Sarah Slean - Land and Sea

I don't listen to the radio in the car very often but lately my music selection seemed slightly stale so I switched to the radio and I'm just surprised at the really poor quality of music that's popular.  It seems that every song is filled with dance club, synthesized beats so that they all sound the same.  The lyrics can't even begin to be called poetic or intelligent, also is it just me or do they only play the same 10 songs?

This crummy radio selection only proves the quality of real artists, like my favourite, Sarah Slean.  I've mentioned her many times on my blog but not recently and since then I have lots of new US readers.  I figured most of you are unaware of this Canadian gem.

Her music is sometimes quirky but always so musical and beautiful.  The lyrics are heartfelt and intelligent and to see her in concert is really something.  Brad and I recently had that opportunity.  She came and played and we were once again awed by her brilliance.

She has a new album out that everyone should listen too, it's a perfect mix of slow and fast and I thought I'd link to a couple songs for you.

She recently did a series for CBC with an orchestra and performed some of the songs from the new album, this was my favourite.

Napoleon


Land & Sea would make a great Christmas present so listen to these songs, be inspired and then purchase the album.  There are tons of her songs on youtube so if you need more convincing check some of them out.

How High the Moon

Not too long ago Brad and I had an opportunity to see Sarah Slean in concert and it was one of our favorites. Everything about the show was perfect, we were amazed at how incredible she sounds live and we were entranced the entire show.

When we hear she was coming back again so soon we jumped at the chance to go. The concert was wonderful, her personality was vibrant, she was fun and her voice was clear and beautiful as usual. The music selection was lovely and the concert was very casual with just her and a piano. She sang a little Madonna, Leonard Cohen and even some Dolly Parton, yet something about his concert was slightly less magical for me.

It could have been the lack of any sort of backing band, maybe it was the location or perhaps it was the constant pain in my ribs from this growing baby. Maybe my expectations were too high or it could be that the second time just isn't the same as seeing her for the first time. Whatever the reason I'm still glad we went but I had been looking forward to the amazed wonder I felt the first time.

I was lucky enough to meet up with my electronic friends and immensely enjoyed conversing with them in real life. As we were leaving Jenny said, "Nice to meet you!" And it seemed like the oddest statement, I'd forgotten that this was the first meeting for us. I look forward to lots of face time in Lethbridge and spending real time together.
L

Jimmy Reprise

Brad and I got to see Jimmy Eat World in concert in October so we were suprised, but super excited when they came back to town so soon. They played at Flames Central which was a place neither Brad and I had ever been but it turned out to be a really great venue. There's lots of standing room on the main level but we were lucky to get a seat on a padded booth on the 1st level, we had a great view of the stage but got to be comfy and seated the whole time.

The concert was incredible. The music was just as good as expected and you could tell the band was having a great time, they even declared it the best night on the tour.

Go see them if you get a chance, it's definitely worth the cash.



They played with a band called The Midway State, they weren't great in concert but show some potential, they have a new album coming out that might be great.

L

As Promised

This was an interesting choice for her second encore, so lovely

One of my favorite songs, So Many Miles, and it was performed so well live

This will go down as one of my favorite concerts.
L

Sarah Slean and the many ways I adore her

Sometimes you'll hear an artist and think they're pretty great, then you hear them live and the difference is incredible, turns out most of their greatness was effects and mixing from the producers.

Last night, her voice was so clear, we could have been listening to the album. The quality of the music was so amazing! The venue (Knox United Church) was so different. Sometimes there would be an extended note that was just Sarah, no accompaniment and the way it filled the room was beautiful, bouncing around that huge ceiling.

After the show we went up to look at how they mic'd the piano (Brad has to mic one this weekend) and the base player came on stage, gave us the set list and talked to us. Told us how often he's just in awe that he gets to be part of this. They'll get together to practice and even at 7:00 am she's just on. Really an original artist. Celebrities normally aren't really a big deal to me but I admit I felt a little start struck when I actually talked to her for a second.

Seriously one of the best concerts I've been to and I would go see her again in a heartbeat.

I love at concerts when the whole audience needs more, and you all join together and know that if you keep cheering they'll come back, they'll give you more. That was case last night and resulted in a second encore. She was so genuinely touched that we kept cheering and admitted that she had nothing prepared for a second encore. A few song titles were shouted out but she decided to go with something entirely different. Her Grandfather's favorite Hymn… an odd choice considering she's not religious but her version of Abide with Me was just beautiful (Video to follow).
A concert worth every penny.
L

Jimmy Eat World

I'm sure you've all been waiting to hear about the concert so here goes.

I really love Jimmy Eat World, I mean really love them, so when I heard they were coming to Calgary I was excited and bought tickets as soon as they were available.

On the night of the concert we met up with Dave and Naomi and heard on the radio that the concert was delayed for an hour. We were glad we heard about it before we got there so we didn't have to wait around for longer.

The opener was a group called Maritime. They were not good but we put up with them, waiting for Jimmy.

I'm sad to say that the concert ended up being dissapointing. Don't get me wrong, the music was incredible, the sound was probably the best I've ever heard at a concert and the lighting was so good. But the band didn't interact with us at all. They came out, introduced their songs and then they were done. They came out and did an encore but had no energy at all.

After the concert the crowd went out to buy merchandise only to discover there wasn't any. Apparantly the band got held up at the border. That's why the concert was late, the merchandise never came and they were super bummed.

I'd be interested in seeing them again because I've heard good things about their concerts. Hopefully they come back.

I'm posting some pictures and videos, so enjoy!

Shiny, Happy People

Greatest new discovery of last night...

The Hush Sound

Check them out, worth your time.


I went to the Hellogoodbye concert. Honestly, it’s not a band I’m all that fond of but Boys Like Girls was with them and they’re a band I LOVE, so I jumped at the chance to go when a free ticket was offered to me. Hellogoodbye is a band that is much loved by 14 year old girls, needless to say I was pretty much the oldest one there. The band is poppy and a little synthesized, I’m trying to paint you a picture of the band so you can envision the group that was there to see them. Shiny, happy, colorful boys and girls (there’s a point to this, really).

The concert was at Mac Hall in the upstairs ballroom, there just happened to be a concert in the downstairs ballroom too... Black Label Society was playing. They are most definitely a metal band.

So we walked in to get in line for our concert and were immediately worried that we’d got the date wrong or maybe the location... stretching out in front of us is this black and scary looking line up full of tough guys in leather and did I mention black?

Picture it, two long lines stretched out across the food court, on one side you have black, scary, death, on the other shiny, happy, bubbly teens. Funny.
L

Relient K!!

So last night I went to this fantastic concert. I went to see Relient K! They’re such a great band, if you don’t know who they are you should go here and check them out…it’ll be worth your time.

http://www.relientk.com/news.aspx

So it was my first real “mosh pit” experience. Up until this point when the opportunity to mosh presented itself I’ve opted out but this time I was with some fun, hard core moshers so I committed and in I went. I’ve gotta admit, I enjoyed the experience a whole lot more than I expected and I was a lot tougher that I thought I’d be, I discovered that I can hold my own in the pit.

We maneuvered our way in and eventually, after shoving like mad we made it up to the very front. We pushed, we jumped we screamed and got soaked as security gave us water. We decided it should be a rule that all girls must put their hair up in the pit because dealing with girl’s hair everywhere is unpleasant.

The opening bands were Maxeen (pretty great), you can check them out here http://www.maxeen.com/intro.html and The Rocket Summer who I think are super lame but you might like them…you can go here http://www.therocketsummer.com/ It doesn’t get any more EMO than this. I did touch the lead singer’s leg as he crowd surfed over me, too bad it wasn’t someone I actually liked. I got a guitar pick from Relient K though, that’s something right?

Sadly the night had to end sometime and before we knew it, it was all over. We lay exhausted at home drinking water and drying off.

Thanks for making it a great night Aaron, Kim, Irena and Mikyla (sorry about the spelling)
L