the killers

the killers

Holy crap I got to meet The Killers! Due to my occupation I was able to sweet talk an A&R dude to sneak me and my friend backstage at their Pacific Coliseum concert. We stuck out like sore thumbs among the radio contest winner super fans. Don't these people dress up when meeting the one and only Brandon Flowers? I mean, fanny packs?! I know you have to store your digicam and autograph/sticker book, but put in some effort next time.

Anyhoo... got to meet all of the boys. They weren't too chatty as expected. Brandon barely cracked a smile, the big afro dude would have preferred to be somewhere else I'm sure, the not so hot blond Jesus guy was quiet but polite, and my favourite by far was the drummer - Ronnie. He has enough personality for all of them. He gave my buddy a piece of sour gum and actually talked to us like we were people! Brandon's shoes would have looked nice with a puffy shirt a la Kramer.

The concert was excellent. The stage was all glitter-and-glam-rocky, complete with a huge foil backdrop. Brandon's keyboards bedazzled to the max. Blond Jesus didn't really put on much of a show. Ronnie the drummer was full of vim and vigor. The afro guy and Brandon kept looking like they were going to make out, then afro guy decided to lie down in front of Ronnie's drums and had to be helped back up by some stage hands. Guess he's getting old? Brandon was a great performer and lived up to his stuck up rep with such lines as "just when you think this couldn't get any better..." Yeah, ok you're good, we get it.

The only part that I was kinda blah about was when they did a cover of a David Bowie song, can't remember the name but I'm sure the mostly-sweet-sixteen audience didn't get it either. The energy kind of died at that point.

After a short intermission, they played a song that apparently they don't play at all shows - the final track on their album Hot Fuss. That makes 12 songs in total. It was, after all, the very last show date on their world tour. A grand finale.

I managed to score tickets to their official world tour wrap party at Crush Lounge. The place was packed with high brow socialite hipsters who had come out of their secret bat caves for this exclusive event. The Killers actually showed up and Brandon shook my hand and said 'hi, how are you?' as he walked by me! The band bee-lined straight to the VIP room. Hot girls only! What a pathetic display of pushing and shoving and bouncers picking out the aesthetically acceptable groupies to admit into the back room to rub shoulders with the band. I snuck in for a second but the overflowing pretentiousness made it more desireable to go back to partying with the commoners.

I still love those pretentious bastards, they're damn good musicians!

feist in concert

feist

From her sultry voice and waif-esque photos, I imagined Feist to have an indifferent stage presence. I love her music, don't get me wrong, but I guess people will make assumptions based on appearances. She looks like a slightly healthier Kate Moss, minus the coke habit I hope.

I was proved wrong at her show at the Commodore. She got very intimate with us and encouraged us to sing along, made us laugh, and even spoke to a fan's friend on a cell phone.

I also expected her to be alone on the stage, just her and her guitar. She was accompanied by a full band, making the experience all the more rich and enjoyable.

Her voice was exactly the same one I fell in love with listening to her songs on CD. Perfect tone and texture, never off key. She was indeed mesmerizing. Everyone in the audience seemed spellbound as they crammed together in the Commodore like sardines, trying to get as close as possible to the stage.

Though it started quite late, the show was worth the wait and I'd go see her again and again.

and you thought you had problems

apples

Try moving to Salt Spring Island. You think it's all goat cheese and handy crafts? Think again my friend! Crime is on the rise! All those hippie stoner kids seem to have nothing better to do than wreak havoc on the lives of the poor artist islanders. It's getting out of control... just look at this heartbreaking tale of brutality featured in the letters to the editor of 'The Driftwood', the community newspaper of the Gulf Islands:

"Islanders beware, there's an apple thief on the loose! Do you know where your apples are? I write this missive to alert the community and to assuage the fury I'm feeling toward the low-life who ran off with the apples I risked life and limb to pick.

The thief stole a heaping-full-bag of apples that I left in the care of a rosehip bush on the side of the trail on the way to Burgoyne Bay on Wednesday, September 28th around 2pm.

When I returned about 10 minutes later, my apples were gone. The nerve! May you choke on a worm or an earwig for your misdeed! Next time I'll be waiting for you in the bushes with my quiver full of stinging nettle arrows.

Peter Prince,
Burgoyne Bay"

Thankfully, Peter's vocabulary was spared.

the onion

When I visited San Francisco, I picked up a copy of The Onion, a newspaper dedicated to putting a sarcastic and jaded spin on the news of the day. How could you not enjoy reading a newspaper with headlines like Halliburton Given Contract to Rebuild Cheney and Report:US Foreign Policy Hurting American Students'Chances of Getting Laid Abroad.

My favourite part is my horroscope: Taurus: You'll be swarmed by a rare strain of Americanized killer bees who, unlike their Africanized cousins, just want to hang out and watch TV all day.


So true it's eerie.

guess what this is

guess what this is