BNL's Steven Page Free!

Fans and non-fans were shocked earlier this summer when seemingly clean-cut frontman for Barenaked Ladies, Steven Page was arrested in New York alongside his girlfriend and her roommate for cocaine possession. Their court appearance was yesterday and a deal was reached with US prosecutors so that he avoids jail time provided he stays clean for the next 6 months. Court documents showed that the roommate and Page had snorted cocaine "using a rolled up Canadian bill". Yikes, how's that for CanCon!

rx - White Lines (Don't Do It) [originally by Grandmaster Flash]
Steven should have listened to this lesson from soon to be ex-president George Bush. Rang dang diggity dang di-dang!

In June, Steven performed a stunning set of covers of his favourite songs with the Art of Time Ensemble, fortunately recorded for posterity by the fine folks at CBC Radio. I haven't mentioned it enough (if at all), but CBC Radio 2's Concerts on Demand is an incredible resource that's constantly updated with amazing concerts of Canadian acts (lots of great covers too if you dig a little). I occasionally envy the BBC and some of its cover-centric programming, but this concert archive should make everyone envy us, bwa ha ha! You know, I can't tell but I presume it's not for Canucks only... unlike many many sites I seem to visit lately (US only, UK only, bah!).

The Art of Time Ensemble with Steven Page

The Setlist:
1. Lion's Teeth [originally by The Mountain Goats]
2. Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure [originally by The Weakerthans]
3. I Want You [originally by Elvis Costello]
4. Running Out Of Ink [Barenaked Ladies]
5. For We Are The King Of The Boudoir [originally by The Magnetic Fields]
6. Changing Opinion [originally by Paul Simon & Philip Glass]
7. A Singer Must Die [originally by Leonard Cohen]
8. Foolish Love [originally by Rufus Wainwright]
9. The Taxi Ride [originally by Jane Siberry]
10. Tonight We Fly [originally by The Divine Comedy]
11. Paranoid Android [originally by Radiohead]

Listen to the whole thing here.