Lady Gaga Live in Vancouver

I went to the Lady Gaga concert a week or two ago courtesy of Chris, and it was a pretty fun night!

Compared to seeing her last March at a small club venue, this show could not compare. I mean, that one was much more intimate. I was hoping that with more money behind her, she'd have a bigger show this time around. And some elements definitely delivered, from the screen and imagery she presented, to of course, the newer songs.

I freaked out on Monster, lost my mind during Beautiful Dirty Rich, and screamed my heart out to Bad Romance. But I did find her ordering of the setlist a bit off. Near the end of the show, she sang Paper Gangster, a relatively unkown song and also one that's mid-tempo/slow. She followed it up with Poker Face, which I think deserved a much better lead in. At that point, I was like, "Oh yeah, Poker Face. That's nice." Sorry Gaga, but Paper Gangster totally took the wind out of the sails!

Another observation I made was that she talked a lot to the audience, which somewhat interuppted the flow of the whole show. I mean, it's nice that an artist will talk to her audience, compared to some others that don't even say one word to them (paging Madonna!!) but between every song was a bit much. I think she was trying to keep that intimate vibe she had last Spring, but in this bigger venue with a bigger show, it just wasn't working.

And why the heck didn't she perform Telephone!?! RIGHT?!

But overall, an entertaining evening and a fun night out with friends, dancing and singing along to the vibes of Lady Gaga!

Vancouver Specials Redone

I grew up in a Vancouver Special. This was a type of house that dotted the city because it was cheap to make and made maximum use of space. Aesthetically speaking though, they weren't that nice to look at, especially when you had entire neighbourhoods full of them.

But now someone has gone and did a major renovation of one of them and come up with something absolutely fabulous!!



It's unbelievable the facelift that they've given to an old Vancouver Special!!

Check out more photos of the interior here!



Who knew?!

An Afternoon with Stuart McLean

Last week I went to a reading by Canadian author and radio personality, Stuart McLean. If you listen to the CBC's Vinyl Cafe, you'll know who I'm talking about.



For those who don't know him, well he has written several "Vinyl Cafe" books that are light and fun reads. Definitely wholesome entertainment. It might be a bit too vanilla for some folks, but that's his appeal. He's no David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs. Rather, his stories are about a family in smalltown Canada and the misadventures they go through. If you're interested, check his radio show or download the podcast.