Tressa and I saw Luke Doucet and the White Falcon play the second of back to back shows (November 3rd and 4th) at Amigos in Saskatoon. It was a fun evening.

The opening band was Sunparlour Players, whom I had not heard before. There opener number was folky and reminded me of mumford and sons or frightened rabbit and so I enjoyed it.

A banjo was played in an upcoming song, but except for a a cool usage of percussion - using a steel drum, chimes tied to the end of a guitar and hitting a keyboard stand, the next songs were mediocre to me. The last song the trio played, called dyin' today, used two drum kits and the lead singer playing a bass. Than half way through the song, they switch back to their regular guitar/bass/drum formation. The lead singer than put on a slide and played a very bluesy riff with desperate hell escaping lyrics. It was very entertaining.

The great guitarist and songwriter Luke Doucet than hit the stage and opened with the bluesy-desert-surf riff of Emily, Please. Some of the songs I can remember being played are "For Joy Division fans" The Ballad of Ian Curtis, Take You Home, Mitzi's, Long Haul Driver, It's not the liquor I miss which was sung with a local woman from Saskatoon, Cleveland, First Day (in the new hometown), The Day Rick Danko Died, You gotta get it, Sundown, Dirty Dirty Blonde, and the encore of the great song Blood's too rich.

Of these many songs, the best moments for me were You gotta get it and Ballad of Ian Curtis off of the new album, the harmonica on take you home, the fact that the very old song Mitzi's was played and the encore Blood's too rich.

I had seen Luke Doucet and White Falcon at Broadway theatre about a year and a half ago. It was a good show musically, but a Sunday night and you had to remain in your seats. So this show was much more energetic (despite less people) and funner to sit or stand as we felt. I appreciated the mix of older songs played and Mr. Doucet graciously posed for some pictures after the show.

Very good performance, will make me relisten to the new album. 8/10

perilously on a cliff
looking down, down below
waves crash against the rocks
contrast the ebb and flow

you and i stand above
but down, down we shall go
palms sweat, lips dry, hearts race
faster and then they slow

pumping adrenaline
feeding courage we need
over the precipice
gathering breakneck speed

lifting in the stomach
a buckling of the knees
fear and the unsettling
falling free, falling free

written by Brian Danchilla, October 22nd, 2010

I have been to quite a few shows and concerts in my day. They have been quite varied in sound quality, energy level, performance length, venue feel, number of people at the show, seating/standing, etc.

Here are my five favourite, in alphabetical order:

Collective Soul - summer 1999, Craven, SK "Rock'n the Valley". I remember that it was a very hot day, people were squished for the headliner. The set started with the sun still out and hoses to water down the fans and ended with Ed Roland coming out alone with a single acoustic guitar, strumming away as he left the stage at the encore.

David Gray - spring 2010. This was a timely show - the 2009 album, Fugitive, was my favourite of the year. We had great seats - 3rd row from the front. The concert was at TCU place (moderately sized, good sound). The highlight of the show was the mesmorizing, extended version of Nemesis. More details of the concert were described in a previous blog entry.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - fall 2006. I tried to remember the setlist in a previous blog entry. This show was after the double cd Stadium Arcadium came out and I was musically in love with John Frusciante. It was a great show - I just wish I had floor seats.

Tragically Hip - early 1998. My first taste of music was earlier the previous summer at MuchMusic's EdgeFest. There were some decent acts at that - Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Tea Party, Sloan and a fairly new Foo Fighters. However compared to this show, it all seemed amateurish. The Hip were the real deal. A piece of Canadiana. Gord Downie was a genius and a raving lunatic at once. I remember the guitarist, Rob Baker, and his long hair - somewhat outragish to a conservative 16 year old version of me. I remember the way the bass player was in his old world. The rhythm machine of Johnny Fay and the backing vocals of Paul Langlois. The show came after the Phantom Power (1998) and Trouble at the Henhouse (1996) albums and was to me, the pinnacle of the Tragically Hip's fame.

TV on the Radio - summer 2009. This was at the Odeon (small club) and it was hot outside and felt like 35 degrees inside. I wanted to be close to the stage, so I sweated a ton. There was so much energy at this show. The acclaimed album Dear Science was out and I was a big fan of it. Highlight was the song DLZ.

Honourable mentions: Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Constantines, Plants and Animals

A few New Year's ago I mentioned that I was interested in taking up meditation. I have not (I still would like to). However, for over six months now I have practiced yoga on and off.

As someone who has worked at a desk for the last five years and hunched over a computer too much in the last fifteen, I've had some back issues already.

I have found that weeks when I have been able to do yoga, it has helped my mobility greatly and reduced stiffness and pain. I have found to make sure NOT to stretch farther than I naturally can for a pose, or I will be sore and possibly worse.

I am glad that my girlfriend Tressa introduced me to yoga and recommend it for others with back issues that think it is just hype

Tressa and I went to see David Gray a week ago, on may 18th at TCU Place. It was a very good to amazing show from one of the best singer songwriters around.

The opener was good as well - I can not remember his name at the moment - a singer songwriter type as well, with a single backing guitar player.

I do not know if the show was a sellout or not, but it seemed quite full. We had great seats - row C slightly to the right (sixth row with the orchestra seating).

Then it was Gray's turn to hit the stage and he did so with style - a white curtain silhouetting the rest of the band and David's distinctively infectious bobble-head-like sway.

David packed a wide variety of songs into his setlist (which I will try to list from memory later in this post) ranging from Shine off of his first album a century ends, to a new track called fix it from an album set to be released in fall 2010, apparently called foundling.

The only song that did not make the set that I was really hoping for was Kathleen off of 2009's Draw the Line, but one missed song is pretty good.

The highlights of the show for me was an extended version of nemesis with a long breakdown into possibly (I did not recognize it) a cover song with a pulsating disco ball/strobe light which was very trippy and just how great the entire band sounded on every song played. Tressa's favourite song was jackdaw.

here is my attempt to remember the setlist (please send any corrections to me)

1. fugitive
2. first chance
3. now and always
4. you're the world to me
5. jackdaw
6. sail away
7. ain't no love
8. nemesis
9. life in slow motion
10. shine
11. fix it
12. babylon
13. draw the line
14. be mine
15. --------------
16.    encore
17. --------------
18. this year's love
19. ?
20. please forgive me