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It was everything I wanted to be. I haven’t been this excited about a show in a really long time. There are a lot of bands I love on an intellectual level but who, for whatever reason, fail to reach that visceral level of musical obsession for me. True musical love for me is marked by a compulsive need to listen to a song or a record over and over and over again, usually while in some kind of physical motion, walking down the street, or whatever rather than say as an isolated selection on an esoteric playlist or some such.

My point is that I love TV on the Radio and everything I’d heard about their live show was that it was amazing. So for their date last night at the Burton Cummings Theatre I fangirled out. Sometimes I just have to be a fan, sending out my adoration and appreciation from the very front row, rocking out and flipping out and having as good a time as I possibly can.

1. Kyp, 2. Get wavy, 3. Patchwork backdrop, 4. Tunde

The show was fantastic, and that was the unanimous conclusion of everyone I talked to afterward. TVotR are just such a skilled, tight band and Tunde is so energetic. So we all felt we got our money’s worth and were in no way disappointed by this first appearance in our little mid-sized Canadian market. Now, the sound at the Burton Cummings is not the greatest, and I personally chose to sacrifice even more of the sonic quality by being right up against the stage; my pal Whitney was up front with me at first but then excused herself to listen from the back of the main floor, where she said the treble register was more in balance with the bass.

This was the set list:

Wash the Day Away
Wrong Way
Blues from Down Here
Halfway Home
Golden Age
Wolf Like Me
Crying
Young Liars
Red Dress
Shout Me Out
Dancing Choose
DLZ

Encore:
Family Tree
A Method
Staring at the Sun

A really good mix of stuff from all of the band’s EPs and full-lengths, including their “hits” like “Staring at the Sun” and “Wolf Like Me,” both of which it’s fair to say I would’ve been super disappointed if they hadn’t played them. I felt like it was a set list that took into account that this was their first show in our city so the vast majority of us wouldn’t have had a chance to see them. I would’ve liked to hear “I Was a Lover” and “Dirtywhirl,” but that’s a minor quibble.

Opening act was TVotR’s fellow Brooklynites, Dirty Projectors. I wasn’t super familiar with them before the show, and I was pleasantly surprised. The six-member band’s instrumental skills aren’t in the same league as their vocals, which made it obvious why they’re on tour with vocals-centric TVoTR. The three women in the band sang some beautiful soprano harmonies with the band’s retro-pop-rock, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Now a word on the merchandise. As someone who doesn’t really wear t-shirts, I’m always over the moon when a band offers a merch option beyond a jersey crew-neck. Like that time Stars had Sigg bottles with their name on them, one of which I still carry with pride and joy. What do I like even more than enviro-friendly water bottles? TOTE BAGS.

ESPECIALLY ones with a talking owl carrying bunches of bells. Another thing in its favour besides its obvious awesomeness of design is its reasonable price point — $15.

Thus concludes my effusive remembrances of TV on the Radio in Winnipeg. It was great. The end.

(Cross-posted to The Book of Right-On.)

I didn’t know that spider plants flowered! I only discovered this recently when the plant on my kitchen windowsill threw a plantlet off and little white blossoms appeared.

Granted, I don’t know much about spider plants or houseplants in general. I mean, I have a few, a ficus and some other varieties of which I know not the names. I have two spider plants, one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. I got them by cutting off plantlets from the spider plant at CKUW 95.9 FM. Those of you familiar with the station might say, “Wait — the CKUW studios/offices don’t have any windows!” That is absolutely true. And yet, a spider plant has survived with only the sustenance of flourescent lighting and the occasional watering. That tells you something about the hardiness of this particular plant.

The Wikipedia page for the plant (properly known as Chlorophytum comosum) says that while you can propagate new plants by cutting off a plantlet and rooting it through soaking in water, the process works better/ faster if you root the plantlet directly in soil while still attached to the parent plant.

A lovely, sunny weekend has given way to an abysmally cloudy Monday. At least it feals abysmal. Though we really should keep perspective, here, because they’re forecasting high ‘teens for the reast of the week, along with lots of sun. Yesterday was a truly summer-feeling day, a very foreign sensation given that we’ve suffered a bitterly cold and long winter followed by a unseasonably cold and wet spring.

Yesterday I was at the University of Mantioba campus to watch a friend perform at the Manitoba rhythmic gymnastic provincials, and in a shady spot next to a large tyndall stone building remained a significant pile of snow, left over from winter parking-lot clearing. Rebecca and Chantal found it irresistible and made and threw some snowballs at Sabrina. Yes, snowballs in May. That’s Winnipeg. (I was complicit in the attack — I caught it on video and it’ll be in the May video scrapbook, which will appear in roughly seven days!)

Another highlight of the weekend was a trip to a foreign part of the city. Foreign to me, I should qualify. Raised in the south end of the city, I rarely get to the far north corners and so they hold a good amount of novelty and curiosity for me. The occasion in this case was Cynara’s need to return to her homeland of Transcona for a brief bit of banking at her home credit union. I came along for the ride, and on our way back to the city’s centre, where we live, Cynara said, “Look, there’s the butcher with the cows on the roof!” Now, I am definitely unfamiliar with much of the ways and places of Transcona but Sausage Makers I know. I’m not sure how they came to be such fans of the place, but my parents have long been extremely keen on the buckwheat sausage and Kaessler pork chops from there.

So when Cynara mentioned the cows, I was all, “CAN WE GO THERE, PLEASE?” and I called my parents. My dad picked up the phone, and when I asked if he wanted anything, his tone of voice immediately brightened and he said, “Oh! Let me get your mom. Heidi! Do we want anything from Sausage Makers?”

I took their order, and Cynara, Derek and I went inside. It was my first visit to the actual place, and it was hectic! I am very unfamiliar with ordering meats from a butcher directly but I muddled my way through. (“Six Kaessler, please.” “How thick?” “Um… the normal thickness?”)

I also obtained some marzipan, another German staple, and Cynara got some German chocolate-covered gingerbread (I could’ve spent half an hour browsing all the specialty import foods they have in addition to the meat).

My favourite sushi spot in Osborne Village has changed its name, and while I’m not sure why, I don’t care, because it’s better than ever! Naru (formerly Miyabi) serves up consistently excellent sushi and accompanying Japanese cuisine. The service is fast and friendly and they have an impressive selection of vegetarian options, which I appreciate even though I’m not vegetarian.

Here was my tray; left to right you see a vegetarian caterpillar roll, vegetarian sunomono roll and your classic California roll. Each of these is absolutely delicious, the rice soft and perfectly seasoned, the fillings fresh and tasty (can you tell I like avocado in my sushi?). But of course the finishing touch is the tealight holder fashioned out of a daikon radish — everyone’s tray had this personal and elegant touch.

Here’s Maya’s tray, with a cucumber-votive and a caterpillar roll, shrimp tempura roll, and vegetarian bakudan roll (not sure what the shrimp-covered one in the back is).

This dinner party was to celebrate the temporary return to Winnipeg of my friend Laurie, who is in town for the annual Núna (Now) festival. I also took some fun video which will feature in my May video scrapbook, which is well on its way (See the April version here). I like to upload and start cutting together the footage shortly after I capture it; this is mostly born out of impatience rather than good time-management skills. Once I select the song that will underlie the video collage, it’s easy and irresistable to put the various visual tableaux together. Stay tuned!

If you like them, you can buy them at paperandglue.etsy.com.

I hurried to post this on Twitter and Facebook but managed to neglect to post it here! It’s the inaugural edition of what I plan to make a monthly series (at least for awhile) of video scrapbooks. The idea is very simple: take lots of little videos with my Canon Powershot A630, throw the clips into iMovie, lay down an appropriately upbeat and of-the-moment pop track and upload the thing for all to see.

I started this one late. It only occurred to me to make some video over the Easter weekend (you can see the results of that videography in the previous post). May’s scrapbook will be far more complete — I’ve already captured some fun stuff. I don’t know what song to use for May, though. April’s bg track was obvious to me — Tune-Yards‘ bright, clangy, oddball number called “News.” The tinkly noises went well with the cracking of the river ice and the strummy guitar was perfect for walks along sidewalks that finally were cleared by the April sun.

I didn’t obsess too much over perfection in this video, but I’m pleased with the result. It’s just a little digital time capsule. It’s got Lauren literally dancing in the streets to get out of the house after caring for a 10-month-old baby all day; it’s got sprouting day-lilies and prairie sunsets; it’s got a disco ball, floodwaters and a used bookstore. It’s got crafts and bus rides. I hope you enjoy!