Music
Ottawa – A weekend to Remember
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
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
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
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
03/13/2010
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!!!
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!
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!
