Did it again…

If there is one thing I need it is more time in my life.

School and other things take over my time, but it’s all so fun.

Speaking of fun, I can finally explain my previous post! Bluesfest is long over, and once again my blog posts come very late. I’m trying to get better at this, at least I’m more punctual with Fashgasm!

Although I went to just a few shows at Bluesfest, I like to think I went to the best ones.

The first night I got to re-experience Coheed and Cambria, revisiting the obsession I had in highschool. And yes, I still know all the lyrics to every song. I was pleased that they mostly played their older albums.

Then I met a guy named Zac, he gave us these:

Which led us backstage and into these costumes…

Which led us to dancing onstage with The Flaming Lips for about an hour.

And then hanging out with my favourite hippy, Wayne Coyne. We talked about so many things for hours…life, drugs, music, everything. It’s a bit of a blur as I was lost in his awesome-ness.

We’ve never had more fun or been more excited. Ruby, Balnar and I decided that this was the greatest concert moment of our life. They also gave us t-shirts, Wayne signed them, and I have officially been nick-named “Mel Chills”. Because when Wayne says it, it’s truly official. Now no one can tell me that is not my name! It has the stamp of approval, obviously.

Best Bluesfest ever.

And to top it all off, I saw Claudio backstage. Along with the rest of Coheed and Cambria including Mic Todd, just days before the whole robbery fiasco. Naturally I reverted back to being 16 years old at the sight of Claudio’s huge hair and cute grin, waved like a maniac, shouted, quite awkwardly, “I love you” then ran onstage with the rest of the group. Some things never change.

The opening night of Bluesfest was by far the best. It was followed by other good times, like Skrillex, but I must say I was shocked at the number of children under the age of 16. People we’re stupidly violent and obnoxious, therefore, I will have to say Ritual wins when it comes to dubstep fun-times. Wasn’t feeling the crowd of underage people who don’t know how to deal with a bass drop, sorry. I had to get out of the crowd and move my way back so I could enjoy and groove in peace without spilling my beer/burning an innocent bystander with my cigarette.

Another night worth noting was with The Black Keys.

We waited in the rain for these two dudes for nearly two hours. It poured. And if not for a nice woman we have decided to call “Tarp Lady” we would have been much worse off. She kept us dry, and in turn most of us stuck it out. When they finally did come onstage I was extremely happy. After missing them the last time they were in Ottawa there was no way I was going to miss this!

This was also the night where the weather foreshadowed a disaster to come. Yes, the Bluesfest stage collapse that occurred on the final day, causing a cancellation of the bands I had wanted to originally see, but opted out to go to Montreal for the weekend. I made the right decision and fate played out.

I also had the pleasure of seeing Metric again during the two week long festival. I’ll always love Emily Haines.

I’m hoping I can catch more of Bluesfest next year…I’m also hoping that I find more of the line-up to be enticing. I’m not going to lie, 2010 was definitely better when it comes to performers, but my moment with The Flaming Lips was a highlight this year, and a highlight of my life for years to come!

-M

Bluesfest

Bluesfest is almost over.

My explanation of this photo is coming soon…

;)

It’s here!

Another year has passed and now it is finally the return of Bluesfest. Tonight is the night, ladies and gents. For the next two weeks there will be a truck-load of shows every evening for us to enjoy. Unfortunately my summer classes will deprive me of some evenings, but I think I have selected the concerts which cannot be missed.

Exhibit A:

The Flaming Lips.

I was expecting everything they gave me, and more, at last summer’s Bluesfest. And tonight they are back. I was hesitant if I should be skipping school but then I scoffed at myself for even considering missing this night of beauty. I promise, I’ll go to all my other classes.

I took this photo during my last encounter with The Flaming Lips. July 2010.

I’m also pretty excited to say that tonight, after years of no longer listening, I’ll be seeing Coheed and Cambria. The last time I saw them was in London…they were opening for Linkin Park. Me, being the fan girl I am, skipped the main act to hangout with Claudio and Travis. That was honestly my game plan the entire time. So tonight I’ll have a little throwback and maybe even return to the stage I was in at the age of 16. We’ll see…

My first encounter with coheed...

Other exciting things this week will be Skrillex, The Black Keys, Neon Indian and  M. Ward. Just to name a few. Hopefully you can find the time to stop in and have a blast with the rest of us.

-M

Wayne Coyne is my favourite hippy

Saturday July 10th, 2010.

By the end of this day, the streets of Ottawa were littered with confetti.

The sounds of love echoed off of buildings. The lights were flashing and the kids smoked too much weed and drank too much beer. Even without the substances, the heat and the performance could have pushed you over the edge.

It was something else, really.

And this is how it starts.

—-

Well, I finally got to experience Bear In Heaven. My happiness cannot be explained. ‘Wholehearted Mess’ blew me away, as did ‘Fake out’. I walked into the venue fully expecting it. And I’m glad that my ears were not disappointed.

They were running a bit late getting onstage, I found a lot of the acts on the hard rock stage were. It made it difficult if you wanted to see other bands at similar times, my only complaint, though. They hit the stage a bit after 6, and I was beyond excited to see the mustached boys from Brooklyn. The crowd was small and the set up was pretty intimate. There was some swaying, but I think that once again, my friends and I were the ones who were dancing the most. We do that sometimes.

If you haven’t yet, please give Beast Rest Forth Mouth a spin. It’ll hook you, I promise.

I just had to catch a bit of Caravan Palace before it was over. The larger than life electronic-swing band from Paris is funky and almost indescribable. A little bit gypsy, a little bit electronic, a little bit of swing in the mix too. Dancing was in order, obviously. It was like a crazy dance party, but it was only 6:30. They really know how to get a crowd excited. People who were sitting couldn’t help but change their mind, make their way forward, and dance a little. This music makes you move.

If you haven’t heard them before, you should give them a listen. I never thought I would get to dance to these guys outside the perimeter of my living room!!

Absolutely incredible! Check it out:

After Caravan Palace it was time to camp out for what we had all been waiting for.

The Flaming Lips

We sat patiently waiting, listening to Roger Hodgson of Supertramp sing ‘Take the long way home’ in the distance. It was almost painful, but I just couldn’t sacrifice being this close to Wayne Coyne. We waited and waited. It was all worth it.

The sun was setting and the crowd was restless. Passion Pit was taking the hard rock cafe stage but when 9:30 rolled around we all remembered what we were here for. We were here for the ultimate experience. What seems to be a giant birthday party. What seems to be the best night of your life. And besides, we could see Passion Pit later at Ritual, where they put on a DJ set. By the way, it was pure Dubstep and it was amazing.

The screen lit up, the stage was filled with the colour orange. Cries of excitement. Everyone held their breath as the colourful outline of a naked and tattooed woman dances across the screen.

I was warned before hand, but maybe others didn’t realize that they would be stepping out of a giant vagina when taking the stage. Yes, the naked dancing lady seemed to give birth to The Flaming Lips on Saturday night as thousands of people looked on in amazement.

After all of the members made their way down the vaginal canal and onto the stage, Wayne climbed inside of his giant hampster ball contraption to float not-so-gracefully upon the audience. He fell quite a bit, but I think that was expected. It looked like a rather difficult task.

Opening with ‘The Fear’/’Worm Mountain’ was almost expected, and predicted by a few friends. I was impressed. The men in orange waved their arms onstage. We cheered, we jumped up and down, we got way too excited, like children who had just walked into a candy shop.

Other songs that had to be played, and were, included ‘the yeah yeah yeah song’ and ‘yoshimi battles the pink robots pt. one’. I was hoping for ‘free radicals’, I can’t even lie. But the setlist was still amazingly solid, and they did an epic finish with ‘Do you realize?’ It actually seemed to last forever. And I say that in a very very good way.

The Flaming Lips brought us the ultimate experience. There were balloons and smoke… and the confetti is probably going to be floating around for days. We’ll definitely remember this show. how could we forget?

Wayne Coyne is my favourite hippy. And he spread his love across Ottawa on Saturday night. He even sang atop a bears shoulders. The intensity of the show was incredible…pictures don’t do it justice.

There’s only one way to describe the night that was had…

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcx6kt_the-flaming-lips-do-you-realizeyy_music

Me being uber-pumped for bluesfest pt. one

I know what you’re thinking. It’s April. Bluesfest is in July.

But I really am looking forward to it. I currently have all my tickets sitting right in front of me. They are beautiful.

image by Melissa Schilz

So why am I excited? First of all have you seen the line up? Why aren’t you excited?? [if you’re not already, like myself]

My plans for this summer included Osheaga, and yes, while I would still love to go, work and saving of money compel me not to. And Bluesfest also helped me feel better about most likely missing it. That is…if I do miss it. It’s really all a balancing act.

One of the acts that made me very excited = Bear in Heaven

Image via Lastfm

Very much enjoyable, and I’ve only heard good things about their live performances. So it should be amazing. Basically, July 10th is going to be a day you won’t want to miss:

Basia Bulat @ 1:45 pm

That’s the Spirit @ 5:00 pm

Bear in Heaven @ 5:45 pm

Metric @ 7:00 pm

Passion Pit @ 8:30 pm

The Flaming Lips @ 9:30 pm

I think I may have to ditch some over others, but I will survive. If you were wondering what I would choose as the top to see…..I’d say Bear in Heaven & The Flaming Lips. Fingers crossed that Yeasayer gets thrown in the mix in the near future, seeing as bands have yet to be announced!

Well, enough distractions. I must continue packaging my life so it is fit to travel to Centretown!

More of me being overcome with excitement to come – guaranteed.