Where you at Red?

We've received hundred upon hundreds (yeah, right!) of emails asking us where we have been and if this is the end of Reality On Hold. The simple answer to the question is no. We've taken a brief hiatus to start compiling all the information we want to use in our next several posts.


Instead of focusing in on current events, December will be dedicated to looking into the past and reviewing the year that was 2009. We had a pretty incredible year with many ups and downs and we plan on looking back at some of those key moments that defined this year as well as our own review on some of the best music, movies and events from the past 12 months.


We also intend to make these posts as reader influenced as possible as we will have a few polls for you to vote on.


Keep on checking in on us over the next few weeks as we're sure there will be a lot of content to read. Feel free to leave as many comments as you would like as well, they are always welcome and we will try our best to respond to each and every one of you. (and by one of you I literally mean one of you as I think there is only one person out there that actually reads this thing!)


For now, take a look at the poll on the right and vote for your favourite song of 2009. There are links at the bottom of this post if you wish to see the music videos for these songs.


Cheers,
Red


"Single Ladies" - Beyonce
"I Gotta Feeling" - Black Eyed Peas
"Why I Am" - Dave Matthews Band
"Use Somebody" - Kings of Leon
"Poker Face" - Lady GaGa

'O' No, say it ain't so!

Prepare yourselves ladies (and men too ashamed to admit it) but you will soon have to find a new talk show to glue yourself to during the afternoon.


That's right, after more than 2 decades on the air, Oprah is set to announce to her audience tomorrow that she will be ending the show.


Although this may come as a shock, don't fret yet as she is only expected to be announcing the termination of the show on tomorrow's program. Rumours are that the cameras won't stop rolling until sometime in September 2011, at the end of her 25th year of the show.


Nobody is certain why the boss would want to stop the Oprah Winfrey Show, which has become a media institution in the US, with an average of 7 million viewers tuning in each day. The open atmosphere and frank conversation has defined the talk show genre and has also made Oprah the wealthiest black woman in the world.


But the Winfrey empire isn't about to collapse. Oprah still has her hand in several pies with her magazine production, and radio show. She is also scheduled to launch a television network, OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network sometime in 2011 which will focus on issues such as money, health and relationships.


The closing of the Oprah Show will upset many for sure but will also lead to greater recognition for the funniest, and in our own opinion, best talk show on television today, The Ellen Degeneres Show.

IN THE CITY: Queen Elizabeth gets a much needed facelift

No, we're not talking about the 83-year-old leader of the British monarchy (although that would be funny) but instead the 50-year-old theatre in downtown Vancouver that bears her name.


Since the theatre opened it's doors back in 1959 it seems everyone has become a critic, often complaining about the sightlines, the acoustics, and the legroom of the auditorium as well as the unexciting, boring and dimly lit foyer. Women have complained about large lineups for the washrooms and technicians have fretted over how difficult it was to light a show and deal with the muddy sound. Even audiences seeing serious theatre next door at the Playhouse Theatre walked out, demanding their money back because the sound from rock concerts at the QE was leaking through the walls.


This weekend marks a new act in the theatre's life as it reopens to the public after an extensive four and a half year $48.5 million renovation. Here are some of the new improvements to the theatre along with a few photos:


LOBBY/FOYER
Gone is the poorly lit, low ceilinged lobbies that were on every floor. The closed-in space has been opened up to a three-storey atrium with new light-coloured, marble-covered concrete walls supporting the building - part of a massive seismic upgrade.
Floor to ceiling glass covers the south wall of the building bringing in lots of light and beautiful views of the city alive outside. Also constructed are new bars and concessions, slick, new furniture and, yes, more women's washrooms on every level. Beautiful chandeliers made from sustainably harvested seashells from the Straight of Georgia dangle from above.

SOUND DECISIONS
Acoustics in the auditorium have been improved in letter grade from a dismal D to an amazing A by directing the sound at the audience in many ways. The ceiling was raised by six to twelve metres, carpet was ripped out and replaced with engineered hardwood flooring and new modern wooden and upholstered seating was installed. There were about 100 sound reflectors installed as well to aid with directing the sound towards the middle of the audience. Meanwhile, the QE and Playhouse were structurally separated so sound no longer leaks through.

SEATING
169 fewer seats are in the new auditorium leaving for more comfort and plenty of legroom. The seating in the centre block is staggered so you no longer have to stare directly at somebody's head in front of you. Also removed was the sloped floor that had you standing on an uncomfortable downward angle towards the stage. A new tiered riser floor has been installed as in most modern venues today.

SITUATION ROOM
A glassed-in room, overlooking the stage from the mezzanine level serves as a refuge for patrons with whiny babies or screaming little children.


Now we will have to see how these improvements stack up to other great theatre venues in the city but this much needed renovation should bring a lot more great acts to this theatre fit for a queen.

FRIDAY FUNNIES: J-E-L-L-O Time!

In honour of one of the funniest men we remember from growing up we start this Friday morning with a look back at the great Bill Cosby.


Mr. Cosby has given us so many moments of laughter in life, whether it be from his comedy sitcom "The Cosby Show," his variety program "Kids Say The Darndest Things," or his stand up material.


The now 72-year-old Cosby is performing this evening at the River Rock Casino.


Take a look back and watch this classic clip of young Cosby explaining the effects of drugs…absolutely hilarious!


Happy Friday!

COMING ATTRACTION: 2012

"We Were Warned"


Opening this Friday, November 13th, is the new action/drama 2012 from director Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day.)


Never before has a date in history been so significant to so many cultures, so many religions, scientists, and government. 2012 is an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.


The movie stars some credible names including John Cusack, Amanda Peet and Danny Glover. The $200 million production was to begin filming in LA in 2008 but luckily was moved to beautiful Vancouver and wrapped up earlier this year.


This film has been built up for several months as one of the top blockbusters of the year. We will only have to wait a few more days to find out how it makes out in the box office wars but we shouldn't be too surprised to see it rake in top honours considering there are no real big movies being released at the same time. The true test will come in it's second weekend in theatres when it will battle The Twilight Saga: New Moon.


Check out the trailer for 2012 below. It looks pretty amazing:

MUSIC REVIEW: David Gray - Draw the Line

After a four-year hiatus, David Gray has returned with a new band, a new record label, and a new studio album, his 7th to date. However, no matter how new everything is, one thing remains the same - that is his warm calloused voice, creative lyrics and catchy songs.


Draw the Line is a collection of 11 solid tracks consistent in appeal to previous recordings. The title track "Fugitive" is a powerful song that kicks off the album with a martial tempo drum beat followed by a looping piano and then "live in the moment" lyrics.


Gray shares some time on this album with 2 brilliant female singers as well. Jolie Holland, founding member of The Be Good Tanyas lends her vocals on the track titled "Kathleen" which perfectly portrays the spectral scene of a man wondering, lost, with a bygone lover on his mind. And then Annie Lennox trades lines with Gray on the wrenching ballad "Full Steam" that closes the record.


Draw the Line is unmistakably David Gray - his voice is distinct and the melodies are instantly recognizable. It may be pretty tough to top our own personal favourite album White Ladder from 1999 but Draw the Line is definitely on the right track to bring this artist back to the limelight he deserves.


Check out the trailer for the new album as well as the video for the first single "Fugitive" below:

BOOKMARK: Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, A Marine, and a Miracle

A touching story on TV tonight from The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien told the story of Marine Major Brian Dennis and his stray friend Nubs.


This book tells the story of how nothing could come between a dog and a man and how loyal a canine companion can be.


Straight from the inside cover:


Nubs, an Iraqi dog of war, never had a home or a person of his own. He was the leader of a pack of wild dogs living off the land and barely surviving. But Nubs's life changed when he met Marine Major Brian Dennis. The two formed a fast friendship, made stronger by Dennis's willingness to share his meals, offer a warm place to sleep, and give Nubs the kind of care and attention he had never received before. Nubs became part of Dennis's human "pack" until duty required the Marines to relocate a full 70 miles away--without him. Nubs had no way of knowing that Marines were not allowed to have pets.


So began an incredible journey that would take Nubs through a freezing desert, filled with danger tofind his friend and would lead Dennis on a mission that would touch the hearts of people all over the world.


Nubs and Dennis will remind readers that friendship has the power to cross deserts, continents, and even species.

Money, it's a hit!

Well it may not be like the American PowerBall Lottery worth $250 million, but it is being reported this weekend that Canada has it's first multi-million dollar winner in the nation's new lottery game, Lotto Max.


Friday's winning numbers were reportedly assigned to one lucky ticket winner in Manitoba who has yet to be identified but when they do come forward, they will be walking away with a cool $50 million CDN.


Since the first Lotto Max draw on September 25, no one has been able to match all seven numbers needed to claim the jackpot until now.


Lotto Max - which replaced Super 7 - was designed because of interest from "jackpot chasers" who wanted to see bigger lottery payouts similar to those down south. Each draw the jackpot rises to a maximum of $50 million and any additional cash above that is awarded in $1 million prizes to lucky winners in separate draws.


This prize becomes the second largest jackpot ever to be won in Canada. The largest was a mere $54.3 million in the 6/49 draw in 2005. That prize was shared between 17 oil & gas workers in Camrose, Alberta.


There are a lot of things that $50 million dollars could afford you. Hell, we can think of a few good ways of spending that money pretty quick but at the end of the day, we wouldn't balk at taking a much smaller payout. Hey, even the $1 million side pots would be great…Better yet, make it $5 million, that way we've got some extra cash for a rainy day.

Start spreading the news…YANKEES ARE CHAMPS!!!

Well it all began and ended as predicted this season. That is, my beloved New York Yankees opening their new ballpark, finishing the regular season as the best team in the league and finally adding the cherry on top with their 27th World Series title.


Other predictions that came through from my earlier post at the start of the post season, my dad picking all 7 teams other than the Yanks that made it to the playoffs winning it all, the continuous switching of the team he would root for as each one was eliminated from contention. As well, let's not forget the nightly phone calls to one another to rub it in each others faces when our team(s) won.


And in the end of it all, the parade I said we would start planning can now actually happen. The Yankees beat the defending champs the Philadelphia Phillies in game 6 of the championship series 7-3 to win the World Series 4 games to 2. Hideki Matsui is the MVP with a perfect 3-for-3 night in the final game and a total of 6 RBI's.


What a great series! Sure the best team won but you have to give it to the Phillies, they are one heckuva team and made it entertaining down to the last game. So now the long wait for the off-season, then spring training followed by that short 162 game season.


We'll see you in 11 months dad, I'm already picking the Yanks, who are you taking?

FRIDAY FUNNIES: One heck of a dog trainer

"Sit," Stay," "Down," "Heel," "Shake a paw," and of course "No!" are all words that my dog can relate to. But never underestimate the brilliance of your canine friend.


The proof is in the pudding with this video as we see man's best friends walking on two legs, forming a conga line and jumping through hoops to name just a few tricks.


Dogs truly can be brilliant and are always loyal to their trainer. Enjoy this funny video to get your rainy Friday started.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Apple's new multi-touch Magic Mouse

Apple has debuted it's new wireless mouse with a much deserved update - multi-touch technology for navigation. Featuring a solid acrylic surface, the new Magic Mouse replaces the Mighty Mouse, Apple's previous wireless with a trackball.


Apple's love with multi-touch is fairly known and is already featured in iPhones, iPod Touches and Trackpads of the MacBooks. The new wireless Magic Mouse that has no buttons and no trackball is ambidextrous.


Magic Mouse carries a "seamless" multi-touch surface that covers its top area and is touted as the world's first multi-touch mouse. There's no need to worry about cords since the Magic Mouse connects to any Bluetooth enabled Mac machine wirelessly. Acting as an advanced point-and-click mouse, users can click as well as double click by tapping a finger once or twice on the top surface. Also, enabling the secondary click in System Preferences will make it function as a two-button mouse.


Multi-touch obsession takes the next step with Magic Mouse that supports finger gestures to navigate on the display. For instance, scrolling in any direction requires simply using one finger on the mouse's top surface. Magic mouse also supports "360 degree scrolling" - smooth up/down and left/right scrolling within a window, just like an iPhone and MacBook trackpads. Apple boasts of a chip that senses finger gestures and responds accordingly.



The Magic Mouse is certainly clever, but the question remains as to how well it will work in day-to-day usage. Will the multi-touch features enhance the desktop experience, or will they annoy users and get in the way?


Magic Mouse comes with new iMacs and also sells separately for $69 CDN today.

2010 Olympic and Paralympic Medals Unveiled

The world got an early peak on Thursday at the medals to be awarded at both the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.


The medals are based on two large master artworks of an orca whale (Olympic) and raven (Paralympic) by Canadian designer/artist Corrine Hunt. Each of the medals has a unique hand-cropped section of the abstract art, making every medal one-if-a-kind.


Another unique touch to the design, compared to medals of the past, is the actual form of the medals themselves. Their unique contours are said to be inspired by the ocean waves, drifting snow and the mountainous landscape found in our region and throughout Canada. The Olympic medals are circular in shape while with Paralympic medals are a squared circle. Their weight varies between 500-576 grams depending on the medal making them among the heaviest medals in the history of the games.


Perhaps the most creative part of these gems is the materials used to construct them. Vancouver metals giant Teck Resources has recovered materials from recycled TVs, computers, cellphones and keyboards that might have otherwise ended up as e-waste. The use of smelted cathode ray tube glass, computer parts and circuit boards are combined with metals from other sources to produce the weighty mass.


The medals have a durable blue, white and green synthetic ribbon that carries the name of the games, Vancouver 2010, and the Games' motto, "With Glowing Hearts," in both English and French.


The medals were produced by the Royal Canadian Mint for the first time since 1976 and have a collective worth of about $1.8 million based on current metal prices.


I believe these are probably the nicest medals we have seen produced for the Games in several years. The fact that each design has a distinct portion of the orca or raven artwork make these unique to each athlete and sure to stand out for many years to come.


To see more pictures, click here.

NEW MUSIC REVIEW: Corey Crowder

Georgia native Corey Crowder is developing an original sound with his unique fusion of country, jazz and folk. His newest album is a fine example of a mature, big production that is a lot more rootsy, country/blues oriented that his earlier recordings.


Crowder has a smooth, but soulful voice that is easy on the ears, and his song writing is top notch. He can be classified as a Nashville version of Jack Johnson or John Mayer with laid-back songs that celebrate the simple things in life. But he didn't really begin to explore his southern roots until the last few years.


His first serious music project was launched in 2001 when he began recording acoustic-pop demos and playing shows across Georgia. In 2005, Crowder released an 11-track acoustic full-length album called "Learning to Let Go - Home Recordings" which garnered a rather large following when various songs were aired on several episodes of MTV's The Real World. Since then, he has been constantly touring across the US, performing at many college campuses and small live venues picking up momentum and a solid backing band along the way.


In 2008, Crowder and band entered the studio in Seattle to record what would become their first real produced band album called "Gold and the Sand." The songs have a strong country feel but tend to be so by way of production and instrumentation more than actual composition. The album has definitely moved this artist into more of an original sound combining his southern influence with hints of jazz and folk of a modern age.


All in all, Corey Crowder is an excellent artist that anyone who likes a blend of diverse styles will be sure to enjoy.


Check out his myspace page to hear some of his tunes: www.myspace.com/coreycrowder


Here is his most recent release "Look How Far We've Come"

All the single babies!

Move over Beyonce, there's a new babe in town! Cory the baby is giving her a run for her money with some sweet dance moves on the ever popular hit song "Single Ladies."


Cory now has his own website featuring his dance videos amongst others as well as pictures, a biography and links to his own facebook and twitter sites.


Cory is also now famous around the world for his choreography receiving news coverage from many global news stations.


Have a look at this cute and funny video to get you going on this Friday morning. It'll be sure to put a smile on your face to start the weekend.


Check out his website: www.singlebabies.com

Google takes to the streets in Vancouver

Just when you thought the internet was a scary place where personal information can be viewed by millions, Google releases it's application called Street View where now everyone can even see whether you keep up on your yard work or not.


Launched in 2007 in the United States, Google Street View offers you a three-hundred-and-sixty degree view from street level of many major cities from around the world. And as of this past Wednesday, you can now add 15 of Canada's biggest cities to that list.


Google began acquiring images in Vancouver and surrounding areas, north to Whistler and east to Chilliwack in early '07. Images are also available in the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, Waterloo, Calgary, Banff National Park, Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax. The photos are representative of what someone would see if they were driving down the street.


When the plan originally surfaced for Google to begin photographing Canadian streets, Canada's privacy commissioner raised concerns that the service might not comply with Canadian privacy legislation, because it would include images of identifiable people that were collected without their consent. However, the company has tried to address the privacy concerns by adding privacy features, including the automatic blurring of faces and licence plates to avoid identifying people and cars. The technology doesn't always work as expected and will sometimes blur faces on statues, billboards or even animals but completely miss a human face. However, you can easily submit an online form to have your photo removed should you find yourself while playing a game of "Where's Waldo?"


All in all, when you look past the politics, Google Street View is an amazing tool allowing you to tour foreign cities but it can also be fun to take a spin around your own city too.


Give it a try for yourself:
Go to www.google.ca and click on Maps in the upper left corner of the window. Type in your address and hit enter. Then click and drag the small orange figure that appears above the zoom control on the left side of the map to where your home is located. Scroll around and enjoy!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

The night's are getting darker. The temperature is getting colder. The leaves are falling off the trees. It can only mean one thing. The start of the MLB playoffs. That's right, after a short 162 game season, 8 out of the 30 teams are now qualified to start playing some real ball.


This is the time of year, for me, where baseball is actually fun to watch. There is always a difference between the regular season and the playoffs in all sports but personally, the World Series is to me like the Stanley Cup is to most Canadians. Mostly, I think that is because I remember when I was growing up, my parents and I would come home from work and school, make some deli sandwiches and soup and sit in front of the TV for the evening to cheer on our favourite teams.


For me, the New York Yankees are my pick every season. Not solely based on the fact that, sure, they can even afford to buy God to play on the team, but because they have real talent, real management, and real fans. More so this year than ever, they have a young team that has worked their tails off to make it to the top once again.


For my mom, she always picks the underdogs. While she may not know who that is right away. She quickly finds the team she likes and roots for them until they are eliminated. Then she moves on to the next underdog.


Then we come to dad. I think dad's enjoyment of the playoffs isn't so much that he has a favourite team to root for or that he even knows who's playing. More so, he cheers for any team that comes up against the Yanks. I think he gets a kick out of how much he can try to get me going about every little thing my team does wrong or every little play that doesn't go our way. And I'm not saying it doesn't get me going. But he'd even go so far to say that a perfect game winning home run by my team "wasn't fair because they probably bought some crazy wind machine that blew the ball out of the park." Or, the perfect strikeout only came about because "the umpires were being paid extra on the side." But it's these little comments that probably made the World Series playoffs the most entertaining TV time with the family.


Now I'm all grown up and living away from home. But I'll still come home every night, make my sandwich and soup, and sit down on the couch to watch my team play ball. It will probably be a lot easier without someone balking in the background at every pitch. Question is, will the phone be ringing every 5 minutes with some other excuse as to how my Yankees managed to "cheat their way" to another great win. My guess is probably. But that's ok. You can root for your 7 teams old man. I've got my 1 team and we're already planning the parade.


Play ball!

Good ol' trailer trash

Remember when you were little and acting up in the car and your parents threatened to tie you to the roof if you didn't smarten up? Well apparently a woman in Albertville, Alabama doesn't see anything wrong with that at all.


Jackie Denise Knott, 37, was arrested over the weekend on HWY 431 for Endangering the Welfare of a child. Only thing, this child was not in trouble for acting up. You see, mom was trying to fit a cardboard box into her minivan and when it wouldn't fit, the genius decided it would be a good idea to place the box on the roof of her car and have her 13-year-old daughter "weigh it down" by sitting in it.


Someone must have seen this, thought it wasn't safe, and notified police who later pulled the vehicle over to find out just what this woman was thinking.


When asked about the safety of her child on the roof of her car, Knott replied "that the box was tied to the van with a clothes hanger." Are you kidding me? That's the equivalency of tossing a queen sized mattress on your roof and driving down the road with your hand out the window to hold it down. "I got it! I got it!" (Jerry Seinfeld reference)


Needless to say, this idiot was taken into custody and transported to the Albertville City Jail. Scary thing is that the child was turned over to a relative at the scene. Yeah, cause this family sounds like they've got their shit together.

What's in a name?

Well, according to the IOC, not much. After 3 years of solid planning and millions of dollars spent on their proposal, Chicago was eliminated from contention for the 2016 Summer Olympics in the first round of voting on Friday. Earlier in the day Barack Obama became the first U.S. President to ever lobby to the IOC his plea to bring the games to his adopted home city, and the prez wasn't the only big "O" there to woo the judges. Wife Michelle Obama had arrived in Copenhagen one day earlier to sell Chicago to the world and even Oprah gave her plea via video. Obama spoke to the committee about how much these games would mean for such a diverse culture back home.


Before any decisions had been made, The Obama's were packed up and out of Denmark and watched the results as they came in on TV from the luxury of Air Force One. They, and the world watched as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was awarded the first summer olympics ever to come to South America.


In Rio, a crowd of some 50,000 people celebrated the victory on the famous Copacabana beach and partied into the night while back in the motherland, the mood was much more sombre. A huge defeat in which Chicago was expected to be one of the front runners had all the gas poured out so early in the contest.


Many American's were mad that Chicago was even attempting to host the games. Similar to when Vancouver was bidding to host the 2010 games, most people felt that the money already spent and the $2 billion price tag to host the world if successful should have been focused on other lacking areas of the city.


While the Obama's were out of the country, the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate had climbed to 9.8 percent last month, the highest level since 1983.


GOP chairman Michael Steele said in a statement, "As President Obama travels to Copenhagen to bring the Summer Olympics to his hometown seven years from now, Americans back home are increasingly concerned they won't have jobs seven months from now as they see more and more of their neighbours and friends losing jobs today."


Perhaps the funniest part of all this is the fact that Americans are always so over confident when it comes to things like this and they were ready to brag once again that they were the victors. But as a camera panned over the large crowd huddled in the downtown core of Chicago, a gigantic sigh in shock arose when they found out their fate much earlier than expected. It was hilarious watching the reaction from CNN anchor, Tony Harris, who seemed to be blown away that much less touted Tokyo and Madrid were still in contention and his "home of the brave" had fallen.


Check out the video and you will see just how much the American's were shocked:

World Wide Pants caught with zipper down

Late Show host David Letterman is once again in hot water after dipping his pen in the company ink. Letterman sat behind his desk after his monologue this Thursday and asked the television and live audience if they would like to hear a story. Over the period of the next 5-10 minutes he explained how he is the victim of an extortion plot that was set to reveal "terrible, terrible things" about his life if he did not agree to pay a large sum of money.


It turns out, a CBS Producer, Robert "Joe" Halderman, had visual evidence that linked Dave to having sexual relations with some of his female staff members and unless Dave was willing to pay a total of $2 million dollars he was going to produce a movie and publish a book about these facts.


Dave, in a jokingly fashion, used his live television broadcast to announce that the allegations were true in order to protect these women as well as his own family. Stating "I know it may be hard for some of you to believe but yes I, David Letterman, have had sex." The audience seemed both amused and confused at the same time and in true Dave form, no one really knew whether this was all a big joke or the real deal.


Well, as it turns out, it is the real deal and early on Friday, Halderman pleaded not guilty after being arrested the day before and being charged with one count of attempted grand larceny in the first degree.


This falls on the heals of an incident in June when Letterman made remarks about Sarah Palin's 14-year-old daughter and then used his broadcast to apologize for his actions. People picketed outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre trying to have Letterman removed from his post as Late Show host which obviously didn't happen. But what does this mean for his career now? Probably nothing. It seems that he has taken the right approach by publicly admitting his faults on air And according to a spokeswoman from World Wide Pants, Letterman's production company, Dave is not in violation of their sexual harassment policy and no one has ever raised a complaint.


After 15 years of being the bridesmaid of late night television, Letterman finally took over 1st place in the ratings in his timeslot during premiere week in September. Lucky for him, his counter part, our fellow carrot top over at neighbouring NBC, plummeted in the standings at that time. Only time will tell what will come of this.


Watch Dave's full revelation below:

Mr. A-Z: It's all about the wordplay

Being the music lover I am I find it fitting that my first post is a concert review. Wednesday, September 30th had Jason Mraz bringing his Gratitude Cafe tour live to GM Place. My first reaction to hearing this was "That's a little bold of Jason to believe he can fill up an 18,000+ seat arena." We've seen him several times in settings from tiny cafes to larger concert halls. And while we've always been a big admirer of his talented voice, we thought it might be hard to find that many admirers of his. However, he was able to fill the arena to an almost sold out crowd.


Up first in the evening was K'NAAN. Yeah, I know what you're thinking…who the hell is K'NAAN? Well, he is an Afro-beat, hip hop, folk singer. My thoughts exactly so we were in no rush to arrive for the start of the show. We walked down to our seats just as he was wrapping up his set. I may not be a fan but apparently lots of people are as the stadium was near capacity and cheering loud at the conclusion of his final song.


A nice touch to the evening was the fact that this tour had a host that came out between set changes to entertain the crowd. The birthday boy, Bushwalla, was actually quite funny walking out into the crowd with his wireless mic chatting with random fans including a cute 7-year-old boy attending his first ever concert which Bush tossed onto his shoulders and paraded around the floor while the large crowd cheered loudly. Great experience for the boy at his first ever show. However, the entertainment with our host is short lived as he hypes the crowd up for the soon arrival of Jason…or so we thought.


Almost 1 hour after Bushwalla got us all cheering for Mraz "coming up next" we find ourselves still sitting in our seats with background music blaring and house lights still on. It appears that maybe the BC bud has hit the band harder than they expected, but wait, just before 9 here they come to a thunderous roar throughout the arena. I haven't seen all of the new members perform together before and I must admit, I still haven't really listened to the latest CD that has now been out for over a year so we sit with anticipation of the show to come. Overall, the show was extremely mellow. Kind of an odd style of performance for such a large venue, but the die hards were loving it, singing along to every lyric. Now I realize why I haven't listened to the new stuff that much, simply because I'm not the biggest fan. However, I am still amazed at what a great voice Mraz carries singing everything from tenor, to falsetto and even soprano. Wow! that is high.


While for the most part it is a totally chill type show, a few small groups of people feel the need to stand and sway to the music. I have no issues with this. We're at a concert, you do what you want. But only 10 minutes into the show some geriatric complains to a group of people in front of us that they are blocking his view. He then runs and tells on us, like a little brat, to the aisle usher before scampering back to his seat. Now I'm thinking, "Fuck you for thinking you run the show" so we tell the people in front to stand all they want and we ourselves even feel inclined to now rise to our feet. Funniest part of all that is when we look back to make disgusted faces we find him cuddling up close to his 13-year-old asian toy. Ewww, gross!


Anyways, back to the reason we paid $60/ticket to go out. Oh yeah there's a concert happening and we're groovin' along, recognizing maybe 4 or 5 songs throughout the evening. About an hour in he's already thanking the crowd for being a great audience and ready to pack it in for the night as he and the band walk off stage. But just as the eager beavers are storming up the stairs in an attempt to beat the traffic, what's that we see? A flashlight shining on the floor leading 3 guys out from the back of the arena to a small makeshift stage where Jason, Toca (percussionist) and unknown bass player strike up a mini acoustic set for the folks in the binocular seats. A nice touch of class to the guys who even invite a friend from San Fran up to sing the ever popular duet "Lucky." Then as the mob ensues as the trio try to make their way back to the stage we realize this was just a little break in the action, back to the main stage for a few more songs that are still a little to laid back for me.


The highlight of the night isn't even a Mraz original but a great rendition of our parents and yours favourite permed soul singer from the 80's, Lionel Richie's "All Night Long." Then a couple last tunes and the evening comes to a conclusion.


In the end, I'd give the show a C. Great lyrics and an amazing voice singing them, a really tight band with great brass section but overall, no panache to keep me moving on my feet, or even my toe tapping for that matter. Would I return to see another Mraz concert? (my 9th overall) Not before listening to the new tunes first. Apparently I've just grown out of the fan club I guess.


Check out the setlist and video below:


The New Intro -
Traveler/Make It Mine
Anything You Want
Coyotes
You and I Both
Reggeady
Details
Only Human
Dynamo
Beautiful Mess
I'm Yours - plus tres pequiños aviones
Glass …Happy Birthday Bushwalla!
Life, Lucky, Duo (acoustic set on the rear stage)
CopChase
All Night Long
Butterfly

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Welcome to Life By The Drop. A place to come in, take your coat off, place reality on hold and relax. We've always wanted to create a blog and have read some really great ones that inspired us to start up this little bit of magic you see here. Our intention is to report on anything and everything from top stories, to quirky news, things we love and things we hate and all that's in between. We hope to post as often as possible and hope you enjoy what you read. So keep coming back and don't be shy to let us know what you think.

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