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DNA. These songs are in all of our DNA. I love the Rubber Soul / Revolver time period. It was like something was rumbling. We knew change was coming and The Beatles lit the flares.
Here’s a quick selection of my 5 favourite songs from Rubber Soul and Revolver. Please note, I could change my mind an hour from now.
NOWHERE MAN
The vocal intro freezes you in time. The guitar solo sounds like space travel. John sings like a young man who realizes he’s getting smarter.
PERFORMANCES
Jim Gaffigan (Saturday): Jim Gaffigan hits the Massey Hall stage this weekend in what’s sure to be a very funny evening. You may know Gaffigan from his appearances on late night shows with David Letterman and Conan O’Brien but my personal fave was his guest appearance as the loveable, if odd, best friend to Murray on Flight of the Conchords (recall his initial introduction to Murray’s “newly added friends” Bret and Jermaine over barbeque). Check out the embedded video above for some of Gaffigan’s more classic stand-up, this time on the topic of camping from his perspective (he notes that he is “what you would call indoorsy”).
Spencer Wells, Deep Ancestory: Inside The Genographic Project (Monday): The third presentation in this year’s new National Geographic Live series, Spencer Wells is a Population Geneticist who is currently taking it upon himself to create a “detailed, genetically-based map of human migration.” Seriously impressive stuff, right? (Makes your victory dance about the accomplishment of finally cleaning the attic this weekend seem a bit lacklustre, doesn’t it?). You can read all about the project here and learn about how you can participate by doing a cheek swab to “reveal your deep ancestry” here.
I doubt The Band set out to make the greatest rock movie ever. Most bands, when they break up, dissolve into a pool of watered down press releases all citing musical differences. We’ve heard it all before. But not The Band.
They get the greatest concert promoter in the history of music – Bill Graham – to produce a farewell show. Then they get the greatest filmmaker in the history of film – Martin Scorsese – to direct and document the evening. Then they get the world’s greatest musicians together to play some of the greatest music ever made.
Things like this don’t happen anymore. Today there’s a team of people behind the scenes all going over contract details and backstage riders before their ‘treasured artists’ step foot in the door. But in 1976, it was less formal and more about the music. The Last Waltz is the sound of some hippies getting together and saying goodbye. Thanks for the trip. CONTINUE READING >
PERFORMANCES
Classic Albums Live, The Band: The Last Waltz (Friday): If you haven’t yet had the chance to see a Classic Albums Live show, what a fantastic time to start! Classic Albums Live presents albums, “note-for-note, cut-for-cut” live, each show with a fantastic hand-crafted band for that recording. This Friday brings to Massey Hall an aural re-creation of The Band’s epic concert recording (and film) masterpiece, The Last Waltz, on the evening of the original event’s 35th anniversary.
Justin Rutledge (Friday): We’re delighted that one Justin Rutledge will appear on the Glenn Gould Studio stage this Friday night and you should be too: his latest album, The Early Widows, was produced by Hawksley Workman and one of the tracks was co-written by canonized Can-lit icon Michael Ondaatje. For a complete Justin Rutledge-themed evening, check out CBC Radio 3 to try your hand at Mr. Rutledge’s Pear and Gorgonzola Linguine recipe. Saturday Saints start the night as Special Guests – you can check out their MySpace page here.
Women’s Blues Revue (Saturday): This weekend also brings to Massey Hall the Toronto Blues Society’s 25th annual Women’s Blues Revue. As usual, the performers on the bill are top notch – this year the show features Shakura S’Aida, Suzie Vinnick, Kat Danser, Ada Lee, Emma-Lee, and Treasa Levasseur. The Women’s Blues Revue Band backs the evening and includes, among other talented folk, Brandi Disterheft, who also performs solo at Glenn Gould Studio this February. Can’t wait until Saturday? Watch Ada Lee discuss why she is looking forward to the event, here – and check the live recording from last year’s event over on CBC Concerts on Demand.
JUST ANNOUNCED
If you’ve missed it, this has been a week of very exciting show announcements. The Coles’ Notes:
A second Sam Roberts Band show will now take place on June 4 (again, with special guest Zeus) – tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday and FriendsFirst members have access to tickets starting Thursday. Sam Roberts bands’ new album Collider makes itself available for purchase on May 10 – which gives you lots of time to study it thoroughly prior to the two concerts but if you can’t wait until then, the first single “I Feel You” is now available on iTunes.
And, Bill Maher hits Massey Hall’s stage on Saturday, September 24. Bill Maher has made a name for himself with his commentary and take on world events and issues. A comedian first starting in 1979, Maher gained fame from his television shows Politically Incorrect (1993-2002) and more recently on HBO’s Real Time earning 22 Emmy nominations. Tickets for Maher go on sale to the public on Friday, April 15 and for FriendsFirst members on Wednesday. Want to know more about the FriendsFirst program? Check this out.
But there’s more! We’ve just announced that Kellylee Evans will be joining the bill as special guest to Dianne Reeves’ show this Saturday (details below). Evans just won a Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year for her release Nina, a tribute to jazz giant Nina Simone. You can check out video of Evans over on her website.
Not enough you say? Challenge accepted! We just announced the 11|12 Virtuoso Performances series line-up for the 2011-2012 Season. We’ll start the year by welcoming back Maestro Valery Gergiev conducting the Mariinsky Orchestra featuring Georgian pianist Alexander Toradze. Then in the spring we welcome Yundi (formerly known as Yundi Li), winner of the 200 Chopin International Piano Competition. Yundi will showcase his prowess at the work of Chopin and will also be performing works by Chinese composers (full program TBA). The series concludes with the duo-recital of bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff and tenor Michael Schade accompanied by Justus Zeyen on piano (who accompanied Measha Brueggergosman at Roy Thomson Hall on her November recital). The program features lieder selections of Mendelssohn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms. You can read all about the series here and order subscriptions through our box office now.
I love that nobody knows what to call this album. Four? ZOSO? Stairway To Heaven? The album with the old man with a bunch of sticks on his back? Whatever you call it, it remains one of the all time greats. And it’s always been a part of my life.
The album was released in 1971. Its been blaring out of cars and bedrooms since then. Growing up, ‘Stairway To Heaven’ was the song that defined us. Appropriate because I’m not even sure what the lyrics mean. I mean – what the hell is a ‘bustle in a hedgerow?’ I heard ‘Stairway’ on Q10Zeppelin a couple months ago and it was like hearing the song for the first time. I couldn’t move. All I could envision was the performance at Massey Hall. Over the years I’ve seen countless bands ruin Zeppelin. We’re going to fix that. On April 16 you will see the album performed perfectly for the first time in history. That’s a bold statement but I’ve got the guys to do it.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzHLeDBKprA
NEW ANNOUNCES
Video Games Live will be stopping into Massey Hall in May for their third appearance there. The concert melds live renditions of the music from video games along side perfectly synchronized video clips – video games and franchises to be live include childhood faves like Mario, Zelda, and Sonic, arcade classics like Frogger and Space Invaders, and more recent hits like Rainbow Six and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The Globe and Mail recently reviewed Video Games Live’s DVD release “Video Games Live: Level 2” very favourably indeed. Even PBS thinks it’s totally awesome.
And just last night we announced that John Mellencamp will be performing not one, but two nights at Massey Hall. Tickets for the second performance on February 10 go on sale to our FriendsFirst members Wednesday and to the public on Friday. Happy Tuesday!
PERFORMANCES
“The Seasons Project,” Venice Baroque Orchestra & Robert McDuffie (Tonight, Tuesday): For an introduction to what this evening holds check out this podcast by Soundboard guest contributor Rick Phillips. Last year, Philip Glass’ The American Four Seasons, a co-commissioned project of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, premiered at Roy Thomson Hall. Now the piece returns to our stage, this time matched against its inspiration, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, and performed by the Venice Baroque Orchestra.
CBC Song Quest (Tonight, Tuesday): Cool beans! If you didn’t get a chance to hear the full versions of the songs on CBC Radio 2’s Drive on Friday afternoon, you can now hear samples of all of the final tracks from this year’s Great Canadian Song Quest including from Hannah Georgas (who performs as special guest with Royal Wood this November). Sound bytes not enough? I should hope not. This evening at Glenn Gould Studio, you can witness all thirteen artists who participated in this now annual project, perform their newly created odes to Canadian roads.
Black Crowes (Wednesday): Black Crowes hit the stage at Massey Hall on Wednesday of this week with a full acoustic set followed by a full electric set. This is the band’s last tour for quite some time; Rolling Stone uses the term “indefinite hiatus” describing what’s next for the band after this tour and exclaims “… the Crowes are leaving at a peak. See them while you can.”
Classic Albums Live: The Beatles, The White Album (Friday): If you didn’t read Classic Albums Live founder Craig Martin’s post on why The White Album is the Beatles’ best, then you should. Classic Albums Live has perfected the art of perfection – recreating albums (classic ones, naturally), note for note, cut for cut. On Friday night, they take over Massey Hall with live renditions of your white album favourites including “Blackbird,” “Helter Skelter,” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” (which you may recall I recently declared was a must-have on my Road Trip Mix-tape.)
In related news, the first London home in which John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived together received an CONTINUE READING >
One night, I laid out the four individual pictures of the lads that came with the ‘White Album.’ The four shots are so beautiful. And telling. A perfect visual match to the album. There’s something about the way they look at you in those shots. As if to say “You’re going to know this album and these pictures for the rest of your life.”
This is a unified album. There has been much talk and documentation to the contrary, but this is the sound of 4 young men coming into their own. Together. Asserting themselves. Clashing and collaborating. All in search of a great recording.
It’s not even called the ‘White Album.’ That’s just a name fans gave it. It’s official title is ‘The Beatles.’ But it’s the ‘White Album.’ Their best selling album. Their best album. Period.
Supposedly it was a miserable record for them to make. I’ve read about this. What freaked me out the most was that they didn’t have big lavish spreads of food and drink set out for them. They never did. They would argue over packages of chips or ‘crisps.’ Nip out for lunch. Come back and record. There was a work ethic in effect.
I always thought the rock star sense of entitlement spoiled the music. The Beatles never once fell victim to this. Even at times of great disagreement they would forge on, crafting songs and lending their support to each other. I can’t imagine that ever happening in this day and age. These days a minor disagreement turns into a break up and the next thing you know – everyone is calling their publicists. But not the Beatles. It all went into the music. They were beginning to get a true sense of how good they really were. The ‘White Album’ is the sound of them deconstructing their legacy and then putting it back together. Brilliant.
On the surface, the two shows presented in our halls this Saturday couldn’t seem more opposite. At Massey Hall, Classic Albums Live perform Pink Floyd’s The Wall and at Roy Thomson Hall, TSO continue their week-long festival, a tribute to iconic composer Jean Sibelius. Perhaps the two have more in common than one might think.
A fiercely poetic and passionate composer, Jean Sibelius (1865 – 1957) has been described as a monumental figure in shaping the Finnish national identity. Revered for works such as Finlandia, his artistic output, which famously includes seven symphonies, were virtually all composed prior to 1926. A composer during the tale end of the Romantic Movement, his compositions echoed the natural beauty, fragility and allure of his homeland. Often describing the sounds of his music by the sights and smells of the seasons, his was a dark and meticulous effort, which to this day remains as important to the culture of the Finnish people as it does to the treasured works of the genre. CONTINUE READING >
Emilie-Claire Barlow
PERFORMANCES
Emilie-Claire Barlow (Thursday and Friday): The charming and talented Emilie-Claire Barlow returns to Glenn Gould Studio for two nights of delightful jazz vocals. To get to know Emilie-Claire a little bit better, check out her website and blog (and be sure to let her know if you know where to buy quince this time of year or are in the market for a grand piano.)
Classic Albums Live Performs Pink Floyd: The Wall (Saturday): The name says it all: these folks are brilliant at performing uncannily realistic recreations of albums (classic ones), live. Last fall, Classic Albums Live brought us Abbey Road on its 40th birthday and now you have a chance to hear Pink Floyd, “Note for note. Cut for Cut. Brick by brick.” Whether you need one or not, prepare yourself for An Education
FREE Noon Hour Choir & Organ Concert
February 23 2012
Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra w/ Wynton Marsalis
February 23 2012
Pavlo
February 24 2012
Whitehorse
February 24 2012
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