Visit Swanktrendz To say I was excited about the
Tom Cochrane/John Mellencamp show at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto would be a big understatement. I’ve been a huge fan of both these guys for at least twenty-five years now, and I knew that it would be one of the best concerts I would ever have the privilege of attending.
To make things even more enticing, the seats I’d ordered online ended up being the best I’ve ever had for any large venue show, and I wouldn’t appreciate how good they were until we actually sat down in them and felt the adrenaline pumping.
Mind you, that could have had a bit to do with the fact we even MADE it to the show in the first place, because all of Southern Ontario had been weathering a severe snow storm for at least twenty-four hours. Then we heard through a friend that a concert had been cancelled, and didn’t know until twenty minutes later it wasn’t ours. Whew! That was a close call.
It wasn’t until we were walking from our parking space to the venue that I realized a few things. Number one is that I can’t remember ever going to a concert during a blizzard. Two is that we can get an awful lot of snow in Toronto, and in a short period of time. And last but not least, this snow does absolutely nothing to stop people from going to major sporting and/or entertainment events because we Canadians (ahem, Central Canadians) are a very hardy and slightly strange breed of animal. And both Tom and John would mention that a number of times during the night, to the crowds obvious delight.
Image from : tomcochrane.info/ main.php
As the opening sounds of
Ken Greer’s pedal steel guitar eerily filled the arena, the crowd (at least those that had made it on time) stood on their feet and gave Red Rider a thunderous hometown welcome.
Human Race was a perfect start to the evening, because it was one of those strange nights all around, mostly due to the terrible conditions outside.
As Tom was introducing the second song, he made his comment about how hardy we were for actually showing up at all, and then the band broke into another early hit,
Lunatic Fringe, which was also well received by an audience that was overwhelmingly baby boomers.
The opening songs would be followed by eight more classics including his biggest hits
Life Is A Highway, Big League, No Regrets, and the band’s first hit,
White Hot. The energy level during the playing of these crowd pleasers was phenomenal, and we had already forgotten about the mess outside.
But for some strange reason, both Tom Cochrane, and later John Mellencamp, decided to have a bit of the campfire sing-a-long kind of thing, and it sucked the energy right out of the storm battered crowd that was still pouring in an hour after the show started. One of my favourite tunes from Cochrane has always been
The Untouchable One, but I like to hear it the way it was originally recorded. A fast-driving Beatlesque rocker. The version he played live included Greer on pedal steel, piano, and guitar, and himself on acoustic, and it didn’t do it for me as I felt it was lacking the intensity of the original version.
The song
Good Times followed, and it was more conducive to that type of vibe as it was an acoustic tune originally, but Tom kept it going a bit too long as he insisted on getting the entire crowd to sing the chorus for a minute or two. By the time the band starting rocking again with No Regrets, Life Is A Highway, and the amazing encore (extended rendition) of
Boy Inside The Man, the whole crowd was dancing and singing; because they wanted to. They didn’t have to be coaxed or prodded, and the energy level and crowd interaction was natural and sincere. Tom Cochrane and Red Rider are still a great band and live show, but if I could make a respectful suggestion as a music FAN, it would be to forget the acoustic set as all it does is deflate the crowd’s enthusiasm and give us an excuse to run to the washroom and pick up a couple more beers. Yeah, yeah. I know! Drinking while doing a review! Believe me, if any of you Westerners were here for this show, you’d still be drinking you’d be so traumatized by the wintry conditions.
John Mellencamp opened up his show perfectly, playing everyone’s personal favourite (judging by the reaction), as the opening guitar strums of
Pink Houses sent the entire crowd to its’ feet. Talk about a natural and sincere interaction, as the whole building resonated with the voices of thousands singing
Ain’t That America. And we didn’t have to be coaxed or directed to do it! All you bands and entertainers out there, take a note of that because it’s not just this guy who feels that way, believe me. And I’ll expand on that a bit later.
Johnny is a real showman who loves to joke and “chat” with the crowd, and he frequently speckles his talks with a lot of words you can’t say on television, or in the company of minors. But as I said earlier, that wouldn’t be a cause for concern here as it was by far the “oldest” crowd I’d ever seen at any concert I’ve been to in my life. And even Mellencamp addressed that as he asked if any of the audience was under thirty, and a huge roar went up. I think most people misheard and thought he said over thirty, because I only spotted a handful of whipper snappers in the building and they worked the concession stands.
Like Cochrane before him, Mellencamp decided that after playing his first five “lively” tunes, he too would give the band a break and perform a three song acoustic set that had the same effect on the crowd. A lot of us went to the washroom and picked up some more “refreshments”. Hey, I wasn’t driving! Plus if I’m going to sit through a camp fire sing-a-long, I’m gonna need some alcohol, believe me.
So just as I was zoning out and contemplating our treacherous journey home through the ice and the snow, the guitar intro to
Rain On The Scarecrow rang out and we were all back on our feet again and reenergized as if we had fallen into a life-restoring oasis. That was followed by another band effort which (the title escapes me) was also a rocker that I'd never heard before, and then for some strange reason he went back to the acoustic format for a couple of tunes that were not well received by the crowd at all. It also didn’t help that John can get a wee bit preachy and even political at times, and his “discussion” about the Jenna 6 incident in the Southern U.S. received an indifferent reaction from the crowd that really just showed up to rock, especially considering how hard it was to get there. We all just wanted to have some fun John, and I know most of the crowd felt that the politics could have waited for a better time and a more appropriate place. Just ask Bono and he’ll vouch for it … even your hardcore fan base can erode real quickly if you spend too much time preaching/ranting, and not enough time doing what the people paid for you to do. Sing!
And the proof is in the pudding so to speak, ‘cause as soon as he returned to his rockin’ ways with
Human Wheels, the reaction was instantaneous and profound as the whole crowd was up dancing and singing. Again!
He followed that with four songs that were absolutely incredible and full of all the energy you want and expect from a guy like Mellencamp. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,
Crumblin’ Down, Jack and Diane, and the encore
Authority Song had all of us dancing and singing, and sufficiently warmed up to leave the arena to march and slog our ways back to our buried cars for the treacherous drive home.
And I think that in many ways the severe weather can affect your mood so that all you want to do is have some fun and rock your brains out, so that you can escape from the reality of living in a part of the country that actually experiences these severe storms.
And having an early February campfire sing-a-long just doesn’t work for either the artist or the crowd they’re trying to entertain. Because in both these cases I would rate the “rock” part of the evening as absolutely perfect, and the acoustic sets as absolutely awful.
And I feel terrible for saying that because I respect and admire both of these acts immensely. But I also feel that as a paying member of the audience that drove through the conditions we did, the least any artist can do is give the people want they want. And it was clearly obvious that the crowd at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday, February 6 just wanted to R.O.C.K. in the A.C.C.
If I was to rate both acts, I would give them a five out of five for the rock sets, and a one out of 5 for the acoustic sets that only served to deflate an otherwise energetic and entertaining set list. And that’s too bad, because they’re both extremely talented entertainers that should be experienced enough to know what works and what doesn’t.
Besides, if I want to spend my time drinking and using the washrooms at the ACC, I’ll just go to a hockey game where that’s about the most excitement you can possibly get lately. Ouch!!!
Photo from Starpulse.com
No surprise here, and if there is then I would question your age and if you have ever sincerely listened to rock music. The Beatles' success was extraordinary to the extent that they influenced generations, even after they were long gone. Many books and even movies exist that tell the amazing Beatles story, so I won’t try to do it here. But I will suggest that if you want to read the real story, start with the Beatles Anthology, as it’s written by the surviving three together, so you’re guaranteed to get substance over sensationalism. Also, the movie Backbeat is my favourite rock movie of all time, and is worth viewing if you’re interested in this band’s humble beginnings.2.) Elvis
This was a tough one, but I have to go with influence here, and no single artist was as influential to rock music as this man. Sure, it can be argued that Chuck Berry WAS rock ‘n’ roll, and definitely more talented as a songwriter and musician. But the truth is that his success was not comparable to Presley’s, and that only the Beatles themselves would reach and surpass that level of total domination of the rock genre of the day. There is a very real reason that he is still referred to as the King of Rock, even many decades after his unfortunate passing.3.) Led Zeppelin
This band was never loved by the rock critics as they borrowed (stole?) heavily from the old blues cats, and committed the unforgivable sin of being prickish enough not to give them their due credit and cash. But Zeppelin was undeniably the most successful and influential hard rock act of all time. They are the only band that I would dare to even put on the same level as the Beatles, and all you have to do is look at their success from ’69 to ’71 when they released four classic albums that even crossed musical genres in many cases. And instead of losing a fan base, they just kept getting bigger and bigger until they too reached that level of success that separated them from the rest of the crop. I’ve always maintained that Jimmy Page is the most underrated and under-appreciated individual in the history of rock, as he excelled at every facet of performing, including his extraordinary songwriting and production skills, to playing guitar as well as any of his peers. About the only thing he couldn’t do was sing, but we’ll forgive him for that as he’d done enough already. And besides, who needs to sing when you’ve got a guy named Robert Plant in your band.4.) Chuck Berry
All you have to do is watch the film Hail! Hail! Rock n Roll to truly appreciate the influence of this gentleman on the rock genre. Berry influenced absolutely everybody including the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, AC/DC, George Thorogood, and I’m sure I could easily write another dozen names if I gave it a second or two of thought. And the reality is that this guy got screwed by the system because of his skin colour, and both his career and personal life suffered terribly because of it.And it’s sad because he was a consummate artist as he wrote and sang his own songs, played guitar like no one else, and even did that cool little duckwalk that he’s still known for. In a perfect world, he would have been known as the King of Rock instead of Presley, but the reality is that he was a victim of both the times he lived and his own anti-establishment anger and rebelliousness that ensured career suicide and even incarceration for doing what all the other rock stars of the day were doing. Yes friends, life is not fair, and Berry is living proof of that.5.) The Rolling Stones
This is another one of those acts that require no introduction or explanation, and are one of the rare bands that gave the Beatles a bit of competition in any real sense. They would come into their own during their glory years in the late sixties and early seventies after the other “lads” had self-destructed, producing a few all-time classic albums that propelled them to mythic proportions. Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile On Main Street were recorded during a period of great personal instability but exceptional creative drive as the band was facing financial ruin, exile from England, and possible incarceration for Keith. I’ve always said that the Stones were a great singles band, and they’re written some of the greatest songs of all-time, ranging from Satisfaction to Midnight Rambler, and many quality tracks in between. They are also one of the most influential acts in the rock genre for both their musical and personal exploits that include everything Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and Guns N Roses did or ever thought about doing while on tour, but that the Stones did first. They were the true originals, with help from the Who in many respects, for mayhem on the road.6.) Neil Young
The man I consider our country’s greatest natural resource still maintains his relevance today and has undeniably joined the legions of rock royalty, usually reserved for those acts that have long passed. His staying power and diversity is amazing, and he possesses the exceptional talent of being able to write both incredible music AND lyrics that rival Dylan’s. A good friend of mine recently attended one of Neil’s Massey Hall shows in Toronto and said that Young is still one of the greatest artists he has ever had the pleasure to watch, and my bud Murray has seen EVERYBODY including Zeppelin, U2, and the Stones. As I’ve said many times before, Neil has made all Canadians proud, and continues to do so.7.) Pink Floyd
In my mind, Floyd was probably neck and neck with Zeppelin for different stretches in the ‘70s, and that’s saying a lot. The album Dark Side of the Moon was as big an accomplishment as any band has ever achieved, and it was followed by Wish You Were Here which is an amazing album itself. While Animals never garnered the commercial or critical success of the other two, it remains a perennial favourite of hard-core Floyd fans and was followed by The Wall, which still remains one of the biggest double albums in rock history. Another act that still possesses a huge following that transcends age and nationality, as the Floyd has always been big in many non-English speaking countries such as Italy, Greece, and Germany. 8.) Eric Clapton
This amazing talent has had the pleasure of playing with more music royalty than probably anyone else in existence, in no part because of his name as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. The list looks something like this: Beatles, Stones, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, the Band, Roger Waters, Phil Collins, Robbie Robertson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King. I could go on a bit longer, but you get the idea. When you get to hang with this crowd, your reputation definitely precedes you, and Mr. Clapton deserves any reputation he’s achieved as one of the true greats. He has the distinction of being inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame three times in all, for his work with Cream, the Yardbirds, and his solo output.9.) Bob Dylan
I would not have a complete list if I did not include Robert Zimmerman. Although his commercial success doesn’t rival a lot of the others on this list, he would influence nearly all of them, especially the lads from Liverpool who changed their musical direction in ’65 because they were so blown away by Bob. The fact that he turned them onto smoking pot also had massive repercussions as that would also influence the albums Revolver and Sgt. Peppers... enormously.And let’s not lose sight of his work, as he was very successful in his own right in the early to mid-sixties, and has maintained an impressive worldwide following that is reserved for rock royalty of his stature. He is one of the finest lyricists who brought intelligence and introspection into the rock world, especially with the classics Blowin’ In The Wind and Like A Rolling Stone. Without Dylan, we might not have had a Hendrix, Springsteen, or U2, along with a whack of others that first decided to create ‘something’ because of his magic. He is as diverse a performer as one can possibly imagine, and has played with just about everybody you can think of in the world of music.10.) U2
This is the only post-sixties act that I would include in this exceptional list, but U2 is very much a product of that musical era as their musical influences included all of the preceding acts. This band out of Dublin accomplished something that normally we don’t see anymore, and that is to reach a level of success that has lasted decades instead of years, or months sometimes. They themselves would go on to influence “newer” bands such as Oasis or Coldplay, and have produced a catalogue that would be the envy of any rock act. The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby specifically rate as two great works, and the band is still going strong as their tours and albums continue to sell impressively. Bono has reached a personal level of non-musical achievement with his humanitarian effort to combat global suffering in the third world, and that is something he can be justifiably proud of in this age of “bling”.
When we were down in California last year, the whole fuel-efficiency thing was definitely all the rage. Driven (pardon the pun) by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California is trying to introduce as many hybrids and other forms of fuel-efficient and low-pollution vehicles as possible.Obviously pollution is a bad thing, and gas is getting more and more expensive all the time. Who wouldn't want to save money and protect the environment at the same time? But one segment of the economy who don't really need to pinch the pennies is really jumping on the bandwagon, too: celebrities.Not that long ago, Oscar nominees showed up to the awards ceremony in the biggest, most ostentatious vehicles possible. I guess showing up in the SS Destroy the Environment gave them a sense of power, or something. But today, the trend is definitely toward fuel efficient vehicles, both as an everyday vehicle and for splashy events such as the Oscars.Train travel, which has always been strong in Europe, is on the rise. New lines and more high speed trains are added every year. One hopes that this trend will soon cross over to this side of the Atlantic.
We just got two seasons of Ricky Gervais's latest effort, Extras, on DVD.I loved The Office. So droll. And, as usual, the British version is much better than the American remake. Although, I've got to admit, the American version is growing on me.But I digress: Extras is what we're on about here. And Extras it shall be.Extras is a very, very clever show - even better than The Office - about people who are - you guessed it - extras. Or 'background artists', as some of them prefer to be called.Ricky Gervais is an extra who considers himself a 'real actor' - he just does the extra work to pay the bills. He's got a script that he's written that's supposed to be circulating, but unfortunately for both his writing and acting careers, he's also saddled with the worst agent of all times (played by Stephen Merchant, his co-writer for both this show and The Office).There are guest appearances each episode from some big name stars: Kate Winslet, Robert De Niro, Ian McKellan, Orlando Bloom. Each of the actors who appears ends up playing themselves - and yet, in Gervais's usual twisted way, he presents them as (what I certainly hope are) polar opposites of their true selves.The second season sees our hero being a little more successful professionally, but even less successful on a personal level.This one is a definite 10/10.Omage from www.mckellen.com
One more notable pick - #9 - fellow Canadian Michael Buble
will her first post-Buffy event.Buffy the Vampire Slayer went off the air in 2003. It was a witty and engaging show, with great characterization. The finale was one of the best I've seen - so often the final show cheapens everything, or ends up being a huge let down. Not so with Buffy.And the fans are hungry for more. Hence the reunions, from which our star has been absent.But this year, on March 20 at the William S. Paley Television Festival at the Cinerama Dome; in Hollywood whole cast will once again come together. Writer Joss Whedon will appear with the show's casts members Gellar, Amber Benson, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, Eliza Dushku, Seth Green (He's an all-star, now, but not too good to appear at this!), James Marsters (Spike - drool!) and Michelle Trachtenberg.The PaleyFest runs for two weeks, and will also feature panels from current shows Pushing Daisies, Gossip Girl, and Dancing With the Stars, to name but a few.
is a doctor who works in a harm reduction facility in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. He is a former columnist for the Vancouver Sun and the Globe and Mail. On February 12, he will be releasing his latest book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, in which he talks about all kinds of addition, from heroin to workaholics. There is a free lecture at SFU's Surrey campus on February 21. Go to 
All Images from abc.com as well as oldschooltblog
Keys is a tremendous artist and really got the show off on the right foot. She was then presented with the award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance by none other than Prince himself (who won for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in the non-televised portion of the ceremonies). She won this award for her song No One and I cannot understand how this was not also nominated for Record of the Year? Much later in the show, Keys returned to perform the song No One in one of the best performances of the night as she was joined by another one of my favorites, John Mayer, on guitar.
I feel that all of these Alicia Keys moments were really some of the best this show, which dragged on for over 3+ hours, had to offer.If Alicia Keys was the highlight, I have to say Amy Winehouse has to be the lowlight. She was not able to obtain a visa to attend the show, so she performed via satellite from London.
This performance was what you would expect from her and if you are a fan then you probably enjoyed it. I am just not a fan of Winehouse in any way, shape or form. I applaud her uniqueness, but just don't think her music is all that special. That's what it all comes down to, right? The lowlight was not necessarily this horrible performance, but the fact that Amy Winehouse took home Grammy's for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Performance. This was very disappointing to me. She also won Best New Artist which I can understand because the competition in this category was negligible. I just wish with such little quality music being produced that they would not waste recognition on the garbage that Amy Winehouse is putting out there.Her acceptance speech for Record of the Year, also via satellite, was even a lower lowlight with her fake look of surprise and then incoherent mumbling. I think you can all tell where I stand on this issue, so we will move on to some better things. As a pleasant surprise to the ‘80s fiend that I am, Morris Day and The Time performed their hit Jungle Love.This was pretty cool until Rihanna joined them to perform her mega hit Umbrella. 
She looked fantastic, but the song still does not do it for me. It was great to see The Time perform together again. One of the funny, but true, lines that I heard was What is the best thing about the 2008 Grammy Awards being over? You might never have to hear the song, Umbrella again. We can only hope.Carrie Underwood performed her country smash Before He Cheats. Again, I am not a fan of country music, but Ms. Underwood looked beautiful as always. She was nominated for Song of the Year (which she lost to Winehouse), but won the Best Country Song award.
Tom Hanks introduced a Beatles tribute which featured a performance from the show Love (which later won the award for Best Soundtrack) and the movie Across the Universe. The first was a strange interpretive dance from the Cirque du Soleil show that really was rather horrible to watch even though I am a huge Beatles fan. The second was a fantastic performance of Let it Be featuring a young boy by the name of Timothy Mitchum. In one of the other highlights of the evening, Fergie performed a song accompanied by John Legend 
on the piano. I have a link to this stunning performance 
New Soul started as a track on Naïm's self-titled sophomore release on the French label Tôt ou Tard. The song was released as a single in France in 2007 and, after significant radio support, it quickly rose to #1 on France's iTunes chart.The success of New Soul on France's iTunes chart caught the attention of the ad agency putting together the MacBook Air™ campaign. Since the commercial's debut in January, New Soul has risen to #1 on the U.S. iTunes Top Songs chart and #2 on Canada's iTunes Top Songs chart. The song has also led to an astounding number of album downloads in North America. Yael Naïm was born in Paris, France but spent a large part of her childhood in Ramat Hacharon, a small town not far from Tel Aviv, Israel. She spent ten years in a music conservatory studying classical piano in hopes of one day and by the age of 12 (thanks to the influence of the Beatles and Joni Mitchell) helped her determine her musical directionAfter playing a charity concert in 2000, Yael Naïm recorded of her debut album In A Man's Womb. In 2004, she joined multi-instrumentalist, David Donatien and they formed her present day ‘group’. Her latest album, self-titled Yael Naïm, was recorded in her Paris apartment and features 13 songs including New Soul, and an unpredictable cover of Britney Spears' Toxic. This album is due to be released in Canada on Tuesday, February 26, 2008.
Image from londonteenagepoetryslam.com There's nothing like spending a Wednesday night at your local hole-in-the-wall watering hole, exercising (exorcising?) the old beer gland and soaking up some dirty ass rock & roll. What a delightful midweek social activity. That is unless, out of fucking nowhere, your hole-in-the-wall watering hole is hosting a Spoken Word Poetry Slam. More specifically an 'open mic' Spoken Word Poetry Slam. There's a reason people hide diaries under beds people. And that reason is shame. Teenage girls know this, why don't you? I'm as open minded as the next guy. If you wanna yodel while wearing a tampon tophat and have cocaine for breakfast every morning, that's fine with me. But I have to draw the line at Spoken Word Poetry Slams. Especially SWPS's that happen at bars. Bars are for drinking and loud music. You ruined my bar. I'm sure you think you're 'expressing yourself' or 'making an artistic statement' or 'are a cool person completely in touch with reality' but the fact of the matter is that nobody, absolutely nobody, in the world, cares about poems about other people's feelings. Arts/entertainment wise, standing on a stage reading a poem about your laminated scrapbook of melancholy is the zenith of laziness. And anyone who claims they really 'got it' or 'were totally feeling it' are only doing so hoping that you'll maybe have sex with them later. Which is also a zenith of laziness, Albeit in a completely different field. Unless you're a famous author, a science professor, a really hot chick or Batman, there's a 99.98% chance that no one will give a fuck. "But they clapped afterwards." Only to relieve the awkward silence. And maybe pity. Some people are nice. Not me apparently. I’d rather watch a Mime Show. "But that mime wasn't expressing anything? He had no message, man." Yeah, but did you see when he was trapped in that box? "But he got out of the box?" I know! and did you see how windy it was up there? Maybe I'm being a bit of a philistine here. Maybe I shouldn't knock it until I’ve tried it. But if (IF) I ever attempted to walk through the Ring Of Fire that is spoken word, I'd at least have the sense to moxy it up a bit. An interesting story! Sunglasses! Throw a few jump kicks in there! Adjective solo! "Now you're just trying to be offensive." Yeah, well, you're a retard. Thank you and goodnight.
Recently I had compiled lists of my 
Although she has never made a pair of shoes (to the best of my knowledge), she has had more influence on shoes’ popularity than anyone else in recent memory. Although Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin made the shoes, Sarah Jessica Parker's character, Carrie, in Sex and the City made them famous. These shoe designers were popular among stars before the show, but their shoes soon became part of the average woman’s vocabulary because of this show. 
David Evins - If there is a shoe hall of fame, David Evins has a whole wing of the hall to himself. Evins has been called the inventor of the pump. For that alone, he's got a guaranteed spot on my list.Terry de Havilland - Terry de Havilland makes some of the wildest, most impossible shoes ever seen. Some of these include impossibly tall platforms, and shoes that have tripped models on the runway. But despite this somewhat sadistic description, he's one of today’s most interesting designers. I had the luck to see him in a store several years ago, while visiting London, but I didn't have the courage to speak to him. I think I would have been less nervous about seeing the Queen! (After all, I've never lusted after any of Her Majesty's hats, but I'd kill for one pair of Terry de Havilland's shoes.)
Salvatore Ferragamo - Ferragamo is one of the best designers ever. One well known story about him is that he noticed that women would buy his shoes, but complain about how much they hurt. 
In order to make his shoe designs more comfortable, he actually studied anatomy. For all the women who have ever worn an uncomfortable pair of shoes, this is definitely an appreciated development. 
United Nude - United Nude is my own personal favourite shoe store. Their designs are unlike anything else available. The shoes were co-designed by an architect and shoemaker, and the designs have a very architectural nature. With shoes that appear to float in mid-air and some which wrap around themselves, United Nude offers unique shoes that will definitely influence the future of footwear. Of all the pairs of shoes in my closet, these are the most treasured. Sources for images:Sarah JP: viewimages.comdavid evins shoeworld.com/Terry DeHavilland shoewawa.comsalvator Ferragamo shuzsociety.comUnited Nude phutwear.co.uk/
The one book, however, that has been languishing on my night stand since Christmas, is Possible Side Effects, a collection of short stories by Burroughs. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of short stories to begin with, and the book did nothing to change that notion. Sadly, I read a few stories and put it down, only to forget about it. This weekend, however, I finally made it through my Christmas reading and ran out of things I wanted to read. So Possible Side Effects was next on my list.Well, for the first half of the book it was more of the same, short stories of such varying quality that it made me question whether they'd actually have been published if Burroughs wasn't so much the flavour of the moment.But then I came across one short story called Locked Out that made the book worthwhile. Burroughs outlines an incident in which he locks himself out of his apartment. This is at a time when he is about 30 years of age, is still working in advertising, and has fallen off the wagon after a stint in rehab. His apartment is a mess, of the 'call the Hazmat team' variety. He is sobered up, literally and figuratively, when the locksmith gains access to his apartment and sees the squalor in which he lives.Burroughs sits down and starts to write. In seven days, he not only dries himself out, but he writes the first draft of his novel, Sellevision. A writer is born.Image from z.about.com/d/movies
Crowd Observances: the ratio of male to female was 3:1 (which generally bodes well for bands’ staying power as Lezah and I have observed.) This crowd was definitely your beer-swigging, jeans and a t-shirt (no stylin’ punks here) manly-men. However, it was these men's unabashed appreciation for the performers that grabbed my attention.I have attended hundreds of concerts. Prior to writing, I generally look for something out of the ordinary before tackling my review (to give it a more personal approach). For this concert, the out-of-the-ordinary observation was handed to me on a platter.I have never (emphasis on never) seen an audience so appreciative of, and vocally involved with, as I did with Seether's’ and Three Days Grace’s audience.This audience sang along, loudly - albeit not badly - to all of the songs up until the last dying chords of Three Days Grace’s set. The audience sang loud (and clear enough that both Shaun from Seether, and Adam from 3DG, often didn’t have to sing entire verses during their songs.)It was incredible, and I felt I was privy to a male-bonding workshop (anticipating the group to break out in Kumbayah at any given moment.) In watching how uninhibited these fellows were while belting out lyrics, it was obvious that the fans had connected with the bands, and their lyrics, on a more meaningful level. The songs meant something in the audiences singers’ lives.Perhaps it was the intimate environment of The Commodore that allowed the fans to fervently get caught up in the music? I wish another concert go'er would step forward and confirm my observations, as I am beginning to question what I saw.When Seether stepped onto the stage, Shaun Morgan’s voice sounded clear and controlled. Earlier, I had been listening to Vancouver’s radio station, The Fox and Shaun Morgan was a guest, singing an acoustic selection. After noting how good his voice sounded on radio, I was relieved to discover it sounded twice as good, live.As I have mentioned before, I am a lyricist and anyone who write lyrics like: 
As a frontman, Shaun appears embarrassed almost apologetic within his starring role. He is obviously comfortable enough to write and arrange the music; just not to deliver it. I haven’t any idea as to the size of Shaun’s performer’s ego, but after watching him perform, I’d venture out onto a quasi psychological limb and state he doesn’t believe he’s deserving of the crowd’s adoration.
When Seether concluded their set, I was reminded of the entire Peal Jam and Nirvana Seattle vibe. Seether would have been right at home in 1992. Nonetheless, Seether gave us a terrific, yet physically subdued set.Three Days Grace bounded onto the stage, full of energy and humour, and the ‘Kumbayah Crowd’ eagerly picked up their singing pace. 3DG launched into hit after hit, working the fans into frenzied ecstasy. 
Between the audience vocal participation, the endless spring bouncing/pogo'ing on the Commodore’s renowned dance floor, and beer being spilled on us left and right, Kristen Kyd (my every alert photographer) and I left bouncing, laughing, singing and reeking of beer into the night. We left hot, sweaty and content - it felt as though this had been a private performance given at a local basement party. Great concert.
(Image: Toronto's latest gun victim)The year 2005 is remembered as Toronto’s Year of the Gun, thanks to the high number of homicides (78) and injuries that resulted from random gunfire. And as a final despicable act to rub salt in the wound of an embattled city, a beautiful young girl named Jane Creba was shot and killed while out shopping with her mom across from the Eaton’s Centre on Boxing Day. That story was on the front pages of every notable newspaper across the province and was the major story on all news broadcasts for days, if not weeks. The young victim’s name is a household word in Toronto and most of the country, and her face is now one of the most recognizable out of the millions who live in the Greater Toronto Area.That senseless crime brought an outpouring of shock, grief, and anger, which culminated in the media demanding that something “had to be done”. But sadly, apart from the usual media ‘routine’ that follows one of these senseless acts, nothing of any substantive level IS being done. Because in the year 2007, there were actually more homicides (82) than in the ‘year of the gun’, and 2008 is already starting out in a similar manner as two innocent bystanders have been gunned down in the last couple of weeks.The latest victim, 47-year-old Hou Chang Mao, was an immigrant from China who had worked ridiculously long hours at minimum wage, so that he could bring his wife to Canada to join him and their son and daughter in their adopted homeland; until he was killed while stocking an orange cart at the market where he worked. He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, as rival gang bangers opened fire at each other.The first victim of gunfire in 2008, 42-year-old John O’Keefe, died a week earlier while innocently passing a strip club on Yonge Street, which is arguably Canada’s busiest thoroughfare of pedestrian and vehicular activity, and is now getting the reputation of being one of the most dangerous spots for people in Toronto. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time as gang bangers tried to take out the bouncer of the club, but missed.There are a number of other gun-related crimes that have evoked media and civic cries for something to be done. Rachel Alleyne was a 30-year-old mother of a 2-year-old boy, and she was cut down by gang bangers who crashed the housing complex where she was attending a child’s backyard birthday party on a summer afternoon.Ephraim Brown was only 11 years old when he was cut down in a hauntingly similar fashion as he was atop a fence at a birthday party as gang bangers opened fire at each other in late 2007. The list could go on and on, and includes victims of all creeds and ethnicity, in a city that is known as possibly the most diverse in the entire world. The one constant is that all of these victims were in the wrong place and at the wrong time, so they needlessly lost their lives.So what is the answer to reducing this problem that plagues Toronto and other large cities across North America and even the world for that matter? In a word, MIRACLE!That’s right: We need a miracle. But not the biblical miracle of old when the seas parted or hordes of locusts rained down from the sky. I’m talking about a tried and proven method of dealing with the gangs that was initiated by the Boston Police and various community agencies, and which has been so successful that it is now heralded as the Boston Miracle.This miracle was actually a multi-pronged, anti-gang initiative known as Operation Cease Fire that was launched in 1996, and worked first of all by addressing the root cause of the overall problem, which was primarily the easy availability of guns to these gangs. By aggressively tackling the supply problem by using community ‘intel,’ gangs could no longer arm themselves as quickly and readily as they did before the initiative. The crucial ingredient of this process is that the community, which for years was silent due to fear of reprisal, now actively worked with law enforcement to weed out the gun-runners and gang bangers who terrorized the entire community. So the bad guys no longer enjoyed the safe haven they had grown accustomed to for years and were now faced with the realization that both gang membership and any related activity had severe consequences for them.A separate but equally important phase of the initiative relied on addressing “at risk” youth in the community, so that the police and social service agencies could “get to them” before the gangs did, and offer them necessities and other support (education, mentoring) to show them that there were other options available than being a gang member. Many of these “kids” came from either single or no-parent environments, and lacked a support structure of any kind. Community pastors and elders worked cohesively to fill this void to try to steer the youth in the proper direction.The end result was a 70 per cent drop in firearms-related homicides and assaults in the first two years, which leaves no doubt at all that the model used in Boston should become a worldwide means of dealing with an issue in a pro-active and preventive manner to reduce this scourge that is prevalent in many of the globe’s major cities. In fact, jurisdictions as far away as Manchester, England are borrowing these same ideas and strategies as they try to wrestle their gang problems into submission, just as Boston has so impressively done.So for those who think that it’s impossible to achieve any substantial headway against this modern urban dilemma, we now know that with the necessary funding, strategies, community involvement, and co-operative teamwork between various agencies, this problem can be greatly minimized so that everyday citizens can go to a birthday party and not worry about being killed. The city of Boston and its various agencies have proven this, beyond a doubt. Canada’s largest city and other equally affected urban centres such as Vancouver, should follow suit and do everything in their powers to duplicate this great success and achievement.We owe this not only to the Jane Crebas and Rachel Alleynes of this world, but also to their loved ones who have to deal with their loss on a daily basis, and relive it every time another innocent is cut down in a senseless act of violence.Because whether it’s on Yonge Street in the middle of a busy shopping day, or at a neighbourhood birthday party for a young child, no one should ever have to worry about being another statistic in Toronto’s continuing saga of the year of the gun.
