Arcade Fire Wins 2011 Polaris Music Prize!

Last night the winner of a $30,000 award was decided upon and announced at the 2011 Polaris Music Prize Gala. Held at Toronto's Masonic Temple, the gala opened with an awesome mashup of nominees (seen above) and went on to include live performances by 6 of the 10 shortlisted nominees: Ron Sexsmith, Austra, Timber Timbre, Galaxie, BRAIDS, and Hey, Rosetta!
The interesting thing about this gala was that the winner of the prize was actually being decided upon as the event unfolded. Very exciting stuff. Personally I had my money on BRAIDS, a group based out of Montreal by way of Calgary. Their performance was by far the stand-out of the night. While every band was amazing, during this set you could literally hear a pin drop. Everyone's faces were glued to the stage, a few literally gaping in awe of the music (mine included).

BRAIDS

But of course, Arcade Fire was the front-runner and it was no big surprise that they took the award home at the end of the night. As one of the MC's jested while announcing the nominees, the nine bands standing against Arcade Fire were the "nine other dark horses". But this wasn't based on sales or previous awards won, though obvious biases were unavoidable (aahem, Grammy winners..). The Polaris Prize prides itself on being based on a consideration of artistic merit of an entire album. And really, if you've ever listened to The Suburbs from start to finish you can see why it needed to win.

Win and Will Butler Accept 2011 Polaris Music Prize on behalf of Arcade Fire

Though Arcade Fire did not perform, brothers Win and Will Butler graciously accepted the $30,000 check on behalf of the band. When asked what they might do with the money, casually (and half-jokingly) invited every musician in the room to come record in their Montreal studio! Now that's the kind of down-to-earth camaraderie that makes Canadian music great. Congrats Arcade Fire.

THE CULTS "Go Outside"

Lisa introduced me to this song (can't get it out of my head now... "IIIIII really wanna go out, I really wanna go outside... lalallala") by The Cults... Reminds me a bit of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero's Home (also got stuck in our heads). Lisa also showed me the band's official music video featuring real footage from the Jonestown massacre of 1978 with the band members edited into scenes quite craftily... see for yourself:

Pretty creepy, right? And pretty controversial but after reading a statement from director Isaiah Seret the meaning behind the project is much easier to understand.

Now there is a new MTV-worthy version of the music video featuring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco... much more mainstream and shiny... doesn't quite have the same message or sentiment of the original official video (aka I don't like it as much). Check it out here.

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)

I'm Going to the 2011 Juno Awards on Sunday!!

First a big thank you to my big sis for taking me as her date to the Juno's on Sunday night:) I'm excited to say the least.

Never was a big fan of the Juno Awards until the past few years... always saw them as a kind of sub-par Grammy's... but Canadian music has stepped up its game in a huge way these past couple of years: Broken Social Scene, City and Colour, Alexisonfire, Metric, Shad, Down With Webster (from my hometown of The Beaches in Toronto I'm proud to say), The Sheepdogs, Hollerado, Feist, Drake, Arcade Fire, and of course The Biebs... that's just off the top of my head. And might I add that more than one of the above were represented and celebrated at the Grammy's this year? Sweet.

Arcade Fire

Broken Social Scene

Ok so I'm sounding super gung-ho about Canadian music, but I like that we've actually got a cool scene going on again - Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and The Band style - and after that sad, sad exhibition at the end of the closing ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics....I mean come on.

Neil Young - My Love

So I'm actually super excited to be a part of it on Sunday -  I know City and Colour, Arcade Fire, Chromeo, DWW, and Broken Social Scene are playing... and Neil Young is accepting the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award but not performing? I really hope he does a surprise number... would pretty much make my life complete. Oh and Drake is hosting - wonder how that'll go down.

Drake

The Sheepdogs: On the cover of the Rolling Stone?

My sister gave me a CD this summer by some Canadian band from Saskatchewan called The Sheepdogs, and being eternally up for anything new by my nation's people I plopped it right on into the car stereo and we listened to it all the way up north to the cottage. They've got this throwback Beatles/Eric Clapton/CSNY thing going on with a contemporary indie twist... they're doing a similar thing as The Black Keys style-wise but more rock n' roll driven where The Black Keys are more bluesy. It's all very good listening. I've come to love them.

That's why I was so excited to go onto the Rolling Stone site last week and see that they're top runners for a contest the mag is running where people vote for the band who gets to be on the next cover! Not only am I thrilled because they're great, I'm also happy there's some can-con in the mix there (Canadians have been representing this year, thank you Arcade Fire).

If you get a chance definitely go check them out and rate their music (that's how the voting works-pretty solid system I think).

And their album is a solid investment if your into paying money for music:)

I'm picturing these scruffy-haired dudes reliving that moment from Almost Famous when Stillwater finds out they've made the cover and break into song "...the thrill that'll get you when you get your picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone"

Good luck to you Sheepdogs.

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
.

Ray and Gray

Lisa and I are off to see David Gray and Ray Lamontagne tonight at the Molson Amphitheatre! Very excited. Just checked out the new album by Mr. Lamontagne Gog Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise...it is excellent. Should be a very chill night...will report back on it tomorrow

Frock & Roll

Sweet Karen Elson. So odd and so beautiful. She has taken a page out of lover Jack White's book, picked up a guitar and made an album. The Ghost Who Walks is spooky, cute, and lovely all at the same time. It has a little bit of country, and a little bit of retro, and a little bit of something that just makes you want to keep listening to it. 

Karen Elson Sings Cruel Summer

AND I opened my Vogue this week to find a whole spread of Ms. Elson and Jack White photographed by Annie Leibowitz. (The top one's my favourite - makes me want to go see her perform live, I think she'd be wonderful to watch)

Lady Gaga's Wild Looks: The New Princess of Pop's Craziest Wardrobe Moments - Rolling Stone

Lady Gaga's Wild Looks: The New Princess of Pop's Craziest Wardrobe Moments - Rolling Stone

Posted using ShareThis

Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger

They make me want to wear sunglasses inside, they make me want to live in the 70s, they make me want to date a rock n roll star, too bad so few exist today that can live up to Mick's standard (and the ones that can are rare and usually taken).

Bottom line: I wish celebrity couples were still this cool.

Royal Mail UK: Classic Album Cover Stamps

So my sister just did a really good thing and ordered me these Classic Album Cover Stamps from the British Royal Mail. She gets serious points for this. They were released in January and feature some of the most iconic album art of our time: The Clash's London Calling (1979), Led Zeppelin's IV (1971), Pink Floyd's The Division Bell (1994), and Coldplay's A Rush of Blood To The Head (2002), just to name a few. I am just over the moon about these little guys, though they've left me with one minor dilemma...what exactly do I do with them?

So if anyone out there collects stamps (which I do not regularly do), could you please give me some much needed advice as to what to do with the stamps once you have them? I feel silly leaving them in their packaging....

Refinery 29: How To Dress for Coachella

Coachella is the greatest music festival since Woodstock. We wish we could be there, but unfortunately are in the middle of exams and are being boring. So because we are being held captive by our textbooks and study notes, we will direct you to an awesome thing we found online at Refinery29...step-by-step instructions on how to dress for Coachella. Oh what fun. Goal for next year: actually BE there wearing these fun things....

T Magazine - My Life in Pictures: Pattie Boyd

Inspiration and muse to both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, Pattie Boyd is probably the most adorable person ever. Read her biography, Wonderful tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and me, and then go check out T Magazine's My Life in Pictures: Pattie Boyd for amazing pics of her, George, and Eric in their amazingly dysfunctional rockstar love-triangle. She is simply wonderful.