It's safe to say that I'm not the artsiest person in the world, at least when it comes to dance and musicals. I'm usually a fan of more structured dances (salsa, chacha, swing, etc) instead of Contemporary. To me contemporary is kind of the equivalent to musicals. It's always looked like people running around the stage, hopping in random spots and twirling...trying to convey the deep emotion of their performance. So, just like I don't usually sing my conversations on a regular basis, I don't twirl in the streets to tell someone I'm angry with them. However, there are a few times where I bite my words, and accept defeat for performances that I think deserve it (in the case of musicals, I really like Moulin Rouge).

So, who gets my first "cool contemporary" performance? Well, I was watching some youtube videos with a friend the other day and she showed me a performance from the show "So you think you can dance" where Lacey and Kameron were doing a dance to the song "Dancing" by Elise.

Here it is:





What I like:
1) The song is pretty nice
2) The general atmosphere
3) That jump. Like dude man, not everyone can pull that off. It's like an almost scissor take down of sorts. If I tried, the guy would probably lose balance and fall down...then get a concussion. Either that, or I'd be too scared to jump and run around him. :P It's also pretty cool how fast it is. She jumps, latches, then releases.
4) She's supposed to be playing a doll or a dead person (i forgot what my friend said exactly), so that's why she's kinda floppy. So that's pretty cool too.

But, to quote "Cool Runnings" - "This doesn't mean I like you!". I just like this little part :P

Now, for the second part of my post: I saw the Cure on Wednesday night with paw and of ice and ashes :D
It was an excellent show. I've never seen a band play for 3 hours (36 songs). It was definitely worth the ticket price, hands down and up!
For a detailed review, you can check paw's blog (it has photos too).
If you haven't noticed already, I'm a big fan of lists. I like putting things in lists and categorizing things, either for fun or to see if there's some strange pattern. In any case, the last time I updated my concert log was last august and as such I'm going to add the shows :) The beginning of concertdom happened to coincide with my first year of University education.
In addition, I'm going to write my my Concordia Playlist. This is basically my current favorite song of the bands I saw and maybe some other things slipped in. I kinda feel that the shows I saw in each year more or less defined my mood or vibe for that year, but I think I will limit to 50 songs (the way I decorated my agendas kinda reflects that too, but that's for another post). I guess you could call it mental spring cleaning...quite fitting as I'm moving and I'm leaving Concordia (or at least that's the plan).

So here we go - Concert Log where the last one left off:

2007

August 27 - The Birthday Massacre - Petit Cafe Campus (Pamela, Fil and I - We met them again, quite a friendly bunch they are)
September 30 - Beirut - Sala Rosa (w/ Pamela. It was her bday gift to me - honestly one of the best shows I've been to)
October 9 - Matthew Good - Club Soda (It was a great show, but I was really tired and near the end I was leaning on the stage. Apparently it looked like I was moved by the music. I'm glad it didn't look like I was falling asleep).
October 10 - Gogol Bordello - Club Soda (Laurel, Pamela and I went to the show. There were LOTS of people...one particularly annoying troll girl was behind me. I think this show gets #2 spot for worst crowd. The actual show was good though. Eugene Hutz and the rest do not disappoint)
November 3 - Mum - Le National (My second time seeing them and it was a completely new experience. The reason for this...the two girls singing were different, and it gave quite a different vibe to the performance. I'd say I preferred the first show more).
November 30 - Stars - Le National (Pamela and I went - This show was awesome. It was a great way to end the fall - they're music is quite magical and simultaneously mushy :P but in a good way. Only thing was, Pamela and I appeared to be some of the older people there...which was a strange sensation indeed)

2008

January 4
- The Dresden Dolls - Le National (Pamela and I went - This was one of the most diverse shows I've been to. There was 1 opening band, 1 acrobat and them. Awesome thing - they opened with a cover of In the Flesh by Pink Floyd. I got chills :D Great way to start the year!)
February 9 - The Barber of Seville - Salle Wilfred Pelletier - ( I went with Gloria. This is my first going to an actual opera. The other time it was a dress rehearsal and it was free. I actually paid for this. We were sitting on the top top floor of the balcony area, but we could still see. Though it did feel rather steep, which made me feel strange...in anycase, it was quite nice. The singers were pretty good and the story is funny :) )
March 17 - The Gypsy Kings - Metropolis - (I went with my mommy - twas my Christmas gift to her. We were sitting on the balcony stools. This is my first time going to a show at the metro and sitting. It was still really enjoyable - no opening band and about 2 hours of the Gypsy Kings. Naturally the ended with bamboleo and Volare. My mom loved it - which was the best part of the night).

I haven't been to a concert since then, but what's coming up?
May 14 - The Cure at the Bell Centre. This is a reschedule of the date in september (going with Pamela and Ryan).
May 16 - The Kinetix Industrial Festival (going with Pamela and Ryan)
May 24 - Madame Butterfly (going with mommy and Gloria)
June 6 - Death Cab for Cutie - Old Port (w/ Gloria)
August 6 - Radiohead at Parc Jean Drapeau (accompaniment - TBA :P)


The Concordia Playlist

2003 - A Sense of Impending Doom

1. Mogwai - 2 Rights make 1 Wrong
2. A Perfect Circle - Vanishing
3. Placebo - Teenage Angst
4. Clint Mansell & The Kronos Quartet - Party
5. Radiohead - Let down

2004 - What's left to do but to buy some glue?

6. The Stills - Yesterday never tomorrow
7. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps
8. Muse - Blackout
9. Sondre Lerche - You know so well
10. Mum - Green Grass of Tunnel
11. Jimmy Gnecco - Here is the Light
12. Explosions in the Sky - The Only Moment we were alone
13. Adem - Ringing in my ear
14. Marilyn Manson - Deformography

2005 - So what does it mean?

15. Nine Inch Nails - Eraser
16. Mindless Self Indulgence - Shut me Up
17. The Birthday Massacre - Red Star
18. Coldplay - Fix You
19. Sigur Ros - Untitled 4
20. Wolf Parade - Shine a Light
21. The Cure - Disintegration
22. Cocteau Twins - Cherry Colored Funk
23. Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek

2006 - Things are a changin'

24. Final Fantasy - This Modern Love (cover)
25. Les Ogres de Barback - La Femme du Guerrier
26. Les Tetes Raides - Ginette
27. Indochine - Starlight
28. Ladytron - International Dateline
29. Massive Attack - Future Proof
30. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlaticism


2007 - I think I've found the magic formula!

31. Amiina - Seoul
32. The Polyphonic Spree - Running Away
33. Devotchka - Queen of the Surface Streets
34. Journey - Don't Stop Believing
35. Matthew Good - 99% of Us is Failure
36. Alicia Keys - No One
37. Stars - Reunion

2008 - Yeah, I did...finally.

38. The Dresden Dolls - Half Jack
39. Broken Social Scene - Lovers Spit
40. Temperance - Forever Young
41. Cyndi Lauper - Shine (Babylon Mix)
42. Manu Chao - Clandestino
43. Johnny Clegg and Savuka - Dela
44. Architecture in Helsinki - Heart it Races
45. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
46. Gogol Bordello - Tribal Connection
47. Beirut - Forks and Knives (La Fete)
48. Arcade Fire - Rebellion


A couple memorable things in my mind:

The Beginning - Waiting at Second Cup w/ Pamela outside, slightly chilly, but feeling awesome because Mogwai played My Father, My King - also my first indoor show ever. Actually, the first time I heard about the band was when Pamela and I went on a tour of Nortel in Cegep, and she let me hear on the bus ride there.

The End: Even though I saw the Arcade Fire in 2007 and I listened to them a lot in 2005. I believe they belong in this year. They have quite the nostalgic but triumphant feel to them...at least to me.

In any case, that's it. :)
Late night list making ends now.