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Friday, October 06, 2006

Top up your coffee folks, this one is pretty long-winded today…

First off, my humble apologies for the late posting, but I had to go pick up my vehicle first thing this morning, after bringing it in THREE DAYS AGO, for an out-of-province safety inspection. Suffice it to say that the beast is now virtually rebuilt from stem to stern, and my dreams of eating anything other than hot dogs and beans for the next 8 months are slim…

I also had a timely bit of physio yesterday, necessary to get me through my first big concert event in Calgary’s Saddledome. My wife and I went to see The Who last night, which leads me up to:

“The-Friday-Morning-Nobody-Asked-Me-To-But-Here-It-Is-Anyway-Concert-Review – The Who”
(or, "Why I Will Never Be A Professional Reviewer…")

For somebody that has seen most big-name artists long before they became “classic” or “nostalgia”, last night was my first ever live Who concert. As a long-time fan, it makes me wonder why I had so eagerly picked up Air Supply tickets a few months ago, but had not yet seen The Who. Call me quirky…

At any rate, the joint was buzzing, erupting into cheers even during the big-screen commercials for The Who station on Sirius satellite radio. This was likely going to be an easy gig for the boys…

Not so easy a task, warming up a crowd before living legends take the stage, but opening act Inward Eye did a terrific job, nonetheless. This power-rock group of young brothers from my hometown of Winnipeg sold me by song one. I had been tipped off by my buddy Argy to make it in time to see them, and I can see why. Their own website (www.inwardeye.com) suggests they are reminiscent of The Jam and The Kinks, but I heard Green Day and early U2 influences as well. They rocked. Highly recommended from my experience!!

That said, The Who was who we came to see, and The Who we saw.
Starting off with some early career hits, the crowd went nuts. Standing ovations right off the bat, and the folks down on the floor seats had to stand for the entire show. The only sluggish part was when the band played songs from their upcoming new album, but even those sounded pretty darn good.

All it took to bring the crowd back to life though were the opening strains of monster hits, like Baba O’Reilly, or Who Are You (with that strange lyric – “who the huck are you”). If I closed my eyes I could see David Caruso standing over a crime scene…

One thing that was not much fun was having Jim Carrey Jr. sitting directly in front of us. This gangly teen made Napoleon Dynamite look like Brad Pitt. Whenever he recognized a song (which was often), his stick-man, over-long arms would start swaying in the air. Kind of looked like a pair of anorexic bamboo shoots obscuring our view of the stage, but hey, when the spirit moves you…


Anyway, two thumbs up for the show, even if this isn’t a movie review. My pinched neck nerve came in handy for flicking my Bic during the slow songs, as holding my arm up relieves the pinching pain. And I will confess, nobody would ever mistake my husky arm for an anorexic bamboo shoot…

(For related blatherings, check out my archives: Sunday August 13th for The Sunday Morning “Nobody Asked Me To, But I’m Going To Give It Anyway” Concert Review.)

*********************************************************************

Alright, if you’ve lasted this long, you are to be commended. Or committed, only time will tell.

For those of you following the ongoing drama of my new ladder, it remains untouched. Maybe this weekend I’ll unwrap it, just to make sure it is in fact a ladder…
There's some kind of holiday this weekend, in Canada anyway. Thanksgiving?? Easter? I must do some investigating. Have a happy one anyway...

Chow for now!!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great show Dan. Looks like your spelling of Baba O'Riley came from the Free Press reviewer.Ha,Ha!!

What's next out there in Cowtown?
How many in attendance?

ThatDanGuy said...

Aaargh!! Damn Spell-Checker!! Plus I was rushing the piece, I suppose.

It was a sold-out show, not sure what that is for the Saddledome. The place was fuller than your average Wal-mart on a Saturday afternoon...

Next up for us is a turn to the twang. We're going to see country singer/songwriter Hal Ketchum in a small venue. Seriously soaking in the live shows!

Hey, did I mispell Bubba?????

Anonymous said...

I guess where you are now residing BUBBA is the appropriate spelling.

ThatDanGuy said...

Hey!!

Why, if I didn't have to get down offa my horse, and walk around the side of my mobile home, I'd come over there and give you a good what-for!!

Anonymous said...

Which reminds me of a joke I heard the other day.
You know you are from ( insert favourite whippping Province here) when your house inspection includes checking the air pressure in your tires.

ThatDanGuy said...

There's a promo on the radio right now here for a stand-up bit where the comic says "If you kids don't quiet down, I'm coming up there!!"

We've all heard that, he says, unless you live in a mobile home...

Anonymous said...

Ok here's another. You know you're from Alberta when on their birthday you only have to buy one gift for your mother, your sister and your girlfriend.

Sorry no PC on this one.

ThatDanGuy said...

Boy, a guy could get a complex about his new province...

Hey, when do you guys get touch-dial phones in Manitoba??

Anonymous said...

Touch-Dial?
Yep we don't have those. Must be one of those new thangys that your sot of a Premier King Walph thought up.

Although as soon as we get off our horse and buggy and adopt those I will LYK. Yuk, Yuk!!!
Can't wait

ThatDanGuy said...

Maybe I could use our Personal Home Teleporter to send one over to you. Do you have a Receiving Pod over at your place??

Anonymous said...

I have an ipod. I think that does the same thing? Send it over ASAP and I'll see if I can transmit the thingy to the doohickey majobby!!

ThatDanGuy said...

Actually, I lied. I don't even have a pea pod...

Almost like a banjo, but possibly not quite as much, I could covet an ipod...

But my Sony Cassette Walkman still works so good, I just can't bear to part with it...

Anonymous said...

I guess those walkman's are the only thing that still plays your 8 tracks too!!

ThatDanGuy said...

I have some excellent albums still in their 8-Track format. I'd LOVE to find an old player somewhere, but I have also heard that there's this new music format called "compact disc"?

Would Cheech and Chong be available on something like that??

Anonymous said...

We gotta stop meeting like this. My computer is getting jealous.

That and this thread is geetign hard to find everyday!!

Anonymous said...

Oh sure now that I figured out how to find this thread earlier you've got nothing to say!!

ThatDanGuy said...

Boy, I have to stop taking things so literally. I felt so bad for your jealous computer, I had to force myself to resist my inbred polite Canadian habit of replying to every response.

And I couldn't find the thread anymore myself...