Every Season Has an End

It's the end of the year, the end of the decade. So far, I've resisted the temptation to add to the plethora of decade-end lists, which isn't to say that it won't happen... but for now, four versions of The Greenhornes' There is an End, followed by a grab bag of random links to recent things of note.

"Spring brings the rain,
With winter comes pain,
Every season has an end."
The Greenhornes featuring Holly Golightly - There is an End
The Greenhornes collaborated with British singer Holly Golightly who performed lead vocals on There is an End, written by Craig Fox, the band's guitarist/lead vocalist. It originally appeared on their 2002 album Dual Mono, but later served as the de facto theme song to the 2005 Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers with Bill Murray. By a weird coincidence, the very same weekend that Broken Flowers came out, I happened to go to back-to-back shows of The White Stripes here in Vancouver for which The Greenhornes were the openers. After the second show, I hung around with some other fans in the vain hope of meeting Jack or Meg (neither showed) but The Greenhornes did and I shook hands with Patrick Keeler and got the band to autograph my ticket (which I promptly lost). Of course, Keeler and Little Jack Lawrence went on to join Jack White as part of The Raconteurs and Lawrence would also be part of The Dead Weather when they debuted earlier this year.

Holly Golightly - There's an End
This version sans The Greenhornes (and slightly altered title) appeared on Holly Golightly's 2003 album Truly She is None Other, which featured liner notes by none other than Jack White. Golightly also joined Jack and Meg for the duet (um, word for three-person duet??) It's True That We Love One Another from The White Stripes album Elephant.

Gnarls Barkley - There's an End (Live in Boston)
This was an early Christmas gift courtesy of fellow blogger Leopold Stotch of Versions Galore. I had been searching for this for the past couple years ever since finding out Gnarls Barkley had been covering There is an End during their summer '06 tour. I knew some sort of recording existed somewhere but I failed miserably in my attempts to track it down until it magically appeared in my inbox last month. Many thanks!! Funnily enough, that same summer The Raconteurs were frequently covering Gnarls Barkley's Crazy at their own shows!

Ronnie Spector - There is an End (featuring Patti Smith)
Last month saw the US release of The Last of the Rock Stars from the legendary Ronnie Spector, though the album actually came out in the UK in 2006. Backed by Keeler and Lawrence (no Fox?), this version also features fellow 2007 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Patti Smith on backing vocals. Running with this whole theme of White Stripes connections, this summer Meg White married Patti Smith's son Jackson in a double ceremony with Jack Lawrence and his fiancée in the backyard of Jack White's Nashville home.

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Okay, so this is probably my last post until after the holidays, but I've got a bunch of news/links to share, as always, filtered through the tunnel vision that is Fong Songs.

• The nominations are in and the Coverville Countdown is on! Brian's annual countdown of the top 40 covers of all-time is in the voting stage until December 22nd. This year's a little different with the newly instituted Coverville Hall of Fame, 10 perennial cover contenders taken out of the running to let some new blood in. Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah, Johnny Cash's Hurt, and Bill Shatner's Common People are among the elite covers that are no longer eligible. Last week, I submitted my five nominations for your consideration: Ellen McIlwaine's Higher Ground, Moxy Früvous's Psycho Killer, OK Go & Bonerama's Rock 'n' Roll Suicide, Danny Michel's Young Americans, and PoZitive Orchestra's Shine on You Crazy Diamond. Vote here!
  
  
• Speaking of voting, Cover Me's latest cover commission is We Are the Willows. Vote what song he should cover! Right now, The Shins' Caring is Creepy leads the pack, but I went with The Zombies' The Way I Feel Inside.
  
  
• In case you missed it, 2009 Polaris Prize winners F*cked Up recently released their cover of Do They Know It's Christmas on iTunes with 100% of the proceeds going to Canadian non-profit organizations. The eclectic cast of performers lending their support include Tegan & Sara, David Cross, Yo La Tengo, GZA, Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, Bob Mould, Andrew W.K., Kyp Malone, and Kevin Drew. You can buy it on iTunes and read more about it here.
  
  
• Fong Songs fave Alex Robinson's A Kidnapped Santa Claus is in bookstores everywhere and online if you're looking for a last minute stocking stuffer or just a plain great gift. Full disclosure: I know Alex reads my blog(!), but that won't stop me from an shamelessly plugging it without being asked to! A Kidnapped Santa Claus is a graphic adaptation of a 1904 short story by L. Frank Baum (he of Oz fame), which can be read for free in its entirety on Project Gutenberg. I'd honestly never heard of the story before this, but it's fun to notice the obvious influence it had on the plot of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. As always, Alex's drawings are great and it bears his distinct style even though it's his first adaptation, not to mention his first all ages book. There are hilarious hidden visual jokes throughout and I should definitely mention there are pugs in suits, ha ha. Highly recommended! Alex's epic Box Office Poison was also recently named one of The AV Club best comics of the past decade--congrats, Alex!
  
  
• I've mentioned this before, but it's worth a revisit: Covered, the blog of comic book covers redrawn by other comic artists. Just like music covers, the best ones completely make it in their own style while still retaining the essence of the original. I'm consistently impressed by the output and occasionally I'll actually recognize a cover from my miniscule collection of single issue comics (somewhere in a box back home).
  
  
• Pomplamoose made waves in the cover world with their relatively recent hit youtube video cover of Beyoncé's Single Ladies. And that's not all, they have great covers of Beat It, Mrs. Robinson, September, and more. The accompanying videos are must-see since the San Francisco duo are pioneers in the self-created movement of "VideoSongs". That is, every instrument, voice, and sound you hear can be seen in the video (this will completely make sense when you watch the videos). Even without the visuals, the music is fantastic and all the covers can be downloaded for free from their myspace page. Proving they're not just a one-trick pony (or one-trick moose), their latest triumph is the Christmas original Always in the Season. Watch the magic here. This time, the duo is joined by a mini orchestral section that includes Zoë Keating on cello! A new classic.
  
  
• If you have some sort of crazy White Stripes fanatic on your Christmas list and you're extremely generous, well, Jack White just made your gift-giving decision very easy. Last week, it was announced that a limited edition box set for The White Stripes concert film Under Great White Northern Lights would be immediately available for pre-order and released in March. The film, which recently premiered at the Toronto Film Fest, celebrates The White Stripes unprecedented tour of every Canadian province and territory in 2007. The über boxset includes the DVD of the film, an exclusive DVD of the entire 10th Anniversary show in Glace Bay, the band's first ever live album on CD and double LP with songs recorded during the Canadian tour, a 208-page hardcover photo book with a foreword by Jim Jarmusch, 1 of 6 different silk screens designed by Rob Jones, a and a 7" vinyl with two live cuts included The Wheels on the Bus (uh, recorded on a city bus in Winnipeg). Naturally, I was all over it and pre-ordered it as soon as humanly possible, in spite of the hefty $200 price tag (watch it, it jumps $50 in the new year). If you're a long-time reader, you may remember me going on and on and on about the tour that whole summer on the blog. In addition to our hometown Edmonton gig, my friends and I managed to pull off a crazy pilgrimage to the Maritimes to see four shows included the ultimate gig in Glace Bay. I'll let you know if I make it on the DVD. :)
  
  
• From the realm of unlikely cover collaborators, Montréal rocker Sam Roberts performed a cover of Kenny Rogers' The Gambler with the The Holiday Jam Players at a benefit show in Toronto a few days ago. Sharing the stage: Kathleen Edwards, Jim Bryson, City & Colour's Dallas Green, TSN's Dave Hodge, and CBC's Ron MacLean! Watch here.
  
  
• In related hockey news, strictly for Oilers fans... country singer Corb Lund penned a celebratory Oilers anthem called The Oil's Back in Town. The song is peppered with classic calls from 630 CHED play-by-play man Rod Phillips during our dynasty years. Fun stuff and proceeds from the single's sale benefit The Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation. Buy it from iTunes today!
  
  
• A silent short film directed by Neil Gaiman called Statuesque will make its debut on SKY1 in the UK on Christmas Day at 10pm. It stars the always reliable Bill Nighy and the lovely Miss Amanda Palmer. If I remember correctly, the score is by Sxip Shirey.
  
  
• My ever-dwindling concert bucket list will get another check when Jamie Cullum drops by the Commodore Ballroom in March! Cullum will be touring select cities in the US (also Vancouver and Toronto!) in support of his first album in 4 years, The Pursuit. You may have seen his, ahem, explosive video for his cover of Rihanna's Don't Stop the Music, a song I admittedly only knew from the 30-second snippet that plays TWICE before every single movie I've seen in the past year.
  
  
• Zunior.com, the "little digital music store" from Canada, recently released a full cover album of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Featuring recent Fong Songs fave Jill Barber crooning The Christmas Song, the whole 12 track album can be bought for only $8.88 with 100% of the proceeds going to the Daily Bread Food Bank.

Have a great holiday everyone!

Jack, Meg, & Conan

Set your PVR for this Friday's episode of Conan O'Brien, his last on the Late Show before he takes over the reins of the Tonight Show from Jay Leno at the beginning of June. The White Stripes will be sending him off in style with the duo's first live performance since their abruptly cancelled tour in fall 2007. You might remember a few years back in '03 when they were booked as the musical guests on Conan for a solid week. Conan also appeared in the music video for The Denial Twist directed by Michel Gondry, which was a surreal re-enactment of their appearances on Late Night. In 2007, Jack and Meg were back on the show performing the opening and closing tracks of Icky Thump. Not surprisingly, The Raconteurs have also been on the show in promotion of each of their albums.

Last summer Conan was on KCRW's Guest DJ Project and one of his music picks was The White Stripes' Ball & Biscuit. Surprisingly, Conan reveals that he first met Jack and Meg, pre-White Stripes in a Detroit bowling alley... listen here [MP3 REMOVED].

The bowling bit isn't that surprising. Back when The White Stripes toured cross Canada, they played one of their legendary secret shows in a Saskatoon bowling alley and it wasn't uncommon to hear stories of them lurking around bowling alleys all throughout the tour. I think there are at least two bowling-themed songs in the White Stripes repertoire (Hand Springs and Red Bowling Ball Ruth). And according to Tegan and Sara, Meg's got mad bowling skills...

The White Stripes - Black Jack Davey [trad.]
This folk ballad dates back in various forms to the 1700s and Bob Dylan covered it on his 1992 album Good as I Been to You. If you're a White Stripes fan, you'll know that they do more than their fair share of Bob Dylan covers.

The Raconteurs - Many Shades of Black (Live on Conan O'Brien)
On last year's appearance on Conan leading into Many Shades of Black, the boys pay tribute to Bo Diddley who had passed away earlier that day.

Conan O'Brien - Blue Moon of Kentucky [originally by Bill Monroe]
An unlikely, but sweet cover by Conan during a show last year.

C.W. Stoneking - Seven Nation Army [originally by the White Stripes]
I think Jack would be a big fan of this cover which sounds like an old school blues recording of St. James Infirmary, which the White Stripes incidentally covered on their self-titled debut album. This remarkable reworking of Seven Nation Army by Aussie artist C.W. Stoneking is from Triple J's Like a Version 4 compilation. More St. James Infirmary covers than you can shake a stick at here and here.
**EDIT: I was just listening to some other songs on C.W. Stoneking's myspace page and I can't believe it's a thirtysomething dude with that voice. It reminds me of that scene in Walk Hard where a young Dewey Cox jarringly sings with the ravaged voice of a old bluesman. Great sounding tunes.

... and here are some awesome youtube videos of little kids singing the White Stripes:
• Toddler sings along to My Doorbell
  
• Class of kids singing Apple Blossom
  
• 5-year old girl sings The Hardest Button to Button a cappella!

It Got Loud

Well, the Large Hadron Collider started up today without a hitch. Everyone still here? Good. I love this headline from National Geographic: Large Hadron Collider "Actually Worked". 14 years and $8 billion later, I would hope so. Today was the first attempt to send a beam of protons around the 27 kilometer tunnel. I'm told it takes one ten-thousandth of a second for a the proton beam to circle the ring, so I can only imagine how anticlimactic it was to push the "on" button. In any event, scientists were ecstatic. Apparently Stephen Hawking bet $100 that the elusive Higgs boson will not be found, but it may be a few months before we find out who's right.

=========================

So I'm back from the big T.O. and I'm extremely thrilled to report that indeed I was able to attend the world premiere of the rock doc It Might Get Loud at the Toronto Film Fest last Friday night. Yes, it got loud... as it should, considering the film's subjects JIMMY PAGE, JACK WHITE, and THE EDGE were all in attendance! They received a rousing ovation from the audience as they entered, shuffling down the rows to their reserved seats-- not far behind me! Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) was there to introduce the film, thanking the guitar virtuosos, the film's producers, and his wife Elizabeth Shue(?!). Utterly surreal watching a movie alongside these guitar greats.

The film kicks off with a shot of a cow. At a farmhouse in Tennessee (if I recall), Jack White hammers together a homemade instrument out of some blocks of wood, a coke bottle, and wire. Plugging it into an amp, he rips through some invented riffs. "Who says you need to buy a guitar?" he quips, as the opening credits roll. Central to the film is an epic Summit meeting of the three guitarists at an L.A. soundstage, which is interspersed with the subjects telling their own stories through individual interviews, revisiting locations of personal significance, and messing around in their own studios including the recording of unreleased new songs.

Some highlights include Jimmy Page playing a record of Link Wray's Rumble from his extensive home collection and goofily air strumming along with a huge grin on his face; The Edge revisiting his old school in Dublin where he once answered a leaflet posted by Larry Mullen Jr. advertising for bandmates, which would eventually become U2 (he ponders if he hadn't seen that ad and says maybe today he'd be a bank manager); and Jack White teaching a 9-year-old incarnation of himself the folk-blues standard Sittin' On Top of the World. At The Summit, all three swap tales and ideas about the electric guitar... of course, we're all eagerly anticipating their jamming together. They take turns leading the others through their own songs: The Edge on I Will Follow, Jack White on Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, and Jimmy Page on Whole Lotta Love, though on the latter Jack and the Edge merely watch with big grins as Jimmy plays. One of my favourite parts of the film is the three of them trading solos on In My Time of Dying in their distinct styles. AWESOME. It's curious to watch the Edge here because a completely different thought process seems to apply to his guitar solos while Jimmy and Jack clearly have their roots in the blues. If you're a fan of any of these bands, this film is pure gold.

After the film, all three guitarists, the producers, and the director went up on stage for a brief Q&A. I recorded the last couple questions:

For the cover lovers, it must be noted that their Summit ends with them getting together to play The Band's The Weight with Jack and the Edge swapping verses. Jack agrees to take the high notes on the chorus while Jimmy mumbles something about not being able to sing at all. Man, they have got to release an official soundtrack to this film.

My top three covers of The Weight:

Tok Tok Tok - The Weight [originally by The Band]

Aretha Franklin with Duane Allman - The Weight [originally by The Band]

The Moog Machine - The Weight [originally by The Band]

Led Zeppelin, U2, and the The White Stripes as you've never heard them:

Nuspirit Helsinki - No Quarter [originally by Led Zeppelin]

Nossa Alma Canta - Desire [originally by U2]

Nostalgia 77 featuring Alice Russell - Seven Nation Army (Grant Phabao Remix)
[originally by The White Stripes]

I had hoped to have an amazing postscript to this night after I was by some stroke of luck able to score a ticket to the fabled It Might Get Loud after party as a media guest (don't ask). But the party was a total bust. Clearly there was an exclusive party within the party for special people only, so I was out in a jammed room with the other schmucks and party fillers. Pure Hell. Utter shallowness on display in full force and free drinks! I held on for 2 hours in hope of a rumoured jam session, though obviously this wasn't going to happen or at least not for us peons to hear/see. The only person of interest I saw was Richard Branson (or a look-alike) cutting through the lobby to the hotel elevators. The next day I read a small blurb in the paper that 2 of the 3 guitarists played (doesn't even say who) and those in attendance included Michael J. Fox, Bryan Adams, Geoffrey Rush, ex-Leaf Tie Domi, probable ex-Leaf Mats Sundin, and some Blue Jays. Yep, completely different party.

Other tidbits:

• A clip I had seen previously on YouTube of a teenage Jimmy Page playing skiffle guitar on a TV show in 1957 appears in the film and the crowd erupted in laughter when they heard young Jimmy's career aspirations. Check the full segment here.
  
  
• With Jack in T.O. for this and Alicia Keys also promoting her own film The Secret Life of Bees, producers took advantage of the opportunity to film the music video for their James Bond theme duet Another Way to Die somewhere in Toronto on Saturday. By the way, did you see the new Quantum of Solace trailer released a day or two ago? Check it out. And a surprising Bond tidbit from It Might Get Loud itself... The Edge asks Jimmy Page if there are any recordings they'd recognize from Jimmy's stint in the 60's as a session guitarist on numerous recordings. His answer: Goldfinger. Wow, news to me!
  
  
• The other film at TIFF I saw was a midnight screening of JCVD, a new film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as himself. A meta look at Jean Claude Van Damme's life surreally crossed with Dog Day Afternoon. A surreal, funny film and Van Damme shockingly delivers a riveting confessional monologue. Again: Van Damme and riveting in the same sentence. And I just have to mention that the JCVD end credits also roll with a cover song-- Bowie!
  Marie Mazziotti - Modern Love [originally by David Bowie]

I Might Get Loud

This is Last Friday Me writing from the past. Little did you know but I've been on vacation in Toronto since last Friday, in fact I leave in a couple hours... I hope I'm having a good time. If all goes according to plan, Current Me should be having a GREAT time at the World Premiere of a new documentary at the Toronto Film Festival called, It Might Get Loud.

Let me break it down: this is a documentary from Davis Guggenhiem, the director of An Inconvenient Truth, about the electric guitar as filtered through the fingers of Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge. KaBOOM--exploding head! Mind blown. Longtime readers should know my affinity for Led Zeppelin and the White Stripes, so when I heard this was premiering at TIFF and I just so happened to be in town, doing everything in my power be there was a no-brainer. And hey I like me some U2 too. Plus get this: all three guitarists will supposedly be in attendance. SPLOOSH!--headless body melts into puddle of goo. Now that would be an after party for the ages. According to the official site, the film "weaves together their stories to reveal how each of them developed a unique sound" and brings the three virtuosos together for a jam session. This is so gonna rock. Current Me had better be there.

DJ Zebra - Icky Thump (Whole Lotta Funk Remix) [White Stripes vs. Led Zeppelin]

33

Yesterday was The White Stripes cover story on Coverville (check it out!) in honour of Jack White's birthday, which is today. Well, that's as good an excuse as any to post some White Stripes covers. As the Jack White philosophy goes, three is the magic number so here's to b-day #33. Happy Birthday Jack!

A little story for you: Last week I finally got my White Stripes Glace Bay aluminum poster framed. I happened to be walking by a frame store nearby and impulsively went in to get an estimate. Yes, I've been carrying scribbled poster dimensions in my wallet for such an occasion. Satisfied with the price, I walked home and gingerly brought back my poster to be framed after one year, two flights, three provinces, and a roadtrip later. I couldn't help but smirk as The Raconteurs' Store Bought Bones happened to be playing on a stereo as I walked back into the framing place.

"You can't buy what you can't find; What you can't buy, what you find; What you can't buy, what you can..."

Eerily fitting music in more than one way. On eBay, the poster itself could sell for over $1000, though I wouldn't dream of selling it. I was thinking a simple black frame since I didn't want to detract from the poster itself. I had basically settled on one frame when an attentive employee who had been overseeing the transaction came over and said "What about this one?" holding a frame sample that "just came in today". All three of us went "OOOOOOoohh". It was perfect. It was black with just a hint of red on the edges when you look at it from certain angles. Beautiful. Thanks to the folks at Framagraphic for doing a great job!



3 covers of:

Nikka Costa - The Denial Twist [originally by The White Stripes]

Mary Shelley Overdrive - The Hardest Button to Button [originally by The White Stripes]

The Fratellis - Hotel Yorba [originally by The White Stripes]


3 covers by:

The White Stripes - Stop Breaking Down (Live) [originally by Robert Johnson]
A slower, smoother live version than the one that appeared on their debut album. An early pre-cursor to Ball & Biscuit.

The White Stripes - Lord, Send Me an Angel [originally by Blind Willie McTell]

The Raconteurs - Keep It Clean (live at Bonnaroo) [originally by Charley Jordan]
Find the original on the Internet Music Archive here.

Another Year o' Fong Songs

**WARNING! Cover-free posting!**
Ah, the inevitable year-end post.... Almost. This is simply a year-end recap of happenings in my own little world. I'll jump into favourite covers, albums, films, and those sorts of things soon. In the meantime, feel free to not read this at all, though you might miss out on How I Almost Got the White Stripes to Perform at the Library I Worked At. Intrigued?

One of the things that's fun about keeping this blog is that it doubles as a sort of diary of personally significant events (musically, at least) and I can just skim through the 2007 archives to see what happened without wracking my brain too hard.

• The first post of the 2007 was... um, last year's year-end post.
  
  
• I had a wonderful first-time trip to San Francisco, also finding time to zip down to San Jose to watch the Oilers beat the Sharks (that'd be hockey for the non-hockey inclined).
  
  
• 2007 would turn out to be the year of band reunions with Davie Lee Roth rejoining Van Halen, The Police coming back together, Genesis, and even The Spice Girls getting in on all this reunion action. February saw the return of one of my favourite bands the Squirrel Nut Zippers who had been missing in action since 2001. When I posted about this reunion back on February 2, little did I know that the ultimate band reunion would be announced later in the year...
  
  
• Chinese New Year fell on February 18th and it was MY year, the Year of the Pig. As far as concerts went, 2007 was positively epic. And I had the fantastic opportunity to take a huge trip to China to check out my roots. Yes, it was a very good year and technically I still have a couple months left on the Chinese calendar.
  
  
• Heart-thumping news on March 20 courtesy of the White Stripes. After some hoax tour dates appeared, their official newsletter was sent out with the teaser "The White Stripes have yet to confirm their North American routing as of yet. But we are happy to say that it will include all 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada, as well as the remaining 16 states of the United States the band have yet to play." Good god, a Canadian tour including the territories?!? Would they actually be coming to Edmonton? Is this a horrible joke?
  
  
• For a time, I was addicted to Desktop Tower Defense.
  
  
• March 30: I finally tracked down the official Interstate '76 soundtrack. Score!
  
  
• April 10: Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls confirmed that none other than Mr. Ben Folds would be producing and playing on her solo album, which as of now is still in the works.
  
  
• April 17: Jack White reiterates the plan to cover all Canadian provinces and territories. Speculation rampant and tour dates imminent.
  
  
• April 26: Jack White is a man of his word. Full Canadian tour dates are released including Edmonton. Unlikely stops: Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Iqaluit, Glace Bay.
  
  
• May 4: Star Wars Day. I post some Star Wars covers, my blog is bombarded with hits after an Idolator shout-out, and I'm inexplicably featured on IMDB's Hit List. At the peak, 4052 unique visitors on one day vs. the usual 150. My virtual ego inflates, but then blog traffic returns to normal as I return to my regular posts. Never underestimate the power of the Star Wars fan contingent.
  
  
• Some time in mid-May I joined Facebook. Strangely, it wasn't really a matter of caving in. I was blissfully ignorant of the addictive site until I was trying to view some Danny Michel tour photos that were posted on Facebook. Ironically after I joined, those photos were unavailable.
  
  
• My rock dreams were coming true as I booked myself aboard a Ben Folds cruise for 2008. These dreams would later be dashed as the cruise was unceremoniously cancelled.
  
  
• They came, they played, they conquered. The White Stripes came into Edmonton on June 30th. Even better than the actual show was one of the now-legendary Secret Shows, which took place in a youth centre in the inner city. I was arm's length away from Jack as he played to a packed room of 200-ish salivating fans. I guess enough time has passed for me to tell the full story on how I almost got the White Stripes to play in my library... I was working at the library in the heart of Old Strathcona, a beautiful newly-renovated brick building that was the first public library in Edmonton built in 1913. A friend and former co-worker at the downtown library called me (although he was sworn to secrecy) with crazy news that someone from the White Stripes camp had contacted them about potentially playing their secret show there. And the library declined! What?!? GRRR! I was so excited and disappointed at the same time. I went on the Little Room forums to rant and rave about what a blown opportunity it was. I also posted some photos of the White Stripes shrine I had put up at the library as the display person and not-so-subtlely suggested the gig should happen at our library. Amazingly, I received a private message from someone... After some rapid back-and-forth e-mails with some scouting photos I took, it turned out our room could probably on hold 80 people and they were expecting more like 300. I also found out later the downtown library gig was kiboshed because of fire hazard and security concerns rather than management simply being close-minded. In any event, I got to go to the secret gig after getting the announcement on the forums and rushing to the youth centre. On the way there, that someone gave me a courtesy call to let me know where the gig was at. And that is how The White Stripes almost played at my library. The end.
  
  
• While on my weeklong White Stripes Maritimes Extravaganza, I was contacted by some guy named Kurtis who was planning to start up his own cover blog... A couple months later, Covering the Mouse debuted featuring all Disney covers, all the time. And the world rejoiced.
  
  
• I went to the Calgary Folk Festival and had a heck of a great time. Squirrel Nut Zippers reunited, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings... it was fun. It occurs to me that I never wrote my Calgary Folk Fest Part II post, which has been condemned to draft hell. So I never told the story of how I weaseled my way into the volunteer's after party to watch the Squirrel Nut Zippers for one last time and danced the night away. Maybe someday I'll finish up some long lost posts.
  
  
• August 28: I stayed up and watched the lunar eclipse like an idiot.
  
  
• September 12: My head exploded as Led Zeppelin officially announces their one-off reunion show. In spite of great lengths to procure tickets, it just didn't work out.
  
  
• Boyhowdy joins the cover blog fray with Cover Lay Down, devoted to folk covers.
  
  
• As I'm off galavanting in China, Kurtis takes over Fong Songs temporarily.
  
  
• While wandering the streets of Macau, I see a sign. Literally a sign for "Fong Song". I wonder if there's a real Coverville out there somewhere.
  
  
• And lastly, I moved to Vancouver.

My Year in Concerts (click links to revisit old concert posts):
2007/01/14 The Tragically Hip Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
2007/01/23 Video Games Live Jubilee Auditorium, Edmonton, AB
2007/02/06 The Arrogant Worms Winspear Centre, Edmonton, AB
2007/02/25 Wolfmother Edmonton Event Centre, Edmonton, AB
2007/05/17 Danny Michel Convocation Hall, Edmonton, AB
2007/05/23 The Killers with Hot Hot Heat Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
2007/06/23 Red Shag Carpet with Kyle Riabko Freemason's Hall, Edmonton, AB
2007/06/24 Roger Waters Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
2007/06/30 The White Stripes with Dan Sartain Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton, AB
2007/07/10 The White Stripes with Dan Sartain Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB
2007/07/11 The White Stripes with Dan Sartain Charlottetown Civic Centre, Charlottetown, PEI
2007/07/13 The White Stripes with Dan Sartain Cunard Centre, Halifax, NS
2007/07/14 The White Stripes with Dan Sartain and Ashley MacIsaac The Savoy Theatre, Glace Bay, NS
2007/07/18 Jon Levine Band Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto, ON
2007/07/25 Weird Al Yankovic Capital Ex, Edmonton, AB
2007/07/27 - 07/29 Calgary Folk Festival (Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Polyjesters, Eleni Mandell, Watermelon Slim, Hawsley Workman, Sarah Slean, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Don McLean, and many more!) Prince's Island Park, Calgary, AB
2007/09/01 Andrew Bird with Dosh Richard on Richard's, Vancouver, BC
2007/09/02 Gogol Bordello with DJ Scratchy Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
2007/12/09 Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings with Megatron Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC

Clearly this was an outstanding year for concert-going. The White Stripes Maritimes Extravaganza was logistically improbable but in the "so crazy it just might work" way and with the ultimate pay-off. The 10th Anniversary show in Glace Bay was the most unreal concert experience I've ever partaken in and unlikely to ever be topped. I tear up just thinking about it... so great in so many ways. Roger Waters put on a spectacular show and in a non-White Stripes year it would contend for best concert of the year. They had a giant high definition screen as a backdrop that is by far the clearest I've ever seen. Giant inflatable graffiti pig too. Shine On You Crazy Diamond was near-euphoric performed live. That concert now has the distinction of the most expensive concert ticket I've ever paid for at $167 and I somehow convinced two of my friends to come too. Tickets for the three of us nearly matched the cost of all of our White Stripes Maritimes shows put together. After years of waiting, I finally saw the Squirrel Nut Zippers live and they did not disappoint. Concert-wise, there's nothing really on the radar yet for 2008. High on my list of must-see someday are The Polyphonic Spree, Harvey Danger, and if we're really lucky maybe Zooey Deschanel will go on tour with M. Ward in '08.

OK, thank you for indulging me. Next time: top stuff of 2007.

White Stripes Maritimes Extravanganza

It's been work, work, work since I got back from holidays. And then what little free time I had was completely usurped by Harry Potter this weekend. But I guess I should be getting back to this blog. If you're not a White Stripes fan, you're going to have to bear with me just a little longer. Non-White Stripes posts coming up next week after I go to the Calgary Folk Fest.

When the White Stripes full Canadian tour was announced back in April, plans were immediately underfoot to see them as much as possible. The hometown Edmonton show was a given, but how many shows could I possibly weasel out of my bank account? It was decided early on that the best plan would be to do the Maritimes swing. Four shows within reasonable distances, 3 of which are within distances actually closer than Edmonton is to Calgary which are in THE SAME PROVINCE! The ultimate coup was the Glace Bay show in the historic 750-seat Savoy Theatre, which would coincide with the White Stripes' 10th anniversary to the exact date. With a little luck and sheer force of will, we obtained 4th row tix to the key show and general admission tickets to the other 3. The Maritimes roadtrip was a go!

I don't have the effort to fully recount the first three stops of the trip in Moncton, Charlottetown, and Halifax, but needless to say the shows were a blast and the band seemed to be gaining steam going into the homestretch of the Canadian leg of the tour. By this point, their afternoon secret shows were becoming the stuff of legend and the media coverage was inevitably getting heavier. Bowling alley in Saskatoon, public transit in Winnipeg, YMCA in Toronto, where will those wacky White Stripes turn up next? The Moncton secret show seemed to have been scuttled, one of the very few if only stops on the tour with no secret show. Charlottetown revived all the excitement. I practically walked into Jack White when we went to pick up our tickets at the Civic Centre. I let out a wimpy wave and supposedly got a smile back, but I was in utter shock and kinda blanked out. About an hour later we were gathered at Peake's wharf based on a rumour (later substantiated by an official post on the WS forums). In the distance some guitar-like noises were starting to emanate from the water. Then a boat rounded the bend and there were Jack & Meg rocking out on Catfish Blues. The boat neared the harbour and shifted back and forth for about 5 or so songs before fading into the distance as mysteriously as they had appeared with the crowd cheering in appreciation. Classic. Interesting sidenote: Dan Sartain's drummer was staying at our hostel in Charlottetown. We're not quite sure why that was, but it made for some funny jokes. Poor Ringo.


The Halifax concert was another highlight. Earlier in the day we had been among the mob that chased Jack & Meg Hard Day's Night-style 'round the Halifax Citadel, which was funny but ultimately fruitless (we later missed an opportunity to catch the actual secret show in a local poolhall). At the evening show, Jack was decked out in a kilt and Meg was wearing a balmoral. They proceeded to blow us away. The kicker at the end of the night was Jack threw his pick into the crowd. Long story short, I found it on the ground!



The next morning we set off for Glace Bay. My friend got a speeding ticket on the way up past Antigonish. Around $300, this made an expensive trip even steeper, yikes! As mentioned earlier, the show in Glace Bay was bound to be a show-stopper despite the band playing down the significance of this show saying it was a coincidence that it was their 10th anniversary as a band to this date. There was never any doubt it'd be something special. Prior to the whole tour, Jack had mentioned he may have some roots in Nova Scotia. What started as a rumour turned into truth as a distant relative traced Jack's lineage through his grandparents (his real last name is Gillis) and confirmed that Jack was in fact related to fiddling legend Buddy MacMaster (3rd cousin, once removed); Buddy's niece and fellow Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster (4th cousin); and fiddling wildman Ashley MacIsaac (double 4th cousin). Early in the tour, it was announced that Ashley MacIsaac would be one of the opening acts for the show. Ashley even has his own Live at the Savoy album recorded in that same theatre. Perhaps most shocking of all (to me anyway), was the revelation that Jack White is also related to ex-NHLer Al MacInnis (3rd cousin), owner of one of the hardest slapshots in NHL history. Last month it was announced that Al MacInnis would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside Mark Messier, Ron Francis, and Scott Stevens. In more fun with family trees, Natalie MacMaster is married to lead fiddler of the Leahy musical family, Donnell. I'm a big fan of Leahy, so that was a neat revelation too. If you can decipher all that, here's some related tracks (pun not really intended):

Natalie MacMaster - Second Figure [The Two Mile Bridge/The Champion Jig/Little Jack's Jig/Jackson's Fancy]
Leahy - DA
Leahy - Czardas
Ashley MacIsaac - Devil in the Kitchen

The Hextalls - I'd Take an Al MacInnis Slapshot to the Balls For You
Al MacInnis' slapshot is so legendary, there's even a song about one man's ultimate sacrifice in the name of love. When the White Stripes were playing earlier in the tour in Calgary, Jack White reportedly said, "I want to send a shout-out to my cousin Al MacInnis. This is where it all happened, right?" They were, of course, performing at the Saddledome, where Al MacInnis manned the backend for 10+ years leading the Flames to their only Stanley Cup in 1989 (Al won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP). I still can't get over this random connection.



We reached Glace Bay and found out there would be no secret show that day, which was both disappointing but a relief. We did a little bowling in a local lane candlepin-style, which was new to all of us, and walked down to the shore. On the whole there's not a heckuva lot to do in Glace Bay, quite frankly. Later we were walking by the Savoy Theatre when the strains of Prickly Thorn But Sweetly Worn (a new track from Icky Thump that hadn't been played live prior to this date) were heard from the backdoor. I rapidly crossed the street and started walking down the alley as fans out front realized at the same time that there was a soundcheck going on. It was hilarious as we crouched next to the garbage in the alley and strained to peer through the door, which was guarded by a friendly Savoy Theatre worker. After a couple minutes someone on stage finally turned and shouted "Who left that door open!" and we all scurried off. But not before snapping this shot of Jack and one of his cousins on the bagpipes (Angus, I think?).


And now the show itself... I feel like I can barely talk about it since I can't do it any justice. You just had to be there. This was the first time in a long time I didn't bring my camera in to a concert. Even though I probably could have snuck it in, I was determined this time to just soak it all in without distractions (I recommend this, it's very liberating). This whole show was being filmed for a future DVD, and knowing this made this choice easier. Our seats were in the 4th row, but right against the wall. My view in particular was hampered by the speakers and I was kinda grumbling during Dan Sartain, but luckily early into the White Stripes set we had shuffled into the aisle with no hassle from security. At the end of Ashley MacIsaac's set, he invited Buddy MacMaster to the stage. This was a genuine treat and everyone in the theatre knew it was special. As he and Buddy fiddled, Ashley even moved to the front of the stage for a little stepdancing as everyone clapped and stomped along.

Ashley MacIsaac - Sleepy Maggie
Probably his biggest hit. I remember this getting radio play back in the day. Haunting Gaelic vocals by Mary Jane Lamond.

My friends and I were among one of the lucky rows to receive champagne served by the White Stripes immaculately dressed roadies. This was during the break between Ashley MacIsaac and The White Stripes, so I wasn't sure if we were supposed to drink it right away or save it for a special 10th anniversary toast. I ended up saving it and toasting the first song, although it was apparent there was no elaborate plan except to drink up! The crowd was filled with Jack's east coast relatives. His mother was there, brothers, sisters, and so many cousins. One of Jack's brothers who bears a striking resemblance could be seen mingling with fans and family alike. It was just a big family brouhaha and we were a part of it. In our row was Jack's 91-year old great-aunt who somehow managed to endure the whole rockin' show. I felt bad for her since it was so loud and I saw her cover her eyes during the strobe lights. She did stand up for Prickly Thorn, which was heartlifting. An average White Stripes concert is roughly an hour and a half including encore. Here, Jack & Meg just unleashed nearly 2.5 hours on us. I can't even think of any highlights since the whole show was one monster highlight. Throughout the show we had to constantly jump out of the way of the Black Hat roadies running in and out of the stage door with cameras and film. I can't wait to see the DVD and maybe someday you'll catch me on it wearing my homemade Canadian tour shirt. It was the be all and end all of White Stripes concerts (at least for me). I simply can't imagine topping that experience. Maybe in another 10 years?

If you managed to read all that or even if you didn't, here are some cover songs. "Finally!" you say.

Whirlwind Heat - You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl) [originally by the White Stripes]
The Raconteurs - The Seeker (Feat. Pete Townshend) [originally by The Who]
Jack Johnson - We're Going To Be Friends [originally by the White Stripes]
Infadels - Steady as She Goes [originally by the Raconteurs]
DJ Zebra - Icky Thump (Whole Lotta Funk remix) [White Stripes vs. Led Zeppelin]

I'm also selling a couple things from the shows on eBay. A limited edition Rob Jones concert poster from the Glace Bay show, which I'm actually selling for my friend to help recover the cost of that pesky speeding ticket. It's so collectible and highly sought after that someone just bought one on eBay recently for nearly $700! Yikes, that would cover the speeding ticket and our concert tickets! I'm also selling 1 of 100 hand-made White Stripes kilt pins they were selling at the Halifax and Glace Bay shows. The trip cost an arm and leg, so bid away! Just kidding, it was an unforgettable and completely priceless experience. And seeing how my Ben Folds cruise was unceremoniously cancelled for next year, my wallet can take the hit.

MIA

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm still kicking around. If you're a particularly diligent reader, you may have realized that I've been gone on my week-long White Stripes Extravaganza roadtrip, which culminated in the ultimate 10th Anniversary show in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia last Saturday. Needless to say, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. ABSOLUTELY MIND-BLOWING. I'll do a proper post in the near future about it once I sort through photos and such. But for now fun time's over, got to get back to my real jobs.

Folk/Blues Roots of the White Stripes

As the display person at the library I work at, I sometimes take some liberties with what goes on display including a massive White Stripes display that's been up for the past few weeks (and the next few). I made my own Canadian tour poster (see above) using a doctored version of some Rob Jones art, who's also doing the official posters for the tour. I'm sworn to secrecy, but I can tell you that I was THIS close to having the White Stripes come play the Edmonton secret show at my library. Seriously. I still got to go (see previous post), but how amazing would it have been if it was at the library?


I didn't exactly get the perfect shot, but Jack and Meg were waving the Alberta flag at the Edmonton show on Sunday. Man, I love this band!

Anyway, in honour of the White Stripes Canadian tour, which is turning out to be more and more monumental by the day, I've assembled a selection of songs from artists that have heavily influenced Jack White. Most of these are songs that the White Stripes have covered on their early albums or in concert.


From the liner notes to the Son House compilation Heroes of the Blues:
"In my hometown of Detroit, nothing stirs me up more than knowing that Son House died just miles from my home; before I was even old enough to even know what he had done to father modern music." - Jack White III (The White Stripes)

Son House - Walking Blues (Death Letter)
The White Stripes' eponymous debut album was dedicated to Son House. Their version of Death Letter appears on their 2nd album De Stijl. It's a staple at their live shows and is absolutely electrifying to watch live.

Son House - John the Revelator
A traditional song, The White Stripes incorporated part of it into Cannon, which appears on their debut album.

Son House - Grinnin' in Your Face
The White Stripes have been known to play this live. As an aside, here's one of my other favourites Andrew Bird tackling the same tune:
Andrew Bird - Grinnin'

Robert Johnson - Stop Breakin' Down Blues
The White Stripes recorded a cover of Stop Breaking Down for their first album.


Blind Willie McTell - Southern Can is Mine
De Stijl, which features a wonderful cover of this song, was in part dedicated to the influential Blind Willie McTell.

Blind Willie McTell - Lord, Send Me an Angel
Another song the White Stripes have covered (as a B-Side, I believe). There's a wonderful 3-CD set called Statesboro Blues: The Early Years 1927-1935, which consists of the complete recordings of Blind Willie made between those years. Definitely worth checking out (from your local library).

Bob Dylan - Love Sick
They have covered Bob Dylan numerous times including One More Cup of Coffee on their debut album and Outlaw Blues on their Under Blackpool Lights DVD. Love Sick was one of the songs I saw them perform a couple years ago in Vancouver.

Jack White & Bob Dylan - Ball & Biscuit
A few years ago, Jack got to join his hero on stage for a performance of the White Stripes' Ball & Biscuit from their 2003 album Elephant.

Now here's some fun playing connect the dots . . . you may or may not have noticed that the illustrations of Son House and Blind Willie McTell are by famed underground comic artist R. Crumb. In 1980, a series of trading cards featuring the Heroes of the Blues were illustrated by R. Crumb, an avid collector of 78 rpm records including early blues records. Some of these illustrations were used on a series of Heroes of the Blues CDs including the aforementioned Son House CD with the Jack White quote. The 2005 book, The R. Crumb Handbook, came with a CD of music from several of R. Crumb's bands, from which we get this cover of the traditional folk song St. James Infirmary:

The Crumb Family - St. James Infirmary
Another cover of this song also appears on the debut White Stripes album.

Blind Willie McTell - Dying Crapshooters Blues
The tune to St. James Infirmary was adapted by Blind Willie McTell for Dying Crapshooters Blues, a song (you guessed it) also covered by The White Stripes on occasion.

The White Stripes - St. James Infirmary/Dyin' Crapshooters Blues (live)
Here are Jack & Meg covering BOTH live in 2005.

Bob Dylan - Blind Willie McTell
Bob Dylan himself wrote a tribute to Blind Willie McTell. . . to the tune of St. James Infirmary. From a series of sessions with Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler.

The White Stripes - Blind Willie McTell (live)
And the White Stripes also covered this live in Perth, Australia in 2003.

Toshiyuki Honda - St. James Infirmary
On a personal note, the first time I had ever heard this song was this Toshiyuki Honda arrangement from the 2001 anime film Metropolis (awesome soundtrack by the way), which was inspired by Fritz Lang's influential 1927 science fiction film Metropolis. And just to give your head a final spin, one of the latest shirt designs at the White Stripes online store is of Maria. . . from Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

White Stripes Secret Show in Edmonton

Hmmm, do you think I'm in White Stripes heaven right now? Here are some pics I took at the secret show they did a couple hours ago at an inner city youth sports centre.

Busy Busy

No post until probably next week. I've got White Stripes on the brain with their show on Saturday. Plus, it's Canada Day long weekend. WAAAAAAAAY too much going on 'round here to update the blog. I'll keep you posted. :)

Here's a cool story on The White Stripes in Iqaluit, Nunavut jamming with the elders.

Some Housekeeping

Time to attend to some housekeeping issues. I've got about 6+ blog posts on the go that I haven't been able to finish yet. Those will just have to wait for a bit. There are some recent developments that have been tying up most of my spare time in addition to my 2 jobs...

Quiet talk of a move to Vancouver
I lived in Vancouver for a couple months in the summer of 2005, taking some part-time courses in 2D animation. Actually, it was while I was living there that this blog got its lowly start. I've always been meaning to head back there (before 2010) and there's been some recent discussion with friends about that move happening at the end of this summer. I've even bought a ticket to an Andrew Bird show on September 1st in Vancouver... a sort of confirmation of intent, I suppose.

White Stripes Maritime Extravanganza
I alluded to it in earlier posts, but a couple friends and I are headed to the Maritimes on an epic roadtrip to stalk The White Stripes as they head through:

Moncton, NB -- Charlottetown, PEI -- Halifax, NS -- Glace Bay, NS
The hardest part would have been getting tickets, but we managed to get pre-sales for all of them including the elusive 10th Anniversary show in Glace Bay. They're playing at the Savoy Theatre, which only has a capacity of 761, so with a little luck we scored 3 tickets to that. Recently someone bought 4 tickets for this show on eBay for practically $900 CDN... yikes! That's coming up in July (in addition to the Edmonton show at the end of June), so expect to hear me talking about that non-stop in a month or so.

Ben Folds cruise
A week or so ago, they announced the official details on next year's Ben Folds Experience. Positively epic. I'm there!

The Killers & Hot Hot Heat
I'll be going to this show tonight at Rexall Place. I haven't really given Sam's Town a fair listen, but the one song I know, "Why Do I Keep Counting?", is a winner. Hot Hot Heat should be a blast.

Facebook
Now here's a time-killer. An unreasonable amount of time has been spent on this recently. I've been on for less than 48 hours, but I've been busily setting up my profile, uploading photos, and re-connecting with some old acquaintances. Come check out my photos of some memorable gigs (membership not required) with more to come!
Aimee Mann at the Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver BC August 5, 2005
The White Stripes at the Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver BC August 7, 2005
The White Stripes at the Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver BC August 8, 2005
The Dresden Dolls at the Bloor Cinema, Toronto ON July 15, 2006
The Living End at the Mod Club, Toronto ON August 1, 2006
This Facebook is scarily addictive...

Here's some random covers I've been meaning to post that don't really fall under any particular theme.
Wizo - Poupée de cire, poupée de son [originally performed by France Gall]
The Arcade Fire - Poupée de cire, poupée de son (live) [originally performed by France Gall]
The Wizo cover randomly came up on my iPod and I was hooked. Turns out it was the 1965 Eurovision winning entry for Luxembourg, written by Serge Gainsbourg. I later found out The Arcade Fire have been playing this at the live shows for their 2007 tour. I don't know what it is, but I just can't get into The Arcade Fire. I do like their version of Brazil though.

David J - Being Boring [originally by Pet Shop Boys]
The Pet Shop Boys Discography album is a must-own.

Transformer di Roboter - Stranger in Moscow [originally by Michael Jackson]
Unexpectedly found this cover when I first got my Mac and was trying to figure out how to turn off the boot up "Mac sound," which was used throughout this song. This is one of those curious instances of me listening to a cover and not seeking out the original. For no particular reason, I've never actually heard Michael Jackson sing this.

Baba Yaga - Back in the USSR [originally by the Beatles]
I love the opening vocals of this cover.

White Stripes in Edmonton? Hell yes!

I should be sleeping right now, but The White Stripes just had to go ahead and announce their tour! True to their promise, they're crossing Canada full-on. Woohoo, here are the dates and Edmonton's confirmed!

Sun 06/24/07 Burnaby, BC Deer Lake Park
Mon 06/25/07 Whitehorse, YT Yukon Arts Centre
Tue 06/26/07 Yellowknife, NW Yellowknife Multiplex
Wed 06/27/07 Iqaluit, NUN Arctic Winter Games Arena
Fri 06/29/07 Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome
Sat 06/30/07 Edmonton, AB Shaw Conference Centre
Sun 07/01/07 Saskatoon, SK TCU Place
Mon 07/02/07 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
Tue 07/03/07 Thunder Bay, ON Thunder Bay Community Auditorium
Thu 07/05/07 Toronto, ON The Molson Amphitheatre
Fri 07/06/07 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Sat 07/07/07 London, ON The John Labatt Centre
Sun 07/08/07 Ottawa, ON Cisco Systems Ottawa Bluesfest
Tue 07/10/07 Moncton, NB Moncton Coliseum
Wed 07/11/07 Charlottetown, PEI Charlottetown Civic Centre
Fri 07/13/07 Halifax, NS Cunard Event Centre
Sat 07/14/07 Glace Bay, NS Savoy Theatre
Mon 07/16/07 Saint John's, NF Mile One Centre

This is my bank account's worst nightmare. That is until next year's Ben Folds rock vacation... let's celebrate!

White Stripes covers:
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - The Hardest Button to Button
The Flaming Lips - Seven Nation Army (Harry Potter and George Bush's Severed Head Army Mix)
Bree Sharp - We're Going to Be Friends
Nina Persson - Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground

Random Jack White stuff:
Blanche with Jack White - Who's to Say
Jack White - Love is the Truth [Coke ad]
Electric Six feat. Jack White - Danger! High Voltage
The Flaming Lips - Thank You Jack White (For The Fiber-Optic Jesus That You Gave Me)

Bonus Mash-up
Mountain Con - Variations on Outkast, The White Stripes, and John Lennon

White Stripes in Canada update

Latest tidbit is The White Stripes in Whitehorse, Yukon on June 25th at the Yukon Arts Centre, which only seats 424 people. As awesome as that show would be, the plane tix are a bit much so I'll opt out of that one!

Danny Michel & Emm Gryner CBC Cover Show!

GREAT NEWS!

I just read that one of my favourite artists Danny Michel will be hosting a new CBC radio show exploring the world of COVER SONGS! Ha ha, that's brilliant! He and fellow Canadian artist Emm Gryner (no stranger to covers herself) will be co-hosting Under the Covers, a weekly show that will air... who knows? On his site, Danny says they just got approval last week from the CBC execs and they'll record shows when his and Emm's schedules permit. They'll have weekly musical guests who may play a cover or talk about people covering their songs-- for better or worse. Sounds great! Just my cup o' tea. From the sounds of things, they recorded a pilot in February with Luther Wright, whom you may recall covered Pink Floyd's The Wall in its entirety. According to Danny, "Between [his and Emm's] Rock n' Roll-adex's we're aiming for some pretty serious names as guests." Can't wait for this to surface! And I imagine it can't help but have a Canadian slant to it as well, heh heh.

Danny Michel - Lady Stardust [originally by David Bowie]
Danny's contribution to the world of covers is an entire David Bowie cover album in his own unique voice, which features an AMAZING cover of Young Americans, which I like to tout as possibly my favourite all-time cover (at least somewhere in the top 5). That album introduced me to Danny Michel, but it's his original material that's got me hooked. You can grab that Bowie album and Danny's original stuff over at Maple Music, probably our biggest online exclusively Canadian music retailer (also good for Moxy Fruvous merch!).

Danny Michel - In a Belly of a Whale
This song starts off with solo ukelele-ish strums and emerges into a poppy jaunt with some groovy horns, yet remains deceptively haunting and slightly sinister with bittersweet lyrics. That's a piss-poor description, but that's what immediately comes to mind when I think about this song and try to put it into words. I think it's brilliant and you should maybe give it a listen (and comment, if you're so inclined).

Emm Gryner - I'll Stick Around [originally by the Foo Fighters]
I have to admit I'm not familiar at all with Emm Gryner's original work, though she has a plentiful catalogue over at Maple Music as well. She seems to have taken a page from the book of Tori Amos in her cover songs (i.e. stripped down piano covers of alternative rock songs). She's got a cover album of her own called Girl Versions with an eclectic choice of cover songs including Crazy Train, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Song 2, and even Stone Temple Pilot's Big Bang Baby.

Luther Wright & The Wrongs - Young Lust [originally by Pink Floyd]
Even if you're well-familiar with the original, I think you'd be hard-pressed to recognize this cover.

Danny's got a new Live DVD/acoustic CD combo coming out at the beginning of May and a cross-Canada tour, which I've already got my ticket for when he passes through E-Town on the 17th. Coincidentally, he'll also be at the Ottawa Blues Fest in July with The White Stripes and a bajillion other artists. Still waiting on that White Stripes full Canadian tour announcement.... any day now. Latest from the ever-churning rumour mill is that they'll play the Shoreline festival in Prince Edward Island (for international readers, that'd be our mini island province). In fact, a couple days ago a PEI radio station said The White Stripes are committed to playing the fest, which runs July 21-23. Woohoo!

White Stripes in Edmonton? pt. II

Just a quick follow-up to a White Stripes in Edmonton? post I made last month. Sorry, no mp3s today-- I'm just so excited about this White Stripes thing I had to post right away!

A friend saw Jack White being interviewed last night on MuchMusic (our Canadian music channel) and he re-iterated that The White Stripes intend to tour in all 10 provinces and 3 territories.

"We're not going to leave any stone unturned. And if any new provinces or territories get made up during the tour we promise to play the new ones as well." says Jack. [via]

So now it seems as though it's no longer a matter of if they're coming, but rather when and where. Speculation is rampant on the Little Room forums as to which stops they'll make. If the rumour is true that they'll hit the Ottawa Blues Festival, expect an announcement on April 25th when the festival line-up is unveiled. I imagine a full tour announcement would come around the same time.

[EDIT: 4/18/2007 It's confirmed. The White Stripes will be taking the stage at the Ottawa Blues Festival July 8th! Press release here. That didn't take long! Let's hope full Canadian dates are on their way.]

Yesterday brought word that they'll be touring in July in a bunch of states they haven't visited before, so their story is checking out so far.

My own plans for a Western Canadian roadtrip are already underway...

White Stripes in Edmonton?

After a slew of hoax tour dates for their upcoming album Icky Thump, there were further developments today as the band sent out their newsletter that included the following tidbit:

"In fact, The White Stripes have yet to confirm their North American routing as of yet. But we are happy to say that it will include all 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada, as well as the remaining 16 states of the United States the band have yet to play. A few major markets that have been journeyed to in the past will be also be included."

An article in today's Edmonton Journal thinks ol' Jack & Meg are having a joke at the expense of Canadians (their argument being that even the White Stripes wouldn't venture all the way up to Nunavut). And yet it wouldn't shock me in the least if they did decide to be one of, if not the first, rock band to tour the Canadian territories. Despite mentioning the hoax dates, the article still ends by laughingly pointing to Vancouver tour dates on August 7th and 8th.

Hey, I went to both those shows two years ago and they were THE two best concerts I have ever been to! In fact, looking back, August 11th, 2005 was the day this very blog started with (what else?) a White Stripes post. It's a little creepy and embarassing to look back at those tentative first few posts. Creepy in a listening-to-a-recording-of-yourself sort of way and embarassing since I haven't changed much since then, though I have gained about 3000 covers. I was living in Vancouver for a couple months at the time and I remember sending this crude drawing to taunt friends back home in Edmonton:

The White Stripes - Death Letter (Live Aug. 7, 2005 - Vancouver, BC)
[originally by Son House]

The White Stripes - Ball and Biscuit (Live Aug. 8, 2005 - Vancouver, BC)
These hardly capture the energy and excitement of these epic shows, but I still think it's cool to have a recording of them. As evidenced in the past few years, I think professionally recorded discs of the concert you just went to are probably among the best souvenirs one could get. I still get flashbacks when I go back and listen to the Pixies and Who Edmonton gigs. The technology's there, I hope more and more bands jump aboard. I know The Raconteurs did it on some of their gigs last year, so it wouldn't be stretch to hear a White Stripes Canadian tour set down the line, eh? I'd be all over that! Here's hoping for a tour announcement soon so I can start packing for a concert roadtrip.

The Raconteurs - Bang Bang (Live At Wolverhampton Civic Hall - 24/10/06)
[originally performed by Cher]
The Raconteurs - It Ain't Easy (Live on BBC Radio 2) [originally by David Bowie]

KT Tunstall - My Doorbell
Jack Johnson - My Doorbell
The Dresden Dolls - My Doorbell [via]

I generally hate the Pickin' On albums which churn out bluegrass covers in a little factory somewhere, but I think the White Stripes material lends itself very nicely to bluegrass makeovers and someone did a good job with these ones. Check out Jack White's contributions to the Cold Mountain soundtrack for some similar sounding material from the man himself.
Banjo Army for a Bluegrass Nation - It's True That We Love One Another
Banjo Army for a Bluegrass Nation - Fell in Love With a Girl
Jack White - Sittin' on Top of the World

By the way, check out Frunoflckr for that missing Tino Casal cover of Life on Mars?. My Spanish is a bit rusty (as in non-existent) and if Babelfish is to be trusted, which is doubtful, then "The uncle is Fongolia."

Thanks, Fruno! :)