Halloween! - A Nightmare to Remember

It's Halloween and wanted to share this song. A Nightmare to Remember is by Dream Theater, from their newest album that was released this past June, Black Clouds and Silver Linings. This is the first track on the album and it has a very eery halloween kind of feel to it, so I thought it'd be perfect to talk about today. Enjoy. Give yourself some time to listen to it. It's 15 minutes long, as one would expect from a classic Dream Theater track. If you like this song you should check out the rest of their album. I would highly recommend it.

Album Pick: Blackfield II

This album is the second produced by Blackield, and it's an amazing piece of work. If you've never heard of them before, Blackfield is a side project of Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree and Israeli singer Aviv Geffen. The pair both play vocals and guitar and collaborate while writing the songs.

Wikipedia classifies their music as "art rock," which I think means it's hard to categorize it. It can fall under a lot of genres, but it's pretty experimental music with a lot of progressive influences. Pink Floyd fans will love this music. Every track on this album (and their 1st ablum for that matter) is different and they're all amazing. I don't know what else to say about it other than let the music speak for itself. Take a listen and get ahold of this album if you can!

Guns N' Roses Coming to London!

In case you haven't heard, Guns N' Roses is coming to London!  On January 25th, 2010, you'll have a chance to see this legendary band live at the John Labatt Centre for their Chinese Democracy tour.  Tickets won't be cheap and they'll probably run out fast, so get one before you miss out on your chance.  I'm not even a huge fan of them, but you can't miss out on an oppurtunity to see them play their hits.  Here's a bit of a reminder...

Covers by KevinMac - Willow Tree

I recorded this a couple weeks ago with my roomate just for fun.  It's a cover of a really great song by Mickey Newbury called Willow Tree.  Give it a listen and let me know what you think!  Keep in mind this wasn't a serious attempt or anything.  We were fooling around, but I think it sounds kool.  Enjoy!

Here is the original.  It's pretty different from my version.  I can't sing like he does.  This really is a great song, so enjoy both versions!

Open Mic in London

If you like to play music but need an audience, there are plenty of places in London that host open mic nights.  I still haven't had the chance to do one myself because of school, but I hope to do one this week.  These are the places that I know about.  If you know any others feel free to share!

Taps on Talbot: Hopefully a great place to play some tunes and drink on Wednesday nights.  Haven't been there yet but when I do I'll be sure to write about it.

110 Dundas St. - (519) 645 2929

London Music Club: Come here on Friday nights for their Acoustyle Open mics at 9pm.  If you play blues music you're also welcome to come in on Thursdays for Blues Jams nights.  Of course, you don't have to be able to play, you can just enjoy the local talent and become inspired to play yourself.

470 Colborne St. - (519) 640 6996

The Spoke at UWO: Saturday nights, come and watch your peers get sloshed and play their hearts out.  I'll be doing just that this weekend, maybe not the getting sloshed part, but it wouldn't hurt.  

UCC Main Level, UWO - (519) 661-3590

Album Pick: Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness

Time to go back to progressive rock this week.  Out of their 4 studio albums, Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, is arguably Coheed and Cambria's best work.  The lyrics are based on the comic book series entitled "The Amory Wars," written by lead singer Claudio Sanchez, which is a sci-fi space story following the son of the characters Coheed and Cambria.  GAIBS Volume 1 is their third album in the saga.

I can't say too much about the story, because I have yet to read the comics, but much of the content is based on Claudio Sanchez's life experiences.  While writing this album, he had recently been dumped by his girlfriend, so you'll notice the lyrics are very dark and angry, since he kills the love interest of the main character in his story.  Whether you like angry lyrics or not, you should give this album a listen just for the quality of the music.

The hardest thing to get used to is the vocals.  Claudio Sanchez has a very high voice which some people might find unappealing.  It took me a while before I really started to enjoy Coheed's music, but you eventually develop a taste for the expressiveness of his voice.  He does an amazing job of making you feel the emotion of the song.  Before you know it, you'll be screaming along with Claudio as you listen to the music.  You also learn to appreciate the talent this guy has when you realize that he's playing lead guitar while he is singing during live performances.

The instrumental side of this band is also worth mentioning.  There are two guitarists, one of them being Claudio and the other being Travis Stever.  The 2 guitars play a key role in the music, and they blend together very well to make for some really interesting riffs.  There's nothing really complicated going on, but it sounds amazing.  The drums and bass don't stand out very often, but they do a good job of supporting the vocals and guitar.  The vocals give a pop feel, while the guitar uses a metal sound, and the riffs are very progressive, so there is something for everyone in this band.

There isn't a single weak track on this album.  It is a really great piece of work and a good album to start with if you are interested in listening to Coheed and Cambria.  Check them out!

The Dodos Concert Review

Last night I went to Lee's Palace in Toronto to see The Dodos play live.  I didn't know their music very well when I went to see them, but it didn't matter.  These guys put on an amazing show that I won't soon forget!

 

Meric Long (left) performed the lead vocals and guitar, while Logan Kroeber performed on drums.  Their newest member of the band, Keaton Snyder, was in the back playing the vibraphone, which is essentially an aluminum version of the xylaphone.  Each of these musicians used their instruments in very unique ways to create that "psychedelic" feeling to their music.  Meric Long spent most of the show using a finger-picking technique to play his guitar, but during an instrumental section, he put his guitar on the ground, grabbed a pair of drumsticks and used them to play the guitar.  It made a really cool slide guitar/screeching sound.  Keaton Snyder at one point used a cello bow to play the edges of the vibraphone, which made another unique sound.  I, however, spent most of my time watching Logan Kroeber on the drums.  

Instead of playing the bass drum with his foot, he played the bass drum with a drum stick, while tapping his foot with a tambourine attached to it.  I found the drum patterns he did in their songs very creative, and I couldn't keep from watching him play as quickly as he did while doing so many things at the same time. 

One of the hardest working bands I've ever seen on stage, these guys really put on a sweat, and I really enjoyed the show.  Check out their myspace, listen to some of their tunes, and keep an eye out for when they return to Toronto, or maybe even London!