record show

Last month I finally attended the bi-annual Record Show at the Festival Banquet Centre. I’d seen the flyers for the show around town before and had always wanted to check it out but had never been able to -so I was extra super stoked to go. I prepared myself for an afternoon of record browsing with the hopes of finding some real gems.

The Festival Banquet centre is located on King St. East (to see my post on King East click here).  With low ceilings and dim lighting the hall kind of reminded of the multiple friend’s parent’s basements that I hung out in as a teenager.  The hall however was still decked out in kitschy wedding decorations and the air smelled like a cocktail of stale alcohol and tobacco smoke. Like most record sales I’ve been to it was pretty much a dude fest with a small spattering of women digging and flipping through the crates.

I went with the hopes of discovering some rare record finds; old jamaican ska, surf, 50/60′s soul and perhaps a little calypso or Nigerian afro-funk. But I was stuck mostly with flipping through various vendor’s collections of The Beatles, The Stones, Kiss and Journey among other boxes of records that you might normally find at a garage sale (priced accordingly cheap 3 for $5). So I guess if you’re into bargain bin rock music and perhaps completing a collection of a specific rock artist then this would’ve been the record sale for you. Don’t get me wrong there were tons of records -maybe too many? I probably would’ve been happier with less records and just a little more quality and uniqueness to the selection. A couple of turn tables with headphones for listening to potential record purchases would’ve helped too.

In the end we did end up buying a couple of albums. Steve got Rush: Archives (a triple album: Rush, Fly By Night and Caress of Steel), and I picked up a Barbara Lynn album.

I leave you with a song from Barbara Lynn:

bishop park

Some of my favourite evenings of this summer were spent at Bishop Park in the Stinson neighbourhood.

Every Thursday evening from July 7th until August 25th the neighbourhood surrounding Bishop Park gathered to hear some fabulous live music.  Songs from the Bishop showcased local Hamilton musical talent from the likes of Terra Lightfoot of the Dinner Belles to Adam Bentley from The Rest plus many other fabulously talented musical acts.

The times I’ve gone the crowd has varied from about a hundred people to an intimate gathering of neighbourhood folk. People seemed to know each other. They’d gather on the park benches, on the grass or on lawn chairs to sit back and take in the musical act of that particular Thursday evening.

In the canopied shade of Bishop Park we would sing along whenever we could.  Kids often busted out into awesome dance moves and routines, and overall there was just a real sense of community and neighbourliness.

I loved how the late summer sun was sinking behind the trees, and you could just tell the summer season was coming to a close.

The most recent concert I saw in Bishop Park was the last one of the summer.  Adam Bentley, who was integral in putting on Songs of the Bishop, played for us. His voice is so beautiful and it carried wonderfully in the open air -almost hauntingly.  It was a different sound and a real treat to hear Adam sing in bare bones form -without the ambiant wall of sound (from his band The Rest) that usually accompanies him.

I only ever made it out to two evenings of the Songs from the Bishop and wish I’d come out for more. I really do hope that next year the concert series continues.

I love all the secret little things that are happening in Hamilton all the time.  It makes me adore where we live and gets me excited for what new creative initiatives we will discover in the months and years to come!

I leave you with a little music from Hamilton’s The Rest.  They do have a new album out so go out and get yours!

summer time

So much to do! So much going on!

I love summer! I also love that I have the summer off this year, and that there is so much to do locally in the city to fill up my days.

Just this week I sat on the rooftop of Jackson square and ate my schnitzel sandwich from the market; in the breeze, with the sun, and the beautiful sound of Terra Lightfoot‘s voice singing CCR and Fleetwood Mac covers carrying through the open air. Sigh.

Two young ladies "rushing" the stage.

The next day I headed to Gore Park for their grand opening of the new designated pedestrian area and their Summer Promenade’s first of several weekly events. So nice to see pedestrians taking over that space and seeing crowds of people gathering and hanging out at Gore Park.  The Gore Park Promenade event with vendors, and live music runs Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 11am-5:30pm until September 15th.

Image by Jason Leach taken from Raise the Hammer

Last night I joined the Stinson neighbourhood in Bishop’s Park for their weekly Thursday evening concerts: Songs From the Bishop, running from July 5th to August 23rd. It was such a nice and laid back community event, it just made me love where we live more than ever.

I feel like I say this every month… but tonight’s art crawl is going to be an awesome one! There’s a craft show being put on by the newly open Mint Studio in the Sonic Unyon building (3rd floor).

The Sweet Ice Snow Cone ladies will be out selling their refreshing treats.  Check out their promo video it is so adorably sweet!

The AGH’s new Design Annex will be open for its very first art crawl.

Dr. Disc will be celebrating its 21st birthday with bands like The Rest, New Hands, The Dirty Nil, and Greg Preston & The Great Machine playing on their rooftop. Plus after Dr. Disc’s Raise the Roof event there’s an after party at The Casbah.  That’s a super packed crawl!

On Saturday there’s also the Farm Crawl!

It seems like everyday there’s something to do, and some place to check out.

lakeside park

If you’re looking for a nice strip of beach not too far away from the old hammer then head to the little oasis of Port Dalhousie.  Just outside of St. Catharines proper is this beauty of a lakeside park.  With its whispering silver poplar trees and long sandy banks perfect for wading you could spend a day lounging and picnicking.  We went before school was out, so the beach was quiet and calm.  People were busting out their picnics for dinner, and firing up their hibachis for hotdog roasting and bbq’d burgers.

I would definitely come back here for a day to enjoy the sun and sand.  There’s ice-cream shops, pubs and patios all before you hit the beach, as well as, an old school carousel from the early 1900′s that charges only 5 cents a ride!

Truth be known Lakeside Park and Port Dalhousie were not on my radar of places to visit.  Steve on the other hand, being a huge Rush fan, had secretly known about this park and had suggested we go.  According to Steve, Neil Peart drummer of Rush, had grown up in Port Dalhousie and had written the lyrics of song Lakeside Park specifically about the park in Port Dalhousie.

Midway hawkers calling
“Try your luck with me;”
Merry-go-round wheezing
The same old melody
A thousand ten cent wonders
Who could ask for more
A pocketful full of silver
The key to heaven’s door

Lakeside Park
Willows in the breeze
Lakeside Park
So many memories
Laughing rides
Midway lights
Shining stars on summer nights

Days of barefoot freedom
Racing with the waves
Nights of starlit secrets
Crackling driftwood flames
Drinking by the lighthouse
Smoking on the pier
Still we saw the magic
Was fading every year

Everyone would gather
On the twenty-fourth of May
Sitting in the sand
To watch the fireworks display.
Dancing fires on the beach,
Singing songs together…
Though it’s just a memory,
Some memories last forever.

A 1976 live performance of Lakeside Park by Rush.

spadina station

There have been many Toronto visits the past month.

Last weekend I headed into the city to meet with my friend Vern, to check out City of Craft, and to show my support for the Day of Action rally at Queen’s Park (my first rally ever!).

I didn’t take a lot of pictures this visit.  But one picture I did manage to snap was this one of Spadina station.  I love how a lot of the subway stations in Toronto still look so retro.  I particularly like the contrast of this red bench against the rusty yellow honeycomb-esque tiles.

I’m looking forward to sticking around Hamilton for the next few weekends with tons of stuff going on like Canada’s largest food truck rally on Ottawa Street, The Brain’s Deep Groove Record Swap, Lee Fields‘ funk show at This Ain’t Hollywood, Doors Open, and Steve’s art opening at b contemporary (for the May artcrawl).

bahamas

I’m a big fan of Afie Jurvanen’s (aka Bahamas‘) music.  I loved his first solo album Pink Strat, and I’m definitely loving his latest album Barchords.  If you want to dig back further  into the musical vaults, I would have to say my fandom started when Afie was the frontman of the band Paso Mino, which also consisted of multiple members from the band Zeus (whom I also love).  Afie’s got a great deep smooth voice, his guitar riffs are catchy, and the songs are simple, sweet and speak for themselves.

We checked out the Bahamas show at the Casbah a few weeks back.  It was a busy week; two shows back to back, Bahamas one night and the next night Sloan.  The venue was packed with a fairly young university crowd and much busier than previous Bahamas shows we’ve seen in Hamilton (the good word must be catching on).  My mind was blown with the first song Lost in the Light, with the gospel-like harmonies of  backup singers: Carleigh Aikins and Felicity Williams and Afie.  Seeing and hearing the song played live was so breathtaking.  It was really soul shattering, the whole place was vibrating, and everyone was swaying.  I think I had goose bumps the entire show.  My highlight was when they played Never Again.  When the song ended someone in the crowd shouted “Play it again!” and the audience cheered it on.  Afie hit it up one more time, the whole room went ape shit belting it out and joining in with the powerful harmonies of the backup singers.  They could have played it on repeat and I would’ve been peach as pie.

If you like the sound, and want to pick up the album you can get them local in the Hammer on vinyl at Cheapies and Dr. Disc.

For more Bahamas’ videos check out Southern Souls’ page here.

zeus

I’m always happy to see Zeus play in Hamilton.  Not only do I love their music and think that they are fantastically talented musicians, but they are also some old friends so it is always nice to see them stopping through town on their tours.

Their debut album Say Us was released in February 2010 by Arts and Crafts and is A-mazing.  At their show last week at the Casbah we got to hear some newer songs that I hadn’t heard yet, and they did not disappoint.  Their next album is set to be released in early 2012 but they have been releasing multiple 7″s throughout the year.  If for some reason you have yet to listen to Zeus you are missing out on something really special. You just need to listen.

One of my favourite songs off of Say Us is Heavy on Me.  There are instrumental harmonies that climax into an orgy of solid rock godness. If I were in the band I’d feel like a total rockstar playing this song.

*The Casbah, 306 King St. West, Hamilton, 905.521.4441

albert hammond jr, what!?

Albert Hammond Junior is DJ’ing in Hamilton on Saturday night!  Yeah, I know.  Isn’t that crazy?  Well it’s true.  Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes is doing a DJ set this Saturday night at Club Absinthe for the kick off to the return of their I SAY DISCO AND YOU SAY PUNK nights.  Tickets are $10 in advance, and there’s $2 PBR and mixed drinks until midnight.  I have a feeling I’ll be like a decade older than everyone there, but since the venue is only 3 blocks from my house, I’ll check it out anyway.  If you want to go, there’s less than 100 tickets left, so get your tickets quick, you can pick them up at Cheapies.
 

 

*Club Absinthe, 233 King St. East, Hamilton, Ontario

dj disaster

For one of the weddings I went to this summer I had been asked to be the DJ.  I was super excited to take on this task (my 2nd time DJ’ing ever) exclusively with records.  I spent days going through my vinyl collection and thinking about songs to play, while weighing out their danceability.

In university I once put a raging dance party to screeching halt by trying to cue up a song on a 5 CD changer but instead I accidentally cut the music mid song and dance.  If there had been a record for the needle to go skipping across when everyone stopped dancing and the room went quiet, it would have.  So for this wedding I wanted to be sure to have zero DJ disaster moments.

Having the ultimate dance party has always been an eternal dream of mine, so when the dance party was rowdy, collars turned up, ties on heads, and people were getting sweaty, I felt that I had done my duty.  I moved through the eras and genres of ska, soul, surf, calypso, funk, disco, 80′s rock, pop, and new wave. I even managed to squeeze in a little Wu-Tang.  One of my favourite parts of the night was when I turned to see the bride’s parents dancing to Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang.

My two favourite tracks from Dusty Springfield's 1964 album are Mama Said, and Do Re Mi.

Two songs I adore on this album, Just Can’t Get Enough, and Dreaming of Me.

The killer song on this album that just makes me want to die and go to heaven is Barracuda, which has an uncredited mind blowing trumpet solo by the legendary Rafael Mendez.

The song that I love on this album is a cover of A Hard Days Night, which was the entire reason why I bought the record.

Some of the songs that I played at the wedding a few people specifically came up and asked about after.  Those particular songs came from the 2 albums in the pictures above, which I had picked up in Hamilton from the Deep Groove Record Swap hosted at The Brain.  So if you’re into collecting records especially of the soul, jazz, funk, ska, afro, calypso, disco, rock variety you should definitely go by The Brain this Saturday from 1-5pm to do some record swapping and/or purchasing.  I’ve been to 2 swaps so far and have always managed to pick-up a few amazing finds.  There’s no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon with a coffee, or a pint, flipping through records and listening to great music.

*The Brain, 199 James St. north, Hamilton, Ontario

hamilton sketchbook

A few years back when we were still living in Toronto I went to Pages book store, when it still existed at Queen & John, and asked if they had any books about Hamilton. We’d already been crushing on Hamilton big time, and I wanted to indulge in our fantasy of moving to Hamilton by giving Steve a book about the city for his 31st birthday.  The store clerk looked up at me in a bit of shock, and then clarified again whether I really meant a book about the city of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, really?

The only book in the entire store about Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, was a graphic novel titled Hamilton Sketchbook by David Collier.

I could not have asked for a better gift for Steve and introduction to life in Hamilton.  I was so happy to have had the luck of stumbling upon such a gem of book.

After having moved to Hamilton, at an art crawl about 2 years back, I met David Collier at Mixed Media.  He was selling and signing Part 2 of the Hamilton Sketchbook.  I ended up buying this copy for another present for Steve.

There’s something really cool about reading about places you’ve been to and places you’ve lived in.  I love the down to earth feel, and day to day life depiction of David’s work.

Today as I rode by Mixed Media on my way to work I noticed a poster by David in the window.  Prints for $10 Hamilton Light Rail Transit.

I heard that David recently designed the album artwork for relatively new Hamiltonian Luke Doucet and The White Falcon‘s latest album Steel City Trawler, which is a tribute entirely to the city of Hamilton.

For a great read about Luke Doucet’s recent move to Hamilton, and more details about his album (produced by Sloan’s Andrew Scott) and about David Collier read the National Post’s article here.
 

 

Luke Doucet and life partner, fellow musician and singer-songwriter Melissa McClelland will be playing a show with their new band White Horse at The Hamilton Place Studio on September 30th with Frazey Ford.