The first Monday of each month is regularly dedicated to being wing night. Unfortunately last week we skipped on the occasion in order to opt for some resting up for our trip to Montreal for Summer Slaughter 2010 - which was well deserved.
However tradition was back with us this week when we descended upon the James St. Pub in search of all you can eat wings and of course - drinks!
Mondays tend to be made all the more awesome when you add any of the following to the mix: Strongbow, Guinness, rum and cokes, whiskey sours, zombies and the fabled Raspberry Ballin'.
But none can contend with the almighty Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster! It's Green (or blue!) and simply: Amazing.
Summer is usually a more or less slow period over at the office. People take extended vacations, work comes and goes and some days can actually be quite slow.
Today was one of those slow days. It took a breakfast sandwich on pumpernickel and some quality Djent tunes to keep my focus in the early hours - and the afternoon was just as long.
Nearly all management were either off for the day or on vacation, leaving some people as acting Mangers/Directors of the office for the end of the week. So leave it to Acting Mangers to provide you with the catalyst to what I call: some good old fashioned lulz.
The Acting Manager for my corner of the office came up to me this morning for some idle chatter and provided me with a prime opportunity that I couldn't possibly pass up.
Acting Manager:There's just so much to do today. I need more workers.
Yesterday was officially the day that the 2010 Summer Slaughter Tour steamrolled through Montreal, so me and the boys hopped into a vehicle, pounded out some tunes on the stereo and drove well over under the speed limit as we made our way down to Club Soda to meet Vital Remains, Animals as Leaders, Carnifex, Decrepit Birth, Cephalic Carnage, Veil of Maya, The Red Chord, All Shall Perish, The Faceless and The Decapitated.
Admittedly there was one among us who is not a particular fan of Death Metal and was only there two see two bands.
While this would have usually put a damper on the day, it still provided some hilarity in between the thunder of blast beats and the thunder and rain outside in between sets. Out of the ten groups set to hit the stage, we stayed to see six but left on surely the high note of the evening, in my opinion.
The show started off on a moot point, seeing as how Vital Remains were without a vocalist and bassist thanks to our friends at customs. However it wouldn't be long before Animals as Leaders, the veritable odd group out of the Deathly lineup of groups, would hit the stage and set the bar for the rest of the evening. The Instrumental progressive metal and ridiculous guitar sweeps of Tosin Abasi (posed ever so slyly above) had the entire venue demanding more. But unfortunately they only had enough time for four tracks, though all of them gems, including: Wave of Babies, Tempting Time, On Impulse and closing with CAFO.
Following Animals as Leaders we took a trip into the hardcore rain that was slaughtering the Montreal streets and returned to catch the second half of Carnifex who provided some nice meaty breakdowns and brutal vocals. Decrepit Birth then followed providing a decent but somewhat lackluster performance of the six groups I witnessed in the evening. Cephalic Carnage then segued into their set and garnered some well deserved laughs from the crowd whilst providing some solid, blistering grindcore goodness.
Veil of Maya were number one on the list of must see groups for me yesterday and they proved that my anticipation was well deserved. Their performance was definitely the show stealer, not only for me but many nearby that were on hand. Their blend of Death Metal, Progressive and Djent make them a stand out in almost any lineup. I'm definitely looking forward to the next chance I get to see these four guys again.
My post Bluesfest blues finally came to an end last night as I got to enjoy a show at the Capital Music Hall which served as good preparation for the upcoming onslaught that will be the Summer Slaughter Tour in Montreal, on August 3rd.
The show I'm referring to showcased Ohio's own Skeletonwitch who delivered an all around awesome performance. Although they played as openers their set contained very few breaks, just enough to toss out a few quips about drinking beer, getting stoned and my personal favorite:
I hope you guys are having fun!
Well this next song is all about FUN!
This song is about:
*Death Growl*
SAAAATAAAANNN!
Second to hit the stage was Priestess, whom I'd seen just 8 months ago while in town on their CD release tour for Prior to the Fire. This time around, the acoustics were much better, mainly because of the change of venue and the projection was also much improved. They're definitely a group I enjoy going to see anytime they're nearby and I look forward to seeing them again.
The headliners for the evening were High on Fire, but contrary to some of my friends, I didn't stick around to see them. At first when I got the tickets to the show I didn't know they were even on the bill. A lot of people laud them for their hard charging sound and I'm definitely not foreign to it - but I've never been a big fan of them particularly.
It's like mustard - I enjoy dijon, honey mustard and other varieties, but not plain yellow mustard. For some reason, High on Fire is like plain yellow mustard to me.
Well it's over - it's been over, for over a day now. Bluesfest has officially left Lebreton Flats for the year 2010 and will not return until next July. Now I don't know what to do - well at least until Friday when Priestess and Skeletonwitch arrive at Maverick's. Which will leave a short week for my trip down to Montreal on August 3rd for Summer Slaughter 2010. I guess it's safe to say this years post bluesfest blues will be, quite short.
Admittedly I missed a decent portion of this years fun fest, including being sick off my ass for what some would argue - even myself - to be the overall best day of the festival on Saturday July 10th, where I systematically missed Roger Hodgson (Supertramp), Metric, Passion Pit and the wacky and wild live performance of the Flaming Lips.
But I got my fill of the festival, getting to see old favorites, including Iron Maiden, Dream Theatre and Rush during week one. And following up week two with the Arcade Fire, one of my all-time favorites Matthew Good and to close out the festival on Sunday night, Weezer.
There was plenty of good talent on hand as usual, throughout the festival which is one of the reasons I usually try to get in as much as possible - it's always fun to soak in some new music, even though this Bluesfest was slightly marred by the ridiculous humidity.
On a final note, I will say that there were many great performances. Biased as I am to Matt Good, I still say he could have benefited from a headlining position and played a longer set, but his festival sets are a nice contrast to the tour set I saw from him at the NAC earlier this winter. Weezer definitely wins the prize though. Rivers Cuomo reinforced his status at being the Man last night by going crazy and climbing around the stage, dumping garbage into the crowd (and onto my friend Dave, I might add) and then easing into the end of their set by preluding Buddy Holly with, well this ridiculous cover of Kids by MGMT and Poker Face by Lady Gaga - blonde wig and all.
Rivers Cuomo provides the only legitimate reason in existence to openly listen to the song Poker Face, as seen below, enjoy:
Well it's over. The World Cup of Karate Soccer 2010 has come to a very intriguing close.
From the opening days of the tournament, my eyes were fixated on my two favorite international teams: Germany and l'Oranje (Netherlands). While Germany put on a dazzling display of goal scoring power and surges in play from their overall young roster, they fell short of the world cup once more, this year to the early favorite Spain.
L'Oranje went into the World Cup Final this Sunday having gone unbeaten throughout the entire World Cup process, from their first qualifying match forward. The stage was set and we were bound for a tight game between the Orange Crush and La Roja - but I don't think anyone expected the outcome we got to see. The first half looked more like the World Cup of Karate, including a massive challenge in the form of a flying kick to Alonso's chest.
The match went on to be filled with penalties and tight defensive play, with few but very close opportunities by the likes of Arjen Robben and Sergio Ramos. Eventually the penalties would catch up to l'Oranje, resulting in a Red card and eventually a superb play between the substituted Torres, Xavi and Iniesta, who would score the winning goal and give La Roja their first ever World Cup trophy.
While it's true I absolutely hate Spain and hoped they would have exited much earlier in the tournament, I'll applaud their victory as well as their tenacity. They do indeed have the best midfield in international football and they proved it in the past few games.
A consolation for the play of some very talented players. Thomas Muller claimed the golden boot with 5 goals and 4 assists in the tournament and Diego Forlan, the striker from Uruguay who turned heads throughout the tournament claimed the golden ball as most valuable player.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is bound to be quite the spectacle once again. In the meantime, there's still plenty of football to be enjoyed.
So Week one of Bluesfest has just come to a close. Admittedly, I was sick for a few days of it, which really didn't impress me at all because I ended up missing Saturday - which had most likely the best overall lineup of the festival, including acts like Metric, the Flaming Lips and Passion Pit.
But for the few days I was present I got to see some of my earliest and favorite bands: most notably Iron Maiden on opening night, who were preceded by Dream Theatre, the venerable titans of Progressive Metal and to close out week one on Sunday, Neil Peart, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush.
Week two looks to bring on even more awesome, here's a glimpse into my future.
Monday night is rest day for Bfest, but Dallas Green (City and Colour) will be playing a free show in the Market.
Week two will kick off Tuesday night with Alexisonfire and Arcade Fire sharing the spotlight across the park from each other. Santana will be the must see for Wednesday. Thursday will see one of my favorite artists, Matthew Good making a presence on the Claridge stage.
Lewis Black will bring some strong comedy presence to the comedy tent on Saturday the 17th and Weezer will bring Lebreton Flats to its collective knees, closing out Bfest next Sunday.
We're past the first knockout round of 16 and are a day away from the first two Quarter Final matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Final 8 teams include early cup favorites, hopefuls and a few dark horses from across the globe.
The first two matches of the Quarter Finals on Friday will open with a bang when Brazil face-off against a strong and determined Netherlands team. L'Oranje are looking strong and are expected to give Brazil a run for their money. The second match of the day pits two early Dark Horses in Uruguay and Ghana against each other, which is bound to be an interesting match - no matter the outcome.
Saturday will see two cup favorites take the field. Argentina will be looking for redemption against Germany, who eliminated them in 2006 in a penalty shootout in the Quarter Finals. Defending European Champions Spain are starting to pick up steam, despite their laughable start against Switzerland in the group stage. They will face Paraguay, another dark horse who will look to knock out the early cup favorites.
No matter the outcome of these matches, the final 4 teams will make for quite an interesting final round.
My predictions: Deutschland, l'Oranje, Ghana and Paraguay.
The first Monday of each month is regularly dedicated to being wing night. Unfortunately last week we skipped on the occasion in order to opt for some resting up for our trip to Montreal for Summer Slaughter 2010 - which was well deserved.
