Master Debaters

I laughed for two hours straight last night when I went to a taping of CBC Radio's The Debaters.



Hosted by the very hilarious Steve Patterson, this radio program takes two comedians and pits them against each other over topics such as "Santa Claus: A Good or Bad Role Model for Children" to "Is Blogging a Waste of Time?" and "Home Theatre vs the Movie Theatre." We were lucky enough to catch the program, along with almost 300 other fans who lined up on a chilly December evening, when it rolled into town this week. They said they've never had such a large audience before, and managed to entertain us with the taping of not one, but THREE shows! That meant a total of six debates! One of the best ones of the night was a gay comic vs a lesbian comic fighting over the surprisingly serious topic of "Portrayal of Gays and Lesbians in the Media." In the end it was just a bunch of silly fun, with everyone in the audience clutching their sides at the hysterics. (Unfortunately, the show doesn't come in a podcast format due to copyright issues with the different comedians' material.) However, try to catch the show when it airs in the upcoming weeks on CBC Radio, you might hear me laughing somewhere in the distance!

You Could Say I'm Hard To Hold, But If You Knew Me You'd Know...

Last night's Jay Brannan concert was so beautiful in that stripped down, acoustic, intimate setting, casual and uber-talented kind of way. I can't think of a better way to follow up last month's huge arena spectacle that was Madonna.



Thank you Mr Jay Brannan for returning to our city. I was so pissed at myself for having missed out on his last show back in January. I'm so glad I was able to catch him this time around. He sang a blanket of songs including Soda Shop, Housewife, Half-Boyfriend, and a new one he penned with Margaret Cho - a little ditty about bringing peace to the world by giving great head - aptly titled Relax Your Necks! (My favourite lines include the "horses at the gate" and "my esophagus is lined with silk"!)

If you've watched his clips, you'll know he likes to talk quite a bit, which made the show that much more fun and interactive. If he comes to your town, do go see him as he seems to be so genuine and grateful to have an audience, as he deserves! It was like hanging out with an old friend - a hot gay one whose lap you just want to put your head on while he strums away on his guitar and serenades you all night!

It was also refreshing to attend a concert where there weren't 100 cell phones and digital cameras in the air snapping photos and recording the songs to be uploaded later that night to YouTube. But that said, I'm glad there are a few online that I can look for and recreate the evening that I had.

For an encore, he covered Jann Arden's Good Mother. This song has always touched me, but Jay Brannan's version was downright heartbreaking. His voice simply soars on it. There's a cleaned-up version he does on YouTube, but I prefer this live footage taken from Toronto - there's just something more given out at a live performance and this clip conjured up similar emotions for me like it did last night.

If You Want Me Let Me Know, Baby Let It Show...

And so last night was Madonna's first touch-down in Vancouver, ever, and the 60,000 fans who packed the stadium to see her erupted in a sea of screams when the lights finally went out just before 9:30pm.

The floor seats I had were at first spectacular, but when everyone crowded the aisles in front of us, it got to be a bit annoying. There was no control whatsoever by the staff there, and they expect to hold the 2010 Olympics in here? Have fun!!

The ONE person in our section who stood on a chair happened to be RIGHT IN FRONT of me! She was this 3"4 woman so I couldn't really blame her, but Really? She wasn't even from our section! She had snuck up from behind with the 500 other people. And stood up on a seat that wasn't even her own. I managed to poke my head through little gaps in the crowd to see the stage, but if my view had been enetirely blocked by her, you KNOW i would have kicked that chair out from under her!!!

Anyway, the highlight for me of the evening was her rockin' rendition of Borderline, which for me, gave it an angrier/hurt/urgent feel. I belted it out along with her, singing about a guy who just keeps her hanging, who sends her mixed signals, and even though she's given all she can, he just keeps on pushing her love "over the borderline..." I feel it, Madge. I feel it!

Another song that struck a chord with me (no pun intended, even though she totally picked up that damn guitar of hers AGAIN for this number) was Hung Up. A song about being hung up on a guy, waiting for him to call, tired of waiting around for him? Gee, sound familliar, Hot-Lunch?

Okay, in order, she did Candy Shop, coming out on a purple throne which my friends and I had already dismissed as a Gwen Stefani/Love Angel Music Baby rip-off. This was followed by another newbie, Beat Goes On, which included a cameo by a Rolls Royce being wheeled onto the stage.

Human Nature followed, with the much balley-hooed Britney Spears sequence in tow. Meah. Madonna just stood there with that goddamned guitar again. I wasn't sure if I should watch her or Britney, but neither were very interesting at this point.

Vogue was up next and it was frickin' awesome! Done to a Four Minutes mash-up, the new vogue dance moves were killer and I so need to learn them!

Costume change time, while we watched a Die Another Day montage featuring M in her boxing attire. I'm a sucker for video sequences like this. I could watch those all day long.

The next section was the funnest of the night, beginning with Into The Groove and including Keith Haring images in the background and some serious jump-roping and double-dutch! Heartbeat, one of my favourite songs from the new album, was next. "Hut hut, get down!" I hate that part of the song, but love it. Know what I mean?

Then Borderline, followed by She's Not Me which included four dancers dressed like old incarnations of Madonna. There was Express Yourself Madonna, Open Your Heart Madonna, Material Girl Madonna, and Like a Virgin Wedding Dress Madonna. The real Madonna proceeded to rip their costumes off them and shoving them aside, while literally proclaiming, "She's not me!" Sadly, I didn't notice the part where she and Pharell randomly shout out: "Wendy!"

Music was next, and I liked how it began as though they were all getting off a subway train. This song is overdone for me, having seen it performed for each of her last four tours! Hey Mr DJ, put the record down already!!! Put something else on for cryin' out loud!

Time for another interlude, with Rain mixed up with Eurythmics' Here Comes The Rain Again. Random.

It was time to bring the mellow into the show, beginning with a beautiful performance of The Devil Wouldn't Recognize You which had Madonna shrouded in a black cloak for most of the song, atop a piano, behind a cylinder screen that had images of water being projected onto it. Spanish Lesson was next, and forgettable, much like the track itself. (Though I admit I like the "If you do your homework, maybe I will give you more" bit.)

Miles Away was amazing, with the whole stadium clapping along. La Isla Bonita, another overplayed song of hers, was redone gypsy style a la her Live Earth performance and it was pretty good. I wasn't paying too much attention during You Must Love Me. I think the chaos going on around me on the floor was distracting me at this point.

A little interlude about saving the Earth, followed by Four Minutes which is not a favourite of mine at all. The crowd went nuts for the raved-up version of Like a Prayer, immediately followed by Ray of Light. A singalong of Like a Virgin took the request part of the night. Personally I was hoping for Open Your Heart or Dress You Up - two songs I've yet to see her perform live in front of me. This final stretch kicked it all into high gear with the dance tunes, including the aforementioned Hung Up and the final song of the evening, Give It 2 Me. It was energetic but I'm not sure if people knew it since it doesn't get any radio airplay here!

In the end, I'm sure it was a very historic night for many a Vancouverite who were finally touched for the very first time! As for me, I got home at 1am, and was up at 5:30am to get ready for work. So, please forgive me any typos or lazy reviewing!!

Cause She's Your Number One...

Last night's Goldfrapp concert was magnificent! The band returned to Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom to a sold out audience who swayed to the new mellow sounds of their latest disc, Seventh Tree and went ballistic for oldies but goodies like Strict Machine, Ooh La La, and Number One. I was sad she didn't do Ride a White Horse but seeing Alison do Utopia live was breathtaking to say the least. She is so unique and talented and wonderful, it was amazing to have seen her live!

Added Details: Thought I'd write a little bit more to give you a sense of the show. The stage was over-run with stuffed owls and crows, and Miss Alison was wearing a clown-esque outfit. She toasted the crowd several times with her wine glass and said Cheers everytime we screamed insanely for her.

Highlights for me were Number One, Ooh La La, Clowns, A&E, Happiness, Strict Machine, and as I said above, Utopia just blew me away when she hit those high operatic notes.

Swarm 2008!

It's that time of year again! SWARM began last night in the Mount Pleasant district, and tonight's "zone" is the Downtown/Gastown corridor, and tomorrow it ends with the Hastings and Commercial area....

If you haven't gone, it's a totally fun thing to do! Hopping from art gallery to gallery with the masses...!

Renaissance Fest, Me Lords and Me Fair Maidens?

I don't know what y'all got planned for the long weekend, but I know where I'll be!

The BC Renaissance Festival!!



Aye, it is no lie, fine Sir!! Come hither with me, let me be thine guide!!

I bid thee adieu until another fort night, where chance may have it, we will reconvene and meet again upon a midsummer night's dream!

For My Eyes Only: A Night With Sheena Easton

"Let me take you somewhere, you've never beeeeeeeeeeeen....." - Sugar Walls



So, Wednesday it was pouring rain. I bought my gate admission tickets to the PNE, a local fair that takes place every summer for two weeks. The cost was $15, but I managed to get the discounted rate at $12. Move To This and I stood at the front of the stage, awaiting the arrival of one Sheena Easton. We were both sooo excited! I personally never would have dreamed in a million years I'd get to see Sheena perform, let alone for $12!!!



She was a bit late, having trouble getting across the border, but it was worth the wait! She started with a song that I wasn't familliar with, but it kept repeating the word "Celebrate" in it. Yes, she looked older, but the girl is pushing 50 so give her a break, right? She can still pull off a fantastic bitch-face if she wants though! We tried to give her one back but really, who can compete? We did however, manage to give her an arm-crossed snap of the fingers the way she does it in so many of her videos. She then went into The Lover In Me, which had us screaming for more!



She approached the edge of the stage and shook some of our hands, including Move To This! Lucky bastard!! I was feeling a bit snubbed by her and it made me sad. But when she sang her other hits like Almost Over You, U Got The Look, and Sugar Walls, I was feeling better about things!

She actually talked quite a bit, poking fun at her age and how people constantly confuse her with Sheila E. (During the performance, she did break into a few lines from The Glamorous Life, much to my delight and amusement!)


NOT Sheena Easton!!

She also started talking about how in her day, there was a thing called "records." At this point, I jumped up and down and waved my copy of her album "A Private Heaven" around so she could see it! She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me and said, "Gimme that baby!!" and came over and took the album cover and showed it to everyone, then struck the same pose as on the cover, i.e. the fist under the chin pose!!



So much hilarity, so much joy. I did not feel snubbed any longer! She performed the Kenny Rogers duet, We've Got Tonight and a medley of Burt Baccharach songs, which infuriated me cause she could have been singing Modern Girl or Swear or even Jimmy Mack for all I cared at that point, not stupid Burt Baccharach songs! Is that even how I spell his name?! Who cares!!!



Everyone cheered when she erupted into Strut!!


My favourite song was next: Telefone!! She told the crowd that the song was older than cell phones. Older than text messaging and answering machines. She explained that there was once a time when you would call someone and WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REACH THEM! "It's so sad that I have to explain the meaning of this song because I am so old!!" she shouted before breaking into it in all its 80s glory!



And of course then led us all in a Morning Train sing-along!


She then faked an encore and ended the 90 minute show with For Your Eyes Only.


(Singing For Your Eyes Only)

Afterwards, she approached the edge of the stage again to shake people's hands and this time, I managed to get a handshake!!! Yes, that's right, I shook Sheena Easton's hand!!!!!



Best. Week. Ever.