Xavier Rudd - GUKU

Gorgeous sunny days always put me in a very chill, laid back mood... And so does Xavier Rudd. The Australian singer/songwriter/multi-multi-instrumentalist has crafted an incredibly unique sound that makes you feel like you've been listening to him all your life. He makes very happy music that just has that bounce to it; it gets you going for the day.

I first heard of Xavier Rudd when I found out he was going to be playing at the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival. I listened to a couple tracks and thought some were good and some okay but it was enough to give him a chance. And boy am I glad I gave him that chance. The dude is a one man wrecking crew up on the stage. He sits inside this most epic of drum kits which features numerous drums/percussion, several didgeridoos, a mic, and his slide guitar. He is consistently playing 3 of these things at once, creating a full band sound all by himself. Too cool. Here's a better idea of what it looks like:

It turned out that the stuff I'd listened to beforehand was nowhere near his best or most famous. I just love Xavier and strongly recommend him to anyone. Check out the albums White Moth, Dark Shades of Blue, or Food in the Belly. Also, if you can find it, Live at the Grid is amazing. He's playing at some record company dudes place in like small town Cranbrook BC for like 20 people. He absolutely kills it on "To Let", my fave of his (that version too).

GUKU just has one of those great grooves that you immediately bob your head to. From the slick slide playing to his and the Native's singing the song is the perfect sound for a beautiful summer day. Just a great, chill track for a great, chill day. I also wore his shirt today which is totally epic! Here it is:

Big K.R.I.T. - Sookie Now (feat. David Banner)

I got to see my second favourite hip-hop artist (Kanye's #1) last night at Fortune Sound Club in Vancouver. The night started with lots of drinking and blazing, culminating in me and a buddy pissing next to some dumpster in some alley. BOOM. Out of nowhere comes the po-poo. After a brief lecture about how stupid we are, the ridiculous fines ($250 each!), and a background check that brought up a prior for myself doing the same thing (another story, another day) he just let us apologize and we got off with a warning. Phew! Now the night could really get going.

So we get in and there's a DJ playing some good hip-hop (the Throne, 3-6 Mafia, etc.), except like every 3 seconds the sound fades out. We're just like "weird, but whatever it's different..." Then it got really annoying and the crowd was clearly not digging it and started calling out the DJ. Next this dude gets up onstage and claims that a power outage earlier in the day has fucked up the sound system. Oh FUCK! So they turn off the system to let it reset for about 5 minutes. This was the longest 5 minutes of the crowd's night as we anxiously awaited for the hopefully fixed sound system. After some acapella freestyling and clapping and shit the sound booted back on and sounded perfect! Back in it, close to 11pm and the show can finally get going. 

Some guy named Tito came out first and was quite good. Played some solid tunes with good beats. He also had some pretty good lines/disses and was just truly stoked to have the chance to perform what he loves doing. Up next was Casey Veggies, a guy who 2 of my friends I went with had seen here as the headliner not 2 months earlier. So we're in good hands as C.V. blazes through a hot set. He played some new stuff and I was definitely digging it. Overall good but still not the reason why I, as well as the rest of the crowd, was there.

Midnight strikes and within a few minutes Big K.R.I.T. is finally on the stage. Holy Fuck was he ever worth the wait. K.R.I.T. came out full blast, spitting rhymes like his life depended on it and instantly had the crowd so into it and going nuts. He played tons of shit I knew and a great mix from his newest studio album as well as stuff from his older mixtapes. Highlights included "Me And My Old School", chants of "Fuck these haters and fuck these hos" (always fun to do in a crowd), a furious "I Got This", "Country Shit", the classic "Hometown Hero", an incredible, emotional and WOW moment during "The Vent" and the insane closer "Time Machine" where K.R.I.T. said "Oh shit almost forgot this one". Also the song of the day, "Sookie Now" was an early favourite for me that I was stoked to hear. Just a sick beat and good pump up song. Plus he brought along Big Sant who was sick and rapped along with him on several tracks.

So I have loved Krizzle since the first time I listened to his mixtape, Return Of 4eva. His beats that he makes himself are fucking insane and he has just sick flow in his rapping. So I was pumped going into the show (my first hip-hop show at a small venue. I watched the Throne, and then saw others at music festivals such as Brother Ali, Mos Def, Childish Gambino, and K'naan). And wow, just wow, Big K.R.I.T. was just sooo good. He went so hard for every song, played a great mix of all his stuff, brought it down for some quiet, more emotional stuff like the brilliant, aforementioned "The Vent" and then brought it up for major pump up songs to get the entire crowd bumpin' and sweatin'. He even did a stage dive right into my 2 friends, Nate and Avandi, who claim he did so cuz they were singing every song and just going nuts. Awesome. I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about this show. Here's just a very brief taste of that show:

Big K.R.I.T. - The Vent

And here's a great performance of his best performance from that show:

So this was show number 4 of 4 that I went to over the past 10 days. And it was my favourite. Florence put on a hell of a show and was fucking awesome but Big K.R.I.T. was beyond amazing and truly had a 'moment' of a show, something that the whole crowd felt as well. The whole rest of the night we couldn't stop talking about the show... something that simply didn't happen with Florence. Just wow, truly incredible.

Florence + The Machine - What The Water Gave Me

Florence + The Machine played an incredible show on Friday night at Deer Lake Park in Vancouver. After being sick with throat issues and forced to cancel a few European dates, Florence Welch came roaring back for the first show of her North American tour. Although she didn't absolutely slay it on every moment of every song, her big voice came out in full force during every important moment and then some. She truly commanded the stage, running side to side and climbing on the lighting. The Machine rocked out too. Any time you get to see a guy playing a massive harp you're in for something special.

From the first song you could tell that this show was gonna be all about the hits and creating a magical musical moment during each one. She played "What The Water Gave Me" second, mystifying the crowd with her beautiful voice before building up to the epic, rocking climax. Next came a powerful "Cosmic Love" in which the harp was fully introduced. Then came a great moment when during "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" she told the crowd to raise someone onto their shoulders for the entire song. Instantly hundreds of girls were on the shoulders of willing friends and boyfriends. I even looked back to where a group of my friends were to see 12 year old Tiana rocking out, high in the sky.

But the best moment of the show had to come during "Dog Days Are Over" when Florence got the entire crowd jumping up and down for the entire final chorus. It's a very cool feeling to be jumping with 10,000 other people while watching a performance of one of the greatest pump up songs of all time. She came back for a solo encore of the beautiful "Never Let Me Go" before sending everyone home rocking to "No Light, No Light". Just an amazing show, proving that in a short amount of time Florence + The Machine have the chops to perform and rock crowds like the biggest names in music. Here's a taste of the epicness of the show: 

The Walkmen - Heaven

Opening band The Walkmen played a solid set to get the crowd going. I didn't get to see much of them since we got there a little late and I needed to get beers. But I did get to hear a rocking version of my favourite song of theirs, and one of the best of the past decade, "The Rat" as well as their closing tune and new single, "Heaven". That was the unprecedented 5th time that I have seen any band live. I've seen the Walkmen play at Richards On Richards, Sasquatch 2009, Venue (the only time I actually purposely paid for a ticket just to see them), Sasquatch 2012, and Deer Lake Park. They're such a cool band that still doesn't seem like they've made it; road warriors who just can't catch that big break. Those who like them like them a lot and know that they are an important rock band. Here's that new single, with the super-catchy riff, "Heaven":

Some thoughts...

- Went to the Whitecaps game with my soccer team yesterday and we and a fucking blast; Whitecaps hectic! Plus they beat the top team in the league.

- Tomorrow night is show 4/4 for me in the past 10 days. Here's hoping Big K.R.I.T. can top them all, though it'll be tough to best Florence.

- Today was trade day in New York as the Rangers acquired power forward Rick Nash and the Yankees picked up Ichiro Suzuki. Both teams got a lot better without giving up too much.

Trust - Dressed For Space

So last night I saw Toronto duo Trust play the Biltmore. This is the second time I've seen 'em in 3 months and holy fuck they're good. The place wasn't sold out (Tuesday night, miniscule marketing) but those who were there witnessed an amazing band just hitting their stride. I feel that these guys are very underrated and unknown. Their sound is in the very current EDM genre, just a little darker than most but still very danceable. Yet the biggest positive for them is that they are incredible live. The lead singer, Robert Alfons (who I got to bro-hug and tell "awesome show man" to) goes nuts while performing, dancing all over the stage and belts the notes, both high and low. Just a great show and a great time, especially for only $15 and somewhere as chill as the Biltmore! I highly recommend you go out and see them the next time their near you, likely at a larger venue.

Audioslave - Shadow On The Sun

So I did my second kettle bell workout today and after last week's super lame yet super awesome 80's dance jock jams it was time for some good ol' hard rock. Audioslave are an epic supergroup composed of Soundgarden's lead singer, Chris Cornell, and Rage Against The Machine's lead guitarist, Tom Morello, bassist, Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk. They burst onto the scene with an incredible self-titled debut album. It contains great hard rock songs such as "Cochise" and "Show Me How To Live" as well as slower ballads like "I Am The Highway" and "Getaway Car". "Shadow On The Sun" has a bit of both. It starts slow with an awesome and pretty guitar line before exploding into the chorus and the closing section. Definitely an epic track!

The song is used brilliantly in the Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx movie "Collateral". Just a great track for Foxx driving late at night in the barren streets of Los Angeles. The coyotes that they come across add so much and make the song a perfect fit to the scene. This is a great movie and the soundtrack is also very good with great tracks by the likes of The Roots, Groove Armada, and Tom Rothrock.

Unfortunately Audioslave could not follow up the success of their first album. Their second, Out Of Exile, is quite good but not as good as the first. Then Revelations was a disappointment. The title track is sick and there are a few other solid ones but you could tell that this band had lost its magic and they broke up soon afterwards.

I was lucky enough to see them live though, on the Exile tour, and they absolutely killed it. They played all their best stuff plus some classics by Soundgarden and Rage, culminating in an insanely good "Killing In The Name". Cornell also did a super chill solo acoustic "Black Hole Sun". Epic.

Some thoughts...

- Definitely enjoying these kettle bell workouts. Just a full body exercise for great strength and cardio. Props to Gmac for showing me the ropes and getting my ass doing it!

- Trust show tomorrow night at the Biltmore. I'm fucking stoked! If you're not doing anything tomorrow and wanna see a good Canadian electro band at a sick venue....

Frank Ocean - Pyramids

Frank Ocean put on a helluva show Saturday night at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. He proved that he really can sing as he crooned over lush and sparse hip-hop beats. The 4-piece band played real tight and were able to get all of the sounds from mixtape nostalgia, ULTRA and just-released album, channel ORANGE, just right. The set was really cool too with a giant spaceship thing hovering above the middle. 

Highlights of the show included a rocking performance of "Novacane", the use of Ocean's incredible pipes on "Bad Religion", and an epic performance of his epic 10-minute track "Pyramids" to close the set. His look out into the crowd when the synth beats were bumpin' and his closed-eyes singing of the songs main chorus "We're working at the pyramids tonight" were signs of a future superstar in the making. I see him playing a much bigger venue next time around and am stoked that I got to see him somewhere as awesome and intimate as the Commodore. 

"Pyramids" is an amazing song. The first time I heard it I was hooked. For a ten minute track it goes through numerous beat and tempo changes, crazy synth lines, and manages to tell the story of a stripper. He absolutely killed it on this one to close the set, leaving everyone very satisfied. 

Some thoughts...

- That was show #1 of 4 that I'll be attending over 10 days. Hope they're all just as good or even better!

- Florence has been having vocal struggles... she's cancelled all of her dates up until Friday's at Deer Lake Park. Here's hoping for a full recovery and an epic return!  

- Took a party bus to the Blarney on Saturday before heading to the show. How awesome is that!!!

Frank Ocean - There Will Be Tears

Double shot today of some hip-hop soul singers.

Frank Ocean is awesome. I'm seeing him tomorrow and am totally stoked. Check out his mixtape Nostalgia, ultra. So dope. This is one of my faves by him. It samples Mr. Hudson's song but is much better lol. "My Grand Daddy was a playa". Best Line Ever!

Frank also recently came out that his first love was a man. Very interesting and brave. I'm glad the hip=hop community is finally  getting more comfortable with homosexuality.

BJ The Chicago Kid - Fly Girl Get 'Em

Just heard about this guy a couple weeks ago and I'm loving it. Such a unique voice and he just slays it on this track. Check out this mixtape, Pineapple Now-Laters.

Box Social at my place tonight so I've gotta get going!!!

Chuuwee - Night Life (Fast Lane)

Chuuwee is fucking dope. First of all what a cool name and spelling of it. He's got a very unique voice that works great over his sick flows. I love the beat in this song. So old-school dance/disco-y. Cookie Soul is the producer and does a brilliant job. If you don't bump to this one then ur not alive man! Be sure to check out his album B Cool. Cool shit.

Pac Div - The Mirror

Pac Div are a solid rap group from the west coast. I honestly don't know much about them but this is a dope track. Produced by DJ Don Cannon (The-the-the Cannon!), the song features a great orchestral beat. The lyrics by the guys are real true and honest, something cool in this new era of intelligent hip-hop. Just a great rap song!

Action Bronson - Pouches Of Tuna (feat. Roc Marciano)

Action Bronson is a gourmet chef turned rapper from Queens, NY who has some sick flows. Rapping over a classy beat from producer Party Supplies, Bronson spits a botched first verse, before eventually getting into it, name checking everything from chron to his favourite foods to Ovechkin. I'm loving his newest mixtape, Blue Chips, produced by Party Supplies. Supplies channels 50's doo-wop and a jazzy vibe into his sound, and Bronson kills it on the mic. Here's another beauty from that same album, "Thug Love Story 2012". The beat change is gorgeous... shivers:

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Make The Money

Here's another awesome rapper from Seattle, Macklemore, and his friend/DJ Ryan Lewis. I absolutley love the beat on this track and Macklemore's rhyming is too fucking good. The white boy knows exactly what he's doing. None of this Soulja Boy Bullshit! (Sorry I cannot stand that fucktard). "Make the money don't let the money make you". Such simple yet brilliant words. 

At Sasquatch Music Festival earlier this year Macklemore showed up to play a mini-set on the main stage right between Girl Talk and Pretty Lights. We were heading to get food when I realized how loud the song was playing, looked back and realized Holy Shit, there he is! On a stage in the middle of the crowd. Very cool.

Big K.R.I.T. - Praying Man (feat. B.B. King)

So the last few weeks have been nothing but amazing rock but enough of that shit. Time for some hip-hop. This week will be 5 artists that I hope you've heard of but probably haven't. 

Big K.R.I.T. is sick. The dude is a young beatmaster who has some slick rhymes that're quite poetic to boot.  From Mississippi, where not much hip-hop has historically come from, he has a great blend of those deep south crunk hooks with the new era stoner rhythms. I'm seeing him at the end of the month at Fortune Sound Club and am really looking forward to it. I would recommend basically all of his mix-tapes and his newest first full album is dope too. But if you only have time for one be sure to listen to the Return Of 4Eva mix-tape.

This song is my fave from the new album. Also anytime a hip-hop artist gets a cameo from B.B. fucking King it's gonna be an epic! Just love the poetry and B.B.'s guitar playing and chorus. Unreal track.  

Neil Young - Rockin' In The Free World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9SMXkpowo0&feature=related

You absolutely can't have a Canada Day week of classic Canadian rock artists without Neil Young. By far the greatest rocker to ever hail from the Great White North, Young has trailblazed for over 40 years putting out hit songs, albums, and epic tours. And unlike the other 3 bands I highlighted earlier this week (Sam Roberts Band, The Tragically Hip, and 54-40), Neil Young is adored across the globe. His unique voice and guitar picking has allowed him to remain a true artist that always has the abilities to surprise listeners. Young Started out in Buffalo Springfield with fellow guitarist Stephen Stills, helping create hits such as "For What It's Worth" and "Mr. Soul". Realizing they had just too much creative energy for one band they parted ways, opening the door for Young to make some of his most beloved albums such as "After The Gold Rush" and "Harvest". He then began playing with the incredible backing band Crazy Horse, putting together some epic hard rock albums that many consider to be the beginnings of grunge music. Young has since then continued to put out great albums of a wide variety, culminating in this years Americana, his first album back with Crazy Horse in almost a decade. He is also a philanthropist and big part of teh Bridge School benefit concerts and Farm Aid.

"Rockin' In The Free World" is my favourite Neil Young song. I love everything about it from the guitar riff to his somewhat simple yet so meaningful lyrics to the fact that it just rocks hard and pumps me up! For some reason I wasn't able to embed the video for this song but the link will take you to it and it's a good quality version. 

I had the pleasure of seeing Neil live with my dad in 2008 and he was fucking amazing. I've never seen a guy so old rock so fucking hard. From the opening note he went hard, pausing only slightly for a set of solo acoustic numbers that included "Heart Of Gold", "The Needle And The Damage Done", and "Old Man". Holy shit talk about epic hits time! He closed the set with "Rockin' In The Free World" (an extra rockin' version of course) and then came back out to play "A Day In The Life". He absolutely killed it on the Beatles classic and ended it (you know, that insane build up at the end) by destorying his guitar! Unfuckingreal! Here's the banger he opened with, a rare track called "Love And Only Love". True Young fans will watch this one:

54-40 - One Day In Your Life

54-40 are an awesome Canadian rock band from my hometown, Vancouver, BC. They've been around since the eighties and have tons of hit songs and albums. Like The Tragically Hip, US and International fame has somewhat alluded them. They are best known for the song "I Go Blind" yet most outside of Canada know the cover by Hootie & The Blowfish better. Even in Canada I feel like they get somewhat overlooked, mostly cuz they're from out West. Regardless, these guys rock and I strongly recommend YouTubing them or looking for a greatest hits album.

I've seen 54-40 live 3 times and all 3 times were for free! I saw them at the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition, basically Vancouver's big end of summer fair), on Canada Day (at the same Cloverdale Amphitheatre I saw Sam Roberts at), and at the Live Surrey stage for the Olympics. They are awesome live and I recommend seeing 'em.

"One Day In Your Life" is my favourite song by 54-40 and one of their most beloved hits. The guitar riff is a chill, chug-along that gets instantly stuck in your head. It has a really cool and unique sound. The lyrics, though simple, are also quite solid.

Some thoughts...

- Steve Nash is a Laker. Oh Fuck Yeah! I'm stoked that he's not on the Heat and, honestly, fuck teh Raptors... they BLOW!!!

- Get to golf tomorrow and I'm pumped. First round since I injured my finger.

- I'm listening to the Vancouver Whitecaps game as i'm writing this and I gotta say, soccer needs to have a British commentator, Hell even some crazy Spanish guy. I'm sure whoever the guy doing it is trying his best but come on...
- Happy Independence Day to all Americans! Now go blow something up lol

The Tragically Hip - Little Bones

The Tragically Hip, Canada's greatest rock band. These guys have put out hit album after hit album since the early eighties and show no signs of stopping. They are a true Canadian band, however, with very few singles reaching the US and international markets. I'm not exactly sure why this is... Whatever, we'll keep 'em for ourselves and let the rest of the world have Celine Dion, Justin Beiber, and Nickleback...

"Little Bones" is one of my faves by the Hip and it always gets me pumped up. I'm ready to crush beers, play/watch some hockey, and just giv'er in the Great White North. The guitar riff is fucking awesome too! I blared this one on Sunday as soon as the Italy crushing was over. I also remember getting the chance to play a song for Canada Day when I celebrated it at Roskilde Festival in Denmark... Guess what I chose... I have seen these guys twice and was so stoked when they played this the second time I saw 'em. Definitely the highlight of the show. Gord Downie is a very underrated frontman who has a wicked cool voice and commands the stage like an absolute maniac. He spends the majority of the show dancing with the mic stand, letting it fall but then catching it at the last possible second with his foot like it was nothing. A truly great showman. Just a great Canadian rock band!

Some thoughts...

- Sun, sun, sun here we come... FINALLY!

- Dallas Stars making the best moves so far this year. Roy, Whitney, and now fucking Jagr... watch out kids!

- Just realized that this Saturday is finally the much anticipated UFC rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. I'm honestly not the biggest UFC fan but there are certain fights and fighters that I really enjoy watching. The last time these 2 met Sonnen pushed Silva (undefeated in the UFC at that point and still undefeated) to the absolute brink, literally shit-kicking him for 4 and a half rounds. Then with like 1 minute left Silva some how manages to wrap himself into the right position and chokes Sonnen out. Just incredible. So wherever you are Saturday night, make an effort to catch this one as it promises to be EPIC!!!

Sam Roberts Band - Brother Down

Happy belated Canada Day! Hope you went out and got drunk and stoned on our nation's bday. To continue celebrating I will be highlighting some classic Canadian tunes all week. To start, here's Sam Roberts Band with their first big hit, "Brother Down". I got to see Sam Roberts for the fourth time last night for free at Surrey Canada Day festivities at the Cloverdale Amphitheatre. As usual he fucking killed it and had the crowd rocking throughout the set, up until the fireworks finale.

Sam Roberts Band is quintessentially Canadian through their lyrics about life in the Great White North and just their overall guitar/organ sound that drives them. "Brother Down" is definitely their most recognized hit and a true Canuck classic. I could have chosen many others, some that I like even more, but this one is just such a standard that, although barely a decade old, it holds a very special place in Canadian music history. The guitar is so chill and Sam sings it with a relaxed yet passionate delivery. I love the video as well; just a perfect visual to complement the song.

Some thoughts...

- Damn this long weekend was waaaaayyy too short.

- Some interesting moves during free agent frenzy. Sad to see Salo go but I'm looking forward to Jason Garrison. Personally I feel we may have overpaid him but regardless he'll be a solid blueliner for the 'nucks' future.

- Stoked for July. Looks like the weather's finally cooperating and I've got tickets to 4 shows plus Whitecaps!

- Fuck yeah Canada!!!