has restored the faith of music fans who had to endure the all the garbage of the late 1990s.

Joanna Newsom
Have One on Me

One of my all-time favourite albums is Joanna Newsom’s Ys. I bought it on a whim after reading a few glowing reviews shortly after it was released at the end of 2006, and it totally blew me away. It was unlike anything I had ever heard and whenever it came on I became so captivated that I’d have to listen to it right to the end. One of the main reasons is she plays the harp, and there’s not much I listen to based on that ancient and bizarre instrument. On top of that, she weaves intricate and epic narratives into her massive songs. Some may find her lyrics a little strange and perhaps esoteric, but after a few listens they totally suck you in.

So to follow up that masterpiece, she just released a TRIPLE album. If the last one wasn’t enough of a mindblast, she decided to bring it threefold on this one. But before giving it a spin, I went into this one a little cautiously. In contemporary music, excess and eccentricity don’t necessarily make good albums. Quality over quantity, less is more, blah blah blah. I was delightfully surprised to hear an album of focused, shorter songs that flow rather seamlessly. Have One on Me is also a journey, but a slightly less intense and equally enjoyable one as Ys.

The unconventional instruments are still there, along with her nasally voice delivering sometimes bizarre ballads. But there’s also a lot more percussion – something totally missing on her last album. That should make these songs more accessible to newer fans. At over two hours of music, I’m still digesting it, but I’ll always appreciate the new path she’s trying to chart for modern music.

Do you have any new music recommendations? Leave them in the comments!

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I bought tickets for the Winnipeg show at MTS Centre right when they went on sale. My fervor paid off – I scored floors. So right away I was counting down the days until the show. When the tour finally kicked off, though, that excitement simmered to a steady boil. The day of their show in Whitehorse, a buddy who lives there texted me to say they played a surprise afternoon show at a downtown park.

Meg and Jack in Whitehorse - photo courtesy Rob Stalkie

Finally, the day came for their Winnipeg show. It was the holiday Monday after Canada Day. I was lucky enough to have it off, and it was a gorgeous, vibrant sunny afternoon. Everyone knew they were gonna show up somewhere, but I really had no clue where. I was out for coffee with a friend when the phone rang. It was another buddy who heard from someone else that the White Stripes were gonna play an afternoon show, and that if fans wanted to try to catch them, they had to show up at the street corner across from Canwest Park. We rushed down there.

About 30 other fans heard the same buzz. Everyone was milling about, not really sure what to expect or where the band would actually be playing. This was, after all, just a random street corner on the outskirts of downtown Winnipeg. A couple dozen more showed up as text messages starting flying about. There were also three dudes dressed up in black suits with red ties and fedoras just standing on the opposite corner. They were clearly part of the White Stripes’ entourage, but they weren’t offering up any details. Finally, after about half an hour, a bus showed up, and two of them got on. One signaled to the crowd to get on too. However, only about half of the fans were able to, and the bus left. The rest of us stood there, confused. In a few minutes, text messages started coming back to us who missed the bus, saying Jack and Meg got on at the next stop, and played a few songs for the lucky bus riders.

Naturally, we were bummed. But one of the black-clad handlers told us to sit tight. After a few more minutes he told us to follow him, and led us to the end of the Provencher bridge. Again, more waiting, but we were much more optimistic we’d catch one of these rare community shows fans in other cities had been so lucky to experience. Suddenly, we saw two familiar figures emerge from the Salisbury House restaurant that’s on the bridge. Luckily, I remembered my camera.

They stood on the concrete edge of the railing, and serenaded us with three acoustic songs.

It was over in under 15 minutes, but it was one of the greatest little sets of music I’ve ever witnessed. It wasn’t just the intimacy and calibre of the experience that totally warmed my heart – it was the effort. Not only did this band defy the odds by playing every single corner of this country that summer, they made sure their fans got the most of their visit. There are few other bands who would go out of their way to make a tour such a complete experience for their fans. I was always really into them after they broke out with White Blood Cells, but this firmly established them in the canon of legendary bands for me. The show at MTS Centre later that night was epic as well. Picking up that documentary this week will be a sweet reminder and lifelong souvenir. I’ll always be grateful for being able to spend that day with them.

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Mainstream popular culture has always had an odd infatuation with “Indians”, even though that’s never really carried over to real life. It’s more of an obsession with the imagery rather than some of the wholesome ideals all of our cultures are based on. Take the following Cher video, for example:

Granted, Cher claims to in fact be a half-breed (half “Cherokee”, as many of them say). But this must have been early on in her own personal cultural renaissance. The video opens with a totem pole, and then cuts to Cher in a Lakota-like headdress and getup – two things that have nothing to do with each other. Pure exploitation of the image. Don’t get me wrong, I love the song. I’ve belted it out more than once at karaoke bars (I’m a half-breed myself). But Cher wasn’t doing any of her native brothers and sisters any favours with this video. For me, the real star is the totally stoic horse, who’s obviously totally gooned on PCP.

Then there’s this gem from Loretta Lynn called “Your Squaw is on the Warpath”

I’ve always been a big fan of Loretta Lynn for blazing a trail for female musicians. And this song is kinda awesome, if you follow the narrative in the lyrics. You can easily argue she’s simply using Indian metaphors for the plight of a frustrated woman. But I can’t excuse the use of the word “squaw”. It’s one of the most offensive terms out there referring to Aboriginal women. I have trouble even saying it. Apparently she’s also part “Cherokee”, which is her supposed license to sing such a song.

But you’d be hard-pressed to find any Cherokees in this crowd…

Shifting from pop music to sports, baseball fans will be familiar with this. It’s the “Tomahawk Chop”, insensitively popularized by Atlanta Braves fans in the early 1990s. This dumbfounded me as a 12 year old, and it blows my mind even today. I made a more comprehensive commentary (see “Indians Finally Win One!) a few years ago on Native American imagery in pro sports (originally an article turned down by VICE Magazine), so I won’t go more into this now. But the chop is alive and well, proving white suburbanites in Georgia still want to be Indian. Scalp those Pittsburgh Pirates!

Such examples are varied and far-reaching, so a post like this could go on and on. But fear not, we’re slowly taking over the mainstream media and we’ll do our best to eradicate exploitation! Cue the pow-wow intro music…

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So here are my favourite albums from 2009:

Digging Roots – We Are

Spirit and emotion are at the roots of good music, and not many bands can harness that as well as Digging Roots can. While their last album was a mind-blowing tour de force, this one transcends even that brilliance. It’s a fantastic eclectic blend of blues, soul, rock, and rap. Everyone needs to see the passion Raven and ShoShona have for the music they play.

Mastodon – Crack the Skye

I’m pretty sure they ate a forest of mushrooms before making this one, because it’s a totally bizarre concept album. They even played it the whole way through live, which is a very self-indulgent and esoteric move. But after many listens, it’s one of their best because of the narrative they created for it coupled with the mind-blowing metal music. “The Last Baron” is now in the canon of epic tunes – up there with “Echoes” and “No Quarter”.

Propogandhi – Supporting Caste

This album is the perfect marriage of punk and metal. Raw chords, compelling vocal melodies, and some amazingly tight beats. These Winnipeg dudes have been grinding for the cause for many years now, and I think this is by far their best album. Regardless of your political leanings, you need to hear this for the music alone. And the message is a nice byproduct.

Joel Plaskett – Three

I’ve always appreciated his musicianship, but have only been a casual fan. Then I heard him on CBC’s Definitely Not the Opera explain why everything is better “in threes”. That prompted me to pick up this album, and on the first listen I was blown away. He is a musical gem and I can’t wait to hear what he does next.

Them Crooked Vultures

The “supergroup” of the year. On paper, members of Queens of the Stone Age, Nirvana, and Led Zeppelin should make some of the best music you’ve ever heard. It didn’t quite meet those expectations, but this is still the best rock n’ roll album that’s come out in a while. If you listen closely, you can hear distinct influences from each aforementioned band.

Priestess – Prior to the Fire

Every year there’s a “guitar album” that inspires me to pick one up and try to chug out riffs. That’s what this one did for me. They are the best rock band in the world right now and they deserve credit above anyone else. The intricacies of the guitar work should perk up anyone’s ears, and the rhythm section ain’t bad either.

The Bronx – III

Just a righteous rock n’ roll album.

The Bastard Fairies – Memento Mori

The best discovery of the year for me. I saw them play a stripped-down acoustic show back in November and bought their album right after. Music that defies labels will always appeal to me, and this one fits into that vague category. Yellow Thunder Woman embodies the sex appeal and intrigue that any front woman should. Her voice will rope you in.

Pearl Jam – Backspacer

Originally I felt obliged to throw them on the list just because I’ve been a fan since I was 13. But after recent spins I realized there’s really something to be said about longevity and credibility, and Pearl Jam has never wavered. It’s the same formula they’ve stuck to for years, but that’s not a bad thing at all.

Slayer – World Painted Blood

The band that pretty much pioneered modern-day heavy metal still finds ways to push the envelope. This is is edgier than anything else you hear these days that is “heavy”. They could repeatedly rewrite the bible of heavy metal and it’d be okay. And to think, they’re all almost 50.

That’s what I listened to in the last 12 months, and as always I look forward to hearing what comes out in the new year. Post some of your faves!

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Slayer
MTS Centre
June 27
Regardless of the stigma that’s linked to a band like Slayer, their live show is something everyone needs to experience. Amazing dedicated fans and some of the tightest music anyone can ever see live. I’ve seen them many times over the years and this was the best performance I’ve ever witnessed. What’s more impressive is that these dudes are all pushing 50 and they can still lay down thrash metal better than anyone else. And having Megadeth open was just a pleasant added bonus.

Neko Case
Winnipeg Folk Festival
July 10

She has a voice that can make the most hardened criminal cower. When she sings, everyone pays attention. That’s power. She was definitely the highlight for me at this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival, and I felt blessed to hear her sing her songs in person. I think if everyone on this planet listened to her, we would truly achieve world peace.

Metallica
MTS Centre
October 12

The last time I saw these dudes was at Lollapalooza in 1996. That’s right when they decided to be a trendy “rock” band. It was still a good show, but disappointing because of the path they tried to blaze to stay relevant at the time. I heard their new album last year and was thoroughly impressed, and decided to check out this show. It was a nice reminder of why they are living metal legends.

Mastodon
Garrick Theatre
April 28

Every time Mastodon puts out a new album, it’s really exciting because you know they’re gonna do something totally innovative. Their new one is no exception, although it was hard to digest at first. So they decided to play the whole thing through live on their tour. That’s a totally lame Rush kinda thing to do, but after I saw it I appreciated it way more. And to send the hardcore fans home with a smile, they closed with “March of the Fire Ants”.

Digging Roots
Martial Caron Theatre
November 7
Actually the best musical performance I experienced this year was seeing these guys play “Cut My Hair” the night before at the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards. It brought tears to my eyes and made my whole body shiver. But seeing their own whole set is always a really special thing, and they showcased that unrivaled talent at this show to close off the inaugural Aboriginal Music Week. Raven and ShoShona have an unwavering romantic dedication to their music that everyone needs to see live.

AC/DC
CanadInns Stadium
August 22
It was a stereotypical rock show but it was a perfect summer moment. A totally sold out football stadium on a Saturday night with people who just wanted to rock out and have a good time. They played all the classics to appease the 42,000-strong crowd, but the way they did it solidified why they are locked in to the canon of rock n’ roll. Seeing the sun set on the Prairies while the opening riff to “Hell’s Bells” rang across was a truly unforgettable moment.

Elvis Costello
Winnipeg Folk Festival
July 8

He was rightfully the biggest draw to this year’s Folk Fest and he proved why. For someone like me who only knows his hits, it was a nice reminder why he is such a legendary powerhouse. But seeing his command of his music and the crowd moved me to look deeper into the remarkable things he’s done throughout his career.

The Lytics
Royal Albert Arms
September 12
You don’t often see hip-hop at a punk rock staple like the Albert, but these dudes definitely threw it down with their set here. Really uplifting and tight rhymes that totally catered to a younger crowd of very enthusiastic people. They sort of remind me of what A Tribe Called Quest would have been like when they started out 20 years ago.

Wab Kinew
Pyarmid Cabaret
January 24
Hip-hop is always better with a full live backing band, and Wab assembled a killer crew to debut his new album Live by the Drum. It’s an eclectic and powerful collection of songs from one of the most talented young Anishinaabs in the country, so it was great to see it translated so well live.

Priestess
Pyramid Cabaret
November 25
Getting to this point has probably been a tough road for these dudes – having a much-anticipated follow-up album dropped and picked up a few times by record labels. They play the best rock n’ roll guitar riffs out there today, and as a guitar player it’s a real treat to see how they play them live. Priestess embodies the true energy and spirit that rock music should really be.

Next week…my favourite albums of the year. Stay tuned!

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Lots of songs from all kinds of genres can do this. There’s no single perfect tune. I could list dozens from the humble music collection I’ve assembled over the years. Perfectly orchestrated tracks of rhythm, lyrics, and melody. There are certain elements – like a line or a solo – that help propel these songs above everything else you’ve ever heard. But it’s the package as a whole that makes the perfect song transcend body and spirit. For me, one of those songs is Ween‘s “Buenos Tardes Amigo”.

It’s track 13 on the band’s 1994 breakthrough album Chocolate and Cheese. From New Hope, Pennsylvania, Ween has an eclectic catalogue of albums with songs that range from rock to country to synth-pop. Many of their song titles and lyrics lean on the bizarre, and they’ve been long considered a “joke” band by many critics. But their musical talent and dedication have built them a strong fan base that keeps growing and obscures those premature “novelty” labels. And it’s a song like “Buenos Tardes Amigo” that proves it.

The song is seven minutes and seven seconds of an epic narrative about jealousy, vengeance, and murder in a small Mexican village. It opens with a slow A minor chord on the acoustic guitar. It’s a stable, soothing constant in a song that spins modestly out of control. The rhythmic strumming is the foundation – like looking at the tortilla shell of a mystery quesadilla and not really knowing what’s in it. As the story progresses, a synthetic arrangement of strings in the background gets louder. The stripped-down and slow faux salsa rhythm gives way to actual drums, and it climaxes in one of the simplest yet most haunting guitar solos anyone has ever played. And then the last verse: a chilling twist of a denouement that will have you skipping back to the beginning of the song as soon as it’s done, just to hear the story again.

That narrative is really what carries “Buenos Tardes Amigo”. But every instrument attached to it intensifies the story exponentially. I’ll leave it up to you to Google the lyrics, but you should really listen to the song before reading them. Ween is my favourite band and I’ve had the fortune of seeing them a half dozen times over the past ten years, but I’ve only heard them play this live once – the first time I saw them at the Warehouse in Toronto in the summer of 1999. Maybe that elusiveness adds to the song’s intrigue for me. But this is the first song that got me hooked on the band, and if you ask any other Ween fan they’ll say the same thing.

It’s a timeless masterpiece I’ll never get sick of. I hang on every word, every note, and every beat. I get the shivers every time I hear that slow guitar solo heavily soaked in reverb. And for me, it’s a perfect song.

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There are standards in rock music like no other. The archetypes who wrote the blueprints will always appeal to 13-year-old kids just as much today as they did 30 years ago. It will always be cool to like Led Zeppelin. There’ll never be another rock guitar god quite like Hendrix. And few contemporary bands will write party anthems as well as AC/DC could. And that’s why people who grew up listening to them will keep bringing their kids to their shows. The rock show is both a cliche and a rite of passage in itself, but at the end of the day it’s still an unforgettable spectacle that people will continue to flock to. A massive, blow-up Rosie doll and cannons to close out the show? I’m glad I didn’t miss out on that.

Cliches aside, as resilient as rock music is, it falls short in versatility. Its glory days brought huge social upheaval with them, but it’s lacked that universal appeal for more than 20 years now. Rap was a new artistic vision created to speak to a growing demographic of young black people. It boomed, and has its own cliches today, but still it draws in new young fans in a way that rock can’t. Rock also can’t get people dancing like electronic music. And its emotion pales hugely in comparison to the heartache in any country twang.

But nothing compares to live rock music. The shows will always sell out. The classics will never get old. They’ll continue to infect the ears of the young for decades to come. I grew up listening to everything – from Metallica and Guns N’ Roses to Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys in the late 1980s. Those tastes branched rapidly like a tree on steroids in the early 1990s, as I started going to shows like Lollapalooza. I still try to keep as much of an open mind as I can to this day when it comes to new music. But I know when it comes time to take my kids to shows, it’ll be to the new generation of classics, like Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age, and Tool. Bands that I can count on still being around when I’m in my 40s.

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