Tag Archives: music

Concerts in 2022

Before the pandemic, my family and I used to go to a lot of concerts. It was one of our favourite things to do as a family. I think I went to like 18 shows in 2019. My son Ivan, in particular is a huge music fan and musician, and so concerts have always been a big family activity. One of the most difficult restrictions for us over the last couple of years was the loss of seeing live music.

As I reflect on 2022, I thought I’d publish a list of concerts we saw this year. Almost all were really excellent. A few stand out. Godspeed You! Black Emperor was great mostly because it was the first live show we’d seen since Thundercat in February of 2020. That was special.

Midnight Oil was perhaps the very last band that I loved as a teenager who are still making music and touring to see live with my teenaged son — having seen Elvis Costello, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Bauhaus, David Byrne and Johnny Marr (and Morrissey, although I wish I hadn’t) with him over the last few years. It was a truly great show, and a privilege to see them again.

Seeing Dan Mangan is always such a treat! This show was rescheduled several times, and it felt complete to see him play live again.

Destroyer lives just down the street from us, and I got really into him during the pandemic without realizing he was a neighbour. Seeing him was very special because on one hand he’s just this guy I see around Strathcona, and on the other I have loved his music over the last couple of years. He put on a fantastic show.

CHVRCHES was stellar from start to finish, a really incredible show. Kraftwerk were a delight to see, sounded great and the 3D visuals were amazing.

But in the end, The Smile was hands down the best show I saw this year, and it was so fun to make a road trip down to Seattle with my son to check them out (they didn’t play Vancouver). An absolutely great last show to cap the year!

Here’s the full list of 2022 shows listed chronologically:

  • Godspeed You! Black Emperor
  • Alt-J 
  • Beach House
  • Destroyer
  • Dan Mangan
  • Midnight Oil
  • Kraftwerk
  • Animal Collective 
  • Wilco
  • CHVRCHES
  • Stewart Copeland and VSO
  • King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
  • The Smile

Two types of thinking.

My son makes albums. That’s not news. Today he simultaneously released his ninth and tenth album under his musical name, Spectra.

Album cover for Oh Hi, Gemini by Uncle Eric D.

Why release two albums on the same day? One thing I love about the way my son Ivan makes albums is that he always has a spark of inspiration as to why he wants to make an album.

In this case, he realized that sometimes he has a seed of an idea and wants to get the music out quickly, in an improvisatory way. And sometimes he wants to form something with thought and planning and revisions and be more mindful of what he’s producing. Sometimes he wants to move quickly and sometimes he wants to plan.

Album cover for Giant Furry Animals by Uncle Eric D.

So he made two companion EPs simultaneously. When he had a rough idea and wanted to throw the song down and move on, he put it on an album called Oh Hi, Gemini. When he wanted to work on a song, get it right, write and re-write lyrics ahead of time, he put it on album called Giant Furry Animals.

It was super fun to help him make these albums. I learned a lot in the process about creating containers for different kinds of work. There’s fast and dirty and done-is-better-than-perfect work. And there’s planned, know-it-has-to-be-right, pre-meditated work. Both are good and important, and it’s helpful to be clear on what method we want to use at any given time and why.

So enjoy these two albums. You can pay any price you want to for them, including nothing at all. They were super fun for him to make.

Tune in to "Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…"

Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...In 1987, my friend Eric Drysdale (now my brother-in-law) gave me a mixed tape full of songs by Elvis Costello, and told me he thought I would love him. Being friends with Eric meant being introduced to amazing music. He has great taste, and a talent for finding new artists. I listened to the tape, liked some songs, didn’t much care for others and that was that.

I didn’t take to Elvis immediately, but Eric’s words stayed with me and when I was travelling through Europe in my year off between high school and university (part of that trip was with Eric), I noticed that Elvis was playing Amsterdam the same time as I was there. I got a ticket and saw a show that changed my life.

I have been to a few concerts in my life that were transformational, transcending above the time and place and material and audience into something amazingly unforgettable. The Elvis Costello show in Amsterdam was one of those times. Eric was right, I fell in love with Elvis and started buying his back catalog, which was a pretty major commitment. Since then Elvis has been in a class apart for me, and his songs resonate, conjuring up times and places for me like no one else.

Recently I heard that Elvis was getting his own talk show. I thought it was a little odd, but he did fill in for David Letterman when the talk show host fell in 2003.

Amy and I have watched the first two episodes of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…, and are incredibly impressed.

It is a show about music and inspiration and connecting with audiences and how songs materialize, made by music lovers for music lovers. It isn’t watered down, and it isn’t the least bit sensationalistic.

Elvis also embraces his own stature as a singer-songwriter of great influence and import and uses it in the show, starting each show with a cover of the guest artist’s material to kick off the show. With another host this might self-aggrandizing., but it IS Elvis Costello after all. He asks insightful questions and has conversations that help you understand the music, the artist, the background and context. In last night’s episode he asked a bunch of questions to each member of The Police individually, which painted a rich picture of the band and then brought them all out and tied it all together. It’s clear he loves doing the show and the moments when he plays live with his guests are like nothing else on TV.

I know the show is being carried on the Sundance Channel in the States. Check it out!