TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Third Season (2003 Alliance Atlantis)
By season 3, Trailer Park Boys was a bonafide hit show, and running on all cylinders. The confidence that Clattenberg and crew had was obvious in season 3. The writers had hit threir stride here, and produced eight of their best episodes. Granted, there are very few bad Trailer Park Boys episodes, but none of them were in season 3. Season 3 also presents the first true classic episode, “Closer To The Heart” featuring guest star Alex Lifeson of Rush.
Ricky and Julian are, once again, out of jail. They are also rich thanks to their dope sale from the previous season. Julian begins a vodka bootlegging business, and Ricky applies for the position of assistant trailer park supervisor, now that Randy has been suspended. Lahey and Ricky working together? You know that’s not going to turn out well.
Before long, Julian comes up with the idea of committing a series of small crimes, so they won’t get caught, and saving the money for a big cruise. Stealing gas and opening an illegal gas station in the park seems like a good idea. This leads to the first-ever big Ricky courtroom scene of the series. If you haven’t seen one of these, believe me, Ricky’s courtroom scenes are always a highlight.
Meanwhile, Julian starts dating a cop, and J-Roc starts jacking other rappers tunes (he calls it “cross promoting”). This leads to the debut of new character DVS (Detroit Velvet Smooth…from Moncton), who comes to Sunnyvale looking for reckoning. Seeing Bubbles rapping during a moment of crisis is another highlight of the season, as is finding out what J-Roc is really like under that headband.
Then, one day, Bubbles finds that Rush are playing at the Metro Centre. He asks Ricky to go get him a ticket, with the only money he has. That gets all cocked up, so Ricky decides that to compensate Bubbles, by having Rush do a concert in the park. Just for them. How do you do that? You start by “borrowing” one of the band members.
By the end of the season, the entire world of the Trailer Park Boys has been turned upside down, and things will be drastically different in season 4. It’s all funny, it’s all quality, it’s all good. Truly, season 3 was one of the best seasons of this show, and is actually a great place for non-fans to start watching. It is easily accessible and loaded with witty writing, inspired improvised dialogue, and great stories.
Pick up season 3 if you don’t have it already. For new fans, this is a great place to get into the series.
Clickhere for Aaron’s loving review of this album, from his Rush “Partial Series”.
RUSH – Fly By Night (1975 Anthem, reissued 2011 in the Sector 1 box set)
Gotta love this album cover. It is classic. Always has been.
This, the first album ever to feature “The Professor” Neil Peart on drums and lyrics, is the birth of the new Rush, the Rush we know today. Slowly shedded were the straight-ahead rock sounds, although their shadows remain (“Best I Can”, for example). In the stead were acoustic guitars, songs about Elvish cities, and much more complex arrangements. Fly By Night remains today a beloved and important slab o’ wax in the mighty Rush canon.
For the most part Fly By Night remains heavy although the rawk groove is gone, replaced by…well, I don’t know what to call it. In it’s place is sheer ability, filtered through the Canadian lens; the snow-white brilliant abilities of Lifeson, Lee and Peart, barreling straight through the winter night, determined to just frickin’ play their tails off. (How did ya like that run-on sentence?) To listen to this monster is to listen to three kids who knew they were better than the other kids on the block. Maybe the songwriting wasn’t entirely there yet but the pieces were falling into place.
You can’t beat “By-Tor” for its piercing vocal and metallic romp, yet it bends and slithers through a lengthy instrumental section. “Anthem” harkens back to the groove of album #1, yet foreshadows the heaviness of album #3. It remains one of Rush’s most identifiable rampages. The title track reveals hippy-like happiness sheathed within the band’s monstrous technical abilities. “Making Memories” is fun acoustic-based classic road rock. “Rivendell” is a personal favourite, an ode to the home city of Elrond and his Elf kin.
Like many Rush albums of the early 1970’s, some of this music might be impenetrable to the uninitiated. However, one must push through it in order to appreciate where this band came from and where it was going.
Finally, when this album was reissued in the Sector 1 box set, a 5.1 mix on DVD was included as a bonus. I couldn’t leave you without speaking about that mix, briefly. It’s a pretty straightforward surround mix, presumably because as Rush albums go, Fly By Night is a lot more straightforward than the later discs. Not a lot of tracks and instrumentation to play around with. It’s clear though, and it’s a pleasure to listen to. I only wish I had the ability to listen to 5.1 mixes more frequently, so I could get to know this disc a little better.
It’s the end of the Week of Rockin’ Movies. All week we discussed movies with significant rock n’ roll connections. If you missed anything, click below! Thanks for hanging out.
I don’t know why it has taken me so long to review this rocking comedy. This and Fanboys arrived at roughly the same time, both movies featuring a character who loves the Holy Trinity known to Canadians as Rush. However only I Love You Man was able to score appearances from Geddy, Alex and Neil.
If you’re not a fan of the Apatow factory players – guys like Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, Joe Lo Truglio, Aziz Ansari, Nick Kroll, etc – then even the appearance of the Mighty Rush is unlikely to sway you to I Love You Man. You know what kind of humour you’re in for: dick and fart jokes, and plenty of them. If that’s not your kind of humour, that’s cool, man!
I happen to love fart jokes.
I Love You Man has some great fart jokes. But it also has heart, which is why I’m still into it five years later. Peter Klaven (Rudd) is newly engaged to his lovely girlfriend Zooey (Rashida Jones), but there’s one major issue: He doesn’t have any real guy friends. Zooey has plenty of bridesmaids, but Peter can’t think of anyone for the crucial role of best man. Klaven embarks upon a series of “man-dates” to get to know some guys better. These range from funny (Joe Lo Truglio’s gratingly high-voiced Lonnie) to disastrous (a vomit-filled poker game with Jon Favreau).
Klaven has a second problem. As a real estate agent, he’s landed a great client, but also a tough house to sell: Lou Ferrigno’s place. While Peter laments that it’s hard to sell a house with a giant-size Hulk statue on the lawn, it is at an open house that he meets Jason Segel’s Sydney Fife. Hitting it off, the guys exchange cards and agree to get some drinks later.
The critics really praised the on screen chemistry between Rudd and Segal, and it’s hard not to get drawn into their story. Especially when they realize they have a mutual affinity for Rush. This leads to the now-famous “Slappin’ Da Bass” scene, a phrase that Geddy may hear at just about every concert he plays, for all eternity.
The weakness with the movie (and many similar films) is the lack of strong female characters. Zooey is relegated to the character that is slowly pushed aside by Sydney. It’s not intentional of course, but a few missteps that Sydney makes end up upsetting Zooey, and eventually Peter, enough to jeopardize the best man slot at the wedding.
Can Peter, Sydney and Zooey reconcile in time for the wedding? Will Peter ever sell Lou Ferigno’s house? Will Rush be played at the wedding?
Of course you know what will happen, but this being a review, I’m obligated to stay away from spoilers.
I thought the cast was great, the story hilarious (if not the most original idea), and even the supporting cast were all standouts. J.K. Simmons as “the dad” and Andy Samberg as “the gay brother” were notable, even in their small roles. As a child of the 70’s, Lou Ferrigno was icing on the cake for me. The guy obviously has a good sense of humour, and the movie would not have been the same without him. Ferrigno rules.
I Love You Man has earned a permanent place in my movie collection, and not just for the Rush references!
4/5 stars
Paul Rudd as Peter Klaven
Jason Segel as Sydney Fife
Rashida Jones as Zooey Rice
Andy Samberg as Robbie Klaven
J. K. Simmons as Oswald Klaven
Jane Curtin as Joyce Klaven
Jaime Pressly as Denise McLean
Jon Favreau as Barry McLean
Lou Ferrigno as Himself
Rush as themselves
Happy long weekend, Canada! Here’s a bonafide Canadian content bonus review for ya! Party on. KIM MITCHELL – Fill Your Head With Rock – Greatest Hits (2005 Sweden Rock CD/DVD set)
If you’re gonna buy this, you’re gonna buy this for the DVD, not the CD. There’s so little live Mitchell material out there, and it’s somewhat surprising that this great nugget of a live show (1989 Rockland tour) came out as part of a weird Swedish greatest hits set. Included on the CD is a new song written for the Sweden Rock Festival called “Fill Your Head With Rock”. It was later included on Mitchell’s studio album Ain’t Life Amazing, rendering this CD obsolete. Since the CD is little more than an extra to me, I’ll start by reviewing the included live DVD.
What kind of solo artist opens his show with five minutes of drum solos before taking the stage himself? I can only think of one: Kim Mitchell.
This live DVD, recorded in 1989 at the Kee to Bala opens exactly that way. Astoundingly, it’s a triple drum solo! Three drum kits, from left to right, keyboardist Greg Wells, drummer Lou Milano, and bassist Peter Fredette! The stage is so crowded that Wells is hidden behind Mitchell’s amplifiers! And the party-ready crowd loved it. When Mitchell entered the stage at the start of “That’s the Hold”, they were already in the palm of his hand. Mitchell sports his neon pink baseball hat, a duplicate of which I owned at the same time! Mitchell’s guitar solo is extended and suitably gonzo.
A really bad edit goes into the single “Rocklandwonderland”, opened with yet another solo, this time on keyboards. Keep in mind this is a radio-friendly commercial rock artist that appealed to old-school prog rock fans, but also every beer-slurping hoser in the 1980’s. To their credit the audience seems to be digging every note. But then again, this is no band of slouches. “Rocklandwonderland” was a huge hit in Canada. If the studio version is a little too light on guitar, Mitchell compensates live.
One of the more rocking new songs is next, “The Crossroads”, and no it’s not a blues. While there’s no argument it’s a party atmosphere (beach balls passed around), it’s also an extravaganza of Mitchell’s always classy guitar. Fredette is suitably solid yet goofy at the same time, and backing Kim up on vocals with range to spare. In my opinion, Peter Fredette has always been the secret weapon of this band.
“Crossroads” merges into the ballad “Lost Lovers Found”, not one of Mitchell’s best songs. His vocal range on the chorus is still remarkable, and the duo of Wells and Fredette harmonize with just a hint of twang. Once again the highlight is Kim’s soulful, brilliant guitar solo. Yet all of this pales to the majesty of “Battle Scar”. The three drum kits return for this Max Webster/Rush classic. Fredette easily handles Geddy’s powerful vocal part. “Battle Scar” remains one of Mitchell’s greatest compositions, heavy and relentless.
Another of Kim’s greatest, “All We All”, easily follows “Battle Scar”. Once again, the solos are brilliant, as is Fredette’s lead vocal. The Akimbo Alogo classic “That’s A Man” is a smooth showcase of Kim’s bluesier playing, on top of a cool ZZ Top style rock song. Beers are hoisted into the air. Fredette switches to guitar to accompany Mitchell on the lead solo, and several mustachioed audience members play air guitar. One bearded man even attempts the air-drums.
“O Mercy Louise” isn’t exactly a standout, but the poodle-haired girls in the audience seem to like to bob and dance to it. The whole room seems to sing along to the gleeful country of “Easy to Tame”. Same story with the summer classic “Patio Lanterns”. It’s nothing but the hits from here in, “Go For Soda” and “Rock N Roll Duty” inspiring plenty of sing-alongs.
As for the CD, I’m not sure if I follow the logic of its track selection. While many of the biggest hits are included (“Rock N Roll Duty”, “I Am A Wild Party”, “Get Lucky”, “Go For Soda”), many are not. Some of Kim’s best later material is included, such as “Kimosabe”, “World’s Such A Wonder” and “Find the Will”. Even though the album concentrates on later Mitchell material, I’m baffled by the lack of inclusion of singles such as “America” and “Acrimony”.
There are, among the later songs, a lot of good tunes worth a revisit. “Human Condition” is a grinding blues rocker, and “Wonder Where & Why” smokes from start to finish. I think “Big Smoke” is one of the better tunes from the Aural Fixations album, an often overlooked record.
Of course we have to talk about the “new” song, “Fill Your Head With Rock”. It’s very much in the mold of the later Kim Mitchell material included. It’s hard, with a gritty guitar riff and slippery solos. It won’t go down in history as a classic, but it’s a workmanlike Kim Mitchell rocker. A year or two later, Helix wrote their own song called “Fill Your Head With Rock” for the Sweden Rock festival as well!
With Amazon.ca asking an absolutely ridiculous $124.75 right now, I would say snag this one if you find it used.
TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Movie (2006 Alliance Atlantis)
Directed by Mike Clattenburg
The story goes that Ivan Reitman, who produced Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (aka “The Big Dirty”), wanted to do a movie that would re-introduce the characters and target them to a new audience. He preferred the flavour of the earlier seasons and steered the movie in that direction. This is sort of a good and bad thing.
The movie is out of continuity with the TV series, unfortunately. There are characters and events in the movie that would never be referenced in the series. Lahey loses the roof of his car in both the movie and the TV series, but in different ways. You’ll notice Trinity is played by a different actress (Lydia Lawson-Baird), and her character is slightly different in tone as well.
Remember those movie trailers where the Boys are auditioning actors to play themselves? I think it’s best to think of this movie in that context: It’s the Boys playing themselves, in a movie based on themselves. Even though we’re talking about fictional characters in a mockumentary movie.
The plot: Ricky and Julian go to jail (again) and are about to be released (again). No fair! cries Ricky, who wants to play in the jail hockey tournament against the prison guards, captained by Donny. The rivalry between Ricky (a goalie) and Donny (Gerry Dee) result in a few classic exchanges:
Ricky – “Suck it, Donny.”
Donny – “You suck it. More.”
Ricky – “What kind of comeback was that? I said ‘suck it’ and you just added ‘more’ to it.”
Donny – “Because it’s more, you suck it more.”
Out of jail, Rick goes home to Sunnyvale trailer park, only to find that things have changed. Lucy’s got a new job. “An awesome new job,” according to Sarah. “She workin’ at Horton’s again?” asks Ricky. Nope, it’s not a coffee shop, it’s a “gentlemen’s club”. This “gentlemen’s club” is owned by Sonny (Hugh Dillon, of the Headstones), and he’s banging Lucy.
Julian, also out of jail, has an idea to get rich “without getting caught”: Do small crimes. Steal change! Ricky, on the other hand, has met a lot of really “smart” guys in jail, and they all say “the big dirty” is the way to go: one big crime, and you’re retired. The two ideas are combined and a plan is set in motion. Will Ricky still be able to play in the hockey tournament?
In addition to new characters like Sonny and Donny, look for cameos by Alex Lifeson (Rush) and Gordon Downie (The Tragically Hip). The soundtrack kicks ass, featuring Helix, April Wine, and lots of The Tragically Hip. I always think of this movie now when I hear the songs “Bobcaygeon” and “38 Years Old”. Hell, Julian even goes to see a movie called “The Dark Canuck” in the film.
I really enjoyed Trailer Park Boys: The Movie even if it’s not quite pure Trailer Park Boys. It sort of attempts to recapture what worked in the early seasons (you can tell by casting Trinity as a younger girl) and by and large, it works. Sonny works as a replacement antagonist, a role that Cyrus often filled on the show. All your favourite regulars such as Philadelphia Collins, Jacob Collins, and Officer George Green are here. Lahey is suitably drunk, and Randy as shirtless as ever.
This actually works pretty well as a way for newcomers to get into the show. It distills what worked best in the earlier years, into a two-hour package that stays funny and doesn’t wear out its welcome. Bonus features include the music video for “I Fought The Law” (featuring Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson!), and lots of alternate takes.
KIM MITCHELL – I Am A Wild Party (Live) (1990 Alert)
Kim Mitchell’s solo career has been pretty spotty, but I think most fans own this live album. Personally, I would rank it as a must-have. If only it wasn’t so damn brief! What is this, an EP? Even by 1990 standards, when cassette was a primary format, 38 minutes for a live album from a musician with a career as rich as Kim’s…?
I Am A Wild Party (Live) kicks off with the title track, which was one of two “new” songs recorded at rehearsal. It’s actually an older song from the sessions of his 1986 album; the chorus ends with the line “I’m shakin’ like a human being.” This is now a Kim klassic, the kind of fun summer party rocker that he is known for. The other new song is “Deep Dive”, a good hard tune with some greasy guitar groove.
Live highlights include the old Max Webster classic “Battle Scar”. As you may remember, that was Max Webster’s team-up with Rush. Here, bassist Peter Fredette (a great singer in his own right) takes Geddy Lee’s vocal. He does it extremely well, too. Elsewhere on this album, Fredette sings the high parts on the ballad “All We Are”, which many fans consider better than the original studio version from Akimbo Alogo.
“That’s the Hold”, “Lager and Ale”, “Rock & Roll Duty” all rock harder than their album versions, let loose from the sterility of a studio, with Fredette wailing away in the background. These are great live versions, with not a lot of crowd noise to distract from the actual musicianship and volume!
I think the album could have been 10 or 11 songs. When the party sounds this good, you don’t want to leave.
RUSH – Moving Pictures (2011 Anthem remaster with 5.1 blu-ray)
The great musical academic, Tom Morwood, once called Moving Pictures “the greatest album of the 1980’s”. I think he has an arguable position. Besides the obvious “Tom Sawyer”, you get such classics as “Red Barchetta”, “YYZ”, “Limelight”, and of course “Vital Signs”. This is back in the day when 7 or 8 songs made an album, and Moving Pictures’ 7 songs are a hell of a concoction.
Although the Rush catalogue was last remastered back in ’97 (or there ’bouts), this was the first Rush deluxe edition to hit the shelves. Unlike most deluxe editions, this one contains no “bonus tracks” per se, at least none in CD form. Disc one is Moving Pictures, in stereo, and disc two is the entire album in hi-def 5.1, plus three music videos. Disc one has been remastered (yet again!), but don’t fret — unless you’re an audiophile, you don’t need to worry about that. The 1997 CD edition sounded fine, as does this. You’re buying this for the 5.1, and if you can’t play 5.1 just stick with the original CD which sounds pretty much the same to the average Joe Listener. (There’s also a “96k PCM stereo” with “256 times more resolution than a CD” on the blu-ray disc.)
If you don’t own this album yet, then what are you waiting for? You couldn’t find a better CD to start with. Although Geddy had brought the keyboards out, this album still represents the perfect mix of Alex’s guitar and Ged’s keys — not fighting for space in the mix, but sharing it equally and powerfully.
Do I really need to talk about “Tom Sawyer”? It’s Rush’s most recognizable riff. I can think of few other songs where the drum part carries just as many hooks as the other instruments. But that’s Rush, that’s the Professor. That’s part of their genius.
“Red Barchetta” is a futuristic tale. The Motor Law has been passed, banning cars. Romance for the old vehicles still exists in some, who seek the thrills. I always felt the subject matter was similar to the movie The Last Chase, which didn’t come out until the following year. Musically, the song twists and turns like the roads it’s about.
“YYZ” is perhaps Rush’s best known instrumental, a slammin’ piece of polyrhythmic madness. It’s stuff like this that Rush is best known for, and “YYZ” is one of the best examples of it. Alex’s guitar work is nothing short of stunning, meanwhile Geddy’s bass licks are perfect.
Meanwhile, “Limelight” represents the simpler pop side of Rush that the band were interested in exploring at the time. It is still anchored by a solid riff, but with Geddy’s vocal melody enduring. A song like this is an appropriate lead-in to “The Camera Eye”, a more complex piece featuring Geddy’s synth. It’s over 10 minutes long, and perhaps the kind of thing people expect from Rush.
“Witch Hunt” is a shorter one, but ominous and dramatic. Alex’s riff is the main focus, although Neil certainly throws in plenty of interesting accents. The final track, “Vital Signs”, is my favourite. Finding words to describe it is difficult. It’s perfect — an amalgam of incredible playing with interesting influences and complex arrangements. There is a clear reggae vibe, as they had been listening to a lot of The Police. It’s also extremely memorable. Neil’s drum work on this is stunning.
And that’s the album! Seven songs done and dusted.
The 5.1 mix, done by Toronto’s own Richard Chycki (he’s been doing Rush and Triumph remixes for years now) is pretty damn good. It’s different. Listen to “Vital Signs” for example. It’s different, the balance of instruments and vocals. Considering the original stereo mix was perfect, and you can’t fairly compare to perfection, I will just say the mix is different. It’s definitely a great listen on a good system, I liked what Chycki did. Again, listen to “Vital Signs”. What he did there just creates this amazing field of sound. There’s a great separation of instruments. Moving Pictures was a great choice to mix in 5.1, you can really hear the individual playing.
The music videos are old, and don’t look so hot, even on blu. I have always loved watching the “Tom Sawyer” video, Neil bashing his kit in Le Studio with that big glass window behind him in the dead of winter. Geddy with those big glasses. My best friend Peter, he loves Geddy’s glasses! There’s also “Limelight”, which is seen less frequently. The “Vital Signs” video, from the same taping, is previously unreleased.
The liner notes are by David Fricke, and are quite different from the who-played-what-when notes in previous deluxe editions. Fricke’s don’t go into great detail regarding the making of the album nor the 5.1 mix, as previous deluxe editions do. However, it’s David Fricke, and therefore a good read. Enjoy while immersed within this album, in sublime hi-def 5.1.
GEDDY LEE – My Favourite Headache (Atlantic, 2000)
I have owned this album twice now. I bought it when it first came out, then a couple years later Lemon Kurri Klopek hooked me with up with a copy autographed by Ged himself! As a diehard Rush fan, this album is one of my prized possesions.
I just don’t enjoy it as much as Geddy’s Rush discs.
The title refers to Geddy’s love of music — a source of satisfaction and frustration, his “favourite headache”. Personally, I was disappointed by the album. I thought the songwriting was not up to standard, treading familiar waters already crossed on Test For Echo. The playing is competant enough. I mean, you can’t go wrong with Matt Cameron and Jeremy Taggart on drums, can you? Ben Mink is a fine multi-instrumentalist, but there is no shredding like you’re used to on Rush albums. (Geddy also plays guitar himself.)
Can a listener separate Geddy as a solo artist from Rush? It is very difficult to do. Whatever Geddy writes, sings, and plays is going to automatically sound something like Rush. But without Alex and Neil, of course it won’t sound exactly like Rush. And that is more the fault of the listener (me) than the artist (Geddy). I personally cannot separate the two.
There’s some monstrous playing here — just listen to that opening bass on “My Favourite Headache”. There’s also some decent riffs (“The Present Tense”). There’s some passion (“Working at Perfekt”) but very little that stands out as memorable, as classic, or something you just crave to hear again. In general the songs here are all pleasant, solid rockers (with a few slower tunes). Geddy’s lyrics are weak at times (“Home on the Strange”) but his singing is good and the production is excellent.
Best tune: The final one, “Grace to Grace” which is the only one that really cooks.
The cover art is pretty disappointing. I’m sure it meant something to someone along the way, but to me it’s just a generic cover that could have been on any album in the faceless morass of the 1990’s.
A treat for you boys & girls today! A guest shot, a vintage concert review, and a significant one at that. Remember when Metallica was just an opening act for mediocre bands? Meat does. And he’s back to tell you the story. Enjoy the first guest shot of 2013, by Meat!
W.A.S.P. w/ METALLICA and ARMORED SAINT – January 19, 1985
By Meat
I was lucky at a young age to have the opportunity to see some great concerts. The first concert of my life was at The Center in the Square in Kitchener, Ontario. It was The Monks (remember “Drugs in my Pocket”?) and I went with my childhood friend, Scott Hunter, and his mother. I also saw the almighty Black Sabbath play the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, three days before my 12th birthday, on the Mob Rules tour on November 19, 1981. I saw Triumph on the Allied Forces tour play the Center in the Square, with my father not long after that. But really my early concert experiences were mostly, and most memorably, with the aforementioned Scott Hunter. I believe it was his uncle who had connections with a concert promotion at the time called CPI. He would leave free tickets at Will Call for us at Maple Leaf Gardens or wherever the show was. We saw the last Kiss tour with makeup at the time (Creatures of the Night tour) on January 14, 1983 with The Headpins opening. Also saw the first ever Kiss tour without makeup (Lick it Up tour) on March 15, 1984 with Accept as the opening act. As well as Motley Crue on the Shout at the Devil tour on June 10, 1984, at what is now the Ricoh Coliseum, also with Accept as support. Many of these shows are quite memorable and monumental, but none so much as the first time I saw Metallica live.
I remember the first time Scott and I heard Metallica. We would have a sleepover at his place every Friday night specifically because Toronto radio station Q107 had their “Midnight Metal Hour” on that night. We would have first heard Metallica (“Seek and Destroy”) either late 1982 or early 1983, before Kill ‘Em All was even released. Obviously it was an instant shot of Metal Up Our Ass! Kill ‘Em All was released on vinyl and cassette on July 25, 1983. I specifically remember (but not exactly when) walking into a record store downtown Kitchener called Records on Wheels and buying that album, Anthrax’s Fistful of Metal and Van Halen’s 1984 on vinyl, all during the same visit. I also remember buying Metallica’s second album, Ride the Lightning, the day it was released. Thanks to the World Wide Web, I know now that date was July 27, 1984. Starting grade ten that September, I was pushing Metallica on anyone that would be open to it at my high school. There were a very select few of us who were die-hards and would have Sony Walkmans stuck to our heads at every opportunity possible. Now I cannot recall if we got free tickets for this particular show, but I do remember how pumped I was when I knew I was gonna see Metallica live.
The bill was as follows: Armored Saint (with Anthrax’s John Bush on vocals), Metallica and W.A.S.P. Yes you read that right. Metallica was opening up for W.A.S.P. I do know that further along on the tour, Metallica and W.A.S.P. would trade headlining sets due to the obvious buzz around Metallica at the time. Here is a picture of an actual ticket stub of this show. Note the price ($15.00) and Armored Saint being spelled wrong on the ticket.
One thing I will add before I go on. Of all the concerts and bands I have seen multiple times live, it is kinda strange I only saw Metallica live twice ever. One of the reasons for this is quite obviously that after their album Load (otherwise known as Mighty Load of Shit), I never really had a great interest in seeing the band live again. But it is worthwhile noting that I have seen Metallica live twice and BOTH TIMES they were opening for someone else. (The second time being the strange bill of The Black Crowes / Warrant / Metallica / Aerosmith on June 29, 1990 at CNE Exhibition Stadium in Toronto) Again, note the ticket price for this. This was before The Eagles ruined ticket prices for all acts with the ridiculous prices for their shows. To quote “The Dude” I hate the fuckin’ Eagles.
So there we were, January 19th 1985 standing in line in front of the late great Toronto concert venue named The Concert Hall. It was freezing cold out, and windy too. So since this was a General Admission event, standing in line braving at least -15 Celsius weather, you can imagine how cold and bitchy people were. I recall the rush of metalheads being ushered quickly into the venue. The second I got in there I went straight for the merch booth and bought a Ride the Lightning tour shirt for me and a high school friend named Joe DeLeo. After that, like seemingly everybody, I had to take a wicked piss. After doing that, I was horrified when I tried to zip my probably really tight jeans back up, and couldn’t because my hands were numb from the cold. My embarrassed horror turned to laughter as I turned my head to see dozens of much older and much larger long-haired headbangers all having the same problem. Only in Canada I guess eh?
Sometime later, Armored Saint took the stage. I remember them being great and how loud it was in there. They were received well and that venue was filling up. While enjoying their set my buddy Scott gets my attention and points to the much-shorter person beside me. Immediately I recognized him as Russell Dwarf from the Toronto band Killer Dwarfs. Their name was very apropos considering this band consisted of nothing but short dudes with long hair. I can only imagine how this band got together. Wonder if an ad went out that said. “Metal musicians needed. Must not be over 5 foot 6 inches tall and have long hair”. I loved that first album. If you don’t know of them, here is their first single and video.
It was time for the Mighty Metallica. They started out with the first track off Ride The Lightning, the classic riff-monster “Fight Fire With Fire”. At this point I was probably about mid-way to the stage in a sea of metalheads. This was before the days of the “moshpit”. This was more of a Hair Swarm packed with long-haired sardines covered in denim and leather. It would have been about half-way through the show that I wormed my way to the front of the stage. This was no easy task as I am sure you can imagine, however being only 15 and much smaller than the masses (with the exception of the Killer Dwarfs of course), there I was literally feet from what would become the best-selling metal band of all-time. This brings me to a memory I will cherish forever. The seemingly monstrous Cliff Burton was right in front of me. I reached out and had in my hand, the bottom leg of his ragged bell-bottom jeans. He tried to kick me in the face, and thankfully missed. Can’t blame him either for trying to kick my head off, and honestly it was the first thing I thought of when said legend died in a bus accident a year and a half later in Sweden on September 27, 1986. R.I.P. Clifford Lee Burton. Check out this YouTube audio clip I found of Metallica playing “Seek and Destroy” from this exact show. Gotta love YouTube.
Check out this set list of the show the next night in Buffalo at some place called the Salty Dog Saloon. (I couldn’t find the Toronto set list online but I am sure it is identical)
“Fight Fire With Fire”
“Ride the Lightning”
“Phantom Lord”
“(Anethesia) Pulling Teeth”
“For Whom the Bell Tolls”
“No Remorse”
“The Call of Ktulu”
“Seek & Destroy”
“Whiplash”
Encores:
“Creeping Death”
Guitar solo
“Am I Evil?”
“Motorbreath”
Which brings me to winding down this novel of a concert review. How could W.A.S.P. possibly follow Metallica? Well, I do remember chants of “you suck”. I remember that the front was nowhere near as packed as it was for Metallica. Maybe Blackie thought he could follow them by drinking fake blood out of a skull (which he did). Here is a quote from Mr. Blackie Lawless comparing separate tours with both Slayer and Metallica and musing about this particular tour.
Blackie: I’ll tell you what was worse – us and Metallica. It was our first or second U.S. tour. It was us, Metallica, and Armored Saint. When they (Slayer) went out with us, they were still an up n’ coming band, didn’t have a lot of fans, so there was a pocket of division every night. With Metallica, I kid you not, it was like an invisible line was drawn right down the middle of the room, and half was theirs and half was ours. It didn’t matter what we were doing on stage. It looked like two opposing armies. Sometimes we just stopped what we were doing and watched. It was a war.
I realize that the merit of music is subjective and it is all in the Ear Of The Beholder. But lets face it. W.A.S.P. really does kinda suck. Some good moments but really not much to speak of. During their set myself and others that with us were just kind of mulling about as most others were really. It was during this time that a guy we were with named Kevin B. (nicknamed Little Dude) said that he saw Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson leaving out a side door during their set. Now to give some perspective on this, this person was a known bull-shitter. None of us believed him. True story: Kevin years later had trans-gender surgery and now is known as Treva. But anyways, we shrugged this off as yet another lie from Little Dude. It was months later reading a Blackie Lawless interview in Circus magazine that I read this quote. “Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were actually at one of our shows in Toronto last year…. But they were not there to see us.” A classic example of the Little Dude who cried wolf.
This one goes out to Rich from KamerTunesBlog, a great, informed site that you should check out.
I got the other two Sectors for Christmas, but this is an older review.
RUSH – Sector 2 (2011 box set, 5 CD + 1 DVD)
Damn you Rush. Damn you!
If it wasn’t for the fact that I liked their past 5.1 mixes so much, I wouldn’t have bought each of these albums again in this box set. And the fact that only one album (A Farewell To Kings) has been mixed in 5.1 really grinds my gears. Because you know more is coming. 2112, recently released as a part of Sector 1, in normal stereo, is now coming again in 5.1. It’s obvious Rush are going to continue to issue 5.1 mixes of their albums, in seemingly random order, which will probably make these box sets completely redundant in the future.
Rich Chycki did the 5.1 mix once again, and once again, it’s a pleasure to listen to. In particular I found “Cygnus X-1” to really benefit from the treatment. The swirly opening section made me feel as if I too was aboard the Rocinante, wheeling through the galaxies. The album sounds three dimensional, clear, shimmery. I’m very happy with the 5.1 mix.
Farewell is included on a standard stereo remastered CD, and also in stereo on the DVD. I have read online that there are flaws with the stereo mix of this DVD but I’ve never played it. I’m not that much of an audiophile that I would really care to, when I already have a CD.
The other CD’s included in the set, aside from A Farewell To Kings, are:
Hemispheres
Permanent Waves
Moving Pictures
Exit…Stage Left
…all of which I have now bought more than once. In Moving Pictures‘ case, three times now, since they just issued that as a deluxe edition with a 5.1 surround blu-ray last year! (Reviewed here.) Bastards.
I’m not going to review each individual album in this set. That comprehensive task would require separate blog entries of their own. They’re all great, of course. Some (Moving Pictures) more so than others (Hemispheres) in my own personal opinion. And of course, within this box set you will get such classics as “Closer To The Heart”, “The Trees”, “The Spirit of Radio”, “Freewill”, “YYZ”, “Limelight”, and “Vital Signs”. In addition there are plenty of brilliant album tracks like “La Villa Strangiato” and “Natural Science”.
The box itself is attractive enough, and if you’re sucked into buying all three, then they all fit together on your shelf as one handsome library. But you already own some of these albums, if not all, don’t you? The bait is that 5.1 mix of Farewell. And it pisses me off that Rush would treat their fans in that way. Why not just remaster and re-release these albums on their own and in a box set?
The individual album packaging is nice enough too, mini record sleeve reproductions, with a nice booklet with lyrics and liner notes for the whole shebang, all taken from the albums. As far as the booklet goes, there’s no exclusive essays or other content that is new to me.
And as for the new remastering? I can’t tell the difference between this and the 1997 remasters. I can’t. Sorry. I’m sure an audiophile would call me an idiot for saying so.
I probably won’t buy Sectors 1 and 3, not unless the prices drop dramatically. I was able to re-gift my original Rush remasters off to other people, which is one way of dealing with the duplicates, but I’m not going to be getting rid of my deluxe Moving Pictures, since it has the blu-ray and a David Fricke essay. So I’ve got two copies of that, and people who collect 5.1 mixes and have Sector 1 will end up with two copies of 2112. Nice eh?
TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Third Season (2003 Alliance Atlantis)
mikeladano.com 