SUNDAY with SIA & Oh Land

Sooo I spent the majority of last weekend at the Phoenix concert theatre here in T.O. Saturday night we went to be part of the mob scene that was Pretty Lights and Nero - awesome glowstick-lit night (though due to an unfortunate toe injury I did not stay till 5am with the rest of the crowd)... Then came Sunday...8pm and back to the Phoenix for a much different kind of concert. Standing in line amongst bleeding glowstick remnants from the night before, I was so excited to see one of my longtime musical loves Sia for the first time live in concert.

The opening act Oh Land was amaaaaazing, my friend and I standing in awe of the blonde nymph-like girl standing on stage with an equally adorable male drummer wearing a wolf mask. We frantically took to my friend's iPhone to google the crap out of this wondrous thing called Oh Land that we had never heard of before. 

Nanna Øland Fabricius AKA Oh Land

The Danish electro-pop act was certainly one of the most entertaining and different things I've seen in a long time. She's like the second coming of Nico, but even more curious... at one point she's cooing into the mic, the next she's flailing to dubstep-like beats and playing the drums alongside her drummer... nice. Check out Oh Land here - just bought her album and am very pleased :) 

After the awesome opening act came Australian native Sia whom I've loved and admired and cried myself to sleep listening to since I was 15 and emotional and listening to her sing "Destiny" with Zero7... She put on such a great show and was hilarious with the crowd, accepting flowers and heckling her own audience (lovingly of course).

Sia Furler @ The Phoenix July 24th 2011

My favourite quip of the night was after a fan brought flowers to Sia on the stage and she gave him a kiss... and then he passed a paper up with a request and she laughed and said "We're not doing that one!! Sometimes Santa doesn't always bring what you want for Christmas!" Then later when someone requested a song they were doing...she says "And sometimes Santa does bring the right present!" So odd and wonderful. 

SHEEPDOGS @ edgefest '11

Please Mr. Soundman, move out of my way...

Was working at Edgefest '11 this weekend and got to watch the Sheepdogs perform from backstage! They were awesome live and brought a real Woodstock vibe to the crowd. This is real rock n' roll, if only more musicians had the spirit...

Legit Backstage View...

 Oh ya...and I got to meet them after which was great :)

Me & The Sheepdogs!

(Please excuse the manly red t-shirt, I was working after all and really had no choice in the matter)

The Last Summer Concert...

Walking to work this morning, shivering in my completely inappropriate-for-the-weather gladiator sandals and tiny cardigan, I realized that alas summer is officially over. I started coming to terms with the idea tuesday night (Sept 7th) when I took my sister to the Molson Amphitheatre to see Vampire Weekend...it was to be my last outdoor concert of the summer (though the Amp has three more outdoor concerts scheduled until the end of September...including KISS tomorrow night, sweet right?) and rightfully so, with the temperature plummeting as it is.

We went to the venue with our sweaters tucked into our bags...bought two plastic cup-fulls of red wine to warm up, sat in our plastic seats and listened...

Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally of Beach House

The opening act was a fiery group fronted by a bushy haired and husky voiced maven. Beach House's fearless front woman Victoria Legrand commanded the stage from behind her keyboard, though she admitted the venue was far bigger than the group was used to. Nevertheless, their big and sweeping sound transcended intimidation and won over the audience. There were even a few people brought to their feet...dancing around their seats like flower children on acid (yeah...they may have actually been on acid).

Then came Vampire Weekend. These boys look like they've never been unhappy in their entire lives...no trace of angst or resentment in their act. Don't get me wrong, they know how to entertain, but its a different kind of vibe than say, Ray Lamontagne or The Arkells or even their openers Beach House. They're less concerned with the depth, and the subsequent poppy fun vibe permeates the whole act. You can hear it in their music too. So it was a good show but not quite the ride I enjoy when I go to a concert. Yah I like to feel happy, sad, angry, and uplifted througout the course of a concert. But I guess if there had been more than just red wine involved my experience would've been different....

Phone Shot of My Last Summer Concert :(

So all in all, I'd recommend listening to Vampire Weekend's album Contra...but more than that I'd recommend checking out Beach House. Go to their myspace or buy their album on iTunes if your feeling like supporting the musician's cause
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