Alright, Blog, I'm Back!

*for those just interested in the music stuff, you can skip this first paragraph*

Well, I guess I have some explaining to do.  It's been over a month since my last entry, and I have let many of you internet people down.  I have a whole list of excuses, but the honest truth is I just needed a break.  I don't want to make this into a bitch-fest, because I'm not a bitch (asshole: yes, bitch: no), but I felt like I not only needed a break, but I deserved one.  The first semester of CreComm was a bit of a wake up call for my brain, for a number of reasons.  For example, at U of W I had like 10 hours of class a week (optional) and only a handful of assignments (mostly essays) over the entire two years I was there.  At Red River I'm in class almost 30 hours a week (not at all optional) and always have some sort of assignment on the go.  At U of W school was within school hours, but in CreComm evenings are often eaten up with some sort of school-related activity.  Whether it's getting asked to wait in the cold outside Ian Rabb's election headquarters while results came in, phoning 20-something dietitians before getting one to agree to do a quick interview, writing a news release then reading it at least 100 times to catch the dreaded auto-fail (haven't auto-failed yet...but I did get lucky on one, thanks Melanie) or getting smashed at Shannon's and drawing on people's clothing (also not optional) we are always up to something.  After a few months of that, I decided that I would write little to nothing during my break, just to refresh.  Now don't get me wrong, I love CreComm, it may take up a lot of time, but it's mostly stuff I enjoy doing (except the dietitian thing, that drove me fucking nuts) and we get to do some pretty sweet stuff for some of the assignments.  Free Bomber game with my class was great.  So was partying in a funeral home.  No offense to the new class 2, but old class 2 forever!  Okay, I admit it; the real reason I didn't blog for the past month is because I was too upset that Mike Bad isn't in my class anymore.  I'm still sorta getting over it...

Enough blabbing about school, it's a music blog, and blog about music I will.  Rather than do a profile of a band/musician like I've done in the past, I'm just going to talk about the music I saw/heard on my trip to New Orleans that I just went on.  I spent New Years down south this year, which was a great idea, no snow, mild temperature and great food and music.  

After getting stuck in Minneapolis for a day (stupid Delta Airlines, but I won't get into that here) we landed in the Big Easy about one hour before the Dr. John show that we had tickets for.  We barely made it to the show in time, but we did, and the bar was packed.  The show was at Tipitina's, a fairly small bar (dedicated to Professor Longhair) with a second floor with a full bar and wicked view of the stage.  Unfortunately for us, all the good spots were gone by the time we got there, but we could still hear just fine, and it wasn't a problem for me, because last time I was in New Orleans I was front and center at a Dr. John show.

One of my favourite parts of New Orleans is the street music.  On almost every corner in the French Quarter you'll find  someone/a group of someones playing, and most of the time they are AMAZING.  Without exaggeration I can say that  have seen better bands play on a street corner in New Orleans than I've seen play in bars in Winnipeg.  And there's just something about walking down a dark street, and seeing a silhouette of a guy leaning against one of them old-timey lampposts playing a saxophone as the fog rolls in from the Mississippi river.  Oh yeah, and no open-container laws, so you have an alcoholic beverage of choice in your hand at all times.

Heading down there, I knew the highlight of the trip would be New Years Eve.  After a fancy-assed dinner as Brennan's (birthplace of bananas foster) my brother, uncle and I were heading back to Tipitina's, this time to see one of my favourite bands, Galactic (click here).  Ben Ellman walked right past me while we were hanging out outside the bar, and I've been kicking myself for not saying something to him ever since.  Even if it's just a couple of quick words, I really like to say hi to musicians that I like and let them know how much I enjoy what they do.  Having seen the band twice before, I knew that it was going to be a high energy show, but I never expected it to go until 3 in the morning.  And holy shit, what a good show.  They did an unreal cover of Can't You Hear Me Knocking by the Rolling Stones, and later on an equally as mind-blowing version of Manic Depression by Jimi Hendrix.  I picked up an autographed poster on my way out, can't wait to get it back from the framing place.

There was a huge college football game on the day after we were leaving (Sugar Bowl for anyone who cares), so there was a stage set up near the river and stuff going on for the last two days of our trip.  Luckily my parents saw somewhere that Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue were playing there on our last night in town.  Also luckily, my brother and I are both big Trombone Shorty fans, so my parents recognized the name.  Like Galactic, I had already seen TS&OA twice, and knew that it would be a really good show.  We got some handgrenades (very alcoholic and tasty beverages sold exclusively in 5 bars on Bourbon Street) and headed down to the stage.  There wasn't many people there, so we got up pretty close.  Every time I have seen Shorty he has been better than the last.  This time it happened to be his birthday, and he and the band had clearly been partying before the show.  I have never seen a group of people have so much fun while doing their job (or anything for that matter).  They played a set made up mostly of songs from their newest album, Backatown, which was nominated for a Grammy this year.  This show was every bit as entertaining as the Galactic show, and the fact that we just heard about it the day of made it even better.

Since it was an outdoor show, the "backstage" area was just a small fence, and I could see a tour bus off to the right of the stage.  This time I didn't waste my opportunity and went over to meet anyone that I could.  First came Joey Peebles, one of my all time favourite drummers...and he's only 22.  I didn't have a camera with me, so I didn't get a picture with him.  Then I stopped to have a quick chat with their guitarist Pete Murano.  My brother had shown up with his camera at this point.  Took a picture, but I look kinda goofy in it.  Upon returning home, I realized that I looked like a goof in every single picture of me take on that trip.

Finally got to talk to Trombone Shorty himself, which was a huge thrill for me.  I was surprised to find out he had been to Winnipeg before, playing with Lenny Kravitz when he opened for Aerosmith.  This might be the goofiest I've ever looked in a picture.  But I was drunk and excited, what do you want?

He was a cool guy, it's always nice to meet someone you look up to and find out they're not a total jackass.

 

Tradition is tradition, and this post will not be any different.  For the enjoyment of my internet friends, a couple of videos from the bands I've been writing about.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue playing One Night Only (not Suburbia like the title says) on Jimmy Kimmel.

Recorded at the show I was talking about above!  Glad I found this, even though it's not great quality.  Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue playing Suburbia (for real, this time).  Is it weird that this video gives me shivers?

Again, not the best quality, but here's a video of Galactic playing Manic Depression.

Galactic with Chali 2na and Laidlaw playing Think Back.

Trombone Shorty plays with Galactic fairly often, and this is one of the craziest things I have even witnessed, so I figured I'd include this brief video.