Music
Ottawa – A weekend to Remember
May 29th
Remember when I told you about looking forward to my exciting weekend in Ottawa? Well, I wanted to share a couple of the highlights, because the weekend did not disappoint!
An Horse
The concert was amazing. The opening band, called An Horse, did a great job. They had lots of energy and they sounded great! I met them before the concert and got a picture taken with them, which I have added here. By the way, that band name, “An Horse” is a little strange. Usually in English we use “a” before words that start with a consonant sound (like horse), not “an.” But the band is very unique, and so is their name!
Dan Mangan … what can I say that I haven’t already said? Basically he was FANTASTIC. It was great seeing him live again and I look forward to seeing him next time he is in the Montreal area. One of the big differences between this show and the last show that I saw of his in October was the crazy awesome energy of the crowd. For so many of the songs the whole crowd was singing with him. All his fans loved him and they showed him that by singing along loudly.
Dan Mangan
I spoke with Dan after the concert and asked him how it felt to have hundreds of people singing his songs with him. He said that it was an amazing feeling; he never imagined when he was writing the songs in his bedroom that this is where he would end up. Here is a picture we took together before the show.
To top off an already amazing weekend, because of the warm weather, the tulips (a kind of flower) in Ottawa were in full bloom. The Tulip Festival in Ottawa is very famous. This was the first time I was able to see the tulips there and they were beautiful. Here is the link to the festival website. I took some pictures on the Canadian Parliament grounds to show you all. Next year if you are going to be in the area of Ottawa, go see the tulips. They were beautiful!
Thanks again to An Horse and Dan for taking time to talk to me at the show!
Harp
Tulips
Exciting Weekend
Apr 19th
I’m very excited about next weekend. I’m going on a road trip to Ottawa to see my favourite Canadian musician, Dan Mangan. I went to see him the last time he was here in Montreal and I was actually able to interview him! Read the interview here. His last show was amazing and I’m sure the upcoming one will be amazing as well! Check out Dan’s website here. He’s playing a show in Montreal soon, which I may also go see, because I think he puts on an AMAZING live show.
The reason I’m going to the show in Ottawa instead of waiting to see him in Montreal is because of the opening act. The opening band is called An Horse and they are a great band that I’ve just recently discovered. Check them out on their website here. I’ve been really enjoying listening to their songs. It’s going to be a GREAT night: my favourite musician and a new discovery of a band that I really like a lot! I’ll try to take some pictures at the concert.
Harp
Stuck in my head
Mar 13th
Do you ever get a song stuck in your head? You keep singing it over and over in your mind.
Last weekend I edited the Catch Word episode about the word wannabe. In it, Jessie and Maura talk about the singer Lady Gaga and how someone might be a Lady Gaga wannabe and dress like her and say provocative things like she does. It’s an interesting episode so check it out here if you want to know what a wannabe is.
Well, ever since I listened to that episode I’ve had Lady Gaga’s song Poker Face stuck in my head. Here’s a short clip of the song. If you’re interested in learning more about what a poker face is, check out our Catch Word episode titled Stone, where Maura and I discuss the idiom poker face.
When a song is stuck in my head, I often find myself humming it out loud too. To hum a song is to make the tune of the song without opening your lips and singing the words. I’m really bad at singing (and actually even at humming), so people can never recognize what song it is.
What song is stuck in your head?
Harp
WOW!!!
Oct 27th
Last week was my birthday and it was an exciting one as I got to meet and interview my favourite new Canadian artist. When I was in Vancouver in the summer, I heard a song on the radio and it caught my attention right away (make sure you all check out the episode where Maura and I talk about Vancouver ).
This was the first song that I had heard in a long time that I loved from the first time I heard it. It’s called Road Regrets by Dan Mangan and it’s a beautiful song. I heard it a couple times when I was in Vancouver and loved it more each time I heard it. When I finally got back to Montreal I was able to find Dan on myspace (www.myspace.com/danmangan) and hear more of his music. Every song I heard I loved!!!
Dan is in the middle of a cross-country tour of Canada and he played in Montreal on my birthday. I had the opportunity to meet him right before his concert and I asked him some fun questions for you all to get to know him a bit more. There are a lot of great articles on the internet where serious music journalists interviewed Dan or reviewed his amazing CD. You can find these on his website, http://danmanganmusic.com. As I am an ESL podcaster and a huge fan, I decided to ask him some fun questions!
After talking for a bit about how much I love Dan’s music we started with my questions.
Me: What is your favourite road trip song?
Dan Mangan: Dynamite Walls by Hayden (another great Canadian artist).
Me: What is your favourite soundtrack (the music that plays during a movie)?
DM: American Beauty.
Me: What is your favourite band?
DM: Radiohead.
Me: What is the theme song for the tour so far?
DM: 2 Weeks by Grizzly Bears.
Me: What is the book that has inspired or affected you the most?
DM: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
Me: What is your favourite city in Canada ?
DM: I really like Montreal. I don’t know if it’s my favourite, but I really like it.
Me: What is your favourite international city?
DM: Hmmmm, London, England.
Me: What would your last meal EVER be?
DM: A good curry!
Me: OK, this is a silly but fun question. Who is your favourite superhero?
DM: Hmmm, that is a hard one….Batman is my favourite, even if he doesn’t have any superhero powers.
Dan had to go back into the concert venue to set up for the show. Here are some pictures of the setting up and sound check.
The show was AMAZING. It was the best concert I have seen in a really, really long time. If Dan is touring in a city close to you, go check him out. You will not regret it! In the meantime check out his website and myspace page.
Thanks Dan for meeting with me, you rock!!!
Montreal Music TV!
Aug 5th
Summer in Montreal is the time for festivals. We have already had our biggest festivals, the International Jazz festival and the Just for Laughs Comedy festival. Right now the festival for French music, Francofolies, is taking place in the streets of downtown Montreal. There are also many smaller festivals happening all the time in Montreal!
Recently we also had a festival for African music! My friends at Montrealmusic.tv asked me to help interview some of the English-speaking musicians playing the festival. You can see me in some of the videos on their site (click here: Montrealmusic.tv), including FreshlyGround, a popular group from South Africa, and Neev, a local Montreal musician.
Thanks Montrealmusic.TV!
Michael Jackson Tribute
Jul 28th
Yesterday was a beautiful day and so at lunch time I decided to take advantage of the warm weather and have my lunch outside. I was peacefully eating my lunch with a friend of mine when all of the sudden, out of nowhere, we started hearing REALLY loud music. It was Michael Jackson’s hit song “Beat It.” Not only was there loud music but suddenly a hundred or more people were dancing on the steps to the song. All of these people did the choreographed dance to the song. After the song ended all of the people who were dancing just disappeared. I was so surprised, a lot of people who were like me and just having there lunch outside joined in the dancing. I don’t know the steps and I was too surprised to join in!
When I got back to my office, I saw an article describing this impromptu (spontaneous) dancing. It started in Hong Kong where Michael Jackson fans played tribute to him with planned flash mob (a large group of people suddenly appear in public) performances. They started in Hong Kong but they have spread to Montreal . Has it spread to your part of the world? I have attached the article and also a YouTube video of the dance that I saw yesterday.
Click here to see the article I read and check out the clip of the dancing in Montreal below!
Stevie Wonder in Montreal!
Jul 2nd
Hello everyone!
There has been a lot happening in Montreal lately. Yesterday was Canada Day so there were lots of celebrations all across the country. July 1 is also the day when many people move to new apartments in the province of Quebec. Many leases (the aggreements between owner and renter) finish at the end of June.
But before that, on June 30, there was a lot of excitement in Montreal. The Jazz Festival began with an opening performance, free for all, in the heart of the city (downtown). This year the opening performance got everyone’s attention. This year Stevie Wonder played a free concert outside. There was some rain, but still thousands of people waited outside for hours for the show to begin. Here is an article about it in the local English newspaper.
I looked around youtube to find a video of the concert for you. The video below is not the best quality but it is one of Stevie Wonder’s most famous songs. And it is also super fun when the chorus (the repeated part of a song) comes and everyone sings along!
And one more dance video!
Apr 27th
We had a lot of fun recording the “Get down” episode. Have you already checked out the dance video in the previous post? Well, I have another one for you!
Come Party with Les Doux Cactus!
Aug 5th
Hey everyone!
Do you live in Montreal? If you do, you are invited to a party! This Friday there is going to be a Block Party (a party outside on the street) in Rosemont (a neighbourhood in Montreal).
Our friend Les Doux Cactus are going to be giving a show. Les Doux Cactuses is a music band from Montreal that sings only in Japanese! They really are a cross-cultural (different cultures coming together) experience. For more information go to http://www.lesdouxcactus.com or see the poster below.
They also did all the Culips music for us that plays at the beginning of our episodes. We thank them so much for their help.
Everyone from Culips will be at the party Friday. Come chat with us, we are friendly!
P.S. In English Les Doux Cactus means The Soft Cactuses. There is a picture of a cactus on the poster below. Check it out!
iTunes!
May 7th
Hello anyone and everyone! We have just been accepted to iTunes and hope that many people visit and tell us what they think.
We will be making some changes to the podcasts as we go along. Please send us your comments because they will really help us.
If there is something you have always wanted in a podcast, tell us and maybe you will see it happen!
Thanks for checking us out.
From Maura
Of all the podcasts with 'real world' English examples, I like yours the best. Maybe its the fun you put into the lessons. The students can here that in your voices. And they also feel your dedication to what you are doing - it's just not a job you do, but a gift you give to everyone who listens. And while the students like the Lipservice PDFs for all the information it contains, as a teacher I am impressed by the professional effort put into making them. I give the Culips podcast and the Culips crew my highest recommendation, both as a teacher, and a listener. 
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