THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Had a super busy week, tons going on, and I haven't really had any downtime to post about what went on. So here we go:

M.Ward
01/27/2007
Mod Club

I've heard a ton about how amazing M.Ward's solo sets are, so I was pretty friggin' excited about this show. And....it was a let down. First of all, when did he get so incredibly popular? It felt like I was at a Dave Matthews or John Mayer concert, the crowd was a really strange mix of frat boy jocks, oldies and hipsters. He played a selection of songs spanning all his albums, but nothing really stuck out. Poison Cup was pretty good though.

Okay, please don't judge. I have a dirty secret to admit. I heart Justin Timberlake. Yup, there it is. I really liked Justified, and FutureSexx/LoveSounds. My work owns a box at the ACC and I was offered a ticket to the show.

Justin Timberlake/Pink
January 30, 2007
Air Canada Centre

Had dinner with friends from work and then headed down to the ACC. The private boxes are great, private bar with cheaper alcohol prices ($5 a beer instead of $8.75 in the arena), and comfortable seating for 18 people. Pink opened the show, I can respect her "pop" career but don't really enjoy her music. Felt kinda bad for her, she played to a half full venue...in a club its not as noticeable, in a place as huge as the ACC, all you could see is empty seats. She did some interesting things with velvet curtains, climbed them, wrapped them around her, and had mock sex with a back up dancer while suspended over the stage (30 feet up!!!).
J.T. hit the stage and opened with FutureSexx/LoveSounds, then did a string of hits....My Love, Like I Love You and Senorita. After this, I was ready to go home. It's been said a thousand times, Justin is an amazing performer, he's captivating and can hold the audience's attention. And speaking of the audience, I would have thought it would be mostly females, but there was a a ton of guys in the audience. There was a 25 minute intermission when Timbaland took over the show and did a pretty wicked DJ set of a bunch of stuff he has produced (Nelly Furtado, Alliyah, Missy Elliott etc.) and tons of other great party tracks (Michael Jackson, Since You've Been Gone). I have to admit, I have a soft spot in my heart for hip hop/R&B with good production. J.T.'s second half of the show was kinda boring...it was all his R&B-lite crud. I enjoyed Cry Me A River and the finale Sexyback. The show wasn't just a concert, it was a total spectacle. Justin as much as he's written off as a boy band has-been, is actually turned into a great artist that can put on a captivating show that can even draw in the snobbiest indie rock listener.

Ps. Pre-show music included The Rapture, Le Tigre and Clipse, I was in indie-rock pop heaven!


Also attended the Owen Pallett/Steve Kado talk at Harbourfront Centre. Got a flat tire on the way down. CAA put on my spare and I was still able to catch the tail end of the talk. Steve's a pretty funny guy, and Owen was great as usual. It was interesting to hear about the origins of Blocks Recording Co. An fun night.